All Chapters of Rejected By My Hockey Alpha: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Timothy's POVAnother engagement party at my family's mansion should be perfect. But it's exhausting how many engagement ceremonies does one need to plan for a marriage that might not even happen?Madison has always been materialistically vain, but wanting to celebrate 3 engagement parties was too much . And my father went along with her idea, saying anything for the woman of the house. Of course Marcus would do anything as long as it benefits him.Here I am having to sit through all this and pretend to be happy once again. But every laugh feels forced, every compliment sounds hollow, and I keep scanning the crowd expecting someone I know would never show up.""You're brooding," Selene says, appearing beside me with a drink in her hand. "At your own engagement party.""I'm not brooding," I lie, taking another sip of whiskey. "I'm socializing.""You're standing in a corner glaring at everyone," my sister says dryly. "That's not socializing, that's intimidating.""Maybe people should be

Penelope's POVFuck you, Timothy. Fuck you, Frostfang Pack.I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror, my reflection blotchy and swollen from all the days of crying. My eyes are red, my hair's a mess, and I look like exactly what everyone thinks I am pathetic.But I'm done with that."Finally," Lyra says in my head, her voice sharp with approval. "I was wondering when you'd get angry instead of just sad."I splash cold water on my face and make a decision. If Timothy Blackthorn wants to treat me like I'm nothing, fine. But I'm not going to stay for nothing."You're right," I tell my reflection, gripping the sink edge. "Time for a change."The money Mom gave me for "emergencies" is sitting in my dresser drawer. Three hundred dollars she saved from tips at the diner. Plus the two hundred I've been saving from my part-time job at the grocery store. It's not much, but it's enough to start."What are you planning?" Lyra asks, suddenly suspicious."A makeover," I say, grabbing my purse with

Penelope's POVCrimson University is everything Frostfang wasn't sprawling, diverse, alive with possibilities I never knew existed.My dorm room might be tiny, but it's mine. Actually mine. No shared space with pack housing politics, no thin walls where everyone can hear your business, no constant reminders of where you rank in the social hierarchy."Oh my god, you're here!" A hurricane of red curls and boundless energy explodes through the door, arms full of shopping bags and what appears to be a small potted plant. Her voice carries the breathless excitement of someone who's been waiting for this moment all day. "I'm Isla, your roommate, and we're going to be best friends."I blink at her enthusiasm, then break into the first genuine smile I've had in days. The muscles in my face feel rusty from disuse. "Isla, what are you doing here?""What do you think I'm doing here?" She drops her bags dramatically with a theatrical flourish and puts her hands on her hips in mock indignation. "Y

Penelope's POVTryouts are everything I expected and nothing I prepared for.Coach Martinez doesn't believe in easing players into the program. Within the first hour, she has us running drills that would make professional athletes weep. She's a small woman with dark hair and eyes that miss nothing, skating between us ."Hale!" she barks, stopping in front of me as I finish a passing drill. "You're favoring your right side. Fix it or sit down."I nod and adjust my stance, grateful that she's treating me like any other player instead of the charity case I sometimes feel like.The scrimmage portion is where things get interesting.I'm assigned to the white jerseys, playing against girls who've been on varsity since freshman year. These aren't community rink players these are athletes who've been getting proper coaching since they could walk, who summer at elite hockey camps, whose parents could afford private lessons and top-tier equipment.For the first few minutes, I focus on not embar

Liam's POVI'm heading back to my dorm after walking Penelope home when the secret I've been carrying hits me like a slap shot to the chest.I was the one who took the video. Hell, I was the one who posted it online.Not the rejection video. Everyone saw that disaster. I'm talking about the hockey video. The one of her skating at the community rink, pulling off moves that would make varsity players jealous. The one that somehow ended up in front of college scouts.She has no idea I'm the reason she got those scholarship offers.I'd been watching her practice for months at that rink back home. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, she'd show up alone with secondhand equipment and skate like her life depended on it. Better than half the guys on Timothy's precious team, and she was doing it with gear that should have been retired years ago.The night I filmed her, she scored three goals on an empty net from impossible angles, then practiced defensive moves until the rink manager kicked her