My Hockey Alpha
#Chapter 294: The Decision

Nina

“I've made my decision,” I said as I stood in front of my father.

We were in my father’s study, which was lit by a few small lamps and a fire in the fireplace. My father was seated in a tufted armchair by the fire and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, staring solemnly into the fire. There was a somber elegance about him; he was incredibly handsome and looked young for his age, but his dark brown, almost black eyes showed years of pain behind them. He had salt-and-pepper hair that was somewhat long and pulled back into a knot at the nape of his neck, but some shorter pieces fell forward into his eyes. He had a slight beard and mustache, but I could still see the lines around his mouth from age. Around his eyes, he had wrinkles as well, but his wrinkles didn’t make him look very old. I knew that he was over fifty years old, but he didn't seem like it; it made me wonder if werewolves led longer lives than humans.

Around us, the walls of the study were lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. There were rolling ladders attached to the shelves that could be moved around to reach the high spots, since the ceilings were very high. But despite the high ceilings, it was a cozy room with soft chairs, plush rugs, and it was very warm.

“And what is your decision?” he asked, tearing his sad eyes away from the fire to look up at me, his only surviving daughter and the last member of his family.

I felt a bit sad about giving him the news. Of course I wanted to stay with him and get to know him, but I had a home in Mountainview and friends who would miss me. I knew that if I stayed here and never returned to Mountainview, I would never really feel at home here.

“I'm going to go back to Mountainview,” I said quietly as I fiddled nervously with my hands in my lap.

My father nodded grimly. He didn’t seem mad — just a little disappointed. I knew that he would be lonely here.

“Alright,” he said, managing a weak smile at me. “Are you sure that's what you want?"

I nodded. “Yes,” I replied. “I want to stay here with you. I really do. But... I have a life in Mountainview that I can't leave behind. Enzo and I..."

“I understand,” my dad said gently. He reached over and patted my knee comfortingly, then stood and walked over to the fireplace. I watched as he crouched down and moved the logs around with the iron fire poker, causing the flames to jump up and create sparks. Even crouching, he looked like a large man. “If you want to stay in Mountainview, then I'll support that,” he said. “I'd like to see you finish school there. I know you're an excellent student, and I hope you know that I'm proud of you.” My dad's words made me smile. At the same time, however, I felt a pang in my chest because Selena was going to be a student there, too. She never got much of a chance.

"We'll visit, of course,” I blurted out. “I can open portals. I'll visit as much as I can.”

My dad chuckled. “It's alright if you don't visit. I know how busy you are. You're a young woman with a whole life ahead of you... You don't need to worry about your old man.”

“But I will,” I said quietly. I stood and walked over to the fire and placed my hand on my dad's shoulder. “I want to get to know you.”

For a few moments, my dad and I just looked into the fire together. Finally, he stood and towered over me. There was a gentle smile on his face as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You act like your mother,” he said quietly. “I can tell that you're very kind, just like she was.”

Hearing my father compare me to my mom made a tear come to my eye. I quickly turned around and sat back down in my chair, blinking the tears away.

“Sir,” Enzo suddenly said. He was leaning on the desk behind us, and had been silent this entire time. But now, he straightened and looked at my father with a lot of respect. “Mountainview is still dangerous,” he said. “The Crescents still have their leader. They have a lot of the Fullmoons on their side now, too. My father's beta turned to their side when he...”

“Yes.” My dad nodded grimly and stared down at the floor. “I'm sorry about Richard. He was a good man.”

A silence fell over the room. I looked up at Enzo from my chair to see him swallow hard and clench his jaw before he finally spoke again. “Will you send help with us?” he asked. “With Nina's antidote and your men, I don't think that the Crescents will be a problem for much longer.”

My father chuckled. “Don’t worry about any of that, son,” he said heartily. “You two have already done enough. I'll handle the rest from here on out—"

“Save Lewis for me, then,” Enzo suddenly interrupted, his voice so low it was almost a growl. “I want to take care of him myself.”

My eyes widened as I looked up at Enzo. There was a fury there in his eyes that he had been hiding this entire time, but now I knew that it had been bubbling beneath the surface the whole time. As the flames from the fire flickered across his handsome face, he looked powerful and sure of himself. I could tell that both my father and I knew that there would be no convincing Enzo out of the decision that he had already made inside his head.

Slowly, my father nodded. “Lewis is all yours,” he said quietly.

The next morning, my father sent Enzo and I on our way. The snow hadn't fallen nearly as much as I secretly hoped it would during the night, leaving just a light white veil over the landscape.

My father gathered several of his best guards to send with us. He promised that, within the week, he would be sending his army after the Crescents. He said that the war was almost over; between his army and my antidote, the Crescents would be crushed faster than I had imagined. But either way, he still insisted on sending guards to keep watch over me. It felt strange and uncomfortable, but I obliged, more so for Mountainview's protection than anything else.

Before we left, however, I noticed that Enzo and my father exchanged some secret words between just the two of them. I was standing by the swirling portal that I had opened, and couldn't hear them over it. All I saw was my father nod, smile, and slap Enzo heartily on the shoulder before sending us both on our way.

The last thing I saw before stepping through the portal with Enzo’s hand in mine was my father, waving, with a smile on his face.

And I could have sworn that I saw the faint, ghostly images of my mother and Selena standing behind them. They were smiling, too.

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