LOGINElliot POVThe carpet was rolled out across center ice, thick and black, covering the torn grooves of the battle we had just finished. Officials in sharp tuxedos moved around the perimeter, setting up the wireless microphones and adjusting the heavy television cameras.Nathan trotted over from the bench, holding a black broadcast microphone in his gloved hand. He offered it to me with a wide, proud grin on his sweating face."The network wants the champion's words, Captain," Nathan said, wiping his brow. "The whole world is waiting."I took the microphone, the cold metal heavy in my palm. I turned to look at Sebastian. He had stepped over the bench door, standing on the rubber mats beside me. He wore his navy jersey without the captain patch over his heart, his dark hair damp and messy.I reached out, wrapping my arm tightly around his waist. Sebastian shifted his stance, his large hand coming around my shoulder, pulling me and the twins flush against his side. The carbon carrier stay
Sebastian POVThe silver foil kept falling, sticking to my damp face and the navy cloth of my jersey. The noise in the arena felt miles away, muffled like I was standing under ten feet of water.My lungs burned. My shoulders felt like lead weights. The physical pain of the loss was real, but as I looked across the ice, it was completely swallowed by something far larger.Elliot stood on the Wolves' bench platform. He looked smaller without his full hockey gear, wrapped in his team jacket, but to me, he looked invincible. The jacket gaped open just enough to reveal the black carbon-fiber plate of the carrier strapped to his ribs. Two tiny, soft heads rested against his chest.My sons. My husband. The family we built despite every rule designed to destroy us.I tossed my dark helmet onto the ice behind me. I didn't care about the television cameras zooming in on my face. I didn't care about the league executive staff sitting in the luxury boxes with frozen expressions.I unclipped my gl
Elliot POVThe air in the arena was thick with the smell of metal and sweat. The crowd was loud, with twenty thousand fans screaming and making the glass panels around the ice vibrate. I was sitting on the bench. All I could think about was the sound of my twin sons' heartbeats against my chest.Leo was on the right. Luke was on the left, tucked safe inside the special carrier under my team jacket. Every time someone hit the ice or crashed into the boards, the carrier helped absorb the shock. I had my hand over the plate, shielding them with my body as I leaned over the rail.The Kings were getting ready for the sudden-death draw.Sebastian was standing in the center of the faceoff circle, looking exhausted but still strong. His eyes were fixed on me. I could feel his presence rolling over the ice like a warm wave. He was not going to let this game go on forever. He wanted to win the Stanley Cup now."Listen to me," I said loudly, trying to be heard over the noise of the bench. "Seba
Elliot POVThe referee’s whistle blew, a sharp, piercing note that sliced through the roaring static of the arena. Thirty seconds remained on the clock. My net was empty. The scoreboard flashed the grim reality in bright red bulbs: Wolves 1, Kings 2.I took a breath, holding the wooden rail of the bench. Beneath my green and silver team jacket, the double weight of my sons pressed against my chest. Leo lay on the right, Luke on the left, both tucked secure in the carbon-fiber tactical carrier. Their warm, soft heartbeats tapped a rapid, frantic rhythm against my ribs.I raised my hand, fingers wide, and looked directly at the nearest linesman."Timeout!" I shouted.The official nodded, raising his arms to signal the stoppage.The Wolves players filed back toward the bench, their skates dragging on the chewed ice. Nathan was the first to arrive, his chest heaving under his green jersey, his face red and slick with sweat. The rookies followed, their heads down, their sticks clattering a
Sebastian POVMy skates dug into the ice, sending a spray of frost against the boards.The crowd was loud, really loud, with eighteen thousand people cheering and stomping their feet. It was like the noise was pressing down on me, making my helmet and shoulder pads vibrate. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and ice.We were playing Game Seven. The score was zero to zero, just five minutes into the first period.I took a breath, feeling the cold air burn my lungs. I did not look at the scoreboard. I already knew the numbers.I leaned over my stick, watching the puck as the linesman stepped towards the center circle.Then my gaze drifted to the left, to the Wolves' bench, where Elliot stood with his hands on the wooden rail. He was wearing his silver team jacket zipped up to his throat, with Leo and Luke strapped to his chest.The babies were quiet, secure under the carbon-fiber plates of the tactical carrier.I could smell the scent of white clover and gold cutting through the
Elliot POVThe heavy, old leather of the folder scraped against the clean plastic of my over-bed table.Henry Wolfe kept his hand flat on the cover for three long seconds. The gold crest of the Wolfe family, faded and scratched from decades of handling, sat right beneath the harsh glare of the hospital light."This is not a challenge, Elliot," Henry said, his voice a low, dry rumble.I did not move. I kept my arms locked around the two warm, breathing bundles on my chest. Leo was still, his nose tucked into the fabric of my gown, while Luke gave a tiny, rhythmic twitch of his shoulder. The gold thread in my chest was a steady, humming wire, but my captain's mind remained on high alert.Sebastian took a step closer, his massive shoulder brushing against his father’s coat. His knuckles, still dark with dry blood, tightened."What is this, Father?" Sebastian asked.Henry did not look at his son. He kept his gray eyes fixed on mine. He reached out and flipped the leather cover open, revea
Elliot POV For a few seconds, I could not move.I stood behind the curtain with my hand clenched in the fabric, staring down at the black SUV. The city moved around it, a motorbike passing, neon bleeding red across wet pavement, but none of it touched the hollow opening in my chest. Inside that ca
Elliot POV By the time my teammates came back into the locker room, I had my expression under control.That was the only part of me I controlled. My skin felt wrong in a way that had nothing to do with exhaustion, like a hand pressed flat against a crack in a dam with the pressure building steadil
Elliot POV There were many things I hated about Sebastian Wolfe, but the worst was the way he made silence feel crowded.The moment he turned that lock, the air in the empty room changed, thickening and pressing until every breath I took felt like I was breathing him in. I stood beside my locker i
Elliot POV I had learned a long time ago not to want things that could be taken. Hockey was the one exception I had allowed myself. I spent six years making sure no one ever found out why it cost me more than it cost anyone else.The arena was loud enough to shake the bones in my body. I could hea







