My Hockey Alpha

Nina

“Nina… Taylor is in the hospital.”

I felt my heart drop as I registered what my mother just told me over the phone. Everything, from the Half- Moon Tournament to the Mad Wolf serum to Luke’s sudden transformation, seemed like nothing now.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” I said hastily, hanging up as a knot formed in my stomach.

“Nina? Is everything okay?” Enzo asked from behind. I turned around to see him still standing by the fire, looking at me with a concerned expression on his face. Luke was pulling on a pair of jeans behind him, but was also looking at me as he did so. It felt odd to see Luke with an actual expression on his face, and for there tobe meat and flesh on his bones, but right now it hardly registered to me.

“I-I have to go,” I said, taking a few steps backwards. “It’s my brother. He’s in the hospital.”

Both Enzo’s and Luke’s eyes widened. Enzo jogged toward me. “I’ll take you on the motorcycle,” he said.

“No,” I replied. “I’ll borrow Lori’s car I’ll keep you updated, though. Just focus on Edward and the Half-Moon tournament.”

Enzo nodded, and before either of them said anything else, I turned on my heel and ran back toward the campus. Lori was thankfully still awake when I got home, playing a video game on the TV

“Can I borrow your car for the night?” I asked breathlessly as I ran through to my room and began stuffing clothes and toiletries in my backpack.

Lori paused her game and turned around on the couch to face me. “Uh… Sure, I guess?” she responded. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s my brother,” I replied, running out of my room with my bag haphazardly packed already. “He’s in the hospital.”

and grabbed her keys out of her purse, her face drawn with worry. “Here,” she said, tossing them

a quick hug before sprinting out of

way, but thankfully there was no one on the roads with it being so late, so I managed to make it without getting into an accident

room and jumped

angry with her for not getting Taylor the help he needed and for letting it get to

he?”

nurse over, who led us to the hospital

the pit of

machines. There was a breathing tube down his throat, his eyes were closed, and

I gripped the bed rail with one hand and squeezed his arm with the other as tears welled up

the nurse said quietly “His symptoms were so severe that the doctor

you know what’s wrong

he doesn’t seem to have any sort of tumor or anything like that I furrowed my brow as I continued to stare down at my brother. The tears in my eyes turned him into

privacy. Once we were alone,

up inside of me. “He’s been telling you for years that he’s

chair across from it as the methodical

repeated. I realized that my grip was tightening on Taylor’s wrist and I let go before

in her

is it, then?” I asked. “What’s so difficult about getting your son the

away, back down at my brother. He was so much thinner than he had been the last time I saw him. His cheeks were gaunt and

had grown up with, who had once climbed trees and played cowboys and bandits and given me piggy