My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 516

My mother’s features softened as she regarded me, cupping my tear-stained cheek with her palm. “Nina, you were meant for this,” she said softly, stroking a strand of hair out of my eyes. “Your father chose you as his heir because he saw that spark, that unwavering strength in you that your people will need to guide them forward.”

I opened my mouth to protest further, but her gentle fingers found my lips, hushing me.

“What did he say to you, in those final moments?” she prompted. She already knew the answer-I had already told her when he had died nearly a week ago-but perhaps she wanted me to say it again. Maybe she wanted to hear his final words one last time.

“He wanted me to heal our family’s wounds,” I whispered, recalling his final words with piercing clarity. “And… to guide our people into an era of peace. Whatever that means.”

My mother nodded solemnly. “Do you intend not to fulfill his last request?”

I swallowed again, staring at the ground for a few moments before I shook my head. “No. I know I need to do it, that’s my purpose, but…”

“Then you have to. You simply have to. There is no time to wait, no time to learn.”

“Why can’t you do it instead?” I blurted out. “You would make an amazing Luna. You—”

“No.” For a moment, my mother’s expression became inscrutable. But then, slowly, she shook her head. “You know I can’t. I’m not a werewolf. No one would ever accept a human Luna, and besides… I’m too old, anyway.”

“Dad was almost two hundred years old,” I retorted with a small snort.

My mother chuckled. “That Alpha bloodline is impressive, isn’t it?” she asked. “But I don’t possess that long life that you have. And at this point in my life, I’m ready to retire to watch you and Tyler fulfill your own destinies.”

As I turned to regard the trio of gravestones one last time, I felt a newfound sense of resolve taking root in my chest. It was small, but it was there. Maybe, with time, I would settle into this new destiny of mine.

It was as I was looking at the graves, however, that I caught movement in the corner of my eye. I looked up to see a familiar, tall, muscular figure walking briskly toward us, his curly brown hair bristling in the wind and the afternoon sun turning his deep brown eyes into pools of honey.

Enzo.

He paused a few paces away, silently, clearly not wanting to disrupt our moment. But when I saw a piece of paper clenched in his hand, I knew that there was no delaying the inevitable.