My Hockey Alpha Chapter 233: The Death of a Father
Enzo
At the last moment, Nina shoved me through the portal before I had the
chance to try to stay behind. I knew, logically, that Selena was completely and
utterly lying when she said that she would let my father and my friends live if I
went with her.
But my judgment was so clouded from the grief of my father’s
imminent death that I wasn’t thinking straight, and if it weren’t for Nina’s quick
thinking, I would have made the worst decision of my life.
But at the same time, for the briefest of moments, I resented her for that. I
wished that I could have tried, even if it failed. Even then, however, I loved her
all the same, and I knew that she did the right thing in pushing me through that
portal.
My father and I didn’t always get along, especially after my mother died years
before. That didn’t mean, however, that I didn’t love him. In fact, quite the
opposite was true: I loved my father dearly. I just wished that I had realized
that before it was too late.
And now, I was out of time. I fell to the ground on the other side of the portal along with my friends. Nina
came through just seconds after me and fell down to the ground beside me,
panting heavily. The force of our fall caused me to drop my father, and when I
came to my senses on the forest floor, I looked up to see him lying on the
ground a few feet away.
His body was so frail and limp, and I instantly felt
panic rise up in my throat as I wondered if the impact was enough to kill him. I
scrambled over to him on my hands and knees and grabbed his shoulder,
rolling him onto his back.
His eyes were open and blinking, and he was breathing. But he wouldn’t be for long.
I scooped my father up into my lap as he stared up at me. I had always heard
that people would often have moments of lucidity right before death, almost as
though death was giving them the chance to say goodbye. Someone who
could barely breathe and was basically a living corpse just moments earlier
could suddenly sit up and have a full conversation with their loved ones.
My father was too weak to sit up, but I knew that he was fully lucid as he
looked up at me.
“Enzo,” he said quietly, his voice sounding cracked and dry. “You’re a good
kid. I’m sorry I never told you that sooner.
“It’s okay, dad,” I replied, feeling the pit of dread in my stomach open even
wider. Around me, my friends were groaning and coming to their senses. I
could hear Matt, Lori, and Jessica speak in confused, but hushed, tones. They
were waking up from Selena’s spell and were certainly confused about what
happened and where they were.
But none of that mattered to me right now. I only had eyes for my father. Out
of the corner of my eye, I could see Nina sitting up on her knees close to me,
but she gave us space and privacy for our last moments together.
“I’m so sorry, dad,” I said. My throat felt as though it was closing around my
words, and it caused my voice to come out sounding choked.
Part of me wondered if I would die along with my father from a lack of air to my lungs. “I
should have tried harder.”
My father only shook his head. “You did the best that anybody could have
possibly done. And besides… I’ve had a good life. Now, I’ll finally get to be
with your mother.”
The pit of dread in my stomach opened even wider than before, and I felt my
heart drop into it. I felt so heavy that I thought that I could simply drop through
the earth now, boring a hole straight out to the other side.
I wished that there was something I could do.
Maybe if I had found my father
just a day or two earlier, he would be okay now. Maybe if I had fought back
against Selena that day that she took my father hostage, none of this would
have happened. Maybe… Maybe…
My father was always too astute for his own good, and he instantly saw my
guilt-ridden face.
He reached up and clamped his hand around the back of my
neck and held me firmly, forcing me to look into his eyes. His hand was cold
and his fingers were bony.
“Don’t feel guilty, Enzo,” he said sternly. “You couldn’t have stopped this. No
one could. But now, you can stop it before more people die
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. “But how?” I said,
almost in a whimper. “How am I supposed to stop her?”
My father then looked over at Nina. I followed his gaze to see that she was
now kneeling over our friends, inspecting each of them for injuries. She was in
full-blown doctor mode.
Part of me wished that she would have done the same
for my father, but we both knew that he was beyond saving. Now, it was just a
matter of saying our goodbyes, and making sure that our friends were safe.
“She’s the key to everything,” he said. “She’s the missing princess. I realize
that now.
If you can bring her to the Alpha King, everything will be okay.”
“But the legend,” I whispered. “The legend of the two sisters…”
My father shook his head. “Legends aren’t facts. You can change them, bend
them to your will. I know that the two of you will find a way if you just stick
together.
She’s your fated mate… That is stronger than any twin bond—”
Suddenly, my father’s voice sputtered, and he coughed. A bit of spit foamed at
the corners of his mouth, and his eyes rolled back for a moment. I knew that
he wasn’t going to last for much longer, and all I could do was pull him closer
in my arms, cradling him gently.
I let my wolf use some of his healing abilities
to ease my father’s pain, to make his passing more gentle.
“I love you, Enzo,” my father whispered, so quietly his voice could have been
mistaken for the wind. “Don’t forget that.”
“I love you too, dad,” I replied.
But he was already gone. His eyes drifted up to the sky, and that was it.
I didn’t move for a very long time. It could have been an eternity for all I cared.
I felt numb, and all I could do was hang my head as I held my father tightly in
my arms, as though holding him there would suddenly bring him back.
At some point, I could feel my friends circling around me. They sat down
around me, their hands reaching out to touch me and rub my back, but no one
said a word. Or maybe they did, and I was just too far away from my body to
hear it.
All I knew was that eventually, the sun somehow came up when I thought it
never would rise again, just as it always did… And my father was still dead,
even in the golden light of the morning
