My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 403

Nina

Sarah and I walked into the local cafe together, where we ordered two cups of tea and found a warm corner table to settle in. I sank down into my seat, feeling a little bolstered by the prospect of a new friend.

“So,” Sarah said, taking the lid off of her cup to let her tea cool. The steam wafted up between us, scented like chamomile. “How’s your first pregnancy going?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek and paused for a beat too long. There was, of course, so much I couldn’t tell her. It felt a bit isolating here sometimes, knowing that I had to keep my real nature a secret.

That was the one thing about the werewolf realm that was appealing; there was no need to hide the truth. And yet, there was so much there that was unappeating, too.

Sarah noticed my hesitance and quirked an eyebrow.” mean, if you don’t want to talk about it—”

“Oh, no,

” I said, snapped back to the present all of a sudden. “I just don’t know where to start, that’s all. It’s been a… rollercoaster. To say the least.”

Sarah let out a wry chuckle. “I feel that,” she said. “My first pregnancy was the same way.”I raised an eyebrow. Sarah, who didn’t look much older than me and currently appeared to be about five months pregnant, had already had a first child. “How many children do you have?” I found myself asking.

She smirked and patted her growing bump. “This is my third.”

“Your third?” I asked, then immediately stopped myself when I realized how I sounded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just shocking, that’s all.”

“No worries,” Sarah replied with a laugh. “I get that all of the time. I’m only twenty-seven, and when people hear I’m on my third pregnancy, they’re usually shocked.”

paused for a moment, thinking. I supposed that maybe people would look at me in the same way, someday. “I’m only twenty-one,” I said a bit sheepishly.

“I’m not really showing my bump yet, but I’m sure people will be shocked when I do.”

Sarah nodded. “They certainly will. Being a young mom comes with a certain… stigma attached to it.

People often think that you’re stupid, or you don’t know how to use birth control, or that you’re trapped.”

“I don’t feel trapped,” I muttered, my hand touching my belly.

“Me neither.” Sarah grinned. “But you know, that first pregnancy really was a learning curve. Now, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good understanding of what I’m supposed to do; not just with the pregnancy, but with parenting.”

“How did you get to that point, if you don’t mind me asking?” | replied. “I feel like I’m going into this blind.

It was a surprise pregnancy-not unwelcome, but still a surprise.”

“Well,” she began, a wistful smile on her lips, “I read a lot of books, joined a few online forums. But the best advice I got was from other moms. They told me to trust my instincts and take each day as it comes. And for the record, it’s okay to feel lost. You’re allowed to just figure stuff out as it happens.”

Our conversation flowed easily as Sarah continued to share stories from her first pregnancy and offered tips on everything from dealing with morning sickness to finding comfortable sleeping positions.

I found myself laughing more than I had in a while. It felt nice to talk to someone who understood my situation: another young mom.

However, just as I was beginning to relax, the cafe door opened.

And in walked Lea, accompanied by her entourage of friends.

“Shit,” I muttered, hiding my face with my hand.

Sarah’s gaze followed mine, and her eyes narrowed.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” she whispered.

Lea stopped in the doorway, her predator-like eyes snapping over to us. “Say something, Sarah?” she hissed, sauntering over to us. She paused then, recognizing me. “Oh, if it isn’t the hockey star’s housewife.”

“I’m not a-“I began, but Lea cut me off by whirling around on her heel and walking away, her friends on. her trail.

“Geez,” Sarah said with a slight scoff as we watched them walk away. “Hormones, much?”

“I thought this sort of behavior would have been left behind in high school,” I muttered.

Sarah laughed. “Yeah, right,” she said, then leaned forward, lowering her voice. “From what I hear, Lea cheated on her boyfriend and that’s how she got pregnant. The baby daddy, of course, took off.

Apparently the boyfriend is still in the picture, although she’s always on the prowl for someone’ better’.”

I narrowed my eyes. That explained why she was so intrigued by my marriage with Enzo; she was jealous, after all.

“Look, just ignore her,” Sarah said gently. “Once you stop giving her attention, she’ll move on to someone else.”

“I wouldn’t wish her on my worst enemy,” I retorted with a chuckle.

Sarah smirked. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

Then, something unexpected happened. A patron, a middle-aged woman with an angry look in her eyes, walked up to Lea’s table with a cup of coffee in hand.

She seemed to recognize Lea and paused to speak to her.

I couldn’t make out what exactly was said, but it seemed as though the word ‘homewrecker’ was used.

And then…

In an instant, the woman’s hand jerked, and the coffee spilled all over Lea’s lap. She shrieked, jumping up from her seat, her face contorted in anger and shock.

“Ugh! What the hell is wrong with you?!” Lea cried out, her shirt and pants stained with the brown liquid.” You bitch!”

“Serves you right, you little slut,” the older woman said before storming out, the door slamming behind her.

Lea was livid, her face red as she tried to wipe the coffee off her clothes. Her friends were in a frenzy, offering napkins and water, but she just slapped their hands away and growled obscene remarks, directing her anger at them now instead of the woman who had just spilled coffee all over her.

Meanwhile, Sarah and I exchanged glances, trying to stifle our laughter. It was hard not to feel a sense of poetic justice in the moment, even though I knew l shouldn’t.

“Come on,” Sarah said, standing up. “Let’s get out of here before she comes for us next.”

We left the cafe, stepping out into the cool afternoon air. Once outside and out of sight of the cafe, we burst into laughter, the tension and discomfort from earlier. melting away in the wake of the unexpected incident.

“Oh, that was too good,” I gasped between fits of laughter.

Sarah nodded, wiping away tears from laughing so Kard. “I shouldn’t laugh, but… that was kind of karma, wasn’t it?”

I nodded, still chuckling. “Definitely karma.”

Something about Enzo’s urgency, though, had taken me by surprise.

We were always intimate with each other, with hardly a few days going by in between making love. Even with the pregnancy, I couldn’t keep my hands off of him; maybe even more so now, with all of the hormones raging through my system.

But something was different about tonight. It wasn’t just the way that he had urgently carried me off to the bedroom, like his life depended on it, as soon as my mom and Tyler ran out for dinner together.

It was the way that he had acted afterwards.

Right after, he had said he needed to do something and had quickly dressed before slipping out of the room. I found it a bit odd, and after laying there for fifteen minutes with no return, I finally decided to go and look for him.

I found him in our home office, thanks to the amber light spilling out through the crack under the door.

As I approached, I noticed now how Enzo’s demeanor was different-he seemed somber, lost in thought. He had been in such a good mood all day that something seemed a bit off. So, feeling curious, I stepped into the office and found him sitting at his laptop. Glancing over his shoulder, I saw it.

He was looking at plane tickets.

“What are you doing?” I asked, reaching out to rub his shoulders as I furrowed my brow at what was on his computer screen.

He didn’t immediately respond, his hand raising to lay over mine as he hit ‘confirm’ on the page. Finally, he said softly, “I’m booking a flight to the city. No more waiting. I need to confront Tim about what happened with Mila.”

His voice was firm, but I could detect a hint of trepidation there that he was clearly trying to hide.

My heart skipped a beat. “When are you leaving?” I asked.

Enzo let out a slight sigh, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“First thing in the morning. I need to sort this out once and for all. It’s been hanging over us for too long.”

“I could come with you,” I offered, wanting to be there for him.

He shook his head, finally turning to look at me. His eyes held a determination in them that I recognized immediately, and I knew that there would be no room for arguments.

“No, Nina. I need you to stay here with your mom and Tyler. It’s not good for you to be doing all of the flying in your condition, and besides, I won’t be gone for long. I’ll be back within a day.”

I bit my lip, torn between wanting to support him and understanding the logic in his words. “You’re sure about this?” I finally managed.

He closed his laptop and turned to face me. “I have to do this, Nina. It’s something I need to handle on my own. l promise l’ll be careful. And I’ll be back first thing on Saturday morning.”

I nodded, although it was a bit reluctantly. “Okay, but please be careful,” I said, reaching out to brush a strand of curly brown hair out of his eyes. “If anything goes wrong, you’ll call me right away. Promise?”

He stood up and pulled me into his arms. His hands felt cool and smooth against the soft fabric of the jersey, and the way his fingers slipped across my waist made my wolf stir. “I will. I promise.”

“Enzo,” I said, holding his gaze, “just… make sure you come back to me.”

He smiled softly, cupping my face in his hands. “Always,” he whispered before leaning down to kiss me gently.

As I watched him pack his overnight bag later, a sense of unease settled in my stomach. Enzo was strong and capable, but the thought of him doing this alone worried me. I knew he needed to do this, to handle what had happened with Mila…

But for some reason, I just couldn’t seem to shake the intense feelings of apprehension that had settled in my stomach.

I had a bad feeling about this.