The Ice in my veins

Darren’s POV

“Darren! Focus or get off my field!”

The coach’s voice cut through the rink like a blade, sharp and angry, echoing off the walls as if it wanted to hit me directly in the chest. I tightened my grip on my stick and forced myself to move again, but my body was already behind my mind.

Every pass I made felt late, and every step felt heavy.

I could hear skates scraping ice, teammates shouting, the coach’s whistle blowing again and again, but nothing was sticking in my head properly.

“Again! Pass faster! You’re playing like you’ve never seen ice before!” the coach shouted.

I nodded without really hearing him and pushed forward, but even I knew I was off. My timing was wrong. My reactions were slower than usual. That was not me. Or at least not the version of me everyone believed I was.

Mark skated closer during a break in the drill, leaning slightly toward me while pretending to stretch.

“Bro,” he muttered, “what’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing,” I said immediately.

He raised a brow. “That didn’t sound like nothing.”

I didn’t look at him.

I focused on the puck instead, tapping it forward a little too hard so it slid away from both of us. “Just focus on practice.”

Mark didn’t move away. “You’ve been like this since we started. Coach is about to lose it.”

“I said I’m fine,” I repeated, firmer this time.

He finally backed off, but I could feel his eyes on me even as he skated away.

I hated that feeling.

Like someone was trying to read something I was working hard to hide.

Because I wasn’t fine.

Not after what happened yesterday.

August and the bathroom. The cold wall against my back, and the grip on my collar. That bastard fucking kissed me while mistaking me for his girlfriend or should I call her, his ex.

That wasn't my problem, the problem was my body fucking reacted to that bastard. I had almost lost control of my scent, and he would've known that I was an omega playing alpha dress up.

I had frozen for half a heartbeat when August had brought his lips to my neck, before forcing it down again. My body had tried to betray me, and I had almost let it.

If I had lost control even for a moment, my life would have been over.

Because someone like Asher would have noticed, and Asher noticing meant everything falling apart.

The idea alone made my stomach tighten.

I pushed harder on the ice, skating faster like I could outrun the memory.

“Darren! Are you even listening?” the coach snapped again.

I blinked and realized I had drifted again. Another missed pass, bloody hell another mistake.

The coach blew his whistle so hard it echoed.

“Stop! All of you stop!”

The team slowed down, confusion spreading across the ice. The coach dragged a hand down his face like he was trying not to explode.

“This is a joke,” he said sharply. “This is not practice. This is a disaster.”

No one spoke.

He pointed at us one by one.

“You,” he said to Mark, “wrong position. You,” to another player, “late reaction. And Darren…”

I stiffened slightly when my name was called.

“You are the captain,” he continued. “Act like it.”

I nodded once, jaw tight.

He exhaled heavily and skated toward the boards. “Enough. You’re all useless like this. Ten laps, around the ice. Now.”

A few groans came from the team, but no one argued. We all knew better.

I pushed off first and started the laps.

Ice practice always helped clear my head normally but not today. Today my thoughts were scattering like a wild fire no matter how fast I moved.

Lap one felt normal enough.

Lap two felt worse.

My lungs burned slightly, but not from exhaustion. From holding everything in and my chest still had that tight pressure from earlier, like my body hadn’t fully recovered from the panic I forced down in the bathroom yesterday.

I kept skating anyway.

‘Just finish the laps.’

‘Just don’t think.’

I kept telling myself to distract myself from replaying yesterday's events in my head but I keep failing woefully at that.

Asher's voice.

August's smell, the way he leaned in too close and kissed my neck like a starving animal. The way my body almost reacted before my brain could stop it.

I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt.

No one can know.

I pushed harder into the third lap, skating faster like speed could erase thought.

“Darren!” I turned when I heard my name, and saw Stella. At first I thought I was imagining it, because she shouldn’t have been here. She never came to practice unless something was wrong. Really wrong.

She was running toward the Ice entrance, waving her hands like she was trying to get someone’s attention. Her hair was slightly messy like she had rushed here without even thinking about it properly.

My chest tightened immediately.

Something was off.

A wardrobe breakdown? Or has her boyfriend broken up with her for the tenth time?

I slowed down instinctively and raised my hand slightly.

“Stella!” I called out.

She spotted me and immediately changed direction, running straight toward the rink entrance. She didn’t even wait for security to stop her properly, she just pushed past and kept coming.

My teammates noticed too, but I barely registered them anymore.

Stella never ran like that unless it was serious.

My skates slowed completely now, I stopped moving altogether as she reached the edge of the rink. She was breathing hard, like she had run the whole way without stopping even once.

“Darren,” she said immediately.

“What happened?” I asked, already feeling something cold settle in my stomach.

She tried to speak but stopped, swallowing hard first like she couldn’t get the words out properly. Her hands were shaking slightly when she grabbed my arm.

“Come with me,” she said.

My brows furrowed. “Stella, just tell me.”

She shook her head quickly. “No, you need to come now.”

My grip tightened slightly on my stick. “Where?”

Her voice dropped, but it was still urgent. “The hospital.”

My entire body went still.

“And your sister…” she added, her eyes meeting mine. “She fainted.”