My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 360

As I waited my turn, I couldn’t help but notice the other travelers around me. Families saying goodbye, friends sharing one last laugh, lovers holding onto each other before the inevitable separation.

It was a reminder that, even though I often felt worlds apart from the rest of humanity, we were the same; despite what existed in my blood, I was still human to my core.

When it was finally my turn to pass through security, I turned to steal one last glimpse at Enzo.

He was still standing by the entrance, watching me with a mix of worry and something else I couldn’t quite read. Our eyes met, and I offered him another tiny wave.

“I love you,” I mouthed, blowing him a kiss. He smirked, lifting his hand to catch the kiss. I couldn’t help but giggle a bit as he pretended to put it in his pocket.

And then, just like that, he was gone. I watched his form fade through the double doors, and then he was out of sight.

As I boarded the plane later, I couldn’t help but feel a sickening sense of trepidation. I was only going home, but it felt different. I wasn’t just heading home after a vacation; I was rushing home in the wake of something terrifying.

A flight attendant offered me a warm smile as she passed by, but I could only manage a feeble response. My hand instinctively moved to my belly, the constant touch a source of reassurance and comfort.

As the plane taxied down the runway and lifted off into the morning sky, I felt my anxieties rise along with the giant metal bird. The city below eventually faded into the distance, and ahead of us was nothing but pinkish blue sky as the sun began to warm the earth.

I turned my gaze to the window, my reflection staring back at me. My hand was still over my belly.

I pressed it down a little more firmly as though that could somehow protect the little life inside of me, the little life that seemed as though it had been constantly hanging in the balance since I discovered it.

And for just a moment, I allowed myself to consider the possibilities: the joyful meeting with my first born child, or perhaps something far worse.

Maybe that possibility was something that I would have to come to terms with.

“Excuse me,” a voice said from beside me, breaking me out of my deep train of thought.

I looked away to see an elderly woman sitting beside me, her brown eyes shining from behind her wrinkled skin.

“Yes?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

She smiled, pausing for a moment as though choosing her words carefully, before she pointed at my belly. “Are you pregnant?”

Now, I was the one who hesitated for a moment, swallowing, before I finally nodded. “I am.”

The old woman’s eyes lit up. “Oh, how wonderful,” she cooed, clasping her hands together. “I could sense it on you. You’re positively glowing.”

I quirked an eyebrow, surprised. “Really?”

She nodded. “Yes. I was a midwife for decades, and let me just say… you seem like you’ve got a wonderful, healthy pregnancy in front of you.

Really, I wish you all the best.”

I didn’t know what to say. The old woman’s words seemed so profound and out of the ordinary, that it almost felt like a sign, or as if she had read my mind.

All I could manage was a simple “T-Thank you,” before I returned my attention to the window.

I couldn’t help but smile as I looked out at the window, and think that maybe that was the reminder that I needed: that despite all of the darkness, there was still light in the world. Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free.There was still the pinkish hue of the rising sun, the white tufts of clouds in the sky, and an old woman’s vibrant eyes.

And that, I decided, would be the thing that kept me going. I was sure of it.

Enzo

I had just arrived for practice at the hockey arena, and was waiting for the team to arrive. I was standing by the coffee machine in the breakroom, and the only sound was that of the coffee spurting out into the cup. This was already my third cup this morning, but I hardly slept last night.

After the run-in with the fortune teller, I couldn’t help but lay awake all night worrying about Nina. I kept looking over at her as if she would suddenly just pop out of existence —but of course she was always there, sleeping beside me.

Or maybe she wasn’t sleeping. She kept tossing and turning all night too, and this morning her eyes were ringed with two dark circles. Even as I said goodbye at the airport, she looked exhausted. I hoped that all of this stress and traveling wouldn’t put her pregnancy at even more risk than it already was.

“God,” I thought to my wolf, shaking my head slightly. “I can’t believe I was actually doubting our new family the other day. I feel so stupid now…”

“It’s natural,” my wolf responded. “You were unsure. That’s okay. But now you know what you want, which is —”

“I know, Tim,” I finally said with a sigh. “I’ll still think about it. But I need some time before I can make any commitments. At least when it comes to moving my starting date so far forward.”

Tim sighed, his disappointment evident but not empathetic. “Of course. Take your time, Enzo.” He rose from his chair, still holding the coffee cup, and raised it slightly as he turned to leave. “Oh, and thanks for the coffee. It’s much appreciated.”

“No problem.”

As Tim left the breakroom, I grabbed my coffee from the machine and sank down into one of the chairs around the round table.

I knew the weight that this decision carried; it wasn’t just a huge step toward my dreams, but it was a huge step toward our future as well.

If Nina and I were going to start a family so young, I wanted to be able to support us— especially while she was in medical school, which would take years.

Of course I wasn’t going to let my wife and mother of my child wait tables for money while she was also juggling such a rigorous program.

But at the same time, I knew the implications that leaving her so early held. Yes, it was a relief that she was headed back to the werewolf realm to stay with her parents, but it still terrified me.

After what the fortune teller had said, I was even more determined to be by her side now. What if she needed me? What if something happened and 1 couldn’t be there right away?

It wasn’t as simple as opening a portal here in the city like it was in Mountainview, and that was what made Mountainview so special; it was a ‘thin spot’, a place where the veil between the realms was thin enough to create temporary rifts to travel through.

That, as far as I knew, was simply not possible here in the city. I was fairly certain that there weren’t even any other werewolves in the city. For all I knew, there weren’t many other supernaturals at all. It would be isolating here in more ways than one.

However, I knew that there was no use in trying to make a decision right this second. I needed to give it a little time, wait until Nina visited the witch before I started panicking. Only then could I decide whether it would be too dangerous to leave her or not.

So for now, all I could do was wait. Instinctively, I slipped my phone out of my pocket as I sipped my coffee. Of course there was no call or text from Nina; she was probably still high in the sky, hardly halfway to Mountainview.

With a sigh, I slipped my phone back into my pocket. I could hear the hockey team approaching, their boisterous voices echoing in the expansive arena.

“Okay,” I murmured to myself, standing. “One thing at a time, Enzo.”