All Chapters of FAKING IT WITH MY HOCKEY ALPHA (alpha Rhett’s Redemption : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Alina Harper hated mornings. Not the groggy, coffee-deficient mornings everyone complained about—she could handle those—but the kind that started with a sense of impending disaster, the subtle warning that her life was about to take a sharp, unwanted turn. Today was one of those mornings.She slammed the door of her dorm room behind her, backpack slung over one shoulder, and let out a long sigh. College had only just begun, but already she felt like she was walking into a battlefield with no map. Between awkward dormmates, impossible class schedules, and professors who seemed to delight in assigning triple essays the day before a holiday, she was already exhausted.And then there was him.Rhett Blackwood.The name alone made her stomach twist in irritation—and something else she refused to identify. He was the captain of the university hockey team, the kind of guy who made the entire campus swoon without even trying. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair that seemed to have its own natura

Alina Harper had never imagined that a simple walk across campus could feel like stepping into a battlefield. And yet, here she was, books clutched tightly to her chest, heart still hammering from the morning’s chaos. She had tried to focus in class, she really had. But every glance toward the window, every shadow moving across the quad, made her pulse spike. What Rhett had shown her—what she had witnessed—wasn’t just some figment of imagination. It was real. It was alive. And it was dangerous. By the time she reached the student lounge, she found Lexi Monroe already perched on the sofa, laptop open and coffee in hand, looking like she belonged in a glossy magazine ad for “cool and competent college students.” “You look like hell,” Lexi said bluntly, glancing up. “And no, I’m not just talking about the bags under your eyes. You’ve been running or hiding from something?” Alina sank onto the couch, groaning. “Something like that. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Lexi raised

Alina froze, her pulse pounding in her ears. The figure standing at the edge of the garden wasn’t just someone familiar. It was Nolan Chase, her ex.Her stomach twisted. Memories she had tried to bury—broken promises, whispered lies, heartbreak—rushed back like a tidal wave.“Nolan,” she breathed, her voice a mix of shock and anger. “What are you doing here?”He smiled, slow and calculated, and that smile made her skin crawl. “I could ask the same about you,” he said smoothly, his eyes flicking toward Rhett. “And him.”Rhett stepped forward, his posture tense, protective. “Step back,” he said, voice low and dangerous. The air around him seemed to shift, almost imperceptibly, like a storm about to break.Alina felt a jolt of fear—and something else. The way Rhett positioned himself between her and Nolan, the way he radiated strength… it made her pulse quicken.Nolan ignored him, grinning like he owned the world. “So this is the infamous Rhett Blackwood I’ve been hearing about?” He circ

The first thing Alina felt was the cold. Not the kind that seeped into her bones, but the sharp, sterile chill of a place too still to be natural.She blinked. The ceiling above her wasn’t her dorm’s—it was lined with rustic beams and faintly glowing runes carved into the wood. A fire flickered somewhere nearby, crackling softly. Her body ached. Her shoulder burned, and her skin hummed beneath her fingertips as if something lived under it.“Easy,” came a low, gravel-edged voice from the shadows.She turned her head. Rhett was sitting in a wooden chair near the bed, elbows on his knees, eyes half-lidded. The light from the fire painted his face in amber and scarlet. His hoodie was torn at the shoulder, his knuckles split open, dried blood crusted on his skin.“Where—where am I?” she whispered.“My place,” he said quietly. “Safer than your dorm right now.”Her mind spun. “That thing—what was it?”He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached forward and handed her a glass of water. “Drink first

The stadium lights were blinding. Fans screamed their lungs out, banners waving in a chaotic sea of school colors. To everyone else, it was just another Ridgeview University hockey game—the championship match, the final showdown for the season.To Rhett, every cheer, every clap, every camera flash felt like a countdown. He had to focus, but his mind kept drifting.Alina was missing.The empty room back at the cabin haunted him. The glowing mark, the whispering shadow, the words on the wall: “YOU CAN’T SAVE WHAT YOU ALREADY DAMNED.”And now, here he was, on the ice, surrounded by hundreds of humans who didn’t have a clue that the shadow predators could strike at any second.Coach’s voice echoed in his helmet: “Blackwood, keep your head in the game!”Rhett gritted his teeth. He skated faster, blocking shots, checking players, scoring goals—but each movement was mechanical, his mind elsewhere.Then he noticed it.A dark figure on the stands. Silent. Watching. Too still to be a fan. Eyes