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

roommate a quick hug before sprinting out of the dorm and out to her

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

room and jumped up

was just angry with her for not getting Taylor the help he needed and for letting it get to this point. I was mad at myself, too, for

he?”

called a nurse over, who led us to the

pit of my stomach

was hooked up to so many machines. There was a breathing tube down his throat, his eyes were closed, and his body was pale, thin, and very

whispered, dropping my bag on the floor and running over to the side of his bed. I gripped

“His symptoms were so severe that the doctor had to put him

what’s wrong with

her head. “We’re running a blood panel as we speak. His x -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

give us privacy. Once we were alone,

growled, feeling rage bubble up inside of me. “He’s

did what I could, Nina,” my mother responded, walking around the hospital bed and sitting in the folding chair across from it as the methodical beeping of

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

me,” my mother whispered. There were tears in her own eyes and

your son the

last time I saw him. His cheeks were gaunt and his eyes were sunken in. As I reached out again

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