My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 397

Nina

I looked back and forth between my mother and my brother, feeling the weight of their hands on mine.

“You’re joking,” my father said, sounding just as incredulous as I felt at that moment. “You’re staying here? Why?”

“Because she’s my daughter,” my mother said, narrowing her eyes. “Blood or not, she’s mine. I won’t give her ultimatums.”

“Mom, Tyler, you guys really don’t need to do this,” I said, my voice unsteady, looking from my mother to Tyler and then to Enzo, who was still standing silently by my side, his hand resting reassuringly on my back.

But my mother just shook her head. “No, Nina,” she said firmly, her voice carrying a weight that commanded the room’s attention and took even my father by surprise. My mother was usually soft spoken these days, and her outbursts were few and far between. “I am standing by you.”

“Angelica-” my father began, but my mother cut him off with a wave of her hand and a glint in her eyes that left no room for arguments.

“No, Aldric. Nina is right,” she said, her voice firm but not entirely unkind.” Regardless of what happened with Selena, you can’t just go around treating her like an insolent child forever. She’s made her choice. She wants to stay here, in her own home. And if that’s what my daughter wants, then I will stand by her.™

My father scoffed, his gaze flitting between me and my mother. There was a sense of helplessness behind his eyes, a look that made me soften ever so slightly, but neither of us wavered.

“Alright,” he finally said, pursing his lips into a thin, straight line. I’ll be waiting at home whenever you all decide to come back.” With a final dismissive wave, he stepped back through the portal, which closed behind him with a hiss.

A palpable void was left in the portal’s and my father’s wake, the air crackling with the last remnants of leftover energy.

The room fell into a stunned silence once my father was gone. I took in a shuddering breath, absorbing the weight of the situation. Enzo’s hand tightened slightly on my back, a silent but knowing gesture of support.

I turned to my mother then, unable to contain the million questions that were swirling in my mind.

“Mom, why… why did you change your tune like that?” I asked, my voice a mixture of confusion and gratitude for her sudden support. “The other day, I thought you were on my dad’s side.”

My mother let out a soft sigh, looking around our living room. Her gaze lingered on the large window that took up an entire wall of the living room, but it was too dark to see outside now. Our reflections stared back at us, watching us intently.

“Nina, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said the other night,” she said softly. “About the original Peacekeepers.”

I furrowed my brow. “You have?”

My mother nodded. “I realized that you were right; we were just kids, but it didn’t make our efforts any less true. We all cared for each other immensely, despite what wound up happening in the end.”

I watched as she walked over to the window, her eyes straining to see out into the darkness.

“That’s nice, Mom, but that still doesn’t answer my question,” I said quietly.” You two didn’t have to stay. I don’t want to put a strain between you two and my dad.”

My mother shrugged. “I want to stay because you’re my daughter, and Iwant to be here for you. And besides, who am I to try and make your pack fall apart by forcing you to come back to the werewolf realm?” she asked. ” You’ve found something special here, Nina. Something real.”

I felt a lump form in my throat, my eyes stinging with tears. This acknowledgment from my mother, her understanding of what I had found with Enzo and my friends, it meant more than I could express at that moment.

“Mom.” I whispered, stepping forward to embrace her. Tyler joined us, wrapping his arms around us both. We stood there in a tight hug, a family reunited not just by blood but by understanding and acceptance.

“I’m just worried,” I said, pulling back slightly to look at my mother. “Worried that you and Tyler will be fighting with dad now.”

My mother shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “Your father is stubborn, just like you, but he’ll come to his senses eventually. He loves us, Nina. He just has a hard time showing it sometimes, that’s all.”

Enzo, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke. “I’m glad you’re staying, Angelica, Tyler. It means a lot to Nina, and to me. You’re both more than welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

I nodded in agreement, my hand hovering over my belly, where the little life was growing all too quickly inside of me. “Besides,” I said softly, “I won’t deny the fact that it’s a bit of a relief to have my mom here to see me through this journey.”

My mother smiled, placing her hand over mine. “It’s what a mother is for,” she said, before pulling away and looking around. “Now… A tour?”

Enzo and I exchanged glances, a silent agreement. Tyler and my mother hadn’t been to this house yet, but we had the space for them. We led them upstairs, where there were two spare bedrooms; one for each of them

“Wow,” Tyler sald, sinking down onto his queen-sized mattress and bouncing a bit. “Nice place you’ve got here, sis.”

I laughed. “It belonged to Enzo’s dad, Richard.”

Al the mention of Richard’s name, my mother’s gaze softened. She said nothing, but I could tell that she was traveling through a whole lot of memories just at the sound of his name. They had, after all, been in the Peacekeepers together.

Next, we led my mother to her room; it was right across the hall from ours, and had a similar window that looked out over the ocean. As my mother looked around, she paused for a moment before turning back to face me.

“You’re sure we can stay for a bit?” she asked. “I guess I sort of realized that I made the decision for you without ever asking.”

“Mom, please,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “You’re more than welcome to stay.” To access the complete chapters for free, visit Jo b ni b.com.”Besides,” Enzo said as he put his arm around me and pulled me a little closer, “it gets a little lonely up here, so far from town.”

My mother nodded, looking pleased. “Well then,” she said. “Tyler and I will make sure to bother you both as much as possible. To combat the loneliness, of course.”

I rolled my eyes, but there was no real heat in it. “C’mon,” I said, nodding my head toward the hallway. “I was just about to make dinner. And I think we’ve got some catching up to do.”

“You’re right,” my mother said, crossing the room to meet me as her eyes glinted with something that I had never seen before. “In fact, I believe we’ve got quite a lot of catching up to do.”

Nina

The kitchen was filled with the aroma of spices and the sound of sizzling as my mother and I cooked dinner together. Tyler and Enzo had retired to the other room to play a video game on the TV, and every so often the sounds of their excited voices floated through. Normally, Enzo would have cooked with me. but it was nice to have some alone time with my mom after everything that had happened

One crisp morning. I decided to take a walk, seeking the salace of the outdoors. Enzo was off with the rest of the pack doing some patrols, and my mother and Tyler were still fast asleep. I slipped out of the house before they awoke, leaving a note that I would be back soon as a last thought.

I took the car to town, where I stopped in the local cafe for some tea- the doctor had banned coffee for the remainder of the pregnancy, which was a bit depressing.

A little while later, I found myself wandering towards the campus. The air was warm, but not too warm, the perfect early summer morning. My feet carried me all of their own accord, though, and it wasn’t long before I realized exactly where I was headed.

I was headed to the place where Tiffany’s memorial was placed.

We had never found her body. Whatever the Crescents had done with it, I didn’t want to imagine it. So, after weeks of searching the area to no avail, we had decided to place a memorial in the woods near where she had died.

The dean had held a gathering there for the beloved school doctor, and now there was a little bench next to the spot, a place where people could come to reflect.

I took in a shaky breath as I approached. Admittedly, I didn’t come here often; it wasn’t easy to bring myself to visit this place. But my wolf stirred as I walked up to the bench, and I knew that she had pulled me here without even realizing it.

Maybe I needed to talk to Tiffany. Maybe she was lonely.

I sat there in silence for a while, just enjoying the sounds of nature as l sipped my tea. But the longer I sat there, the more the air seemed to shift; it felt as though I wasn’t alone anymore. Not as if I was being watched, but rather.. as if l had a little company.

If 1 closed my eyes, I could picture her sitting right beside me, listening intently. And it was as I sat there, with my eyes closed, that the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Tiffany, I miss you so much,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I wish you were here, to see all that’s happening.”

I waited for an answer, but of course there was none. There would never be an answer. I couldn’t figure out if that was comforting or if it just made things worse.

When I finally opened my eyes and wiped my misty tears away, I looked up and noticed a little orange bird perched on a nearby branch. It was just an ordinary bird, yet something about it felt different.

It didn’t fly away as I stared at it, its eyes watching me with an intensity that seemed…

Unnatural.

A suspicion crept into my mind, that perhaps this was why I didn’t feel alone; this was my father’s spy. It had to be could sense it.

Feeling anger fuel my movements, I set my tea down with a slam and jumped to my feet. I stormed over to the low branch where it sat, reaching out for it. It fluttered and squawked angrily, but I was too quick.

“Got you, you little shit,” I hissed through bared teeth.

But then, as my hand closed around the bird, something happened; there -was a sudden flurry of movement, a whirl of feathers and then.. It shifted.

Before my eyes, the bird transformed, Its form until a stood in front of me.