Chapter 1

Sasha 

***Present Day***

“I really need this job,” I whispered under my breath, watching my breath fog up in the freezing Alaskan air.

The wind was so chilly, whipping strands of hair out from under my knit cap. I tightened my grip on the suitcase handle, dragging it along the icy sidewalk as I kept moving lazily. I was in Frost Hollow? 

Ohh I bet I was...

And to the IceLords, the most elite and reclusive hockey team in the country.

I hadn't even heard of them until last week. From barely a website. But their offer had been generous, too generous, really and my old mentor said they were desperate for someone to help with chronic injuries and muscle strain.

Which led me here. 

The IceLord's training compound rose like a fortress behind the fog. Frosted windows. Lights that buzzed behind tinted glass. It didn’t look like a place people trained. It looked like a place people survived. 

Yeah literally it did.

I paused at the entrance, my heart hammering. My hand hovered over the doorknob for a bit too long.

You’re here. You’re capable and now, fight for your career .

Just then, I pushed through.

The lobby was spacious. Too spacious. No trophy cases, no team photos,which I found a bit weird. There was just a reception desk with a single woman typing behind it like a statue. 

“Sasha Lane?” she said flatly.

I nodded, unwrapping my scarf. “That’s me. I’m here for..."

“I know. You’re expected. Third floor. Elevator to your left.”

“Right, um… thanks.”

She didn’t smile. Not even a fake one. Just went back to typing something with the same kind of mechanical focus I’d seen in hospital ICUs. As I turned, I caught her mutter under her breath.

“They hired a human. Again.”

I stopped. Turned.

“What did you say?”

She blinked up at me slowly. “Nothing. Third floor.”

A chill ran down my spine, and it had nothing to do with the weather at least.

      Kael 

***Conference room***

I could smell her before I heard her.

Citrus. Warm vanilla. Not perfume, but Her...

My wolf shifted under my skin the moment her scent hit the air.

Hell no.

I gripped the edge of the table and forced a slow breath through my nose.

We didn’t need this. We needed discipline. Control. Focus.

Not some delicate woman with soft eyes and a therapist's voice.

But I turned when she stepped into the room anyway.

 I instantly lost track of what I was supposed to say.

She was smaller than I expected. Not fragile precisely. Her eyes met mine without hesitation.

Sasha Lane didn’t know what this place was.

And still, she didn’t flinch.

I hated the way my chest responded to her defiance.

Sasha 

*** Same moment ***

He turned before I could even clear my throat.

And I froze.

Kael Darius. The captain. The name I’d seen on contracts.

But this man?

He was taller. Broader. Dark hair that curled slightly at the ends. A jaw carved from something prehistoric. And eyes so pale they almost glowed like ice under moonlight. 

“You’re early,” he said.

I blinked. “Sorry. I thought it was better to..”

“It’s good.” His voice was low and rough.  “Sit.”

I obeyed before thinking. The leather chair creaked under me. He remained standing, arms folded across his chest.

“I’ve reviewed your file,” he said after a pause. “You're not new to elite athletes.”

“I’ve worked with Olympic skaters and the Avalanche’s secondary team. I also ran a rehabilitation program for...”

He held up a hand.

“I said I read your file.”

Right. Okay.

Not a talker I guess.

“Then you know I specialize in trauma-based muscular damage and long-term inflammation. I’m not just a massage therapist.”

“No one said you were.”

“But your receptionist did mention something strange.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Strange?”

“She said... you hired a human again.”

The room went still.

I mean… still.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “She’s… old-fashioned.”

“That’s more than old-fashioned. That’s....”

“None of your concern.” He cutted in.

He didn’t raise his voice, but it might as well have been a shout.

I bit back my reply.

No need to burn bridges before I’d even signed the damn contract.

“I just want to do my job,” I said instead.

His eyes scanned me, slowly. Too slowly. 

“You’ll have access to the players' files. You’ll work early. You’ll be discreet. And if something feels off, you come to me directly. No one else.”

“Okay…” I hesitated. “I mean, that’s all fine, but… is there something I should know, Kael? Something I’m not being told?”

For the first time, his expression flickered. It was gone in a second, but I saw it.

Fear. Or ..... Maybe just fear

And then he said the weirdest thing I’d ever heard during a job interview.

“If you stay long enough… you’ll figure it out.”

Kael 

*** After she left ***

I stood at the window long after she was gone.

Sasha Lane.

Human. Soft-spoken. Calm.

My wolf hadn’t reacted to anyone in years—not since…

Not since her.

But this wasn’t a mate bond. Couldn’t be.

Mate bonds don’t happen twice.

And yet… my senses screamed mine the second she walked in.

I couldn’t afford that. Not now. Not when rogues were circling. 

But I also couldn’t send her away.

Because something in her felt… unfinished or maybe hidden.

Like she didn’t even know what she really was.

And if that was true?

Then Sasha Lane wasn’t just dangerous...

Sasha 

*** Her official first day ***

I wasn’t sure what was more intimidating, the ice, the silence, or the dozen hulking men staring at me strangely.

“Boys,” the assistant coach announced as I stepped into the training room, “this is Sasha Lane, your new physiotherapist.”

There were grunts. A few nods. No one smiled.

They were massive. I mean, even for pro athletes. Built like gladiators in skates. The room smelled like mint liniment, sweat, and…Something wilder.

They weren’t chatty. Not rude, but still. As if I’d stepped into a wolf den.

Which, weirdly, is exactly what it felt like.

I tried to shake it off.

“Good morning,” I said with my best professional smile. “I’ve read your files. Some of you have recurring inflammation, a few torn ligaments, and one of you....” I looked down at the clipboard “ has the shoulder mobility of a wooden puppet.”

Someone chuckled. A low, deep sound. When I looked up, it was Kael.

Leaning against the wall, arms folded, watching me.

I hadn’t even noticed him come in.

He didn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

“Try working with him,” someone else said, jerking a thumb at a dark-haired player whose scowl looked permanent. “Talon hasn’t let a single therapist touch him since last year.”

“Good thing I don’t scare easy,” I replied, crossing the room.

Talon stared at me like I was a threat. I crouched beside him without asking permission, gently lifting his arm and guiding it in a slow range-of-motion test. His muscles were tight. Not just from injury. From holding something back.

“You’re not breathing,” I murmured.

He tensed.

“Let it go. I’m not here to break you.”

After a moment, he exhaled. I felt the shift in him. Still cautious though.

“You’re not like the others,” he muttered under his breath.

Before I could ask what he meant, Kael interrupted.

“Lane. A word.”

Kael

***Training Hall**

I knew this was a mistake.

Bringing her in and even letting her touch my players. Watching them respond.

Talon hadn’t let anyone near him in nine months. And yet here he was, breathing under Sasha’s fingers like she’d cast a spell on him.

She had no idea what she was walking into. What she was waking up.

I stood at the far end of the hall and waited for her to join me.

She came, arms folded, eyes narrowed. “Is this where you fire me?”

“You’re good,” I said.

She blinked. “What?”

“With people. With pain. You feel it. Not just physically. Emotionally.”

I don’t know why I said it. It was the truth, but it wasn’t the point of this conversation.

I was too close.

My wolf was rising. Pressing under my skin. Agitated. Wanting out.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly.

I looked at her.

Really looked.

The curve of her jaw. The slight part in her lips. 

I could smell her heartbeat.

And I wanted to touch her.

Now.

Badly.

But I couldn’t.

I stepped back. She followed.

“Kael...”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t get close to me.”

Too late.

She took another step. She was inches away now.

“I’m not scared of you,” she whispered.

“I know. That’s the problem.”

I grabbed her wrist.

Just to push her away.

But the moment our skin touched...

My body shuddered.

And so did hers.

Her breath hitched. Her pupils dilated.

I could hear her pulse hammering.

And worse?

I could *feel* it.

Like it was syncing with mine.

My wolf roared inside me.

“Kael..what the hell is that?”

I dropped her hand like it burned me. Turned away.

“Don’t touch me again,” I growled.

Her voice behind me cracked.

“You’re not normal, are you?”

“No.”

Silence.

“But neither are you.”