My Hockey Alpha

Enzo

Several days passed after my father found me in the hockey rink, and I didn’t see or hear from Nina. I didn’t particularly want to, either. In my mind, she was probably with Ronan. I knew I wasn’t supposed to feel negatively about it and that we were just supposed to be friends all this time, but how could I not? Even with the promise of the bride of the arranged marriage being my fated mate, I couldn’t stop thinking about Nina. I couldn’t sleep without imagining her small body curled up in my arms. I couldn’t close my eyes without remembering how beautiful she looked that day when I told my team about werewolves, and yet I was so angry and hurt by her refusal to admit her true feelings for me that I didn’t want to see her at the same time.

Maybe learning about the arranged marriage pushed her away from me, but it didn’t make the pain of her choosing Ronan over me hurt any less. And as the days ticked on, the memories of her going on that date to the fair with Ronan, of her entertaining Justin’s pleas for her to get back together with him, of the way that she saved Ronan’s life even when he had just been trying to kill me… It all made me realize that I never truly had a chance with her to begin with.

I was sitting on my couch one night, drowning my sorrows in a bad scary movie and a cheese pizza, when I was suddenly alerted by the loud and abrupt sounds of someone banging relentlessly on my door. Cursing under my breath, I paused my movie and stood, peering through the peephole to see none other than Luke standing on the other side. His face was pressed up against the peep hole, as though he was trying to see through the wrong end, then he pulled away and started knocking even harder.

Had Nina sent him to try to talk to me?

“Open the door, Enzo,” Luke said, banging on the door again. “I can see the shadow of your feet under the door, and I heard you watching that awful movie. I know you’re in there.”

Sighing, I unlocked the door and swung it open. Luke pushed past me and stormed in, whirling around to face me in my kitchen.

“You’re eating pizza at a time like this?” he said incredulously.

I furrowed my brow. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t know?” he asked. “Nina just fucking disappeared.”

“Yeah, she probably holed herself up in her dorm, or went back to stay with her mom for all I know,” I replied. “She’s probably just trying to get away from all of the social media bullshit until it passes. Either that, or she ran off into the sunset with her new boyfriend, Ronan.”

nonchalant about this,” he said, then walked up to me and took me by both shoulders, shaking me back and forth as he spoke. “Nina. Is. Gone. I would know if she

widened. “Fuck,” I

that psycho does something horrible to her and does the same

with Nina for what she did, but… I loved her. I knew I loved her, and I had to protect her. As I ran around my apartment, throwing on the first clothes I could find, all I could think about was how much of an idiot I had been for assuming that Nina hadn’t actually been in serious trouble all of this time. It was almost as if whatever Lisa said to me at the party that night actually got in my head.

we hurry, we can get Edward before he leaves his office,” Luke

his abilities relied on his mind and not his body. Between Luke and I, maybe we could tackle him and

how foolish all of this was. I

chance against Edward,” I said. “He’s too smart. He’ll be on the lookout for us,

frowned. “What do you

with Ronan of her own volition. Surely she had learned that from Edward, especially since he was the one who likely gave both her and Justin the Mad Wolf

give us the information we need,” I

…

She was sitting at the fire with her gaggle of friends when I arrived, like some sort of queen bee in her little kingdom made of lies and manipulation.

said as I approached. “Who’s your

talk to you,” I said, stopping to stand

in place in case she refused to talk to me alone, but thankfully, she

she said

after her. I kept myself between her and the door. She nonchalantly walked over to the bed and sat down as she twirled a bit of her

here for old times’ sake,”