My Hockey Alpha



Nina

By the time I awoke the next morning, the sun was already creeping through the curtains and casting golden shafts of light across the room. Yawning, I rolled over to see that Enzo was already awake and walking around the room, packing his things back into his bag.

"You're up early," I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

He looked up and smiled. "Yeah. I figured we should get an early start."

I sighed, knowing he was right. But there was a part of me that wished we could linger a little longer, put off the inevitable decisions that waited for us on the other side of the portal.

We finished packing our things in a mostly comfortable silence, each of us totally lost in our thoughts. I had no way of knowing exactly what was going through Enzo's mind after last night-his hopes, fears, or even dreams- but I knew that, whatever it was, we would figure it out together.

"Hey," I said gently just before we left the room. I took Enzo's hand and gave it a squeeze. "About last night-" A soft smile broke across Enzo's face, and he reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. "Don't worry about that right now, Nina," he murmured. "Last night was a whirlwind. Today should be a breeze."

Enzo was right; not everything needed to be life or death all of the time. How long would it be after the war with the Luna and the Crescents before I finally realized that?Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Downstairs, my parents and Tyler were already waiting. My mother had prepared breakfast, but my appetite had vanished ever since last night.

"Morning, you two," my father greeted, standing up from the table. He looked a little more worn than usual, but his eyes held a warmth that grounded me.

"Morning, dad," I replied, hugging him. "Morning, mom. Tyler."

"Nina." Tyler nodded, sipping his coffee.

My mother set down a plate of muffins on the table. "Please, eat something before you go."

I forced a smile. "We're just stepping through a portal and we'll be right back at home. But thanks, mom."

My dad cleared his throat, a seriousness overtaking his demeanor. "About yesterday's conversation... I really hope you'll consider our suggestion."

"Staying here in the mansion, being checked out by the witch, all of it," my mother added, her eyes locking onto mine, a quiet plea in their depths.

"It's safer here, especially if complications arise," Tyler chimed in.

Enzo squeezed my hand under the table, a silent display of support. "We'll think about it," he said softly.

I looked at their faces, each portraying genuine and unwavering concern, and felt myself soften a bit. "I promise to consider it," I finally said. "But we have to make the decision that feels right for us in the end."

My parents exchanged a look, then nodded. "Fair enough," my father said. "But promise us you'll at least see the witch."

"I promise to consider it," I reiterated, a tightness growing in my chest. My gaze flicked to Enzo, who gave me a reassuring nod. Somehow, that made it slightly easier.

After eating quickly, we stood. My mother enveloped me in a hug, whispering in my ear, "Take care of yourself, and that little life inside you."

"I will, mom," I murmured back, my eyes stinging with unshed tears.

Tyler hugged me next, his grip firm yet gentle. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

I smiled. "I won't."

Finally, it was time to go. We made our way outside, where I opened the portal. The swirling vortex felt like an oddly apt embodiment of my own inner turmoil: a swirling mess of colors and static sound.

Enzo turned to me just before we stepped through. "Ready?"

I nodded. Honestly, after everything, I was craving the sweet embrace of home. With a last wave to my parents, we stepped through.

There was a cacophony of sound and movement, something that I had grown all too used to over the past year. Then, mere moments later, we were standing outside of our home.

"Home sweet home," Enzo said, chuckling. "Man, if only traveling everywhere was this easy."

I smirked, but it quickly faded; Matt's car was parked outside the house, and the light was on inside. "What's he doing here?" I asked, pointing.

Enzo furrowed his brow. "Not sure. But we're about to find out."

The moment we stepped inside our home, I felt something tingling in the air, like my wolf was bristling at an unfamiliar presence.

"Hello?" I called out, walking into the entryway.

"In here," Matt's voice responded. Enzo and I shot each other a somewhat confused look before heading to the living room, where Matt's voice came from.

When I saw the scene in front of us, my eyes widened and my bag fell from my hand, landing on the floor with a thud. Matt and Luke stood there, their eyes wide and alert.

Between them was a man, his hands tied behind his back, bound securely to a chair. His mouth was gagged, and he had one black eye. His other eye, his good eye, was strangely cold and unreadable.

"You might want to sit down for this," Luke suggested, casting a glance at the bound man. "Oh, I think we're past the sitting stage," Enzo snapped. "What the hell is going on here, guys?"

"You had a little visitor while you were gone," Matt said dryly, nudging his head toward the captive.

"A visitor? This is how we treat visitors now?" I shot back, my voice heavy with disbelief and a dose of sarcasm. "Not when the visitor's a robber," Luke clarified.

"A robber?" My heart sank. "Were you guys hurt? Did he take anything? Why didn't you just call the police?" "We're fine, and he didn't get the chance to take anything," Matt assured. "But that's not the kicker. He's like us, Nina. He's a werewolf."

My stomach churned, an unsettling cocktail of confusion and fear bubbling within me. I didn't recognize this man, which could mean a myriad of things: either his werewolf blood was merely a coincidence, which was unlikely, or he was either an enemy or a friend. I was banking on enemy, judging from the looks of him.

"Idiot didn't know the house was under surveillance, did he?" Luke chided, kicking the leg of the man's chair. The man grumbled something behind his gag, but his face remained unreadable.

My gaze shifted to the bound man, who was surprisingly quiet. His eyes were amber-almost glowing-but there was something else there that left me strangely unsettled, although I couldn't quite put my finger on whatever it was.

"Well? What should we do?" I asked, glancing at Enzo.

Enzo's face was made of stone. He finally dropped his bag to the floor by his feet before slowly striding up to the man. He stopped in front of him, then leaned down, tugging the gag free from the man's mouth.

"Who are you?" Enzo hissed, his voice low and full of a protective sort of anger.

But the man didn't answer. Enzo finally stood, and judging from the way that he pushed up his sleeves, I knew that we were in for an eventful morning.