My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 323

I laughed, momentarily taken aback by her directness. “Yes, I’m married. Happily, might I add.”

Mila’s smile morphed into something enigmatic, a strange blend of amusement and intrigue. She tossed a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder and folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I must say, I’d be very curious to meet the woman who captured you.”

Her comment stirred a blend of unease and curiosity in me. It was not the first time women had flirted with me; the combination of athleticism and the sort of ‘celebrity’ status that came with being a hockey player often attracted a certain level of attention.

Yet, something about Mila’s tone-maybe it was its unsettling blend of sincerity and humor-made the moment linger in an uncomfortable way.

But I shook it off. “I’m sure you will get to meet her,” I said. “She’s the team doctor in

Mountainview. Perhaps you two could get along.” Mila nodded, but there was something in her gaze that indicated that she didn’t particularly like my comment. Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free.A silence fell between us as we continued watching the scrimmage. It was then, after having mentioned Nina, that a pang of guilt washed over me; I hadn’t called her since last night, and I knew she wasn’t feeling as well as she let on. I should have checked on her, but i got so caught up in everything that it slipped my mind.

Mila must’ve sensed my sudden detachment because her voice took on a softer tone. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind. Anything you want to share with the team doctor?”

I hesitated, grappling with the boundaries of professional and personal disclosure. Finally, I opted for a generalized truth. “Just the future, I guess. There’s a lot happening right now, and I have responsibilities at home, too.”

Mila nodded, and there was that flicker in her eyes again. Not annoyance, but something else… hope, maybe?

“Well,” she said, “if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. That is, assuming your… wife… is too busy, of course.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

“Sorry,” I said, slipping my phone out of my pocket.

Mila’s face tightened. “No worries. It was nice meeting you, Enzo.”

“Yeah,” T said, managing a smile. “You too.”

As Mila walked away, I returned my attention to my phone. The screen displayed a notification for a new voicemail-from Nina. My heart tightened instinctively; she rarely ever left voicemails unless something was up.

I stepped away from the arena, finding a quieter corner to listen to her message. Her voice filled my ears, sweet and soothing as always, but there was something in her tone that I couldn’t quite place. A hesitation, maybe?

“Hey, it’s me. I’m…” There was a long pause. Too long, in fact. Instantly, I felt an unsettling pull in my stomach. Was she okay? “I’m just calling to… uh, check in. I wanted to see how you’re doing. I…I miss you.”

The message ended abruptly, leaving me staring at my phone as if it could offer some explanation.

Nina’s usual enthusiasm was oddly absent, replaced by that unexplained pause, that hesitation.

I quickly tapped out a text, my fingers hovering, over the send button for a moment before I pushed my doubts aside and hit it. “Hey, just got your voicemail. Sorry, it’s been a little crazy here.

Everything okay? You sounded a bit off.”

Almost immediately, my phone buzzed with her reply. “I’m fine, love. Just one of those days, you know? Enjoy your weekend, and you can tell me all about it when you get home.”

“Fine” and “one of those days” were phrases that could mean anything and everything. I’d been married to Nina long enough to know that her “I’m fine” often had multiple interpretations, some far less reassuring than others.

But before I could think of an answer, the scrimmage ended, and Tim waved me down to meet the team.

Nina

I was standing in the middle of a dark forest, the air heavy and thick with fog. Moonlight pierced through the canopy of tall pine trees, casting elongated shadows that seemed to dance and flicker in the wind.

“Go! Leave me alone!”

My voice came out as nothing more than a strained, desperate whimper, rather than the bold cry that I had intended.

And the shadow entity remained, unfazed and omnipresent.

Finally, unable to bear its mocking presence any longer, I looked up, my eyes meeting its formless gaze. ‘Who are you?”

In answer, the shadow entity’s silhouette contorted, its voidlike face shifting to form an impossibly wide grin, baring a row of sharp, white teeth.

And then it did something that sent chills racing down my spine-it pointed at me with its long, spindly finger.

Suddenly, I was jolted awake thanks to the sound of the doorbell blaring through the house. The pain in my leg dissipated just as quickly as it came. I was back on the couch again where I had fallen asleep before, a movie playing softly on the TV as the scent of herbal tea wafted through the house.

How long had I even been asleep? It couldn’t have been long.

With a shaking hand, I reached up to wipe a bit of sweat away from my brow, and groaned softly. The doorbell rang loudly again, causing me to jump a bit. With a sigh, I stood and made my way to the door.

“Nina, we came as soon as we heard.”

Before I even opened the door, Lori was bursting in with Jessica on her heels. They both stopped to shoot me a worried glance, clearly taken aback by my haphazard, half-asleep appearance.

“I… Um.” I paused, furrowing my brow as my brain scrambled to think of how they knew already. Then, I remembered: Luke. I had fallen asleep just minutes after he left. Somehow, he had already managed to blab to Lori and Jessica in that amount of time.