All Chapters of Falling For The Alpha Hockey Player. : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Cassie's POV Morning light filters through the curtains, harsh and unwelcome. I couldn't sleep through the night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Knox standing with Lizzy, his hand hovering over his phone screen before cutting off my call, the way he didn't push her away when she touched him.My eyes feel like sandpaper. My head pounds. My chest feels hollowed out, like someone reached in and carved out everything vital.I roll over and stare at the wall.Knox's shirt is crumpled in the corner where I threw it last night. Even from here, I can see the dark fabric. Part of me wants to pick it up, hold it, breathe in his scent one last time.The rest of me wants to burn it.My phone is face-down on the floor where it landed after I threw it. The screen is probably cracked, I don't care enough to check.I force myself to sit up. The room spins for a second before settling.Class. I have class today. Anatomy practical at nine, then pharmacology at eleven.Normal things that don't inv

Knox's POV Adrian's words follow me out of the locker room like ghosts. I'm halfway across the parking lot when the question hits me.How does Adrian know Cassie is my mate?I never told him. Never told anyone except Maverick and Maya. The bond isn't something visible to other werewolves unless they're looking for it, and they know what to look for.So how did Adrian figure it out?And more importantly, why hasn't he told anyone? Adrian is my rival. My competition on and off the ice. If he wanted to destroy me, all he'd have to do is tell my father or his that I've found my mate and she's human.But he hasn't. Instead, he switched Lizzy's poison. Saved Cassie's life. Kept her secret. He protected her when I couldn't.The realization sits heavy in my stomach.I lean against my car, head tilted back, staring at the sky. Everything Adrian said is right. I am a coward. I am choosing fear over my mate.And Cassie is paying the price.“Knox.”I spin around. Maya stands a few feet away, her

Cassie's POV “Come on, Cass. Just a few hours.”Maya stands in the doorway, arms crossed, determination written across her face. She's been trying to get me out of the apartment all day.“I don't feel like going out.” My voice sounds hollow even to my own ears.“Which is exactly why you need to.” She sits on the edge of the bed. “You've been in this room for two days. You need fresh air, distraction, anything other than staring at these four walls.”I want to argue. I want to tell her to leave me alone. But the concern in her golden green eyes makes the refusal die in my throat.“Just a bar. Nothing crazy. We will have a drink, talk, maybe shoot some pool.” Her voice softens. “Please? I hate seeing you like this.”The worst part is she genuinely cares. And I'm still yet to tell her why I'm falling apart. I can't explain that her brother broke my heart.“Okay,” I say softly. “Just for a little while.”Maya's face lights up. “Great! Wear something cute. We leave in an hour.”****I pu

Adrian's POV Cassie sits alone on a bench near the gardens in the college, hunched over a textbook she's clearly not reading. Even from this distance, I can see the exhaustion radiating from her. The way her shoulders curve inward like she's trying to make herself smaller and invisible. She looks worse than she looked days ago when I saw her. My feet stop moving before my brain catches up. I should keep walking, mind my own business. I already did more than I should have by warning her, by giving her my emergency number.Getting more involved is stupid, even dangerous. But the guilt sitting in my chest since that night won't let me walk away.I'm the one who drugged her. Yeah, I switched out Lizzy's poison for something less dangerous, but I still set events in motion that clearly ended badly for her. And now she's sitting here looking like someone shattered her into pieces.Before I can talk myself out of it, I'm walking toward her.She doesn't notice me at first. She's too lost i

Knox's POV I shouldn't be here. I have no reason to be on this side of campus. My classes are done for the day. Practice doesn't start for another two hours. I should be at my apartment, resting, trying to conserve what little energy I have left.But my feet carried me here anyway. To the gardens, to places where I might catch a glimpse of her.Pathetic! That's what I've become. Pathetic and desperate.‘I need to see her, just to know she's okay.’ Nyx's voice is barely a whisper in my mind. So weak I have to strain to hear it. ‘She's fine,’ I mutter under my breath, leaning against a tree at the edge of the garden.But I don't know if that's true. Through the bond, I feel her pain constantly. The ache in her chest that mirrors my own. The confusion. The hurt I caused.It's literally killing me. I've lost twelve pounds in the past week. I can't keep food down, can't sleep without dreaming of her, can't function like a normal person.Ronan benched me yesterday. He said I looked like