My Hockey Alpha



Chapter 0756 Nina

I hadn't seen it in what felt like so long.

Its sharp white teeth gleamed in the darkness. Its hollow eyes, lidless and empty, seemed to be looking directly into my soul. It cocked its head first to the left, then to the right, then left and right again, over and over and over like a broken, crooked metronome.

"What do you want?"

The shadow entity didn't answer. It rarely did, now that I thought of it. It just... beckoned to me.

But when I followed it, it led me nowhere.

"I thought you were gone," I said, shaking my head. "I thought I was finally done with you."

The shadow entity just widened its toothy grin and continued to beckon.

This went on for what felt like an eternity. Maybe it was an eternity, even. Maybe whatever drugs the doctor had given me had actually killed me by accident instead of simply putting me to sleep, and this was my own personal hell.

Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't have been surprised.

But it was at some point during that eternity that it happened: the white light. It spread outwards, all around me, enveloping me like a soft, warm cocoon of light. It swallowed the void, and the shadow entity with it.

Furrowing my brow, I turned in all directions, looking for the source of the light. And for the first time ever, I finally saw it.

"Selena," I breathed.

She stood behind me, or maybe in front of me, or next to me, or all around I couldn't tell. I couldn't even really see her, but rather, I could feel her so profoundly that an image of her somehow materialized in my mind's eye. "Nina," she whispered, her eyes widening. "You finally found it."

I awoke with a start to find myself still in my bed in my father's mansion. There was no white light, no shadow entity, no dead sister. Just me and an empty room and a sense of dread that couldn't be ignored.

"Mom! Dad!" I called out.

Within a few moments, they were both at my bedside. "What is it?" my mother asked frantically. "Are you alright, honey?"

"I dreamed about the shadow entity," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I... I think it might be back."

My mother and father looked at each other worriedly as realization dawned on both of them. "I'll call the witch," my father said without a moment of hesitation.

Within a matter of less than an hour, the witch was at my side once more. It had felt like forever since I had last seen Elara, but she looked just as ethereal as ever as she traced her crystals across my skin, humming softly to herself.

"Hmm..." she murmured as she worked. "Interesting..."

I glanced up at my parents, who were standing beside the bed with looks of worry on their faces. Words of our supposed generational curse had already been exchanged, and tensions were high. If the shadow entity had truly returned, then both myself and my baby were at risk

And I couldn't have that again. Not now, not when everything else was falling apart.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at Elara.

She sighed, straightening, and tucked a strand of long, dark hair behind her ear. "The spirit is indeed still attached to you," she said. "But there is something else preventing it from harming you."

I frowned. "The talisman?" I asked, although truthfully, I hadn't been wearing it since the Moon Goddess Festival. I still wasn't entirely sure why; I had just felt calmer since that night, as though I didn't need it anymore.

The witch shook her head. "Not the talisman, no. Something else," she said. "Something made of light."

Suddenly, it hit me. "Selena," I breathed, whipping my head around to look at my dad once again. "It's her. She's the one who's been protecting me."

My parents blinked at me, clearly confused. The witch, however, nodded.

"Your sister passed on some time ago, correct?" she asked.

I nodded. "Less than a year ago."

"It's very possible that her spirit stayed with you," she said, glancing at my father. "Especially since you were twins, as your father has informed me. A werewolf's twin bond is incredibly strong, even in death."

I felt a lump form in my throat as I listened to the witch's words. My twin sister, Selena... Despite everything, she was still with me, protecting me from this strange, dark spirit that had latched onto our bloodline.

"But how is she protecting me?" I asked.

Elara shrugged as she began rooting through her box of crystals, searching for something. "There could be a number of reasons," she explained. "But most importantly, you must know that her spirit's protection is not foolproof. Here."

She held out a small crystal to me. "This is a moonstone," she said. "Keep it on your person at all times; don't lose it like you lost the talisman."

At the mention of losing the talisman, I felt my face redden. My parents gaped at me, astonished, but said nothing. I gingerly took the pale white stone, noticing how cool it felt in my palm.

"What will this do?" I asked.

"Moonstone is a crystal that is known for its lunar properties," Elara said. "More specifically, it has been studied as a powerful tool to strengthen bonds. No one is quite sure how it works, but it is believed to especially strengthen the bond between werewolf twins."

I furrowed my brow as I looked down at the small, milky white stone. There was nothing particularly special about it on the outside; it was simply a round stone, almost like a pearl.

But it was then, as I held it in my palm, that I remembered.

The memories came rushing back like a tidal wave. My eyes widened, my spine straightening as they washed over me. God, how could I have forgotten? It was all so obvious, right here in front of me this whole time, and yet it had somehow slipped my mind.

All at once, memories of the night of the Moon Goddess Festival flooded through me. I remembered it all now: dropping my glass on the ground, wandering off into the woods, finding myself at Selena's grave.

I remembered the shadow entity being there, beckoning to me. I remembered how it laughed in my face and tore the talisman from around my neck. I remembered the fear in my heart.

And I remembered my sister's voice and a white light surrounding me.noveldrama

There was more before that, too; the feather on my sister's grave, the feather that I had left on the Moon Goddess altar.

That was no mere coincidence. It was a gift, and it had set everything in motion. I wasn't sure how, but holding that moonstone now, I somehow knew that by leaving that feather on the altar, I had flipped some sort of switch and allowed my sister into my heart.

That was why I felt so peaceful after that night; Selena had stayed with me then, fending off the shadow entity so

that my baby could be safe. It wasn't my offering to the Moon Goddess that had been protecting me all this time. It was my twin sister.