All Chapters of Twin Aces: Claimed by the Alpha Captain (MM Romance): Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Lucian POV The air in the room was burning hot, even though the windows were thick with frost.Orion stood like a stone wall against the oak door. His broad chest rose and fell in deep, heavy breaths. His knuckles were raw and white from clenching his fists. The smell of cedar was around him, a thick cloud. He was demanding that I back down, sit on the bed, and act like a little Omega hidden away from the world.Downstairs, the league board was waiting to expose me. In front of me, the dangerous Alpha in the sport was locking me in a cage.A sudden anger flared inside my chest. It felt hotter than the headache throbbing behind my eyes. I was transiently tired of it. I was tired of being the doll that everyone tried to protect or break. I was tired of hiding behind Orion, waiting for the corporate world to destroy my life. If I was going to fall, I was not going to do it cowering on a velvet couch.I dropped the glass of water. It did not break on the carpet. The liquid soaked straigh

Lucian POV The private jet landed back in our city under a gray, pouring rain.The flight home had been completely silent. The team walked off the plane in small, quiet groups, completely avoiding the main terminal where hundreds of sports reporters were waiting with flashing cameras. The league board had let us leave the hotel, but the dark cloud above our heads was getting bigger. Orion’s suspension was officially active. He was legally banned from stepping foot inside the Titans arena until the central board made a final decision.For the first time since my rookie contract started, the Twin Aces were separated on the ice.A private black car with dark windows picked us up right from the tarmac, driving us straight back to Orion’s penthouse. Orion sat next to me in the back seat, his face looking like it was carved out of solid stone. His torn shirt had been replaced by a fresh black sweater, but his large knuckles were still swollen and raw. His left arm was wrapped tight around

Orion POV The boardroom on the top floor of the league headquarters looked like a glass courtroom.A massive oval table made of black marble stretched across the center of the room. Behind it sat the five executive commissioners of the International Hockey Commission, all older Alphas and Betas dressed in expensive, gray suits. They looked cold, professional, and entirely hard as they stared at the files on their screens.I stood at the far end of the room, completely refusing to sit down in the leather chairs they offered me.My big shoulders threw a long, dark shadow across the polished marble. I had changed out of my training gear into a sharp, three-piece dark suit, and my jaw was set in a tight, angry line. My cedar scent was locked down tight beneath my clothes, but my physical presence filled the room with tension."The mid-season test is a rule for everyone, Captain Kael," the lead commissioner said. His voice was flat and bored as he adjusted his glasses. "Your rookie, Lucia

Lucian POV The heavy digital clock on the black stone wall showed 1:30 AM.The rest of the city was asleep under the cold rain. Down in the private underground rink, though, our long battle against the ice was still burning. My legs felt like blocks of solid lead. My lungs screamed for a single breath of warm air. The white ice was fully covered in deep cuts from our steel blades, a messy map of our long, hard midnight training.I skated slowly toward the home side of the ice. My whole body shook from pure exhaustion.I stumbled over the low plastic boards and sat down heavy on the wooden bench. When I dropped my hockey stick onto the floor, the loud clack echoed off the empty stone walls like a gunshot. I let my head fall back against the cold wall. My chest rose and fell in sharp, desperate gasps.Every breath I took came out as a thick cloud of hot steam, freezing at once in the cold air. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face. It glued strands of my blonde hair to my forehead an

Lucian POV The smell of old sweat, expensive leather, and freezing steel inside the main building did not feel like home anymore. It felt like a battleground.When Orion and I finally walked back into the main locker room for the first official team practice since his suspension ended, the room went quiet right away. The noisy, joking mood that usually filled the place before a big game completely vanished. Twenty large hockey players stopped what they were doing. Nobody looked at us. Nobody said a word.The team was completely broken.I walked over to my stall, my skates clicking softly against the thick rubber floor mats. My body felt incredibly stiff. The dark marks Orion had left on my skin under my gear still buzzed with a lingering heat from our late-night training on the private ice. I could feel the heavy weight of Orion’s blue eyes tracking my every move from across the room. He had not lowered his guard for a single second since the league issued the mandatory audit notice.