Chapter 11: REBECCA

{OUTSIDE THE BORDERS}The silence in the housing office was really loud. I stared at the taped-up sign on the bulletproof glass, my heart sinking into the pits of my stomach.'CLOSED FOR STAFF RETREAT.''WILL REOPEN MONDAY MORNING.'"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered, the words a low hiss between my teeth."Problem, dear?" The older woman at the mail desk looked up, Her glasses were sitting on the tip of her nose.She gave me the kind of look usually set aside for students who had missed their tuition payments."No," I lied, my voice tight. "I just... I really needed to speak with the Dean. It's an emergency.""Well, unless your dorm is currently on fire, it will have to wait until Monday. Rules are rules."I opened my mouth to argue—to tell her that my dorm was on fire, just not in the way she meant—but I caught myself. I couldn't explain that my roommate was a crazy Alpha coach who had spent the morning marking the floor with hockey tape like a madman."Sorry," I mumbled, ba

Chapter 12: JAXON

{OFF-LIMITS}I stood in the kitchen, the glass of ice-cold water doing absolutely nothing to cool the fire burning in my stomach. My eyes were fixed on the closed door of the guest room—her room.I hadn't expected a roommate. I had specifically pulled strings to keep this suite empty. I wanted the silence. I needed the dark. The league had chewed me up and spat me out after the incident on the ice, and one letter from a high-priced therapist was all it took to kill my career.From NHL superstar to a university coach in a single night. They said I was unstable. They said my Alpha aggression was a disadvantage. They were right. I was a ticking time bomb of trauma and nightmares, and the last thing I needed was a distraction.Especially not her.The last time I had seen Rebecca McCall, she was sixteen, a skinny thing with wide eyes at a party Gavin had thrown at Pike's estate. Even then, she had messed with my wolf. Even then, I had known she was the one girl who could ruin me.She

CHAPTER 13: REBECCA

{THEN: THE BOY BEHIND THE GYM}Three years ago....The party was too loud, just as it always was at Pike's estate. We were surrounded by three floors of fancy marble and money, and every single person inside was pretending to be something they weren't. My mother called them investors but I called them loud vampires.I was seventeen, and I had already learned the art of finding the quietest exit before my mother could notice.The backyard was big and dark, only brightened by the yellow lights hanging over the pergola by the pool.I walked along the stone path past the bushes and the outdoor kitchen, heading to the old stone bench behind the gym where no one ever went.And it was there that I heard him before I saw him.I didn't hear him speak, but he made a noise. It was a quiet, calm sound, like someone makes when they think no one is around.I stopped in my tracks. It was Jaxon Thorne.He was sitting on the ground with his back against the gym wall, with one knee pulled up, and h

Chapter 14: GAVIN

{MINE TO WATCH}The ice doesn't lie. It's a cold, unforgiving mirror of the nervous system.On dry land, I'm really good at tricking people.I can control my voice, keep my eyes from getting big, and stop my hands from shaking while I look my dad and his new wife in the eye.But here, thirty-two millimeters of sharp steel on ice reveals all my secrets.My guilt shows in how I turn—putting too much weight on the inside edge, a tiny pause that travels from my mind to my legs.I stood at center ice, feeling the rink's cooling system buzzing through my skates, moving up my legs and settling as a dull ache in my knees.The gate at the end of the rink opened with a hiss.Rebecca walked inside.I didn't need to look to know it was her. My Beta biology picked up the scent instantly—The smell of ozone was quick and electric, mixed with a sweetness that felt deep in my throat.It was strong. It sliced through the stuffy smell of twenty Alphas like a knife.My eyes shrank from the bright light

Chapter 15: REBECCA

{THE CORRECTION}The drill we were about to perform was called a crossover transition.It sounded simple but it wasn't. You needed to skate fast along the boards. When you reached the blue line, you had to turn by shifting your weight from the outside edge to the inside edge. Then, you had to keep the puck with you as you turned, without slowing down or losing control.Do it right and you were invisible. If you mess up, you show all your plans to the defenders on the ice. And just to be clear, if you do that, then you were fucked!I had been doing it wrong. Not really badly or like a beginner, but just a little wrong in a tiny way that only showed up under pressure.I hesitated for half a second while rotating my hips. It didn't matter in practice, but it would be a big deal in a real game with a scout watching.Everyone knew that the difference between being chosen and ignored was very small.I realized my technique was off. I had known for two weeks. What I didn't know was that J

Chapter 16 : REBECCA

{THE THINNEST LINE}I got the pivot right on the first rep. And the second. And the third.I hated that I did, mainly because I hated how he could so annoyingly correct. Gavin was waiting at the boards when I came off the ice for the water break.He didn't say anything immediately. He passed me a bottle and leaned against the boards with his arms crossed, watching the drill rotation continue on the ice. His jaw was doing the thing it did .. Like a soft, constant pressure, It was like he was chewing something between his back teeth that would not break down.I drank my water and waited."Your hip's been dropping on that pivot for two weeks," he said finally."I know.""You should have come to me." His voice was even and a little careful. "You've been injured, Gavin. You weren't running drills.""I'm cleared now."I looked at him sideways. He was still watching the ice, not me. He was watching Jaxon as he moved through the drill, hands held behind his back, making small adjustments