Chapter 6

"Crush his knees right now before he can even turn around!" I screamed, slamming my heavy fists directly against the thick plexiglass.

The violent sound of heavy skates slicing the ice echoed loudly as my trap completely sprang. Marcus and two other massive defenders barreled toward Dante's blind spot with absolute murderous intent. I leaned closer to the glass, my heart hammering with sick anticipation as I waited for the brutal sound of shattering bone.

This was the exact moment I lived for. I needed to see this arrogant transfer student broken and bleeding on my ice. I needed Sienna to realize that absolutely nobody could protect her from my reach.

But Dante did not freeze, and he did not turn around to brace for the heavy impact. A fraction of a second before they collided, Dante shifted his entire center of gravity. He dug his left blade sharply into the freezing surface and spun out of the trap with terrifying speed.

The three defenders had far too much forward momentum to stop their aggressive charge. They missed Dante entirely and violently crashed into each other. The sickening crunch of hard plastic and heavy helmets echoed through the empty arena.

They went down hard in a massive, tangled pile of limbs and hockey sticks. The loud groan of pain from Marcus made my stomach drop entirely. My victorious smile vanished instantly, replaced by a sudden and incredibly sharp surge of panic.

"Get up!" I roared, pounding the glass again until my knuckles throbbed with white hot pain. "Do not just lie there like pathetic cowards!"

Dante did not even look at the fallen men groaning blindly on the cold ice. He casually skated backward, entirely balanced and radiating absolute dominance. He stared directly through the glass at me, completely unbothered by the violent ambush I orchestrated.

Greg and the final defender realized their teammates were completely useless now. They gripped their heavy composite sticks and charged Dante from the front. They abandoned all pretense of hockey and swung their sticks like lethal weapons aimed straight for his exposed ribs.

"Hit him!" I screamed desperately, my voice cracking under the intense strain. "Put him through the boards right now!"

Greg swung his heavy stick with every ounce of physical power he possessed. Dante moved like water, ducking flawlessly under the violent swing. He stepped inside Greg's defensive guard and drove his heavy shoulder straight into Greg's chest.

The impact was incredibly precise and entirely devastating. Greg flew backward, his skates lifting completely off the ice before he slammed brutally onto his back. The breath left his lungs in a loud, pathetic wheeze that echoed across the rink.

The final defender panicked, hesitating for just a single second when he saw Greg fall. That tiny hesitation was all Dante needed to end the fight completely. Dante swung his own stick upward, hooking the defender's stick and ripping it violently right out of his heavy gloves.

The stolen stick clattered loudly against the corner boards. The unarmed defender threw his hands up in complete surrender and backed away rapidly. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with the freezing monster dominating our ice.

I stood completely frozen behind the glass, my breathing ragged and shallow. My chest burned with a suffocating mixture of rage, humiliation, and deep emotional terror. My entire identity was built on instilling fear, but Dante had completely dismantled my kingdom in less than sixty seconds.

He did not just beat my best enforcers tonight. He absolutely humiliated them, exposing them as clumsy amateurs in front of their own captain. The absolute perfection of his movements made me feel incredibly small and entirely inadequate.

Sienna was right to warn him about my violent temper. She knew exactly what I was planning, and she probably hoped he would destroy me. The agonizing thought of her looking at him with admiration felt like a physical knife twisting deep in my gut.

She was my property, my quiet trophy, and my obedient pawn. I used her to make myself feel powerful when the pressures of the championship became too heavy. Now, this dark stranger was effortlessly stealing my power and my girl without breaking a single sweat.

I gripped the edge of the bench, my nails digging fiercely into the cold wood. "You are completely useless," I whispered to my fallen players. They were slowly dragging themselves toward the locker room tunnel in absolute shame.

Dante remained on the ice, standing perfectly still in the center circle. He glanced down at a loose hockey puck resting near his sharp skates. He dragged the puck onto his tape and began skating slowly toward my side of the rink.

"What are you doing?" I muttered, stepping back slightly from the thick glass. The pure confidence radiating from him made my skin crawl with genuine dread.

Dante accelerated rapidly, his powerful strides chewing up the distance between us in mere seconds. He did not look at the empty net behind him. He kept his pale eyes locked entirely on my terrified face.

He crossed the blue line and pulled his stick back with terrifying speed. He unleashed a massive slap shot without ever breaking our intense eye contact. The heavy rubber puck launched through the cold air like a lethal bullet.

The puck struck the water bottle resting perfectly on top of the net. The plastic bottle exploded violently, sending a massive shower of water cascading down the white mesh. The puck settled deeply into the back of the net with a satisfying, heavy thud.

It was a completely flawless, impossible goal. I stopped breathing entirely, my mind completely shattered by the absolute display of raw talent. He was not just a fighter, he was a generational hockey prodigy.

Dante stopped forcefully right in front of my section of the boards, showering the glass with a thick wave of shaved ice. The white dust settled quickly, revealing his striking face. He did not look winded or tired in the slightest.

He slowly lifted his carbon stick and pointed the curved blade directly at my chest. He stood there in the silent arena, an absolute king claiming his newly conquered territory. Dante stared right into my deeply panicked eyes and smiled coldly.