Christmas with My Hockey Alphas

Ivy

Snow clings to the Northvale University campus like a second skin. It glitters under the glow of the twinkling Christmas lights. I hug my thin parka tighter, and mutter at the cold as I pull the library's heavy oak door shut behind me. Midnight closing shift, again. Of course.

Across the quad, students spill from frat houses with their red cups, shrieking carols off-key at the tops of their lungs. Even in December finals weeks, the campus royalty still parties. Adjusting my backpack strap, I keep my head down. Maybe if I move fast enough, I can avoid anyone noticing the scholarship girl trudging across the campus. I can avoid their laughter and chides as I make my way toward my dormitory.

Christmas is the worst. While my classmates are flying off to Aspen or Florida, I am counting tips from the café and logging hours at the library. I don't have any friends. No one would dare to befriend the university's charity case, and to make it worse, I don't have family either. My mother's last text message was four years ago. She was happy to see me leave our pack. She is now rid of your family shame.

A gust of wind sends a scent of pine needles and roasting chestnuts from the Holiday Market across the quad. It should have been comforting. Instead, it makes the back of my neck prickle. Like someone is watching.

I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the feeling. I'm just tired.

Inside my backpack, the corner of my term paper pokes me in the ribs. Reminding me that it is only half finished. Extinct Bloodline and Mythical Wolves A Critical Review. It is for my Supernatural History elective, the only class I love. Professor Garrison believes this is an academic interest of mine, but if he only knew it is personal. It is a topic that keeps me awake at night, and I can't get back to my dorm room fast enough to do more research.

Two girls stagger past me in glitter dresses. They whisper and giggle. "The Three Kings are coming tonight," one says. "Cole is going to destroy at the winter hockey tournament."

"Can Jaxton play?" The other asks. "I heard he was on probation."

The first girl's eyes glitter with excitement. "It just ended. He will be there, too, and Elias is taking a break from his research to show up."

I roll my eyes, but I can't stop myself from listening. Everyone knows of the Three Kings: Cole Harding, Jaxon Black, and Elias Thorne. Three different packs. Three different styles. But together they rule Northvale's social scene. Some people claim they were already Alphas, just waiting to inherit after graduation. I have never spoken to them, but I know their faces, just as everyone on campus does. Cole with his boyish smile, Jaxon with his tattoos and motorcycle, and Elias with his silver-rimmed glasses and unnerving stare.

I reach the edge of the quad, thankful to have avoided the drunk students. The snow squeaks under my boots. The moon hangs huge, full, and pale behind drifting clouds. My pulse thuds in my chest. I feel it again, the faint pressure of a gaze on my skin.

My hearing has been acting weird for several weeks. Not just sharper, but different. I can hear a squirrel's claws on the bark, sounding like gunfire. The whine of the dorm elevator feels like it is drilling into my skull. I have been to the campus doctor. He assured me it is nothing more than stress. But he is wrong. It is a terrifying nightmare.

A shadow shifts near the spruce trees across the path.

I freeze. The figure is tall, hunched, and wearing a coat with the hood drawn low. I can't see their face; its head is tilted toward me. A glint of yellow catches the moonlight. Is it a phone screen? Or maybe eyes?

"Hey!" I call out, trying to sound brave, but my voice cracks. The figure melts back into darkness.

I spin and start walking fast. My books slip on black ice. I nearly fall, but catch myself on a lamp post. My fingers claw at the red velvet ribbon wrapped around it, and it breaks free. I cling to the metal, trying to catch my breath as it fogs into the air in front of me.

"Get a grip." I hiss at myself. "You're not back there. You're safe."

My phone buzzes in my pocket, surely a notification for the library time clock. Ignoring it, I dig my gloves out of my pocket, needing to warm my hands. I fight back the urge to call my roommate. I don't want to sound paranoid. Not again.

Somewhere far off, a howl rises in the distance. It is weak and faint. Probably just a dog. Hopefully.

My heart thumps against my ribs.

I walk faster, cutting between the science building and the student union. The lights from the windows light the alley in front of me. I can almost hear a second set of footsteps behind mine, slow and deliberate. Every time I stop to listen, the sound vanishes.

By the time I reach my dorm steps, I am practically jogging. I swipe my keycard, stumble inside, and the door thumps closed behind me.

The warmth of the lobby hits me like a wave, bringing the scent of hot cocoa from the vending machine. I press my back against the wall, with my eyes closed. I try to slow my breathing, but my hands won't stop trembling. I tell myself it is just the cold, even though I know it is a lie.

Above the welcome desk, a TV plays highlights from the weekend hockey game. Cole Harding's face flashes on the screen. His cheeks flushed from the game, and a wolf tattoo peeking out from his collar. He grins like he owns the world, and it makes me hate him.

I snort under my breath. "He is everywhere."

I head for the stairwell, the echo of the howl still ringing in my ears. I whisper to myself as I take steps one by one. "Just one more week until break. You can make it."

But in the back of my mind, something stirs. Claws scrape the inside of my skull, and a hoarse voice whispers. 'RUN!'