My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 151

Nina

My heart dropped at the girl’s words.

“Too merciful?” I asked. “What did I do to you to deserve any of this?”

The girl merely shrugged. She seemed so nonchalant that it made me sick, but before I could say anything else, she suddenly looked at her watch. “Oh!” she said, grinning at me. “It looks like it’s time for me to go. Enzo will be ready for me any minute.”

I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but before I could, she opened a portal and vanished. Was she meeting Enzo to marry him already? I felt a pit form in my stomach at the thought. What if they mated and he forgot all about me, leaving me in here until the day I died?

No, I thought to myself. I couldn’t lose hope.

…

I couldn’t be sure exactly how long I was trapped there. It could have been hours or even days simply because it felt as though there was no real passage of time; the sun never rose or set, and it was always in that constant state of eternal twilight.

I tried at first to see if there was a way to leave, but the girl, whose name I still didn’t know, wasn’t lying when she said I wouldn’t be able to get out. There seemed to be some sort of invisible force field around the place, like a spell had been cast on it. I could still walk out a ways into the woods all around the cabin, but about half a mile into the woods was when I would encounter the invisible dome keeping me there. No amount of force could break through it. It was impenetrable, and it made me wonder if I could even be seen from the outside or if the force field made me invisible, too. I really was trapped there forever, it seemed. But I held out hope that Enzo would come for me. He always came for me.

I spent my time there reading mostly once I realized I couldn’t get out. There was a supply of canned food in the cabin, which I cooked on the little wood stove. Some firewood had already been chopped for me, so I was able to heat the cabin. How long had it taken for her to build this place? Or was it even a physical place at all? Perhaps a witch made it with magic, which would explain the invisible barrier. Sometimes I wondered if I was even awake at all, or if this was fabricated in my head and I was really put under a spell somewhere, unconscious.

Sleeping wasn’t easy. It was too quiet, and I was lonely. Thankfully, I didn’t really feel tired, so I just stayed awake most of the time and read books or walked around. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that Enzo would come for me, as always. If I didn’t have that hope, I knew I would go insane, because even my wolf seemed to have disappeared, leaving me with no one to talk to.

At one point, however, after being there for what felt like ages, I suddenly shot up in bed when I heard the distinct whirring sound of a portal opening outside.

Not only that, but I smelled something familiar, warm, and comforting… Enzo.

I jumped up and ran to the door. “Enzo!” I yelled, flinging the door open. I felt my heart leap as I saw him standing on the lawn, looking confused — but I was quickly accosted by the girl from before. My twin.

She jumped in the way and pushed me backwards. Her hand shot out and she grabbed a fistful of the front of my shirt as she forced me back into the cabin.

“Hey!” I said, holding up my hands in surrender. “What are you—”