My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 112

Nina

“Are you working for Edward? Huh?” Enzo snarled.

“What? N-No,” Justin said, squirming in Enzo’s tightening grip. Enzo had him pinned to the wall with a fistful of Justin’s shirt, and while he growled menacingly at Justin, onlookers began to murmur with worry and confusion.

“Enzo,” I said, reaching out and attempting to pry his fingers away from Justin’s shirt collar, “this isn’t like you. Let him go.”

Enzo snapped his head toward me. He glared at me for a long few moments, and I could see the hint of red peeking out through the soft brown of his eyes. He was angry, but there was also a hint of something else in his face. Jealousy. I felt my heart begin to race faster than it already was as our faces lingered closer to one another.

Finally, he tore his eyes away from me. “You’re a coward,” he said to Justin before finally releasing his grip on Justin’s shirt.

I looked over at Justin then, who had an expression on his face that I couldn’t quite read. It almost looked like a mixture of pleasure and confusion, as though the brainwashing Edward had performed on him made him crave Enzo’s fury, but there was another, more innocent, part of him that didn’t understand what was happening. “Come on,” Enzo said to me, putting his arm around my shoulders and guiding me away. “Get away from this guy.”

I followed Enzo for a few steps before stopping and shaking my head. “No, Enzo,” I said, taking a step back. “What’s gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten into me?” Enzo asked. He bent down so his face was closer to mine and lowered his voice in order to keep anyone else from overhearing. As he spoke, I could smell the leather on his jacket, and our closeness made me shiver. “What’s gotten into you that you would be so stupid as to eat breakfast with Justin knowing fully well that he’s one of Edward’s pawns?”

“By that logic,” I replied, feeling myself begin to fume as my hands curled up into fists at my sides while simultaneously being strangely attracted to Enzo’s sudden burst of territoriality, “you shouldn’t be talking to me, either, because Edward brainwashed me as well. For all you know, I could be working for him right now.”

Enzo and I glared into each other's eyes for several long moments. His eyes burned with a mixture of desire and anger before he finally scoffed and pulled away. “Whatever,” he said, turning on his heel, “if you wanna be manipulated by Justin and get yourself into trouble again, then be my guest.”

With that, Enzo stormed away and left me with a pang in my chest. “Enzo! Wait!” I called after him, but he didn’t stop or turn around. I watched as he disappeared through the doors of the building, wondering to myself just how much Enzo had changed because of his torture.

When I finally turned back around, Justin was still standing there with wide eyes. As I began to approach, however, he quickly walked away without another word, leaving me alone with the murmuring onlookers. By this point, I had completely lost my appetite… So I left as well and tried to push my pain and confusion down for long enough to go to my classes that day.

…

After classes, I returned to my dorm with an aching feeling in my body and a desire to go straight to sleep.

Lori and Jessica were sitting in the kitchen, speaking in hushed tones, when I walked in. They stopped almost as soon as I entered and looked up with wide eyes, almost as though they’d been caught in the middle of something.

“Am I interrupting?” I asked as I set my bag down on the counter and kicked my shoes off.

Lori and Jessica were silent for a moment before looking at each other, then back at me.

“Someone leaked proof of Enzo’s… heritage,” Jessica said. She stood and walked over to me, then handed me her phone. I furrowed my brow as I took it from her, but then my eyes widened as I saw what was on the screen.

Not only had someone posted pictures of Enzo’s physical fitness test results on an anonymous Twitter account, but they had also posted numerous pictures and videos of Enzo showcasing his inhuman speed, his extreme strength, and even his glowing red eyes. There was also a video of him… Of us. It was taken on the night that he fought Ronan in the woods. I ran out of frame at the very beginning, which was when I had run after the stalker, but the camera stayed focused on Enzo and showed him shifting and fighting Ronan. It was taken from a completely different angle from where the stalker had been standing, so I knew it was someone else who took the clip.

“Who would do this…?” I said, my hands shaking as I looked back up at Jessica and Lori with wide eyes.

Jessica shrugged and shook her head apologetically. “I don’t know.”

“I wanted to say that it could be someone from one of the opposing hockey teams,” Lori interjected, “but it just doesn’t add up. If they wanted to out Enzo on his werewolf identity, then why would they also risk exposing the fact that the other hockey captain is also a werewolf? Ronan, right?”

I nodded. “You’re right. It’s gotta be a third party. The Crescents don’t want humans to figure out their identities just as much as the Fullmoons. But I don’t know who would do this, or why.” I handed Jessica’s phone back, then, without thinking, immediately put my shoes back on.