LOGINShare
2
publish date:
2026-04-14 21:03:27A deep groan clawed its way out of my chest as my phone kept vibrating against my nightstand like it had a personal vendetta against me.
For a split second, I considered letting it die.
It didn’t.
I snatched it up without checking the caller ID. “What?!” I barked, voice thick with sleep and last night’s bad decisions.
“Are you deadass?” Joe’s voice exploded through the speaker. No good morning.
“Coach asked us to be present this morning. We have a new member. And you—as our captain—are still in bed?”
My eyes flew open.
Shit.
I shot upright so fast the room tilted. Sunlight stabbed through the blinds like punishment. My head pounded in protest, my mouth dry as sandpaper. I glanced at the time.
Ten minutes.
Practice started in ten fucking minutes.
“Oh fuck,” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. Memories from last night came in flashes—neon lights, bass shaking the floor, a body pressed against mine in a dark hallway. Hands. A mouth. Teeth grazing my shoulder. The smell of cologne and sweat.
I got absolutely wasted.
And thoroughly wrecked by— What was his name again? Wait, did he even leave? When? I sure do hope no one saw him. I don’t want to start explaining why a man is leaving my dorm so early.
I frowned, trying to piece it together. I didn’t push to, it’s probably for the best. Fuck and forget about it.
“You better be joking,” Joe continued when I didn’t answer fast enough. “Coach is already in a mood. If you stroll in late today, he’s gonna lose it.”
“I will be there soon,” I said, already kicking off my sheets and stumbling out of bed. My head spun, but panic sobered me up faster than coffee ever could.
“You have five minutes before I tell him you died.”
“Love you too,” I muttered, hanging up before he could reply.
I rushed around my room, dragging on sweats and a hoodie, grabbing my duffel bag off the chair. My reflection in the mirror made me pause for half a second.
Messy hair. Faint marks along my collarbone.
I swore under my breath and yanked the hoodie higher.
Captain.
Get it together.
**********
By the time I skidded into the rink, my lungs were burning and my hangover had evolved into full-blown self-hatred. The familiar smell of ice and sweat hit me as I pushed through the double doors.
Coach’s voice echoed across the rink.
Great. I’m late.
The team was already gathered at center ice, helmets off, sticks resting against their shoulders. Coach stood in front of them, arms crossed behind his back, that permanent crease between his brows looking deeper than usual.
I slipped in quietly at the back, hoping to blend in.
No such luck.
Coach’s eyes snapped to me immediately.
“Nice of you to join us, Captain.”
A few of the guys snickered under their breath. Joe shot me a look that clearly said you’re dead.
“Sorry, Coach,” I muttered, jaw tight.
He held my stare for a second longer than necessary, then turned back to the team.
“As I was saying,” he continued, voice hard and steady, “last night was a close call. Too close. We got lucky.”
The mood shifted instantly. The celebration from hours ago felt distant now.
“Harper took a bad hit in the third period. Torn ligaments. He’s out for the season.”
A low curse left someone’s mouth. My stomach dropped.
Harper.
Damn.
He’d gone down hard against the boards, but I hadn’t realized it was that bad.
Coach nodded once. “He won’t be joining us anytime soon.”
“But,” Coach continued, clasping his hands behind his back again, “we’re fortunate.”
“We have a transfer student joining us this semester. Played varsity at his previous school. Strong stats. Solid build. He’ll be filling Harper’s position.”
A murmur rippled through the group. Joe leaned slightly toward me. “Told you.” I ignored him, focusing on Coach.
“Captain,” Coach said suddenly.
Shit.
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ll make sure he integrates properly. I expect leadership from you. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“So team, I’d like you to meet Noah…” Coach paused, turning slightly toward the bench.
My stomach dropped before I even looked.
Please don’t.
Please—
“Oh fuck no,” I muttered under my breath as he stepped forward.
It was him.
Dark hair falling perfectly messy over his forehead. Broad shoulders stretching the practice jersey. That same sharp jaw I had my hand wrapped around last night.
“He’s our new winger,” Coach continued, completely unaware that my entire nervous system had just short-circuited. “Transferred this semester. Solid stats. He’ll be taking Harper’s spot.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
That’s the guy I hooked up with yesterday.
Of course he is.
Because apparently the universe woke up today and chose violence.
A winger.
Which means he’s not just on the team.
He’s on my line.
I felt Joe glance at me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he muttered.
I couldn’t even respond.
Noah’s eyes found mine instantly.
Recognition flickered.
Then came that slow, dangerous smirk.
The same one he wore when he had me pressed against the wall in that dark hallway. The same one right before he—
I forced the memory down.
Latest chapter
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother The End Of It All
Theo~ I woke before the alarm, the room was still dark. Every time I closed my eyes the same questions circled back. What the rink would sound like once the words left my mouth, what my teammates’ faces would look like, whether the people who had already decided who I was would simply rewrite the story again. I sat up and let my feet find the floor. Hockey was the love of my life but it had been so damaging for me. For a while, the idea of coming out had sat in the same place as a career-ending injury: something that could take hockey, family, school, and whatever future I thought I was building. That night the question had changed shape. I was no longer asking if I should do it. I was only asking how I wanted it done. By the time the house stirred I had the outline clear. No anonymous post. No statement issued through someone else. I would say it myself, in the place where I had spent the most hours pretending I was only the player they expected. I found my mother in the kitche
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother Wrapping Up
Theo~Everyone laughed. Jeremy joined in at once, raising his voice over the noise in the locker room. “Make room, peasants. Apparently we're traveling with royalty now.” I laughed harder than I had in weeks. The sound came out loud and unrestrained, and for a second I almost didn’t recognize it as mine. Noah stood beside me, still smiling from the game, his shoulder brushing mine whenever someone moved past. I let myself stay right there in the middle of it. No one was measuring their words around us. No one was watching to see how we reacted. The tension that used to sit under every conversation had simply thinned out, and what remained felt ordinary in the best possible way. Jeremy kept going, inventing new titles and insisting the rest of the team bow whenever I scored. Nikolai egged him on, claiming the only proper response was to start a chant. Melody texted from wherever she was waiting outside, somehow managing to congratulate the goal and call my skating “borderline emb
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother The King Of The Ice
Theo~It took days of training for Coach to finally let us into the upcoming game and several of the team's taunts but finally, we got in. I woke up on game day and the first thing I noticed was the quiet. My phone sat on the nightstand without a single notification waiting. No anonymous messages. No photographs from unknown numbers. No rumors circulating through group chats. For the first time in weeks the only thing on my mind was the game itself. I lay there for a few extra minutes and let that fact settle before I got up.Noah was already in the kitchen when I came out. He watched me pour coffee and finally asked the question.“You nervous?”I sat down across from him.“Yeah. Not about the university or anything like that. I’m nervous that after being away I’ll step on the ice and not feel like myself anymore.”He set his mug down.“You never stopped being yourself. They just stopped letting you play.”I nodded and left it there. The rest of breakfast stayed quiet in a way that f
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother Back On The Team
Theo~I noticed the silence first. For the first time in weeks my phone stayed quiet. No anonymous messages. No photographs sent from unknown numbers. No strange cars parked across the street when I left the dorm. No one asked about the private training sessions. No suspicious accounts tried to contact people around me. The watching had simply stopped.I checked my phone more than once that morning, still expecting something to appear. Nothing came. Noah watched me do it and finally spoke.“Maybe they’re done.”I put the phone down.“After everything we’ve been through, I’m not sure I even remember what normal feels like anymore.”He did not argue. He only nodded, and we left it there for the moment.Later that day I learned the rest through a short conversation with someone who had been close enough to the situation to know the truth. Morrison had called everything off. The people who had been monitoring us received orders to stop. The university’s pressure campaign was withdrawn. Th
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother Stop
Reina~I met Morrison in a private office far from the athletic facilities and the noise of campus. I had chosen the place myself and arrived first, standing when he entered so the conversation would begin on my terms. I did not sit. I did not offer him a greeting.“Whatever you have been doing to Theo and Noah ends today,” I said. “There will be no further discussion of it after this meeting.”Morrison closed the door behind him and gave a short, dismissive laugh. He looked me over as if measuring how far my influence could possibly reach. “You don’t understand what you’re interfering with. My position, my money, the relationships I’ve built for years—those things have protected me longer than you’ve been involved in any of this. You should leave while you still can.”I kept my voice even. “I understand perfectly. You are hurting someone who matters to my family. That is enough.”His expression hardened. The politeness he usually wore in public dropped away. “I made my son’s career.
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother Information Leak
Theo~The single word on the screen held more weight than any threat I had received so far.Don’t.Whoever sent it had reacted the moment Noah finished speaking. Not later. Not after some delay that might have come from checking a feed or catching a rumor. Immediately. The timing left almost no room for coincidence.I looked at Noah. “Do you think they’re watching our phones?”He shook his head once. “I don’t know.”That answer sat between us longer than either of us wanted. I still wanted to call Joe. Noah stopped me before I could open the contacts list.“We need to know what happened three nights before the first message,” he said. “If we walk in blind, Joe can shut the conversation down the same way he did in the cafeteria.”We stayed in the quiet corner of the library and started reconstructing the sequence from the beginning. The first anonymous message. My benching. The cancellation of the promotional event. The private training sessions that were supposed to stay off the sched
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother 1
Theodore POVYou probably think it can’t get any worse than hooking up with a random guy after a win and then seeing him the next morning as the newest member of your hockey team.Try going home that same day and finding out your mom got a ‘fiance’ over the weekend.Try watching that same guy—same
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother Move-In Night
Theodore~I should've fucking said no. That was the first thought that hit me when I saw the moving truck pull up but the second thought was far worse.Why is he actually here?I stood by the window of my dorm, arms crossed, watching like it was some kind of bad joke the universe was trying to sel
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother 4
CHAPTER 4Theodore~“Mom, you can’t do that!”My voice cracked and pitched higher than I meant it to. I cleared my throat, forcing myself to breathe through my nose before I completely embarrassed myself. Jesus Christ. How could she possibly think this was okay? Sharing a dorm was one thing.Sharin
Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother 3
Theodore~“Do you know the new guy?”Joe’s voice was casual, but I could feel his eyes on me as we walked toward the lockers. I kept mine forward, jaw tight.“No. Why?”“You’re looking at him weirdly.”I let out a dry laugh. “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I want to fuck every guy, Joe,” I mutte
You May Also Like
THE MAFIA DON'S PRETTY BOY
Censia14.9K viewsFifty Shades Of Taboo
RichieWrites19.5K viewsDaddy's Naughty Secret
Rara-avis1820.4K viewsForgive Me: Marked By The Priest
AlphaKelly19.3K viewsVengeful Obsession
K.Vale46 viewsDouble Thorns: The Ashford Inheritance
Moon Eirra1.5K viewsLinked by Blood and Bone
Yoko Kim47 viewsLoving the son I swore to destroy
Tim246 views
