My Hockey Alpha Chapter 256-Togetherness Nina Enzo and I both looked at each other, our eyes wide and our mouths open.
“How long until they get here?” Enzo asked, quickly stepping out of the rink and going over to the bench to remove his skates. I followed, although when I tried to untie my skates, my hands were shaking so much that I could hardly manage it. Enzo, noticing this, got down on his knees and untied them for me.
“A few hours, probably,” Luke replied. “I don’t know if they’re coming straight here, or what their plan is. They might try to ambush us in the middle of the night. They don’t know that we know they’re coming. If it wasn’t for my spies that I have scattered around various towns, I would have no idea.” I didn’t bother to ask when or how Luke hired spies, but I didn’t care about the logistics. Thanks to his preparedness, we now had a jump start on the upcoming attack.
“Is it just one pack?” I asked. “How big?” “It was about twenty rogues, with one leader,” Luke replied.
Enzo and I looked at each other again. That was a big pack for rogues, and the last time we saw a pack that big was when we hid on the side of the road in the werewolf realm. I swallowed, noticing the enormous lump that grew in my throat, and looked back at Luke.
“What did the leader look like?” Luke furrowed his brow, thinking. “I don’t know if there was a leader… But there was one that was bigger than the rest, and tougher looking. My spy mentioned that it seemed smarter than the others, but it wasn’t a regular werewolf. It was definitely a rogue.” I stood suddenly, feeling adrenaline rush through me. Enzo stood too; we had come to the same conclusion. This had to be the same pack of rogues that were looking for us in the werewolf realm. I had never seen or heard of a rogue who fit that description, except for the rogue we saw the day earlier. Surely it had to be some sort of special rogue… A mercenary, maybe, hired by the Luna?
“What should we do?” Luke asked. “Should we fight? More could come. I don’t know. I won’t know until my spies tell me anything.” Enzo shook his head, instantly taking on the role of the intelligent Alpha. It was a role that suited him perfectly, as I was quickly realizing lately.
“Tell the hockey team to prepare,” he said. “Gather anyone from town and from the campus who wants to help, and send everyone who can’t or doesn’t want to fight down into the tunnels.” He then turned toward me, and gave me a stern look. “Take Lori and Jessica, and leave. Matt will let you take his car.” My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could, Enzo turned back to look at Luke again and his face darkened. “And get that damn princess in the tunnels, too. Lock her in a cell. I don’t trust her, and I never should have given her a chance.” Luke nodded and ran off. Enzo started to storm off as well, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, my eyes still wide. “You don’t seriously think that I’m just going to run away, do you?” I asked. “I can’t do that. I need to be here.” Enzo stared down at me with an intensity that honestly frightened me a little. His eyes were glowing red. “You can’t stay here, Nina,” he said sternly. “I don’t want to put you in danger. Please, just take your friends, take some of the antidote, and get to safety.” “A-And go where?” I asked incredulously. “The whole island is overrun; if not now, then it will be soon. Your dad’s house has probably been taken over by Lewis, and there’s no knowing exactly what he would do if I showed up. And the werewolf realm isn’t safe either, not with the Luna right there. She probably has eyes watching everyone’s every single move in that place.” For a long few moments, Enzo stared at me with the same intensity. I could see his jaw shifting as he gritted his teeth, and he was clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides.
“Come on, Enzo,” I pleaded as tears began to stream down my cheeks. “You promised! You promised that we wouldn’t be separated again, and now at the first sign of trouble you send me away?” Enzo’s face seemed to soften. I knew that I had struck a chord with him.
“Fine,” he said finally, after another long few moments of staring at me. “You can stay in the tunnels, with the others.” He started to storm off again, but I followed him, jogging to keep up with his long strides. “I’m not going to hide in the tunnels like a scared little girl!” Enzo simply picked up his pace, leaving me behind. I stopped, clenching my fists, and yelled after him.
“Enzo!” I shouted. “Haven’t I proven that I’m capable of fighting? Think about the murals!” Enzo froze, his back turned to me. I ran to catch up with him and grabbed his arm again, yanking him around to face me. “Think about the murals,” I begged. “Think about the humans and the werewolves working together. I might not be able to shift yet, but I can still fight alongside you. Please.” He stared angrily ahead, at the wall behind me. “Please,” I whispered. Finally, he looked down at me, and as he did, his gaze softened ever so slightly. He reached up and brushed a bit of hair out of my face, then sighed and dropped both his hand and his gaze.
“Fine,” he said. “But if shit goes south, you have to leave. I’ll have Matt get his car ready and waiting for you. Deal?” “Deal,” I replied.
Whether or not I actually planned on keeping that promise was still a mystery to me. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to run, no matter how bad things got. I couldn’t leave Enzo. I couldn’t leave my friends, or my campus, or my town. I was partially to blame for all of this mess; the Luna was sending those rogues after me. And it was my job to end it, once and for all.
Tiffany’s antidote had proven to be too useful against them. They wanted to stop me and take the antidote, destroying all chances of recreating it. I wasn’t going to let that happen; in fact, as Enzo and I split up to make preparations for the upcoming Crescent attack, and as Luke began evacuating scared students and townspeople into the tunnels, I made plans of my own. But even Enzo couldn’t know about this plan, because it was too dangerous and I knew that he would try to stop me from carrying it out. I had to keep it a secret — not just from him, but from everyone.
I hid my supplies to carry out my plan under my jacket, and I gritted my teeth as I prepared to stop these rogues from wreaking havoc on my town again.