My Hockey Alpha

Enzo

I let go of Nina’s hand just moments before the portal closed. The last thing I felt was her fingers reluctantly slipping out of mine, and then… I was alone.

Even though I wanted nothing more than to stay in that spot and mourn over having to leave behind Nina, I knew that I needed to act quickly and waste no time. Without spending so much as another second standing there, I turned and began running in the direction of the Alpha King’s mansion.

As I passed through the forest, I eventually came to the spot where I had last seen Luke. I took a few moments to stop there and search for any sign of Luke or Edward, but there was nothing; thankfully, there was no sign that anything sinister had happened to my friend, but on the other hand, I couldn’t exactly be sure if Edward was still out there either. I only hoped that Luke sent Edward limping off with his tail between his legs, never to return — but I knew deep down that that possibility wasn’t very likely.

Still, I had no time to waste. I needed to find my father and get back to Nina as soon as possible, so I had to get moving.

Eventually, by the time night began to fall, I made it to the Alpha King’s mansion. I stopped a little ways away and hid in the forest, watching the mansion from afar; I didn’t know if it was safe for me to just walk right up to the front door, so I needed to observe the guards’ patrol patterns and see if there was any way to get in without being seen. If Selena saw me before anyone else, I was certain that she would get in the way; and if the Alpha King was furious enough to withdraw support in the war on the Crescents over my escape, then I couldn’t be sure that he would exactly listen to me if I just waltzed in there and told him that I knew where his lost daughter was, and that I intended to marry her instead of Selena. No… I had to be careful about this. For now, I just needed to find my father and get out of there. We could deal with Selena and the Alpha King later.

The night began to grow darker. I pulled my hood up and shivered beneath the tree where I hid, feeling the bite of the cold wind against my face. The guards were still patrolling, but I had memorized their pattern by now, and began to prepare to sneak up to the side entrance of the mansion while they changed shifts, which would happen any minute now.

But then, something unexpected happened.

bushes as my mind raced with the possibility that someone had seen me. But

Selena stepped out.

I could tell instantly from her scent that it

I had been doing all this time — until the guards began to change their shifts. Then, like a wraith in the night, she bolted toward the treeline with her black

opportunity to sneak up to the side entrance, and I would have to wait here for another three hours in the cold to get another chance. But, as I stared toward where

going. I knew that this very well might have been a trap, and Fio

disappeared. Quietly, but quickly, I made my way through the forest and followed Selena’s scent from a distance, using my night

longer moving. My heart caught in my throat as I tentatively approached, prepared to shift in case this

darkness. I approached slowly, squinting against the bright light, until the shape of a small house came into view.

A witch’s hut.

distinguished by the protection runes painted or carved into the doors. As I came closer, I could see the runes and all doubt was now removed;

the sound of voices began to carry across the air. I pricked my ears, taking a bit of Fio’s energy to enhance my hearing ability, and crouched in the bushes as

asked. “Can

witch responded in a