SWNOVELS Chapter 1 - Berlin
*Book 2 of The Alpha Series. Cannot be read as a standalone book. You must read The Hybrid before this.
*This book is not edited. Due to The Hybrid's slight edit and re-write some things may be confusing such as character names, etc. I will fix these soon.
“Luna Winters!”
The sound of my name from her lips is like the sound of a whip cracking on skin, causing me to jolt up in shock and rub the sleep from my eyes before meeting the amused eyes of my lecturer and classmates. Blushing furiously, I mumble out an apology with my head hung low, my wavy brown hair falling around me like a curtain.
I can hear the snickering of my classmates as my best friends Eva Mitchell and Maddox Parker make their way to the table with all knowing smirks on their lips. Sighing heavily, I lean into Maddox’s hold when he places his arm around my shoulders.
“Working late again?” He asks lowly, concern present in his golden-brown eyes.
Nodding, I doodle absentmindedly on the upper corner of my notebook. “There was nobody to cover the late shift and when Henry asked…I just couldn’t say no.”
“You can never say no.” Eva mutters from beside me making Maddox smack her arm. “Next time, make up an excuse. This is the fifth time he’s asked you. Henry needs to fire whoever is slacking off and get a new employee.”
I nod, yawning quietly. I have fallen asleep in labs and tutorials too many times to count so a few lecturers knew my name by now, always waking me up with humour in their eyes. Pulling the textbook closer to me, I grab the pen to take down the notes on the board up ahead. Already, I can feel sleep pulling at my eyes again. I can’t wait to finish this last class and go home to my bed.
Maddox, Eva and I are all housemates, studying Nursing. We had all decided to study in Berlin, Germany after graduating high school. In first year, we were all living in student accommodation and we became friends after meeting in a group project. The next year, Eva asked us to move in with her and Maddox and I happily agreed.
It seemed too good to be true at the start that we knew each other and would be in the same classes, usually making friends was a slow process for me. I was overjoyed that I had found two friends early in the semester.
Now, we are in our final year of Nursing and branching off into different aspects of the career. Our first semester had started two weeks ago and we were well into lecture materials. I make a mental note to get some books from the library before heading home.
The clock ticks by and every minute feels slower, but class finally ends and I am packing up my bag and rushing out the door with my friends. Quickly grabbing some textbooks from the library, I playfully glare at my friends who are moaning and groaning outside, complaining about how it took me forever in there.
“Hey, do you want to grab food with us?” Eva asked as we headed to the entrance of the building.
“Sure, I’m starved!” I laughed, looping my arm with hers and walking down the pathway that led to main campus.
Opening the door to the apartment, I hang my coat on the rack before stepping inside. Maddox had to run some errands after the lunch we had at a nearby cafe and Eva needed to get some birthday presents for her sister before she forgot. So, it was me, myself and I.
I love being alone however, it’s good to have some quiet time to yourself every now and then. And today is exactly that. Since it’s my turn to cook dinner, I decide to complete my assignment and do some study before starting on it.
With that, I head upstairs and into my room. It is of average size but I love it all the same. All the bedrooms are upstairs, but I have a large window that overlooks a thick forest which looks beautiful at night with the moon and the twinkling stars above. Jumping on the bed, I plop down with a content sigh, folding my legs underneath me.
About two hours into studying, I let out a yelp of surprise when my phone rings loudly. Scrambling to get it, I accept the call and place the phone to my ear, my hand to my racing heart.
“Hello?”
“Hello princess! How are you?” My dad answers from the other side, his cheery voice brightening up my mood.
“I’m good Dad! How are you and Mum?” I ask, putting away my books and laptop.
“Everyone is good here, Luna. We miss you so much -”
My Dad is cut off by my mother who takes the phone from him. “Oh, I miss you so much honey. When are you coming back home again?”
“Soon, Mum.” I chuckle at her antics, hearing Dad protest in the background.
My family lives six hours away in Amsterdam. It was a hard decision to move to Berlin but it was worth it. At first my parents were adamant that I stay with them and go to college nearby but they finally relented and let me choose where I wanted to study.
We are a family of four and my brother Nicholas, or Nick as he likes to be called, is the oldest sibling. He works as an engineer in Manhattan, US.
I chat with my parents for a while before hanging up and heading downstairs. Humming in the quiet kitchen, I decide to make spaghetti and meatballs with salad, grabbing the ingredients and making a start on dinner.
Just as I have cooked the meal and set the dish down on the table, Maddox strolls in. His eyes lit up at the sight of food before he races over and opens the lid to see what is inside. Smacking his hand away, I roll my eyes when he let out an exaggerated moan of pain. As I start on the salad, he came up behind me, resting his head on my shoulder.
“Hey Luna…” He murmurs quietly, popping a slice of cucumber in his mouth. “When can I eat?”
“Eva will be here in two minutes. Can you survive till then?” I chuckle when he backs away with a humph.
He leans on the counter beside me with a heavy sigh. “I suppose.”
Giggling at his pouty expression, I work on finishing the salad before setting that on the table, Maddox helping me set the table. Just as we have sat down, Eva runs in and slams the door shut before locking it. Maddox and I exchange confused glances as we stare at her. She is leaning against the door out of breath.
She opens her eyes to reveal light green orbs that are bright with excitement, fear and mischief. Stepping forward, she casually places her shopping bags on the hallway floor before walking through the archway that led to the kitchen where we sat.
“Evening friends.”
There is a pregnant pause as we stare at her in surprise before Maddox leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. “Spill it. What did you do?”
Eva’s jaw drops while I bit my lip to stifle the laughter threatening to erupt. “W-What do you mean? Why would it be me to start something?!”
“Um…because you always do?” Maddox scoffs, digging into the food now that everyone is here.
“Excuse me -”
“Oh, stop it you two!” I chuckle, grabbing her arm and gently guiding her to the chair. She sat down with a scowl on her lips as she glares at Maddox. “What happened Eva?”
She is quiet for a few minutes, avoiding our curious stares. Eventually, she sighs and tells us everything. “I may have accidentally spilt my coffee on a guy and when he yelled at me, I emptied the cup over him anyways.”
I gasp, shocked while Maddox cackles as he twirls some spaghetti onto his fork. “Atta girl!”
“Maddox!” I scold, helping myself to some salad.
“What? Oh, come on Luna, he deserved it! I just wish I was there to see it.” He chuckles, wiping away some sauce left on the corner of his lips.
“I apologised too and he started cursing at me. Rude.” Eva mutters, grabbing the salad bowl.
I fail to hide my smile as Eva recalls what happened and how the stranger chased her down the streets of Berlin before she lost him and made her way home. Her blonde hair now looks like a wild mess atop her head but regardless she chatters on.
We have a nice dinner and decide to play board games after, taking our snacks and drinks to the sitting room next door. Maddox eagerly takes out monopoly which makes Eva groan, taking it from him and shoving it back into the cupboard. She then takes out a 1000-piece puzzle which I take from her, only to throw it on the couch with a “no way in hell.”
We finally decide on three quick board games to play before we end up watching a movie, cuddled on the couch with our blankets. I sigh in content, resting my head against Maddox’s shoulder and taking a sip of my tea. But I can’t keep my eyes open long enough to see the ending of Titanic, a movie that Eva always persuaded us to watch. Maddox and I knew every word by now, that’s how many times we had watched it over the past three years.
Pretty soon, I have fallen asleep on the couch.