My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 350

Yes, I am,” I said, trying to keep my tone neutral. “I’ve been working with his team for a little over a year now.”

Mila nodded. “Interesting. And you’ve been to med school?” She crossed her arms, a small smirk playing on her lips.

“Not yet,” I said with a shake of my head, “but I’ve had a good amount of practical experience and learned a lot from other healthcare professionals.”

“Ahh, practical experience. That must be a small town thing,” she said, scanning her eyes over the array of medical equipment behind the benches. “You see, here in the city, we usually expect our doctors to be fully trained.”

I felt my cheeks warm up with a combination of irritation and embarrassment. I opened my mouth to counter her snide comment but was interrupted.

“Nina, how’s my favorite girl?” Enzo came trotting up to us with nothing more than a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. The other team members were making their way to the bench, their mouths hanging open as they gasped for breath. He was going too hard on them, I could tell. But maybe they needed it.

“Your favorite girl is enjoying the show. You’re doing a great job,” I said, relieved for the change in conversation. “Although you’re going hard on them, I can see.”

Enzo chuckled. “Yeah, well, maybe they need some one to go hard on them,” he said. He then turned to Mila, shooting her a friendlysmile, “How’s everything on your end?”

“Everything is under control,” she said, her voice taking on that sweet tone that it didn’t have with me. Her hand made its way to her shoulder, and she began twirling a strand of dark hair around her finger. “Go as hard as you need to on them. It’s what I’m here for.”

Enzo laughed, but Mila’s quick glance in my direction wasn’t lost on me. I knew what she was implying. I felt my wolf stir in indignation, and I had to quickly look away to hide the redness in my cheeks.

“So,” Enzo continued, “I was thinking we could all grab dinner after this with the team. Tim says there’s a great place nearby. You two up for something to eat?”

“Dinner sounds perfect,” I said, eager for an excuse to move past the awkward conversation. “You in, Mila?”

Mile smirked. “Oh, absolutely. Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she responded, but I couldn’t help but detect a hint of something in her voice, something that suggested dinner would be its own kind of battle.

Enzo squeezed my shoulder. “Alright, I need to get back to the guys.

Nina, you okay here?”

“T’m great,” I replied, forcing a smile. He returned it, kissed me quickly, and then dashed back onto the ice.

As I watched him skate away, I couldn’t help but think about Mila’s snide remarks. My face still felt hot, but having Enzo by my side had a way of putting things into perspective. He wasn’t reciprocating, and that was all that mattered, right?

“So… dinner.” Mila broke the silence. “I’m sure you’re dying to eat.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, it’s getting late. And you know…

” I patted my belly, which was still mostly flat, but carried a tiny life inside of me. ” Eating for two and all that.”

Mila raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about the pregnancy. “So, you must be looking forward to experiencing some city cuisine,” she said. “You know, something other than small town potlucks.”

I clenched my teeth but kept my smile steady. “You would be surprised at how good small town food can be.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” she said. “But there’s no comparison to the big city. Hell, for all you know, your husband might come home to you in six months with a taste for… the finer things in life.”

I frowned, opening my mouth to retort, but Mila was already strutting away. All I could do was watch her as she left, her hips swinging and her eyes on my husband.

Nina

Enzo and I climbed into ourtental car and began making our way toward the restaurant. As Enzo drove, his eyes were on the road, but it seemed as though his attention was somewhere else entirely. The team, perhaps.

“So,” I began, wanting to fill the silence, “Mila seems… interesting.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that she is. She’s very serious about her job, though. I can respect that.”

“Was she this friendly with you last time you visited?” I blurted out.

Enzo paused, then shrugged. “About the same, I guess. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason,” I said, trying to keep my voice nonchalant. “She just seemed invested in our relationship. I figured maybe you talked to her about us last time.”

Enzo laughed. “I did a little. It’s funny, she actually mentioned my wedding ring within the first five minutes of our meeting last time I visited.”

I joined in his laughter, although there was a sinking feeling in my chest. “Well, you should make sure to keep it on. Women in this city will look at you and see you as prime real estate.” Enzo reached across the center console and took my hand, pulling me closer and pressing my fingers to his lips. His hand was warm and comforting, something that I needed after today. “Don’t worry, Nina. This ring only comes off on the ice, and that’s just to keep it safe.”

“1 know,” I replied. But deep inside, a tiny seed of worty had

sprouted. Mila had looked at Enzo a certain way, a way that irked me.

I didn’t mention it to Enzo. It felt petty, especially given the total trust between us.

We fell into a pleasant lull, both lost in our thoughts as the car weaved through the congested streets.

“This city is so different,” I finally said, breaking the silence.

“You can say that again. Everything is so fast-paced, it’s a complete shift from our little town.”

“Do you think you could get used to it? You know, for the next six months?”

He thought for a moment, then shrugged. ” I guess time will tell, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said, squeezing his hand. “It’s going to be an adventure for both of us.”

“Absolutely. And hey, you’re getting a taste of the big city now, and we haven’t even hit the restaurant yet.”

“I’m eager to see if the food lives up to the hype,” I replied, recalling Mila’s comment about ‘small town potlucks’.

Enzo grinned. “Oh, trust me, the team picked out a fantastic spot.

You’re gonna love it.”

“And the team, what are they like?” I asked, genuinely curious.

He grinned. “Oh, they’re a bunch of characters, to say the least.

They all have promise, though. They’re one of the reasons I was willing to take this job.”

“I can tell that you’ve made quite the impression on them already,” I mused. “They looked up to you like a god today.”

“I guess so,” he replied, squeezing my hand again. “But I think you’ll make just as big of an impression tonight. They’re eager to talk with you.”

“Oh, stop it,” I said, blushing. “I’m just excited to meet the people you’ll be spending so much time with.”

“Likewise,” he said as he guided the car into a busy parking lot. ”

But remember, no matter how many new people we meet or how big this city is, it’s always going to be you and me.”

After he parked the car, he leaned in and kissed me softly, and for a brief moment, I forgot all about Mila and the city and the changes ahead. It was just us, and that felt like home.

As the car slowed down, indicating we were close to our destination, I took a deep breath.

“You ready for this?” Enzo asked.

Just then, laughter erupted from the other end of the table, drawing our attention away from our conversation. I leaned in to catch what Enzo was saying:

“So, I told him, ‘If you think that shot was fast, wait until you see what we’ve got planned for the next practice.'”

The team roared with laughter, and I felt a warmth spread through me. This was the man I had fallen in love with —charismatic, engaging, and passionate about his work. I was happy to see him so engrossed in a new chapter of his life, and I was happy to share that chapter with him, despite Mila’s probing comments.

But then, in the middle of the laughter, during a brief lull in the conversation, Mila’s voice rang out.

“Nina, how did you and Enzo meet?”

The table went quiet, all eyes turning to me. Even Enzo looked surprised, albeit intrigued by what appeared to be a simple, innocent question.

But for reasons that I couldn’t explain quite yet, that question felt anything but simple.

Nina

“Well?” Mila asked, as if she were somehow sensing my trepidation. “How did you and Enzo meet?”

Where could I even begin? Enzo and I had met at the bar on the night that my ex-boyfriend cheated on me, we had a one night stand, and then proceeded to spend the following months not only pining for each other, but also battling werewolves, making undead friends, and fighting in wars that neither of us signed up for.

“We… met in college,” 1 said, choosing to keep it simple. College was neutral, uncontroversial, but even as I said it, I knew I was holding back an entire universe of complexity.

“In college? Really?” Mila smirked, swirling her wine around in her glass. “That’s what you’re going with?”

I blanched. “Well, it’s the truth.”

Mila grinned. “Aw, c’mon. There has to be more to it that you’re not sharing with us. Every romantic story I’ve ever heard is filled with sweeping gestures, love at first sight, and at least one serenade under a window.”

My cheeks tinged a light shade of pink. The scrutinizing way Mila looked at me made me feel like I was a specimen under a microscope. Our real story was too complicated, too intimate, too supernatural to be discussed over a casual dinner conversation.

Suddenly, Enzo intervened. “We actually met at a bar. I know, 1 know, it’s not a Disney movie, but it’s the truth.”

‘A bar?” Mila feigned surprise but her eyes twinkled with a kind of Knowing mischief. “I could never picture finding my soulmate while dodging spilled beer and bar fights.”

Enzo shrugged, taking the remark in stride. “Well, crazier things Have happened. We met and had an instant connection, and the rest is history.” His eyes met mine, and he squeezed my hand under the table, but I could sense a hint of hurt in his eyes at my vagueness.

Mila leaned in closer. ” So, Nina, you’re telling me that you found this ‘instant connection’ in a bar? I never took you for that kind of girl.”

I looked at Enzo, who shot me a supportive glance, then back at Mila. “Yes, I did,” I said, my voice lower and more timid than I wanted it to be. “And I’m glad I did.”

Mila set her wine glass down. “That’s so interesting. I must say, I’ve never been the type to pick up men in bars, but…”

“I didn’t ‘pick him up,'”‘ I said, feeling my wolf bristle again. “But we did meet there.”

Mila opened her mouth to say something else, probably another snide remark. But before she could, Tim chimed in, his voice carrying across the table in that signature charismatic tone of his.

“Well, I think it’s a nice story,” he said. “I met my wife at a party in college, so it’s not all that different. And look at us now… Married for twenty years, two kids, and a couple of dogs to boot.”

“Hmm,” Enzo said, glancing at me again in that way that told me that he was a little hurt still. “We’ve got one kid on the way. Maybe it’s time to add a dog to the mix?”

With that, the conversation continued to flow again, and I finally felt like I could breathe. Realizing that 1 needed a moment to myself, though, I excused myself from the table, telling Enzo I would be back in a minute.

The restroom felt lie a river of calm compared to the thinly veiled tension of dinner conversation with Mila. I bent over the sink, taking de ep breaths, letting the coolness of the marble surface seep into my palms. I felt the early waves of morning sickness crashing in, tightening my stomach. I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face.

“I don’t trust her,” my wolf spoke up, breaking the silence in my head. I looked up at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes momentarily taking on a golden sheen, a subtle manifestation of my wolf.