My Hockey Alpha
Chapter 213: The Warden

Enzo

When I finally remembered everything, it felt as though I had broken out of a prison. All I wanted in those sweet moments was to feel Nina pressed up against me, to feel her warmth and her love. I couldn't believe that I had spent the past weeks being locked in a fog by Selena’s doing. Somehow, with Selena’s incredible power, I was genuinely convinced that I had never attended Mountainview, nor had I ever met Nina before; but the power of my love for Nina prevailed in the end.

At least, that was what I thought. But when Selena suddenly found me in the locker room and sunk her claws into my brain once more, I suddenly felt foggy again.

I should have seen it coming, but I guessed that the very first thing on my mind was to hide Nina and keep her protected — protecting myself from Selena's tricks was at the bottom of my list, and I also got a little too cocky. When I broke through her spell, it was almost as though I forgot just how powerful her abilities were. She was the Alpha King's daughter, after all, and neither Nina nor I were any match for her abilities. So when she dazed me again, neither of us had any way of stopping her. But she didn't daze me fully; she only dazed me just enough to make me foggy and susceptible to her demands. I felt like I was walking through a thick mist as she grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the locker room. I swore that there was some reason why I was supposed to stay away from her... But now, I couldn't remember why. All I knew was that I should have stayed away from her, and that she wasn't to be trusted. But even then, I followed her, and I couldn't explain why I didn't fight back.

As Selena dragged me out the back of the hockey arena and across the misty athletic field, she babbled on angrily in front of me

“I should've known... It's too risky... That bitch...” she muttered. It made no sense. Who was she talking about? What did she mean when she said it was “too risky"? I felt as though there was something I was supposed to know, but it felt like there was a thick bubble wrapped around that area of my brain, and I couldn't pop it no matter how hard I poked and prodded at it. I felt dumb and lifeless, like I had just come out of a coma moments earlier — or maybe it rather felt like I was about to go into a coma, like I was slipping out of consciousness and everything would go dark at any moment.

Selena led us into the woods, which were darker and colder in the chill of the winter air.

“Selena?” I asked as she led us further in, a shiver going down my spine. “What's wrong? Where are we going? Are you okay?”

But Selena didn't answer. She just picked up her pace and tightened her grip on my wrist as she yanked me forward into the dark woods.

Finally, we were so deep into the woods that I couldn't even see the campus behind us anymore. Selena led us on a winding path that seemed to have no end before she finally stopped in a small clearing, where she released her grip on my arm and glared at me with an intensity that I didn't fully understand.

Why was she so angry with me? And why, every time I blinked, did I see another version of her — a version of her that was slightly different, with brown eyes and freckled skin, and a kind heart instead of an icy one? Who was this other version of Selena, and why did I feel the need to run off and find it?

“We're going home, Enzo,” she growled, placing her hands on her hips as she glared up at me. “You've been very bad. We can’t come here anymore. And it's such a shame, too, because I was having a bit of fun.”

I furrowed my brow. “What are you talking about?” I muttered. “What did I do?”

Selena scoffed. In that instant, I swore I saw a flash of someone else behind her in the trees, peering out from the shadows. And for some reason, I swore that that person's name was Nina.

“Selena,” I insisted, feeling more confused now than ever, “what's going on? Who's Nina?”

Selena's eyes widened and instantly filled with tears as though she suddenly flipped a switch. There was almost something theatrical about the way her lower lip quivered. “Don’t you dare say her name!” she snarled, her face turning red. “If you don't stop thinking about her, I'll... I'l kill her!”

I was taken aback by Selena’s words. I still didn't even know who she was talking about.

But then, I thought I saw a flash of that other girl again. She was standing a ways off in the woods, peering out at us from behind the trees. I couldn't explain it, but as I looked at her, I was sure that I knew her. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was Nina, and I did remember her. I was supposed to be with Nina, not Selena; Selena was putting spells on me to make me forget. I had only been with Nina just a few minutes prior, and yet Selena’s magic had already dug its way into my brain again.

I didn't want anything to happen to Nina. At that moment, I decided that I would have to shift and fight Selena off — it was the only way to stop her.

But before I could, she instantly saw the look in my eyes. She was too smart.

“Fuck,” she growled. “I'll say it again: forget her.”

My brain went foggy again. I blinked rapidly, and suddenly realized that I didn't know where I was; why were we in the woods? Why was Selena so angry with me? I looked around confusedly, then back at Selena, who now had a grin on her face.

"What's going on?” I asked.

"Oh, nothing,” Selena replied in a sing-song voice. “I just want to go home now.”

I furrowed my brow. I had no recollection of ever even leaving our home — the Alpha King's mansion — but I didn’t care to question my mate. I simply nodded, deciding it was best for her to lead the way. Maybe this was just a game, or maybe it was another one of my post traumatic stress episodes. I had been in a war, after all.

Selena stared at me intensely for a moment as though she was studying me, searching me for something. Then, as if she was satisfied with what she saw, she turned to the side and reached out with two fingers. She moved her fingers in a circular motion as though she was about to open a portal.

But nothing happened.

“What the...” she murmured, shaking out her hand and trying again. And yet, once again, nothing happened.

Selena's face went bright red. She cursed under her breath and tried once more, but for a third time, the portal wouldn't open.

And then, at that exact moment, I saw another version of her — one with brown eyes and freckles and black hair in two braids — bolt out from behind a tree with her sights set on Selena.

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