In love with my Ex’s Rival:The Ice Hockey Rival

Tamara's POVThe sob escaped before I could stop it.Lucas's head snapped up first. His hands were still in Mara's hair, frozen mid-caress. His eyes found mine across the darkness, and I watched something move through his face, something fast and calculating.Not guilt. It was never guilt.Mara turned slower than he did. Took her time, like she already knew who was standing there. When she saw me, her lips curved into a small, satisfied smile. The kind that said she'd been waiting for this.She knew, I realized. She always knew.I turned and walked away as fast as I could. I didn't run, no I refused to run. My legs shook, my chest burned, my eyes pouring out tears but I kept my spine straight and my steps even. The gravel crunched under my sneakers. Behind me, I heard murmured voices, then footsteps like someone was sprinting after me."Tamara."He called my name using that voice of his, the one that used to make me feel special.I kept walking.He caught up before I reached the main

Tamara's POVI came back to myself in pieces.First, the ceiling. Grey morning light filtering through blinds I didn't recognize. Then the ache between my thighs, deep and insistent, I couldn't see but felt with every shift of my legs. My head pounded. My mouth was dry.Then the memories arrived like a flood of cold water.Climbing into his lap. Kissing him. Saying Lucas's name. Him going still.And then….My face burned. I sat up too fast, and my head punished me for it. The blanket slid down, and I was naked underneath. His shirt had been draped over me at some point. I hadn't noticed it last night.Garrett. I knew his name now. I'd screamed it.I looked around the room. The floor blanket was gone. The bed was made—he'd made the bed while I was still in it. The windows were cracked open, letting in the cold morning air. And there, leaning against the doorframe like he'd been standing there for a while, was him.He was wearing a T-shirt and short, barefoot. Arms crossed over his broa

Tamara’s POVI didn’t sleep that night.Elena had made me tell her everything……Lucas, the corridor, the courtyard, Garrett’s room, all of it. She’d listened without interrupting, her dark eyes narrowing with each detail, and when I finished, she’d done what Elena always did.She’d pulled me into a hug and said, “You’re an idiot. But you’re my idiot.”Then she’d made me promise not to disappear again, not without telling her, and had fallen asleep on my bed while I stared at the ceiling and watched my life implode in real time.By morning, the screenshots had spread to every pack group chat on campus. I could feel it in the way people looked at me in the dining hall. Whispers that stopped when I walked past. Phones lowered. Eyes that used to slide right past me now tracked my every movement.I was visible now. Just not in the way I’d wanted.Elena had left early for her geology lab, kissing the top of my head and squeezing my shoulder like she was reminding me I still existed. I’d nodd

Garrett’s POVThe rink was empty at midnight.I stood in the center of the ice in jeans and a hoodie, no skates, just boots with decent grip. The lights were dimmed to a soft glow that made the ice look like glass floating in the dark. I’d sent everyone away an hour ago. Told Josh I needed the space. Didn’t explain why.I didn’t know how to explain this.My wolf had been restless all day. The practice with Lucas had helped, the physical outlet burning off some of the tension, but not all of it. Not even close. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Tamara in the bleachers, and I remembered why my father had made me promise never to love anything I couldn’t protect.Because right now, I couldn’t protect her from Lucas. Couldn’t protect her from Mara. Couldn’t even protect her from the danger she was walking into just by being near me.I’d broken every rule I’d ever made for myself the moment I found her crying in that courtyard. The door to the rink opened, letting in a cold gust of air

Tamara’s POVI was standing in the locker room…I’d come to watch Garrett and gotten bored, was waiting for him to finish….when Lucas cornered him.I didn’t see the punch coming.One second, Lucas was saying something low and furious, something I couldn’t quite hear over the noise. The next second, Garrett’s fist connected with his face so hard that Lucas stumbled backward and crashed into the lockers.Everyone froze.Lucas straightened slowly, tasting blood, and started laughing.“The pack will hear about this,” he said, his voice quiet and dangerous. “You think you can punch me without consequences? You’re the Fornon alpha assaulting the Ashford alpha on college campus. That’s not just pack law. That’s a violation that carries exile.”I felt the blood drain from my face.Garrett didn’t respond. Just stared at Lucas with that cold, unbothered expression, like Lucas hadn’t just threatened him with everything.“Garrett,” I said, stepping forward. “Don’t. He’s not worth…..”Lucas’s eyes