My Hockey Alpha



Chapter 0643 Nina

*Does anyone else smell... humans?"

As the werewolf's voice rose above the din, Lori jerked her head up, her eyes widening with fear. Realization dawned across Matt, Enzo, and Jessica's faces, and I knew we needed to act fast. No one knew exactly where the scent was coming from yet, so I needed to get Lori out of here and reapply that perfume before anyone figured it

out.

Enzo, always quick on his feet, used his Mindlink connection with me to convey a message. "Nina, get Lori out of here," he said. "Slowly and casually, so as not to raise any red flags."

I nodded almost imperceptibly, my heart pounding in my chest. Enzo was right; slowly and casually. All we needed to do was slip out of the party undetected, reapply the perfume, and everything would be fine.

Without a word, I took Lori's hand and guided her to her feet. She understood immediately, and followed without a moment's hesitation.

"I swear I smell a human," the werewolf repeated to his friends nearby, still sniffing the air. "I think they're close, too."

Lori and I picked up our pace, our grips tightening on each other's hands. There was no telling what would happen if people found out that there was a human here, and I didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

But as we walked, the voice carried over to us again, stronger this time. "Hey! Hey you!" he called out.

*Come on, Lori," I whispered, feeling her tense up beside me. "Just keep going."

"Hey!"

Suddenly, Enzo's voice carried through. "Hey, man," he said, sounding casual despite the circumstances, "do you have a problem? Harassing women?"

"No," the guy said, "I-"

"Yeah," Matt chimed in. "Leave those girls alone. This is a party, man. Bothering girls isn't cool."

The man continued to argue with Enzo and Matt, but the worst part was over. Lori and I were nearly at the door, and no one else had noticed yet. As we made our way through the crowd, I couldn't help but steal a glance back at our friends. Enzo's eyes bore into mine, filled with worry and a silent plea for us to stay safe.

Finally, we reached the outskirts of the gathering and slipped into a side room down a nearby hallway. As soon as the door was safely shut behind us, I let out a soft sigh of relief and flipped on the light to reveal a small storage room filled with crates and boxes of various dry food products. We were just off of the kitchen.

*There," I said, turning to face Lori. "We made it."

Lori's face was etched with anxiety as she began to apologize profusely. "Nina, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice trembling. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "It's not your fault, Lori," I said gently. "We should have been more proactive about reapplying your special perfume. We should have done it twenty minutes ago."

Lori nodded, her eyes filled with regret. "I just hate this," she said quietly as she sank down onto a crate that was sitting behind her. "I thought we were... I don't know. I thought we were done with all of the bullshit the Luna caused, and yet..."

*I know," I replied, my voice barely more than a whisper. I sat down on the crate next to her and rubbed her back in comforting circles. "Trust me, Lori. I wish it was over, too."

She let out a wry chuckle. "But it's never really over, is it?"

Pausing, I cleared my throat, then finally shook my head and let out a chuckle of my own. "It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?"

For a few moments, we just sat there in silence, waiting out the storm that had begun brewing outside. Once our nerves were a little less tightly wound, I stood and turned to face Lori, shooting her an apologetic look.

"Let's get that perfume applied," I said with a soft smile. "Then we can go back to the party."

Lori nodded. She reached into her pocket for the vial of perfume that my mother gave us. But as her fingers fumbled inside her pocket, a look of panic washed over her face.

*The vial," Lori gasped, her voice trembling. "It's... It's gone!"

My heart sank as Lori spoke. "You're sure?" I asked.

Lori nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yes," she said, standing and looking around. "It must have fallen out of my pocket."Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

I took a deep breath. I knew this wouldn't be the end of the world, but we needed to find that vial. "Okay," I said calmly, "let's check in here. Maybe it fell out when we were in the dark."

Together, we began to search the room frantically, our eyes scanning every corner and crevice of the little storage room. I was certain that the vial had to be here somewhere. How far could it have gone, right?

But our efforts proved futile, and our hearts began to sink even further.

"Maybe it fell out at the party," I finally said, passing my hand over my face. "I'll go look for it. Wait here, okay?" Lori nodded, her face pale with worry. "Okay. Please hurry."

I squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Just stay calm, Lori," I said, offering her another small smile. "I'll find it. And if not, we'll get some help from my parents. It's not a big deal, alright?"

With a determined resolve, I left the room and reentered the bustling party, where the earlier panic that had begun to bubble up thankfully seemed to be quelled. My eyes scanned the floor as I retraced our steps, searching for any sign of the missing vial.

"Hey," I said softly as I made my way back to the table where my friends were still seated. "Has anyone seen Lori's perfume? It's missing."

Almost in unison, my friends' eyes widened. They all began patting their pockets, but turned up nothing. "Let's all split up," Enzo said, standing and keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. "It has to be around here somewhere, and we don't want anyone to find it before us, otherwise it'll raise even more suspicions. Alright?"

We nodded, and as Enzo suggested, we split up. I began making my way toward the east of the room, my eyes scanning the floor for the tiny vial. As I searched, though, I was beginning to wonder if it had been stepped on and shattered, which would honestly be a better outcome than someone finding it and realizing that a human was here after all.

And then, I spotted it.

The vial lay on the floor, a few paces away from where I was currently standing. Relief washed over me as I moved closer to retrieve it. But just as my fingers were about to close around the precious container, someone else got to it first.

A tall, wiry man with sharp eyes and a calculating demeanor picked up the vial. I recognized him immediately; it was the same guy from earlier. His expression shifted from curiosity to recognition, and dread settled in my stomach.

"I knew it," he said to himself.

He held the vial up for all to see, his voice ringing out above the party's noise, louder than before. "There are humans amongst us, in disguise!"