LOGINChapter 33: The Championship Run The Stanley Cup Finals arrived faster than anyone expected. Seattle had swept through the first two rounds. Edmonton in six and Vancouver in five. Now they faced Montreal, a historic franchise, a team with sixteen championships, a city that lived and breathed hockey. The media was everywhere. Every interview, every practice, every warmup was dissected. Reporters asked about the half-brother story, about the relationship and the pressure. Eli answered every question the same way. "We are focused on hockey." Mack also gave the same answer but they were lying. Hockey was not all... it was just what they needed to say at the moment.The first two games were in Montreal. The arena was crowded and loud. Eli stood in his crease, his body loose, his mind sharp. Mack was on the ice, blocking shots, clearing the crease, doing what he did best. Game One went to overtime. Seattle won on a breakaway goal from Louie. Game Two wasnt an easy one. Montrea
Chapter 32: Redefining LoveThe drive back to Seattle was a quiet one.Eli sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, the lights of the city blurring past while Mack's hand rested on his thigh, warm and steady. They had not spoken since they left his parents' house. There was too much to say, and none of it could be said in a car.Mack pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building and turned off the engine."Are you okay?" Mack asked."I am better than okay." Eli turned to look at him. "My father accepted us, even my mother hugged you. I never thought that would happen so easily."Mack smiled. "Neither did I."Eli leaned over and kissed him softly at first, then deeper."Come inside," Eli said. "I want us talk."The apartment was dark and quiet.Eli sat on the couch and Mack sat beside him, close enough to touch each other."I have been thinking," Eli said. "About us, about what we are."Mack's jaw tightened. "Eli.""Let me finish." Eli took his hand. "You are my broth
Chapter 31: The ReunionSunday dinner at Eli's parents' house was the most terrifying thing he had ever done in his life.Eli stood in front of the door, his hand raised to knock, his heart pounding. Mack stood beside him, his face pale, his jaw tight."We can still leave," Mack said lowly."We are not leaving.""Your father might hate me.""He already knows you from the press conference he watched, he called me himself.""Watching and meeting are two different things."Eli turned to look at him. "Mack. Whatever happens in there, we face it together."Mack took a breath. "Alright then."Eli knocked and his mother opened the door.She was small, with grey-streaked hair and Eli's eyes. She looked at Eli first, her face crumpling with emotion. Then she looked at Mack. Her eyes went wide."You must be Mack," she said."Yes, ma'am."She pulled him into a hug. Mack froze, his arms stiff at his sides."Thank you," she whispered. "For taking care of my son."Mack's face softened. "He takes ca
Chapter 30: Eli's ChoiceThe morning of the press conference, Eli woke before the sun.He lay in Mack's bed, staring at nothing in particular, his heart pounding heavily. The city was quiet outside and the media was already camped outside the building, but here, in this room, there was total silence.Mack stirred beside him. His arm tightened around Eli's waist."Are you awake?" Mack asked."Have been for hours, a little nervous." he said in a low voice."You dont have to be, we will eventually pull through," Mack said as he rolled over and kissed him softly at first, then deeper. Eli let himself sink into it, into the warmth of Mack's body, into the certainty of his love."When this is over," Mack said, "we are going to take a vacation to somewhere warm, somewhere no one knows us."Eli smiled. "I would like that.""Then it is a plan."---They dressed in silence.Eli wore his best suit and Mack wore a simple button-down. They did not need to impress anyone, they just needed to be hon
Chapter 29: The Media Storm Eli was at practice on tuesday morning, running drills, his body still buzzing from the Game Seven victory. The team was happy, riding the high of the win. Mack was on the other end of the ice, laughing at something Louie said. Then Eli's phone started buzzing nonstop. He ignored it at first and focused on the drill but the buzzing did not stop. His teammates' phones started buzzing too. Then Mack's even the coach's. Coach Marshall called practice to a halt. "Everyone, check your phones," the coach said, his face was pale. Eli pulled out his phone and he saw forty-seven messages, twelve missed calls from his agent, his mother and father and even reporters... his stomach dropped. He opened the first message that had a link to a sports news website. The headline made his blood run cold. Exclusive: Thunderbirds' Eli Park's Mentor is Secretly His Halfbrother, Sources Confirmed. Eli stared at the screen, his hands were shaking. Mack skated over to him
Chapter 28: Game SevenThe morning of Game Seven, Eli woke up with Mack's arm wrapped tightly around his waist.The city was quiet outside, the sun was barely up. Eli lay still, feeling the warmth of Mack's body pressed against his back, the steady rhythm of Mack's breathing against his neck. They had not talked about what they were yet, not in so many words. But the way Mack held him in the dark, the way he murmured Eli's name against his skin, the way he looked at him across the breakfast table like Eli was the only person in the world… that was a language Eli understood.Mack stirred behind him. His arm tightened. His lips brushed Eli's shoulder."Morning," Mack said, his voice rough with sleep."Morning… “Nervous?""Not just nervous, I am terrified." Eli answered."Good. That means you are alive."Eli laughed. "That is your pep talk?"Mack rolled him over and kissed him. It was soft at first, then deeper, full of everything they could not say with words. "You do not need a pep ta
The apartment was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.Julian sat on the couch, his leg stretched out on a pillow, a stack of papers spread across the coffee table. His laptop was open beside him, the screen filled with spreadsheets and scanned documents and photographs of files he had taken ye
The first week after surgery was the hardest for julian. He lay in the hospital bed, his leg elevated and wrapped in bandages, a machine beeping softly beside him. The pain was a constant dull ache that turned sharp whenever he tried to move. The nurses gave him medication to help with the pain,
The game was against Seattle. Sebastian was on the ice, focused, trying to ignore the whispers from the crowd. Some fans still cheered for him. Others booed. He had learned to block it out and focus only on his game. Julian was on the bench, waiting for his shift. His knee had been bothering him
The drive down the mountain took four hours. The roads were very bad, packed with snow and ice, the car crawling along the edge of cliffs that dropped into white nothing. The driver did not speak. He just kept his eyes on the road and his hands tight on the wheel. Sebastian sat in the back seat,

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