Chapter 3- Maya's POV

When Lily and I reached the dorm, I stopped right at the doorway, my hand frozen on the frame.

It wasn’t the cold, quiet space I had imagined. Instead, it was buzzing with life. The first thing I noticed were the fairy lights strung across the walls, glowing softly even though it was daytime. Posters were everywhere,some of bands I didn’t recognize, others of random quotes written in big letters. The whole room smelled faintly of butter and something sweet, and laughter echoed from every corner.

Two girls stood near a small kitchen area. One of them waved a spatula like it was a weapon, her ponytail bouncing wildly as she argued.

“I told you three is enough!” she shouted, her eyes narrowing.

The other girl hugged a plate to her chest like she was protecting treasure. “Three? You eat like a rabbit,” she snapped back, her voice sharp but playful.

The sound of their bickering was so normal, so silly, that a smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.

But then the air shifted.

A guy walked in through the side door, tall and broad-shouldered, his dark hair falling slightly into his sharp eyes. He didn’t hesitate; he crossed the room with an easy confidence and slipped his arm around the spatula girl’s waist, pulling her close. She leaned into him naturally, like she belonged there, like his presence was the most normal thing in the world.

The way he bent his head toward her, his lips close to her hair, made my stomach twist. It was too intimate, too raw, and heat rushed up my neck. I looked away quickly, pretending to study the fairy lights, but the image burned into my mind anyway.

“Hey, guys!” Lily’s voice cut through the room. Before I could protest, she tugged me forward as if I were some new project she was proud of. “This is Maya, the new scholarship student.”

Every head turned toward me at once.

My throat went dry. My palms felt damp against the strap of my bag. I forced myself to push out a weak, “Hi,” hoping no one would ask me anything else.

But just then, the sharp clang of a bell rang through the halls. Groans filled the room as people started shoving books into bags and slipping on shoes.

Saved. Literally saved by the bell.

I followed Lily back into the hallway, but before we could reach class, noise erupted from outside. Cheers, shouts, claps—it was like the whole school had come alive.

“What’s going on?” I asked, but Lily was already craning her neck.

The answer came when I peeked through the crowd of students pushing past us.

The hockey team had returned.

They marched through the main hall like champions, their jerseys damp with sweat, sticks slung over shoulders. Students clapped them on the back, some even chanting their names. The energy around them was electric, almost overwhelming. For a second, my heart gave a strange, hopeful jump.

Hockey. I hadn’t expected to see it here. Not in this school.

My eyes drifted through the players until they landed on him.

One figure stood out—not because of his size, though he carried himself with the easy strength of someone who knew his body well. It was the way he walked, calm and sure, like the crowd’s noise didn’t matter. His jersey hung open at the top, revealing the sheen of sweat on his chest, but he looked completely unfazed.

And then—his eyes met mine.

Only for a moment. A flicker. A connection that vanished as quickly as it came. Still, I felt my breath catch, my chest tightening as if the world had narrowed to just that look.

I forced myself to look away, only then noticing one of the players limping. His ankle was wrapped tight, a pair of crutches tucked under his arms. Whispers rippled through the crowd.

“They’re short a player.”

“Big game coming.”

“What will they do now?”

The words sank into me like hooks. I shouldn’t have cared. But something stirred inside me, something I thought I had buried long ago. That empty spot in their team—it called to me.

Almost without thinking, I found myself trailing behind a few of the players when the crowd started to thin. My sneakers made the faintest squeak against the polished floor, and every time they turned, I ducked back just far enough to stay hidden.

They moved with purpose, their voices low and serious, not at all like the joking cheers from earlier. Finally, they slipped into a side hallway I hadn’t noticed before. A heavy door stood at the end, a painted crest glowing faintly under the hall lights. The whole place looked… off-limits.

I should have turned back. But my feet didn’t listen.

I pressed my back against the wall, heart hammering, and strained my ears toward the door.

“…if the Alpha finds out we’re short a player, we’ll lose more than the game,” one voice hissed.

Alpha? My brows knitted. What did that even mean?

Another voice, smoother and calmer, answered, “We’ll handle it. No one outside the circle can know. Not a word.”

The words chilled me. My mind raced. What circle? What secret?

Before I could make sense of it, the door creaked open.

The coach stepped out. He was tall, with sharp eyes that cut straight through me. His gaze locked on mine instantly, like he had known I’d been standing there the whole time.

“Well, well,” he drawled, his lips curving into a half-smile that made my stomach drop. “Spying on my team, are you?”

The players crowded behind him, their glares sharp enough to slice through me. I froze, caught like a rabbit in headlights, my throat too tight to answer.

But the coach tilted his head, studying me as though I were a puzzle piece he hadn’t expected to find.

“You play hockey, don’t you?” His voice was steady, confident, not a question but a statement.

Blood drained from my face. “I,I used to,” I whispered.

His grin widened, slow and deliberate. “Good. Tomorrow, you’ll prove it. Tryouts. Be ready.”

A storm of voices erupted behind him in whispers.

“What? She’s human!”

“She doesn’t belong here!”

“She’ll ruin everything!”

The coach lifted a hand, and the protests died instantly. His gaze never wavered from mine.

“This is an opportunity,” he said firmly. “And she’s going to take it. Whether she sinks or survives… that’s up to her.”

My chest tightened. My heart hammered so loudly I was sure they could all hear it.

I didn’t know what I had just walked into. But one thing was clear tomorrow, I would step onto the ice again.