THE TRIBID HOCKEY GOD & HIS OBSESSION

CASSAINI never dream, kings like me do not dream.Monsters like me cannot dream.Yet for years, every time I shut my eyes, all I ever saw… was her.Evelessa.The child with silver eyes and fire-lit limbs.The only being alive who isn't afraid of me.The one fate carved for me.The one I lost.Not by choice.Not by desire.Not by fate being kind.On the night I was meant to meet her , as always…I fell.A coma.A fucking coma.The King of Shadows, Master of Realms, brought down by an illness no one could understand.Her laughter in the clearing was the last sound I heard.Her small hands throwing wildflowers at me.Her smile, bright and fearless.Then blackness.Nothing.I always wake from the memory choking on the same fear that has stalked me for years."Your Majesty," someone warns quietly, "your eyes—""I know."They're burning.Molten gold.My soldiers stiffen immediately. They've been trained for this.When my eyes shift like this, it means only one thing:She is near.Or at lea

EVELESSA I wake up enveloped in cosiness and the gentle fragrance of roses stretching contentedly like a fulfilled cat. Something feels off. My bed is neither this cosy nor this warm. I open my eyes in alarm. The first thing I spot is the decor of an extravagantly luxurious room. I attempt to rise. I’m quickly pushed back down, and it finally strikes me that this isn’t my room and I’m not alone. I start to panic. Just as I'm about to shout, a smooth and confident voice speaks to me while holding me close from behind. "Ugh...baby it's too early for you to be yelling, especially since I’m not the one causing it. Good morning, darling." He grips me firmly. "Cassain?" "Yes, sweetheart?" "How on earth am I here right now?" "I transported you through teleportation." I breathe out slowly to remain composed.. "Alright... You're a wolf. How is it that you possess the power to teleport? And my family must be worried now so let me go." I attempt to free myself. He refuses to release me.

EVELESSA The hallway flickers again.The shadows crawl up the walls like they’re alive.My heartbeat leaps into my throat and lodges there, refusing to move.Cassain’s voice crashes through the chaos.“EVELLESSA. NOW.”Something inside me jerks forward—Aretha, terrified but alert.Aretha: Mate will protect us. MOVE.My father steps between us again, palms glowing faintly. “Evelessa, don’t—”But then the shadows at the end of the hall peel open like a mouth.And something steps out.Tall. Pale. Clawed.Vampire.Not just any vampire.A royal envoy.My stomach drops.Cassain is beside me in half a second. His fingers close around my wrist—not harsh, but firm, urgent.“Close your eyes,” he orders.“No—WAIT—”Too late.He yanks me forward and the portal swallows us whole.Light, pressure, the taste of metal.I gasp and stumble out onto a marble floor.A massive foyer stretches before me—gold-trimmed pillars, glittering chandeliers, polished black stone, and impossibly high ceilings.This…

EVELESSA I couldn’t decide what irritated me more; Cassain being upset or my own annoyance at Cassain’s anger. Regardless, by the time lunch rolled around the day, I was just one glare away, from hurling a tray at someone.I entered the cafeteria clutching my books against my chest like armour mainly because I doubted I could resist swinging them at someone. As always, people glanced my way intrigued, partly scared, and the rest puzzled at how Cassain could be so devoted to me.I noticed my friends seated at our table, yet before I reached halfway there, a few people obstructed my way.Cheerleaders. An entire squad of them. Looking like storm clouds with an overpowering smell of coconut oil.At the heart of it all stood Alyssa Chadwell. Leader of the rival team’s cheerleaders, girlfriend of the quarterback, who once attempted to ask me on a date and seemingly the head of Poor Decisions Incorporated.She crossed her arms. Flashed me a charming poisonous grin.“Well, well… Evelessa. We

EVELESSA Cassain’s car came to a stop outside the house, the engine purring softly as if the car itself could feel the strain hanging between us. The porch light shone—radiant, glaring, an alert, from my father that he was up.Great.Cass didn’t shut the engine off away. He remained seated fingers tapping rhythmically on the steering wheel his jaw clenched hard it could slice diamonds. His eyes had softened from the colour it held in the cafeteria before, yet the intensity still lingered… quietly burning.“Thank you for… the lift and for whatever you did that let me escape without penalty " I murmured.At first, he remained silent.Just looked at me.And God, that look—It was a look that basically incinerated me and brought me warmth at the same time.“Eve " he murmured.My breathing broke.He extended his hand gently, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear, deliberate and cautious as if it could sting him.I swallowed hard. "What?”“You genuinely frightened me earlier.”I exhaled.