My Hockey Alpha



We finally broke the tension by taking a sip of our milkshakes and digging into the fries. Somehow, the act of eating felt like an unspoken agreement to a truce-at least temporarily.

"You know, I'm good with your stipulations," Enzo said, catching my eye across the table. "And I'll make it a point to visit you in the werewolf realm as much as possible. We'll figure this out, Nina."

I sighed, playing with a fry as I spoke. "I wish it were that simple, Enzo. You know as well as I do that Mountainview is in a weird location-the veil between the realms is only thin enough here for portals to open here and nowhere else. And you can't open a portal yourself."

He put down his milkshake and looked at me earnestly. "Like I said, we'll make it work. I can fly back to Mountainview when possible, and Luke can open a portal for me. I'll be there with you before you know it."

I sighed, stirring my milkshake with a straw. "I hope you're right. I'm just worried. What if I can't travel through the portals as the pregnancy progresses? What then?"

He leaned forward, gripping my hand tightly as he spoke. "Then I will move heaven and earth to be by your side, Nina. You won't go through this alone."

It was sweet, hearing him say those words, and I wanted to believe him. But my gut told me there was more we needed to discuss. Taking a deep breath, I shifted gears. "Enzo, I'm worried about you too. Not just the logistical stuff but...your state of mind."

He paused, his hand freezing around his milkshake. "What do you mean?"

"You've been...different lately," I said cautiously. "More aggressive, angrier. What's going on with you, really?" For a moment, he didn't speak. His eyes were downcast, locked onto the melting milkshake in front of him.

"I just... I feel out of control," he finally admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "With everything that's happening-the baby, the job, the looming separation, Edward, the burglar-I don't know how to handle it all at once."

"Enzo, that's not good enough and you know it," I said in a firm tone of voice. "We both went through hell with the war against the Crescents. And I know I'm not the only one suffering from the trauma of it. I have visions of a shadow entity haunting me, sure, but that doesn't mean you're not hurting just as much. There's no way this is all just about 'control."

He looked up, his eyes meeting mine, full of a vulnerability he seldom showed. "I know, Nina. But it's hard for me to talk about it. Especially now, when everything feels so uncertain."

"That's exactly why we need to talk about it," I insisted, but he shook his head, visibly shutting down.

"Not now, Nina. Not in public. Please."

I bit my lip, trying to decide if it was worth it to discuss this right now. Finally, I decided that it could wait. "Fine," I said quietly. "We won't discuss it now. But know that I'm keeping an eye on you, Enzo. We can't afford to ignore the emotional aftermath of what we've both been through. Not when there's a child involved."

He sighed, the sound filled with a heaviness that felt like it carried the weight of our collective fears and uncertainties. "You're right," he said. "We can't ignore it. But for now, can we just focus on the present? On us?"

I nodded, making a mental note to revisit this conversation sooner rather than later. "Okay," I said softly. "For now, we'll focus on us."

He looked relieved, and that in itself made my heart ache. We were both so fragile, so on the verge of breaking, and yet, so incredibly resilient. I felt it in the way he held my hand across the table, his grip tightening ever so slightly as if to affirm our solidarity.