My Hockey Alpha

Chapter 272: Study Buddies

Nina

The end of the semester was just around the corner, which meant that final exams were on their way. And considering how much time I had spent that semester dealing with what felt like everything except for my classes, I needed to study.

When I wasn’t training the new recruits with Enzo over the following week, I was studying in the library. I stayed up late every night to cram as much as I could, and found myself reverting back to the way that I used to be before it felt as though the world was falling apart; just a normal college student who wanted to pass her exams.

If I pushed everything else out of my mind, it did feel as though everything was normal.

But it wasn’t.

And I couldn’t really push everything else out of my mind for more than five minutes. With the Crescents potentially returning at any moment, it felt as though the world was collapsing in on me. It made it difficult to focus on studying, and if I was being honest, the fact that the school was still running at this point almost felt silly to me. I wished that everything could just be put on hold until the Crescents were no longer a threat, but at the same time I knew that the Crescents would likely be a threat for a long time, and the world needed to go on. Students had already paid their tuition, and future doctors and lawyers were studying to go out into the world. Just because the Crescents were hell-bent on taking over the world didn’t mean that it needed to stop turning.

And so, despite everything, I spent my days and nights when not training studying in the library.

One evening, on a Wednesday, I had been in the library for at least six hours at that point. I had lost track of how much time I had spent in there, and was only able to measure the time I had spent studying that day by the number of cardboard to-go coffee cups I threw in the trash. By the time I finally looked up at the clock on the wall to see that it was almost midnight, I had counted seven cups of coffee throughout the day.

“Shit,” I whispered to myself, rubbing my tired eyes. “It’s late.”

I was too tired and bleary-eyed at that point to study for any longer, so I decided to close my book on human anatomy and pack up my things for the night. I stood, cracking my back after sitting in pretty much the same position all day, and stretched for a moment before grabbing my bag and heading out of the library.

was heading out, someone else was heading in.

to hustle past me, but froze when I called out to

said. “Can we

Claiming ceremony since it happened; but I hadn’t been able to find Selena anywhere.

looked over her shoulder

to interrupt my studying?” she asked, shifting her

bit my lip for a moment, watching her, before I took a sharp breath. “I’m really sorry about the whole Claiming

scoffed. “No you’re not,” she growled. “You’re

girl in there a couple of times, and I was determined to draw that spark out. Even if it took years, I was determined to get her to see me as a sister and not an enemy, despite what she had done in the past. I knew that the Luna had probably whispered all sorts of things in her ear, and

am sorry,” I said, walking up to her. “I really

and a dirty glare in her eyes. “I’ve given you plenty of reasons not

had given me, and everyone

is possible for you to gain my trust,” I said softly. “We’re

though I had once again surprised her by being gentle with my words. It

she asked, finally turning to face me fully. “You want me to prove

at the same time. “Yeah, sort of. If you can prove to me that you’re not just gonna use your powers to hurt people again, then I’ll

blue eyes were the only thing that kept me from feeling as though I

long time, Selena opened her mouth

but I’ll say this: the Luna has an army of those special rogues.

time with Selena. Without another word, she hiked