My Hockey Alpha Neighbor

Carol’s POV 

Aiden loosens his scarf and wraps it around the both of us. Instead of being greeted by blinding camera flashes, I find myself hidden away in the warmth of Aiden’s arms. 

Aiden gently takes my shoulder and guides me. I can just barely hear the reporter’s questions through Aiden’s thick scarf. 

“Mr. Cruz! Is your team prepared for the upcoming training match?” 

“Is your coach confident you’ll be able to beat the Cougars” 

Aiden gives polite but short responses as he escorts me toward our car. He opens the passenger door and helps me into my scat. It isn’t until we’re on the road that I finally take the scarf off of my face. 

“I never realized the hardships of a public figure,” I joke. “I’m going to have to invest in my own scarves.” 

When I look at Aiden, he has a tense expression on his face. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I know you want normal life… My lifestyle might make you very uncomfortable.” 

I reach out to gently rub his shoulder. “It wasn’t as bad as I imagined,” I say, honestly. “What I’ve been most worried about is getting caught up in a scandal. But this isn’t a scandal, is it? It’s not like we’re having an illicit affair that needs to be hidden. I can handle it even if those those photos get out.”” 

Relief crosses Aiden’s face. Then, his brow creases again. “If those photos do get out, my parents might want to… Chat.” By the sound of his words, that isn’t a good thing. 

“Is there a problem with that?” I ask. 

“Not… A problem, exactly.” Aiden sighs. “My parents have always wanted me to be the perfect strong Alpha. They’ve always imagined me paired with an equally powerful Luna. They see even my personal life as a part of their business conglomerate.” 

My heart drops. The term Luna is somewhat familiar to me. Judging by how Aiden speaks about it, I imagine it’s a term for a female werewolf from an Alpha family. Something I am not. I’ll have to add on familial conflict to the list of difficulties to come, I think dryly 

“But times are changing.” Aiden says, “Werewolves don’t need to be isolated to their packs anymore. Alpha families don’t hold ownership over their children like my parents want to.” 

“Is that why you left your pack?” Lasked gently. Aiden’s eyes are downcast. 

“I didn’t want to be trapped with my pack, but I also didn’t want to let my family down. I decided to pursue some thing that I’m passionate about and good enough at hockey. It’s granted me some freedom, at least temporarily.” 

A powerful family of Alphas disapproving of me was somehow even more daunting than thousands of paparazzi. Before I can dwell on the feeling, however. My phone begins to ring. 

I quickly glanced at the caller ID. I blink. Fiona? Fearing it might be an emergency, I pick up the phone. 

“Fiona? Is everything okay?” 

“Pleated high–waisted slacks, charcoal gray.” 

My nose scrunches in confusion. “What? What do you 

mean?” 

“Well? You really think I wouldn’t remember the pants we picked out together?” 

I looked down at my pants. Sure enough, they fit her exact description. 

“How on earth do you remember things like that?” I laugh. Then I pause. “Wait… How do you know what I’m wearing?” I have a sinking suspicion I already know, 

I hear Fiona click her tongue on the other end of the line. “I would recognize your wardrobe anywhere, even in paparazzi photos. Although I don’t remember that sweater.. It came from Aiden, didn’t it?” 

I slap my hand against my forehead. The past few days had been so chaotic, I hadn’t even updated Fiona! “Fiona, I am so, so sorry.” 

“Enough stalling. Fiona chides. “Tell me everything!” 

I do my best to recount the events of the past few days. I can feel Aiden watching me out of the corner of his eye as he drives. I’m mouth ‘Fiona‘ at him between sentences, and his eyebrows raise with recognition. 

“You dirty girl!” I hear Fiona shout, so loud that I have to pull the phone away from my ear. Judging by how Aiden jerks his head toward me, he heard, too. 

“How could you just runoff with some man without telling me?” Fiona cries in mock–anger. “I’m scandalized. I thought you and I were going to move off into the country together as two old crones!” 

Aiden gestures toward the phone, and I put Fiona on speaker. “Fiona,” Aiden begin solemnly, “this is all my fault. I’ve given Carol a lot of stress the last couple days. I- 

“Blah, blah, blah,” Fiona teases. “I’ll have you know giving Carol stress is my job.” Aiden’s expression relaxes as he realizes Fiona is just joking. 

“Don’t worry, Fiona,” I say dryly, “no one could ever give me as much of a headache as you do.” Fiona laughs loudly. 

“And don’t you forget it!” Fiona declares. “Seriously, though, I guess I’ll give you my blessing to steal Carol away… For now. As long as you lend her to me sometimes.” 

I giggle. “Don’t worry, Fiona, plenty of widows move in together later in life.” 

“Perfect!” Fiona chirps. “All I have to do is outlast werewolf man over here.” Aiden chuckles. Seeing the tension has been. resolved, I take Fiona off of speakerphone. 

“I really am sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” I say. “I’m not sure I believe it yet myself.” 

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone for now, but you’re gonna have to tell me what happened what really happened that night I left the bar. And don’t leave out any juicy details!” Fiona hangs up before I can protest. 

Our call finishes just as Aiden pulls up to the house. We take some time to unload the car, which we filled with ood and some decorations to put up around the house. We crack open a bottle of wine and spend the rest of the night cooking, cleaning, and slowly putting up a few decorations. It’s far past midnight by the time we finally decide to sleep. With the bedding we just purchased, we’re finally able to properly sleep together. With Aiden’s strong arms wrapped around me, I drift off within seconds. 

My slumber is peaceful at first. As usual, my dreams are vague. My subconscious wanders aimlessly. For the most part, remember none of my dreams. 

Suddenly, I feel a sense of foreboding. My eyes open. When I sit up, I’m not in Aiden’s bed. Instead, I find myself in a vast field of of stars. When I look down, my body is floating through space. 

I hear a faint sound in the distance. I look around, but no one is near. The only thing that stands apart from the stars is the moon, hovering near enough that it engulfs a large portion of my vision. 

I feel a sudden need to make out the words that this voice is whispering. My body begins drifting closer and closer to the moon as if pulled by a gravitational force. The whispering gets louder. Eventually, I can just barely make out with the voice is saying. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Closer, closer, closer,” the voice whispers. It sounds like the voice of an elderly woman; hoarse, but powerful. I found myself responding 

“I’m coming closer, aren’t I?” My voice echoes back to me in the infinite darkness. The voice continues as though I hadn’t interrupted. 

“Closer, closer, closer to your destiny,” The voice is becoming clearer, but I feel only more confused. 

“What do you mean, my destiny?” I call back. “Can you hear me?” 

“Find it. Find it. You must find it.” The voice continues. The quote you have to find it.” 

“Find what? Please, tell me! Who are you?” I call out. 

The Voice does not respond. Instead, my own words echo back at me, becoming louder and louder: “Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?” As my words become louder, the moon glows brighter and brighter until I’m blinded. 

My eyes open again, and I jerk upright. Sweat covers my body like I’ve been running a marathon. I look around wildly – I’m in Aiden’s room. I glance over at Aiden’s sleeping form. Luckily, I didn’t wake him up. 

The peaceful expression on his face does something to calm my nerves, but I feel too restless to go right back to sleep. Maybe a cold shower will help straighten me out, I think. 

I slip out of the room and into the bathroom. I turn on the cold water, and begin to undress. When I catch my own eyes in the mirror, I pause. I grasp either side of the sink and stare at my reflection. 

I still look as normal as I did the morning that everything changed. Despite that, my life is only becoming stranger and stranger. I close my eyes and rub my forehead. 

What was that dream? I wonder. Who is that mysterious woman? 

Most importantly, why did she sound so familiar?