My Hockey Alpha by Eve Above Story PDF

Chapter 0712

Nina

Enzo and I were dragged down the blackened halls of Mila's impossible palace, the silver ropes burning our skin once again. My mind raced the entire way, unable to comprehend the nightmare we found ourselves trapped in. Just days before, we had been celebrating on the poolside with my mother and my brother. Now Luke was dead, I was apparently pregnant with a child containing the blood of a long-forgotten race of shifters, and we faced a horrific fate-a decade and a half of enslavement before our child was taken from us.

It had to be a nightmare.

I choked back tears as we were shoved inside the lavish guest suite. The door slammed shut behind us with an ominous metallic thud, and my eyes swept over the furnishings-the plush Persian rugs, the enormous canopy bed, the crackling fireplace. It was straight out of a fairy tale.

But the sound of the heavy deadbolt sliding into place on the other side of the door with a resounding slam was a grim reminder of reality. We were prisoners in a gilded cage, not vacationers in some exotic locale.

Across from us, in the center of the room, sat a table laden with fresh food. Everything from glistening meats to vibrant fruits and vegetables; but none of it looked even remotely appetizing. The very idea of eating right now felt like a joke.

"When was the last time you ate?" Enzo asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Before I came here, but I don't even know how long it's been since I got here." Enzo snorted and sank down onto the edge of the plush bed, running a tired hand through his curly hair. There was blood caked under his fingernails; a reminder of the horrible fight that took our friend's life.

"Yeah," he said. "Tell me about it."

It hit me then that Enzo had been here longer than I had; at least two days longer. Although, with the lack of sunlight in this cavernous palace, months could have already passed and I would have had no idea.

Slowly, I crossed the room and sat next to him. We sat like that for a long time, in utter shocked silence as we stared at the sickening feast in front of us.

and ashen. "You should eat, Nina. Keep up your

of eating at a time like this. "I can't. Not after..." My words faded. Luke's mangled body flashed in my mind and I covered my mouth, bile

me close. "I know," he whispered. "But we have to be strong now. For the baby." His fingers grazed my slightly

tears and nodded. Then, Enzo led me toward an adjoining room-a lavish bathroom with a sunken tub already filled with

my muscles began to slowly uncoil. Enzo

leaned back into his broad chest, taking comfort in his strength, in his familiar scent. We sat unspeaking amidst curling tendrils

"Enzo... what happened out there? With Luke?" I whispered. "I thought you

body tensed against mine at the mention of Luke's name. Several

I missed. My teeth sliced too deep." His voice was hollow. "It was supposed to

too far.

had pinned all of our hopes on this mysterious plan of Enzo's. Now Luke was dead, and we

wordlessly from the bath, wrapping a silk robe around myself. My limbs moved as if through molasses as I drifted over to the canopy bed. I

hair, kissing the nape of my neck. "We'll get through this," he whispered fiercely. "I swear to you, Nina, Mila's magic can never

me comfort. But doubt gnawed at my core. Mila was incredibly powerful-her casual displays of magic

did we have against her

Stay here, birth and raise our child, serve Mila til we drew our last

fight had gone out of me. I felt hollow,

cupped my cheek, guiding my eyes to meet his burning brown-eyed gaze. "Don't give up, my love," he murmured. "We will find a way, just like we always

to believe him. But I just couldn't. Right now, though, I needed comfort; after

against his, pouring my jumble of emotions into the kiss. Fear, grief, rage, love.

every inch