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Fourteen

Author: Lovely
last update publish date: 2026-05-28 01:12:00

ATHENA

Standing completely still on the painted blue line, I pulled the collar of my jacket up against the chill. The air inside the Ashford arena was freezing, biting sharply at my nose, but the energy humming across the ice was entirely electric.

I tracked the offensive line as they ran the newly installed transition drill, I watched the execution closely. Catching a wildly spinning pass through center ice, Miller didn't hesitate or fumble like he had on Monday.

Instead of overthinking his f
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  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Ninety One

    AUTHOR'S POVFLASHBACK:Seven years ago. Eugene, Oregon.The rain never stopped. The sky hung low and gray, matching the oppressive, damp smell of the high school cafeteria. The linoleum floors were slick with tracked-in mud and spilled milk.Her name was Sarah. She was fifteen years old, carrying thirty extra pounds of baby fat she couldn't shed. Her skin broke out in painful, red cystic acne across her cheeks and forehead. Her hair was a frizzy, untamable mess that refused to lie flat, no matter how much cheap drugstore product she used. She wore oversized, faded hoodies, desperately trying to shrink into the background, praying to be invisible.But Athena Cole never let her be invisible.Athena was a hurricane of teenage rage. Dealing with a ruthless, demanding father who forced her into competitive hockey, Athena took her anger out on the easiest target in the room. She wore dark eyeliner, combat boots, and carried a mean, sharp cruelty that earned her a vicious group of followers

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Ninety

    AUTHOR'S POVPacing the length of her Century City penthouse, Sienna dug her manicured nails into her palms. The sprawling skyline glittered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, a vast grid of amber and white lights, but she saw none of it.Her bare feet slapped against the cold marble floor. The photograph she taped to Athena’s dorm room door was a warning, a strike designed to induce panic. It wasn't enough. Talia surviving the attack in the arena hallway complicated the narrative. The athletic board was terrified of the police presence on campus, freezing all disciplinary actions against the hockey staff to avoid bad PR.She needed a new angle of attack.The heavy mahogany front door clicked open.Sienna spun around, her rigid posture softening for a fraction of a second. Luca walked into the foyer. He looked wrecked. Dark circles bruised the skin under his eyes, his dark hair tangled and unwashed. He wore his gray Westmore track pants and a wrinkled hoodie, carrying none of his u

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Eighty Nine

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  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Eighty Eight

    JEREMIAH She was right.Rewinding the tape for the fifth time, I scrubbed a hand over my tired face.Sitting in the living room of my off-campus townhouse, I watched the defensive breakdown play out on my laptop screen. The opponent's center easily bypassed Carter at the blue line. It was a glaring weakness. Athena was right; the zone-defense structure required total commitment, or the whole system collapsed under pressure.My phone buzzed against the glass coffee table, vibrating hard enough to rattle my empty water glass.I picked it up. The caller ID flashed a single, dreaded name: *Arthur*.My jaw tightened. I swiped the green icon, holding the phone to my ear but saying nothing. Let him speak first."Jeremiah," my father said. His voice echoed through the receiver, crisp and casual, lacking any trace of the violence from the hotel room. "I hope I am not interrupting your rigorous academic schedule.""What do you want?" I asked, keeping my tone flat."I was just reviewing some in

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Eighty Seven

    AUTHOR'S POVCLICK.The brass pins inside the deadbolt clicked into place one by one. Applying steady pressure to the tension wrench, Vaughn twisted his wrist a fraction of an inch. The lock gave way with a soft, metallic snap.He slipped into the narrow dorm room, pulling the heavy door shut behind him. The space smelled of cheap vanilla body spray and stale coffee. Afternoon sunlight cut through the dusty blinds, illuminating a cramped layout shared by two college students. One side of the room featured pink throw pillows and a chaotic pile of clothes. The other side—Athena Cole’s side—was Spartan, organized with military precision.Vaughn approached the neat wooden desk. He pulled a slim, encrypted smartphone from his jacket pocket, muting the shutter sound.Moving with practiced, lethal efficiency, he started documenting her life.Snap. A printed weekly class schedule pinned to a corkboard.Snap. A spiral-bound notebook left open, detailing defensive line-shifts and aggressive for

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Eighty Six

    ATHENAThe glow of the dual monitors cast a harsh, blue light across the cramped coaches' office. Rubbing my gritty eyes, I clicked the spacebar, pausing the UCLA game tape for the fifth time in twenty minutes.On the screen, a Bruins forward broke through a weak defensive screen. It was a sloppy transition. I grabbed my dry-erase marker, circling the gap in coverage on the whiteboard resting across my knees. The Ashford Arena sat in dead silence around me. Midnight had passed an hour ago, leaving the sprawling facility feeling like a concrete tomb. The usual hum of the ice chillers provided the only background noise.Leaning back in the squeaky leather chair, I tossed the marker onto the desk. My brain felt like mush. I needed coffee, or maybe just three solid hours of sleep.Without warning, the monitors snapped black.The overhead fluorescent panels flickered once, buzzed a sharp electrical note, and died.Plunged into pure darkness, I froze.Shit.The heavy hum of the chillers spu

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Five

    ATHENACrossing my arms over my chest, I shifted my weight and looked dead at Jeremiah Ashford. The air in the gritty hallway of the facility felt thick, smelling faintly of stale ice shavings and floor wax."I’m not doing this for revenge, Ashford," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet.His d

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Four

    (Athena's POV)If embarrassment could kill, I would've died twice this week. The first time was at the rink and the second was standing in front of a black gate with “ASHFORD HOCKEY” painted across it in peeling silver letters while Tessa stared at me like she was waiting for me to come to my sens

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Three

    (Athena's POV)Shame!That was all I felt before I could even open my eyes. It was heavy and ugly, like my body remembered before my mind could register. And when I finally blinked awake, the white ceiling above me swam into focus. I was at the College hospital. Great.I let out the smallest bre

  • Rejected by my team, Claimed by the Rival   Two

    (Athena's POV).For a second, I thought I heard him wrong because there was no way Luca Ryder had just looked straight past me and called who?“Sienna?” My rival?The crowd screamed, while I just stood there, frozen at the edge of the rink with my hand still over my mouth like a complete idiot, t

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