Chapter 3

Roman's POV

"Do you think he is actually going to get away with that?"

The heavy steel doors slammed shut, sealing the freezing winter air outside. I stood completely frozen in the middle of the concrete corridor. My fingers dug violently into the shaft of my hockey stick until the expensive composite carbon loudly cracked under the immense pressure.

Nobody turned their back on me in my own arena. Nobody walked away with my girlfriend while my entire team watched in absolute silence. The sharp sound of the cracking carbon echoed off the damp walls, snapping my teammates out of their pathetic shock.

"Are you all just going to stand there?" I shouted, slamming the broken stick violently against the nearest metal locker. The heavy steel dented inward with a deafening crash. "Get into the locker room right now."

The boys scrambled immediately, pushing past each other to escape my wrath. I threw the ruined stick onto the floor and followed them into the bright locker room. The smell of sweat and fear hung heavily in the stale air.

I walked directly to the center of the room, scanning the nervous faces of the team. I was their captain, their undisputed king, and they owed me their complete loyalty. I locked eyes with Marcus and Greg, the two most violent defenders on our roster.

"Marcus, lock the main doors," I commanded softly. The sudden drop in my volume terrified them far more than my shouting ever did. Marcus sprinted to the entrance and engaged the heavy deadbolt with a loud click.

"We have a massive problem," I stated, pacing slowly across the rubber floor mats. "This new transfer student thinks he can disrespect our culture. He thinks he can humiliate me and steal my property."

"He is huge, Roman," Greg muttered nervously from the corner bench. "I saw him dodge a full body check in the scrimmage yesterday without even blinking."

I crossed the room in two massive strides and grabbed Greg violently by the collar of his jersey. I hauled him off the bench and slammed his back hard against the concrete wall. The rest of the team flinched, stepping quickly away from the sudden violence.

"I do not care how big he is," I snarled directly into his panicked face. "He is one man stepping onto our ice, and he just declared war on this entire team. Are you a coward, Greg?"

"No, Roman, I am not a coward," Greg stammered desperately, holding his hands up in surrender. "I am with you."

I released his jersey and shoved him backward in absolute disgust. "Good. Because we are going to teach the Ice King exactly how we treat arrogant outsiders."

I walked over to the large tactical whiteboard hanging on the wall. I grabbed an eraser and violently wiped away the legitimate plays our coach had drawn that morning. I picked up a black marker and drew a single circle entirely surrounded by four heavy crosses.

"We are holding an unofficial night practice tonight at exactly midnight," I announced to the silent room. "No coaches, no referees, and absolutely no rules. Just us and him."

The boys exchanged nervous glances, fully aware of what an unofficial practice truly meant. It was a blank check for brutal, unregulated violence on the ice. It was how we eliminated threats before they ever reached the actual season roster.

"I want complete physical destruction," I commanded, tapping the black marker aggressively against the board. "When he steps onto the rink, Marcus and Greg will flank him from the blind side. I want his knees completely shattered."

"What if the coaches review the security cameras tomorrow?" Marcus asked, stepping forward with his arms crossed tightly. "We could lose our scholarships for a targeted hit like that."

I laughed coldly, the sound entirely devoid of any real humor. "My father pays for those cameras, and he pays the men who monitor them. The footage will magically corrupt before the morning skate."

"They will ask questions," another player whispered from the back row. "If his knees are ruined, the athletic director will investigate the injuries."

I picked up a stray helmet from the bench and hurled it furiously across the room. It smashed into the drywall, leaving a massive jagged hole in the plaster. Everyone jumped, their eyes wide with fresh panic.

"Let them investigate a tragic skating accident," I roared, letting my absolute authority crush their pathetic doubts. "He falls hard, he tears his ligaments, and his career is over. End of story."

The team nodded slowly, their initial hesitation melting into malicious excitement. They fed on my confidence, eager to destroy the one guy who made them feel inferior. We were going to end Dante before his career at this university even started.

"Bring your heavy composite sticks," I added, picking up my duffel bag from the floor. "And do not wear your practice jerseys. I want zero identifying numbers when we put him in the hospital."

I left the locker room through the back exit, stepping out into the freezing night air. My blood boiled violently every time I pictured Sienna walking away with him. She belonged to me, completely and utterly.

She thought she could find a safe harbor with the new guy. She thought he was some kind of silent protector who could save her from my grip. She was about to learn a very painful lesson about loyalty and consequence.

Nobody touched my territory without paying a massive price. I walked toward my expensive car, my heavy boots crushing the thin layer of frost on the asphalt. I needed a flawless way to lure Dante to the ice without triggering his defensive instincts.

I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket, the bright screen illuminating my furious expression in the dark parking lot. I opened my messages and tapped fiercely on Sienna's contact name. My thumbs flew across the glass keyboard as I formulated the perfect trap.

She was the only person Dante currently trusted on this campus. If I sent Marcus to invite him, Dante would immediately suspect an ambush and arrive prepared. But if his beautiful, terrified new friend asked him to come, he would walk straight into the slaughter blindly.

I needed her to deliver the bait flawlessly tonight. If she failed me again, I would completely destroy the pathetic family secrets she begged me to keep hidden. I typed the message with absolute, ruthless precision.

I hit send and watched the little delivered notification pop up instantly on the screen. I smiled into the darkness, visualizing the exact moment Dante would scream on the ice.

Make sure your new hero comes to the midnight practice tonight completely unprotected, or I will ruin your family tomorrow morning.