A NERD FOR THE HOCKEY ALPHA

Calla“Do I look like someone who knows how to cartwheel?”That’s the first thing I say when Blaire, my best friend, dumps a pair of cheer shoes on my desk like it’s a done deal.She grins. “No, but you look like someone who wants a stronger med school application.”And damn it, she’s not wrong.“Calla Evernight, loosen up a bit… I mean, how am I supposed to introduce my best friend to a prince charming if she won’t even leave the lab?” Blaire huffs, hands on her waist, hips tilted like she’s in a rom-com standoff.I glance up from behind my glasses. Her nipples are poking through the paper-thin tank top, and the denim shorts clinging to her thighs look like they were stitched directly onto her skin. Of course she looks like that — she’s Blaire.“Very simple,” I deadpan. “A biology major, pre-med, lab rat, and someone currently drowning in Organic Chem and late-night tutoring shifts. Please, Blaire. I’m exhausted. I just got back from the lab, I need to study for the test.”I adjust

RonanMy joints ache before I even roll out of bed, running a pack and being a captain sure drains a lot of energy.It’s been three days since the meeting with the Council and I’ve barely slept through the nights. Not because I don’t want to... trust me, I’d give anything for just a few hours of dreamless, undisturbed sleep — but my body won’t let me. My bones feel like they’re grinding against each other. My lungs can’t seem to fill the way they used to.I splash cold water on my face in the locker room sink and grip the porcelain edges like they’re the only thing keeping me upright. My reflection looks like shit. My eyes are bloodshot. The veins in my neck pop with the tension I keep forcing down. I’m exhausted in a way that sleep won't fix.“Ronan?” Liam pokes his head around the doorframe, his brows drawn tight. “You good?”I grunt and wave him off. “Fine.”It’s a lie. But the kind I’ve been repeating so much, it rolls off my tongue before I can think. But thank the goddess he dis

Calla I manage to drag my jelly leg to my apartment… sighing as I dump my bag on the floor. Yeah, today was hectic. I wonder if he’s okay. I sit on my bed, my back finally hitting the mattress. My mind trails back to him, hallucinating? I swear I saw it. But if Blaire says nobody saw anything including Casen who was kneeling beside him then I guess it was the adrenaline messing with my head. I stare at the ceiling. My limbs feel like mashed potatoes. There’s still dirt on my shoes. Whatever. They’re staying on. I turn to the side and immediately catch a sharp, peppery scent that stings the inside of my nose like someone lit a cologne stick right under my nostrils. “Agh—Ava!” I sneeze hard and sit up immediately, my head snapping to the door. “God, were you just bathing in cologne out there?!” No answer. But the scent lingers—burning, aggressive, like her entire body passed through a perfume cloud and left a trail of horror in its wake. My nose wrinkles. I grab my hoodie sl

RonanI can hear faint breathing, my heartbeat is even. I slowly open my eyes to a familiar ceiling, the brightness immediately piercing through my eyes. Compared to the thick darkness I was in, it's so bright and blinding, I squint. Everything is too white, too sterile. I turn my head slowly, my neck stiff, and see Casen buried in documents as he sits on the couch at the corner of my room. His head is low, brows furrowed like he’s trying to figure out how to solve world problem with paperwork. I try to get up.“Ugh…” I groan softly. My body still feels light, like it’s not mine. My limbs are here, but they feel… distant, hollow. Like I’m borrowing them.Casen’s head shoots up. “Alpha?” He’s on his feet before I can blink. “Fuck it, man, you almost made me lose my senses.” He groans as he rushes to the side table, pours water from the small silver flask, and shoves the glass into my hands.I gulp it down. It tastes like heaven and pain. My throat feels like sandpaper, like I’ve been

CallaAnother tiring day, why I agreed with Blaire on this cheer shit I still don't get. Blaire’s shoe is barely tied, her foot half-out of it, and she’s already waving a pom-pom in my face.“Just check if Casen’s still icing his shoulder, if not please get me his hoodie.” she says, not even looking up.I stare at her. “You know I hate going into the locker room.”She tightens the laces, shrugs. “Then don’t look at anything.”I roll my eyes but start walking anyway. Because I always do what Blaire says, because well, she does that for me too.The hallway stretches in front of me, dim and echoing, just past the practice mat and down the back left corridor behind the gym doors. Every time I walk this path, it feels like stepping into a place I’m not supposed to be. Like I’ve crossed some unspoken line.I immediately perceived a pine scent cleaner masking the thick, old sting of sweat and rusted metal. My sneakers squeak across the waxed tile floor, the sound louder than usual in the em