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.”

her purse, her face drawn with worry. “Here,” she said, tossing them to

before sprinting

staying. I was certain I had broken several traffic laws on the way, but thankfully there was no one on the roads with it being so late, so

room and jumped up when I

full of worry. I, however, was just angry with her for not getting Taylor the help he

he?”

called a nurse over, who led us to

into the pit of my stomach

up to so many machines. There was a breathing tube down his throat, his eyes were

of his bed. I gripped the bed rail with

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

wrong with him?” I

-rays came back inconclusive. As far as we’re aware, he doesn’t seem to have any sort of tumor or anything like that I furrowed my brow as I continued to stare down

were alone, I felt my mother’s

bubble up inside of me. “He’s

Nina,” my mother responded, walking around the hospital bed and sitting in the folding chair across from it as the methodical

wrist and I let go before I hurt him, my hands shaking. “You did nothing and now

mother whispered. There were tears in her own eyes

it, then?” I asked. “What’s so difficult about getting your son the medical help he needs before it devolves

my brother. He was so much thinner than he had been the last time I saw him. His cheeks were gaunt and his eyes were sunken in. As I reached out again to take his hand

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