Faking It With The Hockey Alpha

Aurora's POVRonan Blackwood. Of course it had to be him. Because why wouldn't the universe want to kick me in the teeth when I was already bleeding on the ground?He stood by the window, a wall of muscle wrapped in an expensive suit, wearing the same scowl he'd worn back in college. The same entitlement that had let him ruin my life without breaking a sweat. My chest tightened with the memory of Damian. We'd been happy once... a normal, sweet relationship between two ordinary people... until Ronan decided to play god, spreading his influence until Damian finally broke and walked away. Ronan got away with it, too. He got away with everything.Looking at him now, I felt the same instinctive recoil my father used to describe: the sense that some people moved through the world as if the rules were written for a different species entirely.I forced my feet to unglue from the carpet, shoved the rising panic into a box at the back of my brain and walked forward. I extended a hand. "Victoria

Aurora's POVThe silence didn't last... it never does. It snapped like a dry twig underfoot, giving way to an explosion of sound. One second the arena was holding its breath, staring at the shattered glass and the Ironclaw Titan on the ice. The next, all hell broke loose.Beer cups rained down from the upper tiers. The shrieks of horrified onlookers clashed with the roars of the hometown fans. Down in the lower bowl, fists flew as Titans supporters clashed with the few brave Wolves fans who'd made the trip. Security guards were overwhelmed, rushing the stands to restore order.My camera felt like a block of lead, but muscle memory kicked in before my brain caught up. I raised the lens to my eye. 'Snap. Snap. Snap.'I caught the blood on the ice. I caught the medics rushing out with a stretcher. And I caught Ronan... standing perfectly still amid the chaos, chest heaving, staring down at his own hands like he didn't recognize them. Like whatever had just moved through his body wasn't f

Aurora.I blinked, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hand. A second ago, sitting on that sofa, his irises had glowed and it was not a trick of the light. A literal unnatural amber flash had ignited in the center of his pupils.“What is it now?” Victoria asked as she dropped her tablet on her desk, rubbing her temples in obvious annoyance.“His eyes,” I said, pointing a shaking finger at the captain. “I saw them again. They just flashed red, just like on the ice during the game, and I saw his teeth change to fangs!”Roland let out a dry rattling laugh and leaned back against the cushions, resting his muscular arms along the back of the sofa. “Are you taking medication, Hayes? Or did you skip a dose today?”“I know what I saw,” I insisted, keeping my gaze locked on his face and waiting for the facade to slip.“You are probably cuckoo,” Roland sneered. “Just like your old man.”“I am not crazy. Your eyes glowed,” I snapped.“Aurora, stop this at once,” Victoria interrupted, then crosse

Aurora.I pushed through the glass doors of the newsroom and hit a dead wall of dead silence. Keyboards stopped clacking under fingers, phones rang on desks, ignored by the people sitting right next to them, and dozens of eyes snapped to my face, boring into me with envy and outright hostility.I kept my head down and walked toward my desk, pretending I didn’t feel the heat of their glares burning a hole through my back. The news of my supposed romance with the most dangerous, sexy and wealthy hockey player in the league had broken hours ago, splashing across every sports blog in the country.I still didn’t know if Victoria’s insane PR strategy had actually worked to save my job, but the damage to my quiet life was already done.“Hayes! Get your ass in my office, right now!”Marcus stood in the doorway of his glass-walled office with his hands planted firmly on his hips, a scowl on his face that could curdle milk.I dropped my bag on my chair and hurried over, slipping past him into t

Roland.Aurora lifted the fabric out of the box and held it up to the morning light pouring through her living room window.The dress was a deep ruby-red silk that cascaded toward the floor. She ran her fingers over the delicate stitching along the bodice and her mouth parted in obvious shock.“This is designer,” Aurora pointed out, looking up at me. “I cannot accept this. It is too much.”“You are not accepting a gift,” I corrected and leaned against her kitchen counter. “You are putting on a uniform for work.”“It must have cost a fortune,” she argued, holding the dress tighter against her chest. “I have never owned anything like this in my life.”“Don’t take it to heart,” I growled, pushing myself off the counter. “I am just playing the part, Hayes. I bought it because this is the kind of thing my actual girlfriend would wear on a public outing with me.”“I feel like a prop,” she complained, frowning at the expensive garment.“You are a prop,” I agreed without a shred of sympathy.