My Hockey Alpha



Chapter 0723

Nina

"Nina, Enzo. Please, come in."

Enzo and I exchanged a wary glance with each other before we stepped into my father's study. He was sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, leaning back in his leather chair with one leg crossed widely over the other. Hardly a moment ever passed when I wasn't reminded of my father's Alpha King status. He was certainly born for the role, with a tall height, muscular frame and a regal appearance about him.

But something about him today seemed different. Despite his confident stature, he seemed almost... sheepish when he looked me in the eyes. It almost felt as if whatever he had to tell us was information that he wasn't easily giving up.

"sit," he said. "Tea? Coffee?"

"Coffee would be good," Enzo said with a slight laugh as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

"Say no more." My father waved his hand and a servant almost seemed to materialize out of the corner. She poured us two steaming hot cups of coffee; I wasn't really supposed to indulge in caffeine, but after everything I had been through lately... I figured one cup of coffee would be fine.noveldrama

And as I took my first sip, it felt almost as if my body was lighter the moment the warm liquid poured down my throat. Yet another one of my father's medicines, no doubt. Enzo and I certainly needed it after all we had been through.

"you two look much better than you did yesterday," my father admitted, shooting me an apologetic look.

"We feel much better," Enzo replied. He set his coffee cup down and placed his hand over mine. I gave it a squeeze.

"Good. I sent for the best ointments and medicine. You two should both be right as rain by tomorrow. Those damn silver ropes..." He shook his head in disappointment. "I didn't think Mila would stoop so low."

There it was again; my father mentioning Mila as if he knew her personally. I met his gaze squarely. "Tell us how you know her," I said slowly.

My father paused, opening his mouth and closing it a few times before he finally nodded. "Yes. I suppose I should cut right to the chase, shouldn't I?" He ran a hand through his hair and stood. As he walked past us, toward the window, I could see that look of sheepishness in his eyes once more.

"Mila and I... We go way back," my father began. "It all started with an unlikely alliance..."

Aldric stepped into the dimly lit tavern and shook the water off of his hood. The storm outside had been raging on all day, but he couldn't delay any longer; after all, the woman who he was meant to meet was already here, waiting for him at the table in the corner-just as the witch had foreseen.

"It's you." Aldric stopped next to the woman's table and peered down at her. She had long, dark hair that peeked out from beneath her cloak, and she smoked a pipe. But there were two things that revealed to him that she wasn't like the others.

For starters, she lit the pipe with a flick of her finger.

And second, those eyes... When she looked up at him, they were like cat's eyes; yellow with a black slit down the middle. No, not like a cat. Like a lizard.

Like a dragon.

"It's me." The woman pushed back her hood to reveal a beautiful face and gestured for him to sit across from her. "The soothsayers told me we would meet tonight, so I've done my part. And so, it seems, have you."

Aldric swept his cloak aside and sat across from the woman. "Indeed." He met her gaze squarely, unlike so many others who saw her. Mila liked that; to feel like someone's equal.

"So," she said. "Shall we get straight to business?"

Aldric nodded and took the pipe that she offered him. "We shall."

"We needed each other," my father explained, now sitting back in his chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I required assistance restoring my kingdom to its former glory after my father's horrendous reign. Mila required protection for her people, and she was a damn good advisor. We were a match made in heaven." There was a long silence. Enzo and I were both on the edges of our seats as we listened to his story. Neither of us dared to breathe a word for fear of interrupting.

"Over the following years, Mila and I became not only allies, but... friends," he continued. "Confidants, really. I'd never had a friend quite like her. Nor did she have a friend quite like me. We didn't just plot out our political plans, our battles, our schemes together, but rather..."