The Hockey Alpha I Shouldn't Crave

♡♡ HYLARA ♡♡

"TURN IT OFF!"

The disgusting photo of me barely covered and standing by my dresser stayed plastered on the rink's Jumbotron.

My heartbeat thuds in my ears, my clammy hands trembling over my mouth as I stared unblinking at the all-too-familiar face with slightly closed eyes and dazzling smile on the big screen.

This had to be a nightmare because there was no way a thousand pairs of eyes were ogling my exposed body barely covered by the thin strands of my golden hair.

My hip had shifted just enough to conceal the crest-shaped scar below my belly button. But, the rest of my body was still exposed as if humiliation were part of the night's entertainment. Heat crawled beneath my skin as shame took over every shred of dignity I had.

My chest clenched as hundreds of phones shot in the air, cameras flashing as everyone scrambled to capture my nightmare before it vanished.

"DAMN! Who knew Hylara Hart looked so hot?" I cringed the moment the intern's breathy comment broke through the thick fog in my head.

Every year, Silverpine University Athletic Department hires four seniors to give them real-life work experiences. But for a junior, I was lucky to get selected as a student assistant in communications after I rewrote a sloppy post-game recap that went viral last year. Plus, the pay was just enough to save up for tuition and keep me away from asking my mother.

Ten minutes ago, everything was perfect as I sat behind the glass walls of the press box, headset muffling the sharp roars of students from the lower bowl as I posted real-time photos of the game on the team's social media while preparing to leave for the locker room since the game was drawing to an end.

~TEN MINUTES EARLIER~

"Miss Hart, the coach wants Horton for the first interview." The radio in my hand buzzed.

This interview should've been Declan's. He'd worked hard for it but Creed Horton always gets it with his last-minute impressive goal.

"Tonight we're leaving everything on the ice." I winced as Declan's excitement before the game echoed so clearly it almost hurt.

Declan Bishop was one of the most handsome star players with charming honey-brown eyes that pulled people in. Women swarmed him everywhere like bees to nectar and somehow, he'd asked me out shortly after I joined the communication team—I didn't get it; he could have any girl. Whenever another woman looked at us, their stare would linger long enough to ask the question only a few dared say aloud.

Why her? Why me?

Creed Horton was a billionaire heir to the Horton fortune and a professional pain in my ass who believed the world was his playground and everyone was here to serve him.

Fans swoon and treat every smug grin like a gift. How pathetic. I never understood the obsession because underneath all that charm and expensive smile was a ruthless hockey captain who mistook arrogance for confidence.

Unfortunately, my paycheck depended on polishing his image. Every interview had to sparkle. Every scandal had to disappear and every selfish stunt had to become another reason everyone worshipped the league's golden boy.

Staring at the empty players' tunnel that would soon be filled with players shouting and tangled together, I sighed softly ready to move when...

A wave of gasps echoed through the arena as heads snapped towards the Jumbotron.

My blood turned cold.

"Oh my God!" I jumped to my feet, my mind scrambling to make sense of what I was seeing.

There was a girl on the Jumbotron. Her head was thrown to the side, hip slightly bent, and pushed back in a sensual dance by her dresser. Her hair dryer was lifted like a prop in a moment that was intended to stay off the camera.

"Holy cow! If those curves are real, she's a total knockout!"

This isn't happening. Seeing the appalled faces of everyone in the press box, I wished the ground would swallow me.

"Is that the alternate captain's girlfriend?"

"Whoever did this went out of their way to destroy her."

"Dude could've zoomed in a little more."

"Someone's getting fired if this ain't AI."

"BOOOO...!"

The loud mumbles from the arena blurred into a buzzing hum in my head, like I was underwater.

It had to be fake.

A photoshopped photo was my last shred of hope but nothing about the room was false.

Those walls, the faded pink paint, the worn-out beige comforter. The room I've called home for the last three years. My fingers dug into my skin as a wave of nausea climbed my throat at the sickening sense of exposure.

In the middle of the ice, Declan stopped, his jaw locked as his gaze shifted from the jumbotron... to me... and back again.

No, no, no. Please, not him too.

Declan hated public humiliation. He hated attention when it wasn't on his terms and now, I'd dragged him into my mess.

Creed Horton skated to a stop beside Declan, his face covered with his permanent scowl that made people mistake cruelty for charm.

Could it be...? The timing couldn't be a coincidence.

Three weeks ago, I'd cornered him in a live interview to protect him from a lawsuit but he thought I had humiliated him. Was this his revenge?

Three weeks. Had he waited three whole weeks to ruin me? That was typical of him. Gosh, I could strangle him right now.

I hate him so much!

Declan looked straight through me, his expression hardening as a slow, poisonous smirk marred his features.

Whatever it was... I wasn't going to survive it.

"Hylara..." His voice rang out. The arena fell silent, like everyone was eager to hear.

"I loved you. But tonight, you've finally shown me who you are behind closed doors and I can't deal with this... embarrassment." He pointed to the now blank screen. The disgust in his voice hit harder than the photo.

"No..." The soft plea escaped before I could bite my tongue.

"I've worked hard to build my career and reputation, I won't sit back and watch your poor choices destroy me."

My poor choices?

The arena erupted with boos and cheers. Cell phones that went down shot up again for another round of delinquent entertainment.

My stomach dropped as Declan squared his shoulders before turning to the cheer squad.

"I've been looking in the wrong direction." Another wave of gasps swept through the arena. "You deserve better than watching an undeserving woman from the shadows. You've never stopped believing in me and I'd love a chance to make it right... Cassandra." He finished after a pause.

Air caught in my throat.

Cassandra? My best friend, Cassandra Galt? Or was there another?

What was he talking about? Cassandra has never believed in him. If anything, she hated his gut and always wanted me to break things with him.

Besides, Cassandra and I have been besties since Junior High even though we had nothing in common. While she was the pretty one from a rich family, I was the ugly duckling scratching the ground just to get by. Cassandra often wondered what I saw in him. So there was no way she would agree with him.

Cassandra hesitated, guilt flickered across her face but before I could be hopeful, she broke into a smile. Her head bobbed like she'd been waiting to hear those words.

She chose him?

She actually chose him? The crowd cheering for them shattered the last tinge of hope I was clinging to.

My eyes burned, my knees buckled forcing me back into the chair and my trembling fingers clenched against my chest.

This can't be. She hated him. She did. So what changed?

"YOU BASTARD!"

The voice boomed, powerful enough to silence everyone.