My Hockey Alpha Mate

~Adeline~

"I just don't get why you're still putting up with her, Owen. She makes everything depressing."

A girl's voice drifted from my boyfriend's front porch.

I stopped behind the trees at the yard, blinking against the sun.

Sitting on the front veranda, pushed deep into the chair his mother bought last summer, was Owen. His arms wrapped around a girl in a pink top, pulling her body to his chest.

The angle hid her face, but I knew his frame. I knew the slope of his shoulders. I knew the messy brown curls I ran my fingers through every Friday night.

He kissed her. His hands buried in her hair, tilting her head back to deepen the kiss.

I gasped.

"Owen?"

They kept kissing.

My feet dragged forward. My chest felt tight. His parents were out for the evening, they had to be, for him to pull this in the open where any neighbor walking their dog could see.

"Owen!" I yelled.

They froze.

The girl came off his lap so fast her knee clipped the chair. She spun around, tugging her short skirt down.

Ivy. The captain of the cheer squad.

The girl who thrived on proving she stood superior to everyone breathing the same air as her.

Owen shot to his feet, raking a hand through his curls.

For a second, terror flashed in his eyes. It vanished, replaced by a hardness that made me sick.

"Adeline," he called. His voice was flat.

"What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" I repeated, my voice shaking.

I looked from him to Ivy. She dug her phone out of her pocket, a smirk curling her lips.

"We’ve been together for eight months, Owen. Eight months. And you do this on your front porch?"

Ivy scoffed.

"Oh, please. Like you two actually spend time together anymore."

"Shut up, Ivy," I snapped, holding eye contact with my supposed boyfriend.

"Tell me this is a joke. Tell me this is some kind of sick prank."

"It’s not a joke, Addie," Owen sneered, looking down at me from the steps like I was a stray dog trespassing on his lawn.

"Look at yourself, for three months you've been distant, acting broken!"

The timeline stung.

Three months.

Three months ago, a damp highway accident in the night crushed my parents' and ripped my world apart. Three months ago, I became an orphan, drowning in my uncle’s demands and scrubbing diner tables to keep up with bills.

"My parents died, Owen," I whispered.

"I am mourning. I am trying to survive my uncle, and you... you do this because I act distant?"

"Yes!" Owen yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

The aggression in his voice made me flinch.

"I held on for months, Addie! You are never present. Every time we hang out, you are exhausted or crying. I am sorry about your parents, I am! But life goes on. I have needs too."

My jaw dropped.

The boy who promised to hold my hand through the darkest moment of my life stood on his porch, loudly declaring my grief had an expiration date.

"You have needs?" I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper.

"So you bring the head cheerleader to your porch to fulfill them?"

"At least Ivy actually looks at me," Owen shot back, stepping to the railing.

His total lack of remorse cut deeper than the cheating.

"You want to talk about our relationship? You constantly push me away, Addie. Even before the accident, it was always, ‘I need time, Owen. Give me time.’ Every single time I try to touch you, you pull away."

"Because I needed time!" I screamed, the tears spilling down my cheeks. "And then my family was gone! I just wanted to feel safe, and you treat my boundaries like a burden?"

"They are a burden! You feel like a burden too," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You act like some saint carrying the pain of the world. You think your pain makes you special? It just makes you miserable to be around."

My breath hitched. He targeted my deepest fear, becoming a burden to the people around me.

Out of the corner of my vision, a light flashed.

I looked past Owen's shoulder. Ivy held her phone up, the camera lens pointed at my face.

"Are you recording this?" I asked in horror.

She giggled.

"Not just recording, sweetie. It’s a livestream. The whole grade is watching the orphan get dumped. We already hit two hundred views."

My stomach twisted.

I looked back at Owen, shaking my head in anger.

"I came here to tell you I got a full scholarship from Moonstone Mining to Wolfebrooke Crest Academy."

Owen stood still, his arrogant posture faltering. His head snapped up.

"It’s a thousand miles away," I continued, staring dead into his eyes. "I planned to take you with me. I thought we had a future. I came here to ask how we could make long-distance work."

His mouth opened. "Addie…"

"Thank you," I cut him off, putting my hand in the air. "You just made my decision easy."

I turned away.

"Addie, wait!" Owen called out.

“Make sure you get my good side, Ivy," I threw over my shoulder, keeping my back straight.

I marched down the pavement. I forced my shoulders to stay still. I forced myself to hold it together.

The thought of walking back into my silent house made my chest ache. My parents’ laughter used to echo off those walls. Now, it was just my uncle pacing the floors, screaming into his phone at insurance lawyers.

School meant daily torment.

By Monday morning, I was the orphan whose boyfriend got sick of her depression and livestreamed her humiliation.

Shit!

Those whispers would destroy me.

But i had a way out.

I turned eighteen two months ago. I was legally an adult. My uncle lost the power to forge my signature, I have the right to walk away.

The second I pushed my bedroom door open, my eyes locked onto my dresser. Buried under a stack of final-notice utility bills was an envelope.

The Moonstone Mining scholarship. A full ride, plus room and board, to finish my senior year in Wolfbrooke Crest.

I kept ignoring it because I feared the unknown. I feared losing Owen.

What a joke.

I grabbed my duffel bag from the closet and threw it onto my bed. I yanked my drawers open, tossing my plain t-shirts and jeans inside.

A new place. A town full of strangers, where no one knows about the highway crash, no one knows about my cheating boyfriend or the public humiliation or the pity glances.

I grabbed the envelope.

"I am leaving this nightmare behind," I whispered.

~Weeks Later~

"I am Miranda Harris. I am here to pick you up," a woman said as soon as I stepped out of the train into the station.

I looked at her.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with an oval face and auburn hair a lighter shade than mine. Mine had frizzy, long curls, but hers was straight.

I watched her scrunch her nose at a picture of me in her hands. That explained how she recognized me in a crowd. We had only spoken on the phone once after I had sent back my acceptance letter. To my surprise, the reply was instant. A woman called me, giving me directions to where my train would stop, saying she’d come to pick me up at the station. And here we are…

"I am Adeline Cooper," I replied as a formality, though I believed she knew.

She sighed, like she was stressed or relieved. I wasn’t sure which.

"You will be staying with us for a year. We are your hosts," she replied, her voice flat.

"This is my daughter, Josephine Harris..." She gestured at a young teenage girl beside her.

"Josie. Call me Josie," she cut her mum mid-sentence, excitedly.

Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Let’s go," she said, carrying my travelling bag like it weighed nothing and dumping it in the boot of a dark green Jeep they had come with.

Josie jerked her head, urging me to follow as I stood watching them. She looked to be my age, seventeen or eighteen at most, with auburn hair like her mum and a well-shaped body that had me ogling for a bit.

I was thin. Okay, not too thin, maybe slim, but I used to be a bit thick… then, after my parents’ death, a lot changed and I lost weight… Not that I was bothered. Owen was, though. He had complained, but I paid him no heed. I was going through a lot. He should have been understanding. Shit, why was I thinking of him again…

I shook my head, forcing the memory of Owen and Ivy on that porch out of my mind, to climb into the back seat of the Jeep. Josie slid in right next to me.

Miranda got into the driver’s seat, slamming the door. The engine roared to life with a rumble as we drove off.

The drive up to Wolfebrooke Crest from the station took hours.

For the first stretch, the highway was normal, lined with standard petrol stations and faded billboards. But as the road began to twist upward into the elevation, the scenery changed. The trees grew taller and thicker. I glanced down at my phone. The cell service bars dropped one by one until the screen read ‘No Signal’.

"Don’t worry about that," Josie said, catching my frown. "You’ll get the network up at Crest town. You’ll get logged in as soon as we hit the house."

"Thanks," I muttered, looking back out the window.

The woods out here didn’t feel like the woods back home. They looked dense and impenetrable. It was beautiful, imposing, yes, but beautiful.

I felt my chest relax. Thankfully, I had my painting supplies tucked inside my bag… my brushes, my paper, the paints I hadn’t touched in months.

Miranda drove fast. Too fast for a mountain road. My hands clamped down on the door handle, but Josie was relaxed beside me.

"So," Josie turned to me, her brown eyes bright and curious.

"A whole year in a new place… are you excited? The academy is intense, but the winter parties are legendary."

"I guess," I replied.

"I just want to keep my head down, pass my classes, and graduate."

Josie laughed, as if I had said something funny.

"Good luck with that. New kids don’t exactly blend in around here. Everyone notices everything."

Eventually, the thick tree line broke, revealing an archway.

Beyond it was Wolfebrooke Crest.

It looked like a normal town as we drove through. The houses were spaced far apart, surrounded by tall trees and fences.

It screamed old money. Moonstone Mining clearly paid its people very well. I suddenly felt aware of my faded jeans and boots.

Miranda pulled into the driveway in front of a two-storey building.

"Grab your bag," she said, turning the engine off and stepping out.

I hurried to the boot and hauled my travelling bag out before she could do it for me. I followed them up the steps into the house.

The inside was stunning. A stone fireplace was crackling with fire, keeping the house warm.

"Your room is upstairs, second door on the left," Miranda instructed, tossing her keys into a bowl on the table.

She finally looked at me directly.

"Dinner is at seven sharp. Do not be late. We eat together in this house. It is a strict rule."

"Yes, ma’am," I said. My throat felt a little tight. I had a feeling she didn’t like me.

Josie bumped her shoulder against mine. "Come on, I’ll show you where it is."

I let her lead me up the staircase. My room was big, two times the size of my old bedroom.

"Bathroom is through that door," Josie pointed.

"Take your time unpacking. I’ll come get you when my dad and brothers get back."

"Brothers?" I asked, dropping my bag on the bed.

"Yep. Twin older brothers. They’re seniors at the Academy too. Total headaches, but they’re alright." Josie smiled brightly as she shut the door behind her.

I stood alone in the silence.

I was really here. A thousand miles away from my parents’ graves. A thousand miles away from the empty house and my uncle’s greedy hands. I walked over to the window, resting my forehead against the glass. The woods looked endless. For a second, I swore I saw a hulking shadow move between the trees at the edge of the property line.

But when I blinked, it was gone.

I spent the next hour putting my few clothes into the dresser. I took a quick shower, letting the hot water burn the travel sweat off my skin, and changed into clean jeans and a plain black long-sleeve shirt.

Right at six-fifty, a knock hit my door.

"Dinner’s ready!" Josie called out from the hallway.

My stomach rumbled painfully. I hadn’t eaten since the morning. I opened the door and followed the smell of beef stew downstairs.

Miranda was already sitting at one end. At the head of the table sat a man who could only be Josie’s dad. He was huge, with broad shoulders, a thick beard, and the same dark hair.

Sitting across from Josie’s empty seat were two guys. They had the same huge build as their dad, wearing tight t-shirts that stretched over thick arms.

They stopped talking the exact second I walked into the room.

"Ah," the dad said, his voice deep. "The new arrival to our home. Come, sit down. I am James."

"Adeline," I said. My voice sounded small as I took the empty chair next to Josie.

"These are my sons, Caleb and Dylan," James gestured to the twins.

They stared at me long and hard, like they were seeing a new specimen.

"Stop staring at her, you idiots," Josie snapped, kicking someone hard under the table.

One of the twins let out a grunt, then looked down at his plate, which was piled high with food and lots of beef. My eyes widened at the quantity.

"Eat up, Adeline," James said, pushing a full bowl of potatoes toward me.

"You look like a strong wind could blow you away," he added, eyeing me with a strange expression. "We need you strong to survive Wolfebrooke Crest..."

Suddenly, a loud clatter echoed across the dining room.

Dylan had dropped his fork directly onto his plate. I looked over at him. All the color had drained from his face.

He looked sick, his jaw clenched.

He refused to lift his eyes from the table, staring blindly at his food while tension choked the air in the room.

No one said a word.

James just watched his son, a warning flashing in his eyes, before going back to his meal.

I slowly picked up my fork to eat. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Something in this house was very, very wrong...