My Hockey Alpha
#Chapter 251: A New Life

Nina

The next morning, after spending the night in Enzo’s apartment, I woke up feeling filled with a new sense of life. Despite all of my sleep deprivation, I surprisingly jumped out of bed before my alarm even went off. Enzo found me a little while later in the kitchen, making coffee and breakfast. “You're up already?” Enzo asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “And dressed, too?”

I nodded and smiled as I plopped two pieces of toast onto a plate and began to spread butter on them. “I'm going to class,” I said.

Enzo raised his eyebrows. I knew that he was surprised that I wanted to get back to class so soon, and he immediately voiced his concerns.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest first?” he asked. “Everything has been so hectic. I'm sure the dean and your professors will understand if you need to miss a couple more days.”

I shook my head vehemently. “Nope. I'm going to class. I just want to feel like a normal person again, and I've already missed too much class this semester.”

Enzo stared at me for a while, but he said nothing. Instead, he finally seemed to give up and came over to pour himself a cup of coffee. He wrapped his arms around me and planted a kiss on the top of my head as he passed, then stole a bite of my toast with a cheeky grin before pouring his coffee. It made me smile; if I just pretended that I didn't still need to deal with the Luna at some point, and if I pretended that the Crescents weren't planning on taking over the world along with her, then I could imagine that we were just a regular couple getting ready to start our day. Someday, I hoped that we could live with that sense of normalcy. Once all of this was over, I was certain that could happen.

"Well, just don't burn yourself out,” Enzo finally said. “I'll walk you to class.”

Just as promised, Enzo did walk me to class. I gave him a deep, passionate kiss before I went in, ignoring the disgusted looks from other students over our blatant public display of affection, and sat down and began to study.

Even though it had really only been a couple of days since I had been in class, it felt like it was an eternity. I supposed that it was partially because I hadn't been able to pay much attention since Enzo had been gone, but now that he was safely home, my friends were safe, and Selena was no longer here to bully me, I felt as though I could finally focus on my studies.

However, as class came to an end, I couldn't help but think about Selena. Matt and Luke had decided to keep her in the infirmary and were taking shifts to keep an eye on her, and even though she had plenty of comfort, access to food, and was able to use the locker rooms to shower and get changed, I still felt bad knowing that she was essentially our hostage now.

Selena was a human now — for the time being, at least. I planned on using my Claiming ability to turn her back eventually if she wound up working on herself and proving that she wouldn't cause any more trouble, but for now she was pretty much harmless. Of course, we would still need to keep an eye on her in case she tried to do anything, but she didn't have any special abilities anymore. She wasn't any real threat to us, and I was also fairly certain that my words from the night before did strike a bit of a chord with her, so I didnt think that she was planning on jumping at the opportunity to work with the Luna; not that the Luna would have given her the opportunity, anyway. Selena was clearly useless to the Luna and was worth nothing more than dirt now that she was a human. Besides, I knew that Selena still had some information that she could offer us. It just needed to be drawn out of her, and I felt as though the only way to do that was to show her that we were on her side.

And so, when I went to my friends and told them my plan, they were all shocked.

“You're planning on doing what?" Jessica asked.

“I think it'll help the situation,” I replied. “I know she liked being a student here; she’s never been able to experience real college. And if we can make her happy and show her that we're not the enemy, maybe she'll come around and help us.”

My friends fell silent. When I looked up at Enzo, he was leaning against the wall outside the infirmary and staring blankly at me. Selena was inside and couldn't hear anything that was being said; in fact, she wasn't even looking at us. She was still lying listlessly on her infirmary bed, facing the wall with her back turned to us. From what Luke and Matt said, she had hardly moved from that position since we first put her there.

Finally, after I stared at him with pleading eyes for several long moments, Enzo let out a sigh. “She's right,” he said. “There's no use in keeping her locked up and making her hate us even more. She could prove to be an important ally if we show her that we want to make amends.”

A small sigh of relief hissed through my lips. The rest of my friends stared at the ground thoughtfully before they finally agreed.

“Okay,” Matt said. “I guess it wouldn't hurt. We should still keep an eye on her, though.”

I nodded. “We'll just let her enroll in some classes if she wants,” I said. “Maybe the dean will assign her a dorm. If we keep the guard subtle, then maybe she won't notice so much and will feel like she has some freedom.”

With my friends’ approval, I finally opened the infirmary door and stepped in. They waited outside while I slowly walked up to Selena.

"Hey, Selena,” I said gently as I approached. “Can we talk?"

Selena let out an angry huff. “What do you want?” she snarled, still with her back turned to me.

I bit my lip, wondering how to phrase things. I knew that she would still be terribly angry with me, and there was still a chance that she would reject any form of reconciliation. Enzo and I had, after all, stripped her of her werewolf abilities.

“Do you want to be a student here again?” I asked.

Selena was silent for several moments. I thought that she would refuse and tell me to leave, but after a while she slowly looked over her shoulder at me.

"Why?" she asked. Her voice came out like a hiss.

I shrugged. “I know you liked it,” I said. “Everyone deserves to have the college experience, and you're not a hostage.”

Selena chuckled. “Not a hostage?” she snarled, sitting up finally and facing me. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and faced me, pressing her palms so hard into the mattress that her hands turned white around the knuckles. “You turned me human, stripped me of my power, tore me out of my home and have been keeping me locked up here.”

“Let's not forget all of the things that you did, Selena,” I said quietly. “You had me locked up, too, remember? You brainwashed Enzo.”

My twin fell silent. Her eyes were narrowed and full of hatred, but there was a flash of something else that came across her face.

Understanding.

She didn't say anything for a long time. I waited patiently, not wanting to push her. And finally, she spoke.

“I did like being a student here,” she said, staring blankly down at the floor. “I guess I wouldn't mind doing it again.”

I couldn't help but smile. “Good,” I replied. “I can take you to the dean now, if you want. We'll get you enrolled and get you your own dorm.”

Selena looked up at me then. Her eyes weren't as hard now, and for a moment, I swore I saw a bit of happiness behind them — a ghost of a girl who was probably once sweet and innocent. And although her eyes quickly turned cold again, I tried to keep that initial image in my mind.

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