When Fate Chose Him

The sharp blast of a whistle cut through the rink.

“Move, Ethan!”

Ethan pushed himself forward, struggling to keep his balance. The borrowed skates felt like instruments of torture, and the hockey stick seemed determined to trip him at every opportunity.

At the other end of the ice, Cole watched with folded arms, his expression unimpressed.

“Again.”

Ethan stopped, breathing hard. His knees ached and his palms stung. He had already fallen several times, and Cole still showed no intention of letting him rest.

“If you’re too tired, you can leave,” Cole said flatly.

Ethan glared at him. Quitting would only prove Principal Maris right. He adjusted his grip on the stick and forced himself forward again.

A few players laughed.

Draken skated over and quietly showed him how to bend his knees and keep his weight centred. Luke watched with an amused grin. Cole, however, remained silent and hard.

While Ethan attempted another drill, Draken approached Cole.

“You’re being unnecessarily hard on him.”

“He needs to learn.”

“He’s new. Give him time.”

Cole’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t used to being questioned.

Draken lowered his voice. “Remember where you are, Your Highness. Not everyone here knows they’re standing beside the Alpha King of Blackwood.”

Cole’s eyes flashed a warning. He had no intention of discussing his real identity at school.

Luke joined them, his playful expression faded when he noticed Cole’s mood. Draken said nothing more. They all knew Cole’s responsibilities stretched far beyond the rink. He was the future of an entire pack, raised to command and expected to uphold a legacy that left little room for personal choice.

On the ice, Ethan pushed himself through another attempt.

For a few seconds, everything went well.

Then one skate caught the edge of the ice.

His balance vanished. He lurched forward and never hit the ground.

A strong arm caught him around the waist and pulled him against a solid chest.

Ethan’s hands landed against Cole’s chest as he tried to steady himself. Their faces were suddenly far too close.

For a moment the noise of the rink faded.

Then Ethan shifted, still unsteady.

Their lips collided.

It was brief, accidental.

But the moment it happened, something inside Cole snapped awake.

A powerful sensation surged through his body, spreading from his chest to every nerve. His wolf rose violently, no longer interested in the training or the people watching.

One word thundered through his mind.

Mate.

Cole went still.

His wolf had recognised Ethan.

The boy in his arms was his mate.

Impossible.

Cole released him abruptly, stepping back as though the contact had burned him. Ethan stumbled but stayed upright, touching his lips with a confused frown.

He had no idea what had just happened.

Cole was fighting an entirely different battle.

His wolf was demanding that he pull Ethan back into his arms. It wanted him close. It wanted to protect him. It wanted to claim him.

But Cole could not accept it.

And now his wolf had chosen a boy.

Our mate. Claim him.

Cole clenched his fists, fighting the growl that threatened to rise in his throat.

He looked at Ethan, who was still waiting for an explanation.

“Stay away from me,” Cole said, his voice colder than he intended.

Ethan’s confusion quickly turned to irritation.

“Believe me, that won’t be a problem.”

He turned and skated away, leaving Cole standing in the middle of the rink.

Draken and Luke exchanged a glance. They had seen Cole lose his temper many times, but never like this.

Cole barely noticed them.

His wolf was growing more restless by the second.

Cole stared after Ethan, mind racing.

He could not tell anyone. Not even Draken.

He could not be expected to accept this. He could not build a future around a mate he was never supposed to have.

And as Ethan disappeared from the rink, he couldn''t stop thinking about it.

He had replayed the moment several times since leaving the rink, each time growing more frustrated with himself. It had been an accident, nothing more. Yet the memory of Cole's lips against his seemed determined to linger.

What bothered him most wasn't the kiss. It was Cole's reaction afterwards.

One moment, Cole had held him as though letting go was the last thing he wanted. The next, he had looked at Ethan like he was something he couldn't stand to touch.

Ethan hated that it bothered him.

He hated even more that a small part of him wished Cole had reacted differently.

Across the school, Cole was still fighting a battle of his own.

His wolf had barely been quiet since the incident. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered Ethan in his arms, the brief contact of their lips and the overwhelming certainty that followed.

Mate.

The word had changed everything.

Cole had always known what his future demanded. If he was ever to return to Blackwood, he needed a Luna, an heir, he needed a union that would secure Blackwood's legacy. He had never questioned it.

Quick laugher escaped his lips.

"Would I be able to return to Blackwood pack, after how I left?, for a moment he stared into space, as though reliving a memory and snapped back to reality.

He couldn't understand how fate could choose someone who challenged everything he had been taught to believe. Worse, he couldn't understand why the thought of pushing Ethan away felt like tearing something vital from his own body.

Cole wanted answers.

But answers were the one thing he couldn't demand from the boy who didn't even know what they were.

Then his phone vibrated.

An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen.

We know who your mate is, Alpha King. And so do the others.

Cole's blood ran cold.

For the first time since the kiss, his thoughts weren't about himself or the throne.

They were about Ethan.

Someone had discovered him.