MasukEPISODE 63LUCIENI arrived at the arena early that morning like I always did on game days. The championship match was only a few hours away and my stomach was full of the good kind of nerves. I walked into the locker room expecting the usual loud noise of guys laughing, taping their sticks, and talking about the other team. Instead I found several serious-looking league officials already standing inside with clipboards, gloves, and small cameras. Their faces were blank and professional.Coach Harrison stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. He looked more tense than I had ever seen him. “Listen up, everyone,” he said in a firm voice. “The league is doing a surprise inspection of every single locker. There have been doping rumors around the university and they have to check everything before we are allowed to play today. Open your lockers, step back, and let them work. This should be quick.”Most of us laughed a little under our breath. We had nothing to hide. Jake bump
EPISODE 61TRISTAN The doctors said Trenton could keep playing. They told him the bruises from the skate crash would heal if he was careful. When I heard the news my blood boiled. Careful was not good enough. I wanted him gone from the ice for good. I could not accept that he had stood up again in front of everyone.So I made a new plan. Something much worse. A few days before the next big championship game I found a player from the other team. He was tall and strong and always looking for easy money. We met late at night in a dark parking lot behind an empty store. The only light came from a broken street lamp. I handed him a thick envelope full of cash.“You see Lockwood’s left shoulder?” I said in a low voice. “It’s still hurt from the last crash. Hit him there. Hard. Make it look like a normal fight along the boards. Do it right and there will be more money after the game.”The guy opened the envelope and counted the bills with a greedy smile. “Consider it done. He won’t see it c
EPISODE 59TRENTON The arena was louder than anything I had ever heard. Thousands of people filled every seat. Blue and silver flags waved everywhere. Our fans screamed our names, but the other side yelled mean words at me. “Fraud!” “Cheater!” “Go home, Lockwood!” The noise hit me in the chest, but I did not look at them. I stood with my team in the tunnel and took a long breath.Coach Harrison put a hand on my shoulder. “Ignore them, Trenton. Play your game. Win this and the talk dies.”I nodded. “We win tonight. That is the only answer.”Jake skated up beside me. “We got your back, Cap. Let’s shut them up.”I looked at my teammates. Their faces were serious and ready. “Stay together. Play hard. No one breaks us.”We stepped onto the ice. The cold air felt sharp in my lungs. The lights were bright. I tapped my stick on the ice twice like I always did. The game started fast. Bodies crashed. Pucks flew. I focused only on the next play. Every time the crowd yelled “fraud” I pushed hard
LUCIENI arrived at the arena early that morning like I always did on game days. The championship match was only a few hours away and my stomach was full of the good kind of nerves. I walked into the locker room expecting the usual loud noise of guys laughing, taping their sticks, and talking about the other team. Instead I found several serious-looking league officials already standing inside with clipboards, gloves, and small cameras. Their faces were blank and professional.Coach Harrison stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. He looked more tense than I had ever seen him. “Listen up, everyone,” he said in a firm voice. “The league is doing a surprise inspection of every single locker. There have been doping rumors around the university and they have to check everything before we are allowed to play today. Open your lockers, step back, and let them work. This should be quick.”Most of us laughed a little under our breath. We had nothing to hide. Jake bumped my shoul
TRENTON The days after my shoulder injury were some of the hardest of my whole life. I used to wake up before the sun came up so I could lead the Ice Wolves onto the practice rink. Now I woke up and went to the rehabilitation room instead. The room always smelled like clean medicine and old sweat. The lights were bright and cold. Physical therapists guided me through slow, careful exercises that felt so small compared to real hockey training. “Lift your arm just a little,” one therapist said as she held my elbow. “Stop when it hurts too much.” I tried. Sharp pain shot through my shoulder right away. It felt like someone was pushing a hot knife into the joint. I clenched my teeth and kept going because I had no other choice. Every movement reminded me how close I had come to losing the sport that had defined my entire life. Hockey was not just a game to me. It was how I proved I was strong enough to be Alpha one day. Without it I felt lost and empty. In the afternoons I went to
TRISTAN The doctors said Trenton could keep playing. They told him the bruises from the skate crash would heal if he was careful. When I heard the news my blood boiled. Careful was not good enough. I wanted him gone from the ice for good. I could not accept that he had stood up again in front of everyone. So I made a new plan. Something much worse. A few days before the next big championship game I found a player from the other team. He was tall and strong and always looking for easy money. We met late at night in a dark parking lot behind an empty store. The only light came from a broken street lamp. I handed him a thick envelope full of cash. “You see Lockwood’s left shoulder?” I said in a low voice. “It’s still hurt from the last crash. Hit him there. Hard. Make it look like a normal fight along the boards. Do it right and there will be more money after the game.” The guy opened the envelope and counted the bills with a greedy smile. “Consider it done. He won’t see it coming
Aria's POVEven from where I stood, I still couldn’t understand why Trenton was staring at me with such suspicion. That look wasn’t just terrifying—it was horrifying. This was the first time he had ever looked at me that way.Even though the scene refused to leave my mind, I decided to brush it off
Trenton's POVCoach Damien raised his voice over the cheering. “Listen up, everyone!” The rink went silent before he continued. “For the championship qualifiers, the player representing Winterridge…” He paused. “Trenton Blackwood.”“Congratulations, man,” Lucien—my best friend—pulled me into a side
Aria“Not today, Tristan,” I muttered once I stepped out of the locker room. “Your brother will not die in my hands again.”Looking around to make sure that the coast was clear, I reached for the poison inside my bra, twisted the lid open, and stared at the dark liquid. The sharp smell of herbs—bur
AriaThe first thing I noticed once I stepped inside the locker room wasn't his fake smile or his scheming eyes that hinted that he thought he had me wrapped around his tiny fingers.No.The first thing I noticed… was the mate bond between us. It was no longer as strong as it used to be.In my prev







