LOGINChapter 166MaxHe pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. His thumb brushed a tear off my cheek I hadn't realized had fallen."We knew this might happen," he said quietly. "We talked about it at the ranch. The world isn't ready for us yet. But we're ready for each other. That's what matters."I didn't say anything. I couldn't. The words were stuck somewhere behind my ribs, tangled up with everything I was trying not to feel all at once.My phone buzzed again.This time it was a text from my coach.*Emergency meeting with athletic director at 9 a.m. Don't be late. This is serious.*Ace's phone lit up at the same time. His hockey coach. We stared at the screens in silence. The blue light caught the side of his face and for a second he looked tired in a way I hadn't seen before. Not physically tired. Something deeper than that."I'm sorry," I whispered. "I should've waited. Let you have your moment on the ice without turning it into… this."He didn't answer right away. Just loo
Chapter 165MaxThe first thing I felt when consciousness dragged me back was Ace’s arm heavy across my waist, his breath warm and steady against the back of my neck. The second thing was the buzzing. A constant, angry swarm of notifications that made the nightstand sound like it was trying to drill through the wood.I cracked one eye open. The dorm room was still dark, the digital clock glowing 6:47 a.m. Ace was dead asleep, face slack in that rare, peaceful way he only got after a championship win and a night of slow, thorough sex. His new platinum ring caught the faint light from the window and sent a little spark through my chest.Fiancé.The word should have felt warm. Instead, the buzzing grew louder.I reached for my phone with the hand that wasn’t pinned under Ace. The screen lit up like a explosion. 347 new notifications. Instagram. Twitter. TikTok. Group chats. Coach’s number. Mom. Sofia. Unknown numbers. News alerts.My stomach dropped before I even opened anything.The
Chapter 164AceThe arena had gone dead silent.Twenty thousand people holding their breath at the same time. The only sound was the faint hum of the lights and the rapid thud of my own heart slamming against my ribs. Max was on one knee in front of me, right in the center of the ice, sneakers soaked from the cold surface, eyes shining with tears and absolute certainty as he held up that small black box.The platinum band inside caught every overhead light like it had been forged just for this moment.Even though we've spoken about marriage in the secret, it still all feels surreal to see him doing this.Max who used to be so ashamed of showing us in public, is now on his one knee.I couldn’t speak. My legs gave out before my brain caught up. I dropped to my knees on the ice, pads hitting the frozen surface hard enough to send a jolt up my spine. We were eye-level now. Close enough that I could see every tear track on his cheeks, every tremble in his fingers as he held the ring out
Chapter 163MaxThe arena was electric, the roar of the crowd vibrating through the boards and straight into my chest. I stood behind the glass near the bench, heart hammering like I was the one on the ice instead of Ace. He had shown up every single day. Six a.m. sharp, just like Coach demanded. No complaints, no excuses, even when his body had to be screaming from the way we’d spent the nights before—tangled, sweaty, and desperate like the world might try to steal us again. I’d watched him drag himself out of our bed before dawn, kiss my forehead, and head to the rink. Hours on the ice, hours in the gym, pushing until sweat soaked through his gear and his shoulders shook. And every night he came home to me, exhausted but glowing, pulling me into his arms like I was the only reason he kept going. Today it paid off. Ace was a goddamn force. He scored the first goal in the opening minute— a blistering wrist shot that ripped the net before the goalie even reacted. The crowd
Chapter 162AceWe didn’t make it out of bed for another hour.After the first brutal round, I stayed buried inside Max, both of us slick with sweat and cum, breathing hard against each other’s skin. My cock gave a lazy twitch every time he clenched around me, milking the last drops from my spent dick. He looked wrecked in the best way—lips swollen, neck covered in fresh hickeys, stomach painted with his own cum, and my load slowly leaking out around where we were still joined.“Fuck… you’re still inside me,” Max murmured, voice hoarse and satisfied. His fingers traced lazy circles on my back, nails scraping lightly over the sweat-slick skin.“Exactly where I belong,” I growled, pressing a slow, deep kiss to his mouth. I rolled my hips once, grinding my softening cock deeper into the messy heat of his ass. He gasped, oversensitive but still pushing back for more.We kissed lazily for a while, tongues sliding together, tasting salt and sex. Eventually I pulled out with a wet sound, b
Chapter 161AceI stared at Max, completely stunned. The wooden swing creaked beneath us as the weight of what he’d done sank in.“You spoke to my coach?” My voice came out rough, almost disbelieving. “When the hell did you do that?”Max’s cheeks flushed, but his eyes shone with quiet pride. He shifted in my lap, straddling me more fully on the wide porch swing.“While you were making lunch,” he admitted, a small smirk playing on his lips. “You were busy cracking eggs and humming that awful off-key tune. I slipped out here, called him. Told him you had a family emergency, that it was my fault you missed practice. I begged him not to bench you... reminded him that you’re the best player he’s got and it’d be fucking stupid to throw that away over one mistake.”My throat tightened. No one had ever fought for me like that.He kept going, voice softening. “He wasn’t happy at first. Yelled about discipline and team rules. But I kept talking until he agreed you could still play the upcomi
Chapter 113AceThe first thing I felt was the pounding in my head—a dull, throbbing ache that radiated from my temples down through my neck. My mouth tasted like copper and ash, and my limbs felt like they were made of concrete.*Get up,* Kael snarled in my mind, his voice frantic. *Get up NOW!*I
Chapter 102Max"That sounds like fortune cookie wisdom," I said, but there was no heat in it.He smiled slightly. "Yeah, I thought the same thing when I was fourteen. But it's true. You're fighting your wolf because you're scared of it. Scared of what it means, scared of losing yourself to it."H
Chapter 101 MaxThen I heard it.A heartbeat.Not mine. Someone else's. Strong, steady and achingly familiar.I focused on that sound, clinging to it like a lifeline.Then I felt soft arms wrapped around me from behind, solid, warm and real."Breathe, Max," Ace's voice said in my ear. "Just breath
Chapter 100MaxLyra's car pulled up within ten minutes. She got out looking confused and worried, her long dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail."Max, what's going on?" she asked as she approached the porch where Sofia and I waited."I need you to take Sofia somewhere safe," I said, keeping m







