Chapter 5

Trenton's POV

Coach Damien raised his voice over the cheering. “Listen up, everyone!” The rink went silent before he continued. “For the championship qualifiers, the player representing Winterridge…” He paused. “Trenton Blackwood.”

“Congratulations, man,” Lucien—my best friend—pulled me into a side hug. “I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you. We all did it.” I slapped his back proudly.

I was more than excited that I had been chosen to represent the team in the championship. It was something I had looked forward to my entire life.

As the rest of the team members congratulated me, I responded smoothly, but the truth was that I couldn’t wait for everything to be over because my mind wasn’t there.

My mind was with her.

Aria Lockwood.

My stepsister and fated mate.

Even though it seemed like she had always hated me all these years and appeared to love my brother more than me, I couldn’t get her out of my mind.

Oh Goddess… she was effortlessly beautiful.

Her emerald green eyes, soft yet piercing, made my heart skip beats anytime she looked at me for too long. Her long curly auburn hair smelled of petal shampoo that filled my nostrils. Her skin was smooth and almost porcelain. She was petite with a beautiful figure—heavy breasts, a flat navel, hips that flared out like the ocean, and a rounded ass—that turned heads even in her usual outfit of polo and pants. Her scent of lavender and mint was refreshing and addictive… it made my wolf, Monster, bask in joy. It usually took great effort for me to control Monster from claiming her.

I don’t think she knew how much she unraveled me. No… she didn’t, probably until today. Earlier at the school grounds, she had smiled at me for the very first time ever instead of just rolling her eyes and cursing at me to leave her alone.

That single gesture of acknowledgment—that she finally knew how much I cared about her—fueled my desire to win, because I had promised to treat her to dinner when I did. I planned to use that opportunity to tell her that we were fated mates and had been for two years now.

The day her mother brought her to the palace was the day I sensed the mate bond between us. I had made up my mind to tell her, but I couldn’t because she had avoided me ever since and was already in love with my brother.

Moreover, she was my stepsister, and I didn’t want to ruin Father’s chances at love. He had just found happiness again after many years since Mother passed away.

So, I let her be.

I loved, cared for, and protected her from afar in my own quiet way. But today, I had decided to tell her about our bond since she couldn’t feel it—she was wolfless.

At least she wasn’t my real sister, though Father was planning to adopt her officially. That was one of the reasons I needed to let everyone know she was my fated mate as soon as possible, so he could abandon those plans.

Though Father would be shocked, it was the will of the Goddess, and he knew better than to disagree.

A broad smile curled my lips as I locked eyes with her. She was waving at me and jumping excitedly. I raised my hand to wave back…

But just then, the coach’s words faded into the background and… I saw it.

A scene of her pouring something into a bottle of organic water—the same brand I usually drank—then exchanging it with mine. While playing, Lucien had handed me the bottle of poisoned water. I gulped it down, and in less than five minutes, I wrapped my hands around my neck… before I knew what was happening, I collapsed and started pouring out blood. Slowly… I bled to death.

The smile on my face vanished instantly. My hand froze mid-air as the scene sent shivers of fear down my spine.

Was that a vision? A revelation?

A scene of Aria poisoning me to death?

How? Why would she ever do that?

At first, I refused to believe it. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But it felt real… too real. My throat tightened as if I had already taken the poison.

My body trembled with horror as I stared at the half-empty bottle of water at the corner of the rink—the same bottle Lucien had handed me earlier.

Had Aria poisoned my water?

Honestly, I expected to collapse any second, but I didn’t.

I looked back at her. She wasn’t waving or jumping anymore; she just stood there with an unreadable expression.

Slowly, the tightness in my throat eased and I swallowed hard.

Quickly, my mind put the pieces together.

Maybe she hadn’t poisoned me today, but sooner or later, she would. I could feel it deep inside me.

Wait… the reason she had been friendly with me earlier—was it because she wanted me to let my guard down so she could murder me more easily?

All the happiness I had felt a while ago—the way she smiled at me, let me touch her, the joy from winning—vanished into thin air, replaced by a sickening feeling that made my chest ache.

A bitter laugh bubbled in my throat. A bitter laugh at my stupid self.

Of course, I had been foolish enough to believe she was finally coming around after pushing me away all this time. I had been stupid enough to believe she genuinely realized how much she meant the world to me… when everything had been a scheme all along.

My jaw tightened, fingers instinctively clenching around the hockey stick in my hand.

I had been a fool for Aria for far too long… but not anymore. I was done being nice, done loving her, and done trying to fix us.

“Is everything okay with you?” Lucien’s concerned voice jolted me out of my thoughts. His hand gripped my arm.

I managed a smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”

He scoffed and slapped my chest playfully. “You are so smitten by Aria, Trenton. Which restaurant are you taking her to tonight? The Knights Place or Crystal Palace?” He mentioned two of the top restaurants around campus, and I had actually been planning on taking her to the latter.

“Do you think she would accept your feelings? If you ask me, I think she’s still in love with your brother. Just because of what she said earlier doesn’t mean she’s now in love with you. But you can confess to her since you love her so much—”

“Not anymore,” I said quietly.

He frowned, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

I paused before finally speaking. “I mean… I don’t love her anymore. I won’t be confessing anything to her, and there will be no dinner.”

His jaw dropped, then he laughed dryly. “Wait… are you changing your mind because of what I said? You should know that I mess around a lot…”

I placed a steady hand on his shoulder. “No… you’re right, Lucien. You’ve always been right. I just realized now that Aria Lockwood will never love me in return no matter what I do. So it’s best I get my shit together and stay the hell away from her, because she has become dangerous to me.”