My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 92

Nina

I stood there, in the middle of the quad as I clutched the paper bag full of bagels in my hand, staring at Justin’s horrifying, plastic smile.

“Edward helped me,” he said. “He’s a really good counselor. Before, I felt so vicious and feral because of those drugs, but now I feel better than ever.”

“O-Oh,” I muttered, blinking slowly as my mind raced with a million different thoughts of what might’ve truly happened to Justin if Edward was the one who was deliberately turning people into werewolves. Beyond that, the blank and empty look in Justin’s eyes, although his lips were pulled taut into a smile, horrified me to no end. “T-That’s nice.”

“Mhm.” Justin’s smile faded and he turned around again. “C’mon. You were going to the hockey rink, right?”

I swallowed. “Yeah,” I said, feeling a lump form in my throat as I began to follow Justin again.

When we arrived at the hockey rink, I felt the lump in my throat grow larger. Justin swung open the heavy metal door with ease and held it open for me, letting me pass through ahead of him. I felt as though my limbs were made of rope and the hairs on the back of my neck raised from the fear of having Justin behind me, out of sight. Images of Justin suddenly shifting into a rogue again and decapitating me, or slipping a knife out of his jacket, filled my mind -- but no such thing happened.

Enzo and the rest of the team were running drills on the ice. My eyes darted around as I looked for Enzo’s father, but thankfully he was nowhere to be found.

“H-Hey, guys,” I called, approaching the rink with wide eyes as Justin walked behind me.

Everyone looked up from their intense training. Enzo froze upon seeing Justin, his wide eyes darting to meet mine momentarily, before he raised his hand to relieve the team from their drills.

“Justin!” Matt said. “Where have you been, man?” The rest of the team murmured in an equal amount of surprise and confusion as Justin and I approached the bench, setting down the coffee and bagels. Enzo, however, stayed silent, only coming over to me in an almost protective manner.

“Yeah,” Enzo finally said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Where have you been?”

Justin shrugged, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets. The team started digging into the bagels with murmurs of appreciation directed toward me as they ate, but Enzo and I stayed warily off to the side.

“Can I talk to you?” Justin said, turning toward Enzo. “Privately?”

Enzo hesitated for a few moments before nodding slowly and, casting me one last worried look, walked away with Justin.

“Don’t tell me Justin is in on this whole werewolf thing,” Matt said quietly, his mouth full of bagel.

“Something like that,” I replied, keeping my gaze focused on Enzo and Justin. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I cursed myself inwardly, wondering why I was developing all of these werewolf abilities without developing the extremely useful ability of enhanced hearing.

Lo and behold, Enzo returned a few minutes later. I watched in astonishment as Justin casually walked out of the arena; Enzo was just letting him go?

“What was that about?” Bryce asked.

“Nothing,” Enzo replied, although I could tell he was lying. “Training is done for the day. Go home and get some rest, everyone.”

Grumbling, the team retreated to the locker rooms. Enzo turned to follow them, but I grabbed his arm and made him stay behind.

“What the hell?” I whispered. “You just let him walk away when there’s clearly something going on there?”

“Don’t worry,” Enzo replied. “I’ve got a plan. Let me get changed and I’ll explain everything.”

…

Later that night, Enzo’s plan burst into action.

But, then again… he could be a good distraction.

Without a word, I pressed my finger to my lips and darted across the street, running up to the side of Edward’s house and sticking to the shadows. I could hear James and Edward talking inside, indicating where they were in the house, as I shimmied my way around the side of the house and found the perfect entrance: stairs leading down to a cellar door, which was miraculously unlocked.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the cellar door and slipped inside where it was pitch black and strangely cold inside, almost like a freezer. I flicked on my phone flashlight to get a good look around.

The basement was mostly full of dusty boxes and old pieces of furniture, but there was also a set of filing cabinets on the other side of the wall. Surely, I thought to myself, he would keep his patient files there…

“How much longer do we need to keep this a secret?” James said from above, his voice rising slightly. “I love you. We shouldn’t have to hide like this.”

I bit my lip as I quietly tiptoed over to the filing cabinets. Oh, James, I thought to myself. If only you knew…

I made it over to the filing cabinets; just as I suspected, they were full of manila folders with various names on them. I began to look for Justin’s name, which I found quickly thanks to Edward’s expert organization. Bingo!

“Soon, I promise,” Edward’s voice said from above, followed by the sound of footsteps crossing the floor.

James let out a loud sigh. “I need a drink.”

“I’ll get some wine from the cellar.”

I froze as Edward’s heavy footsteps came closer to the cellar door, my heart racing a mile a minute. The door to the outside seemed so far away, I wasn’t sure if I could make it through the maze of boxes in time…

Somehow, I managed to leap over the piles of boxes and run out the door. I wasn’t sure if I closed it behind me, but it didn’t matter as I sprinted up the stone steps and out into the street, waving frantically for Enzo and Luke to follow me.