My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 137

Nina

I watched Enzo and Ronan fight in a state of abject horror. Ronan certainly tried to egg Enzo on, and he achieved that goal. Enzo head butted him, causing the crowd to gasp in unison, then began to rain punches down on Ronan from above. His face was twisted into a look of pure anger and hatred. Finally, Matt and one of the other team members came up behind Enzo and yanked him off of Ronan. The referee put himself between the two captains and blew his whistle, signaling the end of the practice match along with a looming, red mark on Enzo’s reputation, which was already struggling from his werewolf leak.

All around me, as the other team helped Ronan up and Enzo wrenched himself free from Matt and skated away, I heard the whisperings of my classmates. They were saying that he was a monster, that they knew it all along… And what could I possibly do to change their minds now?

“Well, I’m going home,” Lori said suddenly, standing with a frown and hopping down from our spot on the bleachers. “You guys coming?”

Jessica nodded grimly and followed Lori. I stayed put, however, and watched as Enzo’s red eyes scanned the crowd and finally became fixed on me. For a long moment, we stared at each other -- I was still in a state of shock, while Enzo’s face was still contorted with hatred for Ronan, only softening slightly when he saw my face.

But then, he suddenly ripped his eyes away from me and turned to look at Ronan. I followed his gaze, my eyes widening even more as I saw the sinister grin on Ronan’s bloody face.

Judging from the way they looked at each other just then, I knew -- Ronan was saying something to Enzo telepathically.

“Nina?” Jessica said from below, drawing my attention away. I blinked a few times and looked down at her concerned face, then nodded and jumped down to meet them.

“Geez… This whole werewolf tournament thing sure is serious, huh?” Lori asked as we pushed out of the arena with a group of other disturbed students and stepped out into the cold air. I thought that the tournament was supposed to be a peaceful way for them to settle their differences.”

As we walked, I couldn’t help but think about what had come over Enzo. Ever since our time spent in the tunnels, he’d been having more difficulties with controlling his temper. I was certain that his attack on Ronan was his way of getting back at him for all of the pain that he caused, but the fact that he did it so blindly in front of the entire school was a shock to me.

I stopped in my tracks then, biting my lip. Lori and Jessica walked ahead a few paces before realizing that I’d stopped and they turned to face me.

“You okay?” Jessica asked, frowning.

“I should go back and check on Enzo,” I said. I was the team doctor, after all, and although I was off duty for the practice game, I still felt compelled to check and make sure that he was okay despite the fact that I was still in immense pain for what he did to me. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be home soon.”

Jessica and Lori frowned, but nodded understandingly.

“See ya later,” Lori said, waving. Jessica shot me a soft smile before they turned and continued to head back to the dorms.

I smiled weakly and watched them leave before I turned around myself and made my way back to the arena. There were still students milling about when I entered, rattled from the intense fight and gossiping about how all werewolves were violent, but I ignored them and walked over to the bench where Enzo’s team was packing up their things with concerned expression on their faces. As I approached, however, I realized that Enzo wasn’t there.

“Where’s Enzo?” I asked as I walked up to them.

Matt shrugged, then nodded his head toward the locker room. “He’s moping in there. That Ronan guy definitely started it with that shitty move he pulled, but Enzo’s clearly taking the heat for it. I just hope he gets his head together before the actual game…”