My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 412

Nina

“State your purpose, outsiders,” the knife-wielding man repeated as more people emerged from the vivid foliage. Ifurrowed my brow as I took in their appearances; they certainly appeared human, but my wolf picked up a strange scent as I looked at them.

They were shifters, but not wolves; much like that strange woman I saw in the crowd in the city. I tore my eyes away from a woman with almost catlike eyes to meet Luke’s panicked gaze.

I raised my hands slowly against the blade’s cold threat. “Please, we mean no harm,” | began shakily. “I’m just searching for my husband, Enzo. He was taken hostage and the trail led us here unexpectedly…”

I hesitated under their silent scrutiny before pushing on.

“If he passed through, please-we only want to bring him safely home. Well leave without causing any trouble, I promise.”

I awkwardly met the gaze of one of the people, my heartbeat thrumming in my chest. For several seemingly endless seconds, our motley greeting committee only stared at us, their heads inclined, as if they were puzzling over some unspoken consensus.

Then, abruptly, harsh words in a strange melodic tongue passed between them. Before I could react, rough hands grabbed both of my arms and hauled me to my feet.

*Hey!” Luke snarled, shrugging his own captors off violently before they could restrain him fully. Chaos exploded for several long seconds as he grappled against six large men.

I screamed protests, only to choke as the knife returned to my throat, causing Luke to freeze.

“Luke, stop! I’m alright” I said hurriedly. He shot me a desperate lo ok but stopped struggling as the knife traced my skin.

“There’s been a misunderstanding.” I gasped out. “Please, I’m. I’m the daughter of the Alpha King. If harm comes to me…”

My voice trailed off as I saw that no recognition flashed through their eyes as I mentioned my father. They merely whispered again in those strange lilting words that I couldn’t decipher.

Then, before I knew it, we were being roughly dragged along a nearly invisible trail through impossibly huge trees with Luke swearing furiously the whole way.

It was all a dizzying blur-my heart was lodged too high in my throat as our small party emerged abruptly into an unexpected village. Small that ched roof buildings blended organically into the surrounding jungle.

I hardly processed the startled looks aimed our way from onlookers before being shoved through a low doorway. Candles flickered to life as my knees hit packed a tile floor. I barely registered Luke colliding beside me before the woven hanging fell, muffling the outside noise. To access the complete chapters for free, visit J o b nib . c o m “This is absurd,” he bit out, helping me to my feet. “Where the hell are we?” I struggled to my feet, dusting my knees off. “They either didn’t recognize my father’s title or they didn’t care,” I said softly. “Which could mean anything.*

Luke looked ready to brainstorm more when the door covering was suddenly swept aside again. We both jumped as a tall woman with long golden hair swept inside, her face unreadable.

Luke stepped partly in front of me protectively. “Who are you?” he asked.”

What do you want?™

The woman frowned at us, then held up her hands. The message was clear —no immediate threat was intended. Luke hovered a breath away, though, as the woman crossed the small space slowly.

Regarding us with eyes that seemed to shift between shades of blue and green in the dim light. she extended both hands, murmuring something incomprehensible.

I glanced at Luke hesitantly. “I dön’t understand…”

Something like frustration tightened the woman’s mouth before she tried again, gesturing oddly at me. With my brow furrowed, I followed her urgent motions and looked down-and my heart stopped.

Dark crimson was staining the woven mats beneath my feet. No no no…

My knees wobbled dangerously, but Luke gripped me under the elbows, cursing violently. “What did you monsters da to her? She’s pregnant!” he hissed.

The woman held up both palms placatingly now to calm his fury. She spoke soft foreign words, reaching gentle fingers toward my abdomen. I flinched involuntarily, but didn’t move away.

“What is she..” I began, but my voice trailed off when she shot me a strange glance.

Delicately, she spread both palms over my belly and shut her eyes. Nothing happened at first, but then… waves of warmth cascaded through my core, transforming my panic into abrupt calm. The tension seemed to slip out from my frame under that comforting heat until she finally withdrew, smyling sadly.

“My baby?” I bit out desperately.

She shook her head, gesturing until I understood: not a miscarriage. Thank god.

The woman then nodded approvingly at my understanding before fluidly returning to her feet. I grabbed her wrist without thinking. “Please, someone took my husband,” I pleaded with her. “We only want to find him and then we’ll leave peacefully.”

Her piercing eyes softened further. Gently, she pried away my clutching fingers, saying something in her language. Then she slipped gracefully outside.

“What the hell just happened?” Luke whispered, turning to face me. “Are you alright?”

I swallowed and nodded. “I’m fine. In fact… I feel great.” I said softly.

“Well, at least that’s one good thing.” Luke paused, crossing over to a small window. He pulled the curtain aside to reveal a small garden in the back. * Maybe we should go,” he said. “We could fit through this window.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

We were just about to slip through the window, in fact, when the coverings over the door fluttered open and bathed the room in light. Luke and I froze, turning to see that the woman had returned; and she wasn’t alone.

A man stepped forward then. He eyed both of us suspiciously, and was carrying an unlit lantern in his hand

“Who do you seek?” he asked.

I swallowed, glancing over at Luke, who shot me a supportive nod. “Erm…

Enzo Rivers,” I said softly, my fingers trailing over my pregnant belly. “My husband.”

The man hummed to himself as he gazed at my belly, and then leaned toward the woman. They spoke in hushed tones for a few moments before he nodded.

“You’re pregnant with his child?”

I nodded. “Yes. What do that have to-”

“Come with me, then,” he said abruptly, cutting me off with a wave of his hand. I’ll take you to your husband. The queen might see reason with his baby in your belly.

I frowned, taking a step back. “The queen?”‘I asked. Who is this queen? I only know of my father, the Alpha King; his wife died.*

The man paused, exchanging amused glances with the woman before he turned back to me, his blue robe fluttering in the breeze, You re a long way from home, little wolf,” he said, and there was a teasing tone in his voice. “A long, long way from home.*

There was a silence as recognition began to wash over me. Luke and I glanced at one another again, a silent exchange: perhaps the man was right, and we were far away from anywhere we had ever been. Maybe my father had no power here. What-or rather, where?— had we just walked into?

The man cleared his throat then, jerking his head toward the door.

“Are you coming or not, little wolf?”

Enzo

My eyes locked onto the enormous bear that was now thundering toward me, six-hundred pounds of snarling fury and dagger-length claws. The deafening roar that escaped the bear’s throat almost seemed to shake the very stone beneath my paws.

Every instinct screamed to brace for impact as the grizzly charged at me.

“What the hell?” I thought to my wolf. “How-”

“Don’t even question it,” my wolf commanded. “Just don’t get killed, dammit!”

My wolf was right; there was no time for speculation or awe. There was a wild beast hurtling toward me, reading to kill. Taking in a sharp breath. I lunged out of the way just before the bear collided with me. Up above, the vicious cries erupted from the crowd and caught my momentary attention.

“Rip his throat!”

“Flay the mongrel!”

I didn’t know which one of us they were cheering for-me or the bear.

Nonetheless, I filtered out the madness of the crowd, my frenzied thoughts strategizing escape routes desperately- feint left then sprint right for the gate, which was still open? No, I could never outpace this monster in this wide open arena.

“Kill him! Kill him!” the crowd cheered menacingly.

I swallowed. I saw one of her milky white breasts peek out from behind her robe. The crowd continued to cheer, twitter, pound their feet and chant. I Looked up at them, seeing how they writhed and danced in ecstasy. An orgy.

Mila

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice pierced the clamoring din sharply. My eyes snapped up reflexively toward the source, and it was then that my heart began to pound along with the drums up above. Mila froze, her robe snapping shut around her breasts as she whirled to look upon the scene that was unfolding in front of us.

Clutched between two guards, trailing behind a man holding a lantern, was her-with a wild look of awe and fear in her eyes, and her hands resting protectively over her belly.

Nina

“Are you coming or not, little wolf?”

Luke and I shot each other an uneasy look as the man stood in front of us with his unlit lantern.

“Where are you taking us?” | asked tentatively.

The man huffed. “To the queen,” he said annoyedly. “And if you don’t hurry, we might be too late for your husband. The ritual only takes so long.” That was all the convincing I needed. Despite Luke’s worried glance, l followed the man out the door and back into the humid air. More onlookers had gathered now, intrigued by our sudden appearance, but I hardly noticed then with my thoughts churning so dizzyingly.

I didn’t know where exactly we were going, but as long as it brought us closer to Enzo, then I would take whatever I could get.

Over the next half hour, our silent guide threaded his way easily between lush tropical foliage without glancing back or slowing to match our clumsy foreign footsteps. I stumbled over tangled roots in an attempt to keep up, my skin caked with sweat from the heat and the damp air.

“Hey, could you slow down a little?” Luke called out, his arm catching/my elbow when I nearly fell over an exposed root. But the man didn’t look back.

“Keep up, little wolf,” he called out over his shoulder. “No time to waste.” Before long, the vibrant vegetation began to thin out, the soft soil replaced by smooth, bare stone. My breath caught in my throat from the ascent we had unwittingly taken through the follage. We had been climbing up and up for a while, but nothing seemed to show itself to us.

Luke and I paused, glancing at each other warily again. I was just+15 BONUS

wondering if this strange man was leading us on a wild goose chase when a yawning cave opening caught my eye up ahead.

The man stopped in front of the opening, tinkering with his lantern until it flickered to life. “Ready?” he asked, glancing over at us for the first time since we had gone on this strange hike.

I peered into the dark cave. “In there?” I asked, swallowing. “Seems… dangerous.”

The man huffed again; at this point, I couldn’t tell if it was an actual huff of annoyance or if it was just a cough. “I thought you wanted to find your husband.*

“I do.”

“Then follow me.”

Without another word, the man walked into the cave mouth. Luke and I stood there, unsure, before I took a deep breath and went after the man. But Luke’s hand caught my arm, his eyes wide and uncertain.

“Nina, I don’t think this is a good idea,” he whispered.

I threw my hands up into the air. Already, the man’s lantern light was fading, swaying off into the distance. “It’s either this, or let whatever ‘ritual he mentioned before play out,” I said. “And I’m partial to this.”

Luke let out a sigh, but didn’t protest any further. Together, hand-in-hand, we made our way into the cave with only the man’s swaying lantern to guide US.

The temperature instantly plunged. I hugged myself against the subterranean chill, disoriented by our directionless descent. Eventually, even the insects and the sound of the wind faded, leaving only our echoing shuffles.

“How long have we been down here?” Luke whispered harshly. “Feels like hours…

I shook my head mutely before remembering he couldn’t see me. “Only a few minutes.

Luke exhaled hard. How much longer untill we fall in a giant crevice or some kind of trap?”

I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden onset of tears, nearly twisting an ankle on the uneven ground. “I’s not like we have any other options,” I reminded him.

Just then, the abyss mercifully brightened into the soft glow of torch flames. Now that I could see a bit better, I could make out our surroundings; we had entered smoother tunnels now, with carved walls and timber supports reinforcing the space. We must have reached some sort of underground system.