MasukAya’s POVThe team dinner had been… chaotic.Not the tense, strategic kind of chaos that happened on the ice. No. This was the loud, messy, half-laughing chaos of a group of athletes who had just survived a brutal playoff match and suddenly remembered they were starving.Ryan had been the loudest about it.. Which surprises me because I thought it was either Finn or Kael.“Victory food tastes better,” he declared proudly the moment we stepped into the restaurant near campus. “It’s scientifically proven.”Finn immediately backed him up. “Absolutely. My metabolism confirms this.”Brooks rolled his eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t fall out. “You two say that every time we eat.”“That’s because every meal is important,” Finn replied seriously. Leon muttered something about idiots under his breath, but even he looked more relaxed than usual.The entire team had crowded around two long tables pushed together. Helmets and jackets piled up on empty chairs, bags shoved under the table,
Aya’s POVI stood there for a moment, hand still hovering near the door, debating whether I should knock or just slip away before anyone noticed me lurking like a suspicious ghost.Inside, the conversation continued in low voices. Then suddenly— I could no longer hear murmurs nor whispers. It was.. a sudden stop.Like someone had flipped a switch and that surely did make my heart skip a beat.And then Johanis’ voice came from the other side of the door. “Aya.”My breath caught and I unconsciously gulped what felt like tons of unused saliva.“Come in.”I pushed the door open slowly. The moment I stepped inside, several heads turned toward me again, (a very familiar sight from now on), though this time the reaction wasn’t shock like earlier. It was more like quiet recognition. Finn waved lazily from where he was sitting on the bench. “Hey, locker room VIP again.”Ryan leaned back against a locker with a smirk. “Captain’s pheromone radar working again, huh?”My face heated immediately. J
Aya's POV The puck didn’t just glide into the net. It slammed home, sending a sharp crack through the arena that cut right through the silence. For half a second, nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Then the goal light blazed red, and the crowd erupted like a volcano waking up from a hundred-year sleep.“WOODHILL SCORES!” The announcer’s voice boomed over the speakers, raw with excitement. “JOHANIS MARTIN WITH THE BREAKTHROUGH!”I shot up from my seat so fast my vision blurred. Lily was already screaming, throwing her arms around my neck and nearly knocking us both over. Tavian punched the air so hard he nearly smacked the person in front of him, who didn’t even seem to care—they were on their feet too, yelling until their faces were red. Even Evangeline, sitting rigid beside us, had her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide and bright with something that looked a lot like awe.On the ice, Johanis didn’t celebrate like the others. Ryan tackled him first, sending them both sprawling aga
Aya's POV The tension in the hallway hadn’t faded.If anything, it had only intensified..Evangeline stood there with her arms crossed, the sharp line of her posture practically screaming “authority”. Her gaze flicked between Johanis and me again, clearly waiting for him to correct the situation.To correct me. Seriously, I thought she had changed for the better. Guess I was wrong.Johanis didn’t even hesitate.. “Evangeline,” he said calmly. Something in his tone made her straighten slightly. “Yes?”“Please go back to your seat.”It was polite and respectful. But with a clear finality.Her brows knit together. “Johanis, the rules—”“I’m aware of the rules. You think I don't? Me.. of all people?” His voice didn’t sharpen. It didn’t rise. It just… settled, like stone.“I’ll take responsibility,” he added. For a moment she looked like she wanted to argue. Like she was weighing pride against practicality. Then she exhaled through her nose. “Fine.”Her gaze slid to me again—something unre
Aya's POV The scoreboard’s unblinking 0-0 felt like a judgment, a gaping maw of unresolved tension. The buzzer shrieked, slicing through the stunned silence, and then the arena became a cacophony of confused chatter. My eyes, however, were locked on the ice, specifically on Johanis. On my mate.. He stood there, a blue-clad statue amidst the swirling chaos, his chest heaving, the faint mist of his breath rising in the frigid air. When his gaze finally lifted, it found mine, and in that instant, the world narrowed to just us. His eyes, usually so intense, held a depth I couldn't quite decipher, a mixture of exhilaration and something else – a hunger, perhaps?Then he was moving, skating off the ice with his teammates, their faces etched with a similar blend of exhaustion and fierce focus. They disappeared down the tunnel leading to the locker rooms, leaving me feeling strangely bereft.“I’m starving,” Lily declared, breaking the spell, her voice a little hoarse. “And so ‘effin thirsty
Aya’s POVThe doorknob doesn’t turn. Instead, a low, raspy voice filters through the wood—too quiet to be shouting, but clear enough to send a chill down my spine.“Woodhill’s lion… and his little mate.”Johanis tenses beside me, his pheromones flaring sharp as ice. I grip his arm without thinking, and he covers my hand with his own—firm, reassuring, but his focus never leaves the door. “Show yourself,” he says, his voice low and steady, no trace of fear in it. A faint chuckle echoes in the hallway. “No need for that yet. Just a message.” The shadow under the door shifts slightly. “Blackmoor doesn’t just play to win. We play to break. We’ll win tomorrow, so we can't have fun with you guys just yet..”Before Johanis can respond and even hastily step forward to confront whoever it is, the presence recedes. We hear the soft scrape of boots on tile, then nothing. The cold in the air lifts slowly, but the weight it left behind hangs heavy. Johanis was left with no choice but to sigh and w







