My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 354

Nina

Too soon.

Enzo’s question hung in the air after he uttered those words, and it felt like a knife had twisted itself in my gut. “Too soon?” I managed, my voice hardly more than a whisper. “What do you mean? That you regret it?”

he shifted uncomfortably, avoiding my gaze. “I just mean, everything happened so fast between us. We met, got together a few months later, then got married, and now there’s a baby on the way. It’s a lot, Nina.”

“So what?” I felt a sharp sting in my chest. “Are you saying you regret it?”

“No, I didn’t say that,” he quickly clarified, but his hesitation had already sown a seed of doubt in my mind.

“But it sounds like it, Enzo,” I pressed, feeling a surge of emotion. “It sounds like you’re having second thoughts about us, about our family.” He ran a hand through his hair, a sign of his frustration. “That’s not what I meant. I love you, Nina. I love that we’re going to have a family. I just wonder if we moved too quickly, that’s all.” I felt a mixture of anger and sadness churning inmy stomach. “Moved too quickly? Enzo, we’re werewolves. We have fated mates. It’s not like we’re a normal couple who dated for years before settling down. This is how our lives are meant to be.”

“Yeah, but just because we’re werewolves, it doesn’t mean we don’t have choices,” Enzo countered. “We could have taken more time, gotten to know each other better.”

I scoffed, feeling a bitter taste in my mouth. “So you’re saying that what? You wish we had dated longer? That we didn’t get married? That I wasn’t pregnant?”

“No, Nina, don’t twist my words,” Enzo said, his tone growing sharper. “I’m just trying to say that maybe we should have considered our options more.

That’s all.”

“Our options?” My voice rose in pitch. “What options, Enzo? The option to not be with your fated mate? The option to not have this child?”

He sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. ” You’re not getting what I’m saying. I’m just trying to have an honest conversation about our relationship.”

“An honest conversation?” I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “This doesn’t feel like an honest conversation. It feels like you’re questioning our entire relationship.”

Enzo’s expression hardened. “I’m not questioning our relationship. I just… Hell, I don’t know. I guess I’ve been wondering what it would have been like if we had just given ourselves a chance to just… date each other first. But it’s not that I regret anything.”Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free. I scoffed. “Well, that’s what happens when you start a relationship in the midst of a war. We were trying to survive, not go on dates. And for the record, you’re the one who proposed to me.”

“I know that, Nina,” he replied, his voice growing weary. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have these thoughts, these questions. It’s natural to wonder what if.”

I felt my heart clench. “What if what, Enzo? What if you hadn’t met me? What if we weren’t together? Is that what you’re wondering?”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Enzo said, his frustration evident. “I just wonder if we had taken things slower, would things be different? Would we be different?”

“Are you unhappy with how things are, the way they are now?” I asked. My voice cracked ever so slightly, and I had to look out the window to hide the blush that was creeping into my cheeks. The hotel started to come into view.

Enzo looked at me, his eyes softening. “No, I’m not unhappy. I love you, Nina. I love our life together. I just… I don’t know. I’m just trying to process everything.”

I shook my head, feeling a mix of sadness and anger. “I just don’t understand what there is to’ process’ right now. Our marriage? Our child?”

He took a deep breath, as if trying to find the right words. “I just think we need to make sure we’re on the same page, that’s all.”

“On the same page?” I repeated, feeling a sense of helplessness. “I thought we were on the same page.

I thought we were in this together.”

“We are, Nina,” Enzo insisted. “But we also need to be honest with each other, about our feelings, our fears.”

“My fears?” I felt a surge of emotion. “My only fear is losing you, Enzo. And right now, it feels like I’m doing just that.”

Enzo reached out to me, but I pulled away. “Nina, please, let’s not do this. Let’s not argue.”

“But we are arguing, Enzo,” I said, my voice trembling. “Because you’re questioning everything we have, everything we are.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Enzo said, his voice filled with a mixture of sadness and frustration.

“It sure feels like it,” I replied, feeling tears well up in my eyes. “It feels like you’re questioning our entire life together.”

“We just need to communicate better, that’s all,” Enzo said, his voice softer now.

“Communicate?” I scoffed. “This doesn’t feel like communication. This feels like you’re doubting us, doubting our future.”

Enzo looked at me, his expression pained. “I’m not doubting us, Nina. I just want to make sure we’re both happy, that’s all.”

“I was happy,” I said quietly. Tears threatened to spill, and it was all I could do to blink them away before that happened. “I still am. But now I’m wondering if you aren’t, if this…” I paused, looking down at my belly, where a little life was taking root.

“If this whole pregnancy thing is what you actually want.”

Enzo sighed as he pulled into a parking spot. “I’m sorry, Nina,” he said gently. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel that way. I am happy, I’m just… I don’t know. I guess I’m still figuring it out.

Everything seems so up in the air.”

“Well, you only have so long to figure it out,” I murmured. “This baby is coming sooner or later, and both of us need to be on the same page. So if you don’t want this life with me, then you’d better tell me now.”

“I do want this life with you. I love you, Nina. More than anything.”

Enzo’s eyes met mine, and he nodded.

“Promise.”

I couldn’t take the distance anymore. Seeing that look in Enzo’s eyes softened me, and I found myself moving closer, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hugged me back instantly, his arms warm and strong around my body.

“We still have time, you know,” I murmured into his ear.

He nodded as he nuzzled into my neck. “You’re right.

So let’s make the most of it, okay? No more arguing…” I nodded. “Okay. No more arguing.”

I was tossing and turning that night, unable to sleep.

Enzo’s breathing was steady beside me, but I couldn’t find the same peace. Although we had talked it out, the remnants of our argument still lingered in the back of my mind.

He had made a point, after all; we had moved awfully fast. And now, it got me wondering… how much more of our lives would fly by like this? How many years would we spend just trying to survive?

I slid out of bed, careful not to wake him, and wrapped a hotel robe around my shoulders. The room felt claustrophobic, suffocating, as if the walls were closing in on me.

I needed air, space, something to clear my head.

The hotel was quiet as I made my way through the dimly lit hallways, the plush carpet muffling my footsteps.

I reached the lobby, where the night receptionist was leaning on the counter and reading a book. She looked up when I walked in, and shot me a warm smile.

“Did you need something?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, um… I’m just stretching my legs, trying to clear my head,” I said.

She nodded, her smile never fading. She then pointed down the hall where a set of double doors led outside.” There’s a nice garden out there. I like to go out there when I need a little fresh air.”

I followed her finger, then shot her a grateful smile.”

Perfect. Thank you.”

I stepped outside into the little garden, and the cool evening air was a relief against my hot skin. There was a little bench off to the side, so I walked over and sat down. I closed my eyes for a few moments, breathing in the chilly air and listening to the sounds of the city.