All Chapters of Fake Dating The Alpha Hockey Captain: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ASHERI don’t tell her immediately.That we have a game on the schedule.That the quiet we have is just temporary and that I'm actually nervous and my knee hasn't healed up properly.That the world has a way of always putting in a a knock, even when you throw away the bolt-lock.She’s still curled up against me on the couch, her fingers idly running along the seam of my hoodie. My hoodie she stole from me without asking. I let her keep it. I like how it suits her, I like the way it smells like her now.This is the quiet part.“You’re thinking too hard again,” she muttered, without looking up.I exhaled a little laugh. “Am I that obvious?”“Yeah.” She angles her head slightly so she can look at me. “What’s going on in that big alpha brain of yours?”I pause. Not because it’s sensitive information. Just because saying it out loud is like turning a page.“We have a game soon,” I say at last. “Friday night .”She straightened a bit. “Another one?”“Silvermoon,” I say softly.Her hand on m

SIERRAThe drive home left me spaced out. I kept playing the kiss over and over, how soft Asher’s lips had been, and how sure and protective his hands felt wrapped around mine. I had not even noticed that I was holding my breath, until I released it with laughter that was lighter than I had expected. It made my chest warm and flipped my stomach every time I thought about it.When I walked in my mom gave me a once over. “You’re glowing,” she said, carrying a plate with cookies she’d baked earlier."Uh… thanks", I mumble, trying not to blush. I dropped my bag by the door and curled up on the couch, my knees to my chest. I kept thinking about Asher, about that moment in the rink, about how he’d looked at me, and how he always seemed to make the rest of the world shrink down to just us.Even little things about him, the banter, the quiet confidence, the way he held himself made me feel lighter. For a split second, all the mayhem with Sebastian and pack politics vanished. And there I was

SIERRAAfter the game, the whole next day was like you were waking up from a dream that was still with you when you opened your eyes. My phone was already vibrating when I turned on my back, sunlight filtering through the curtains.Messages. Too many.Most of them were about the game. About the final goal. About Asher. About us.I deleted all of them and opened the one from him.You awake?After I replied, I turned over and smiled into my pillow.Barely.Good. Stay that way. I’m taking you later.That woke me up for real.I took a shower, put on some clothes, and headed downstairs where my dad was already sitting at the table enjoying his coffee. His mother looked up, peering at my face as mothers do when they suspect something has changed overnight.“You look happy,” he said.“I am.”He nodded once, as if that was all he needed to know. “Big night for Asher.”“He played well.”“You were good luck.”I chuckled. “I don’t think that’s how hockey works.”“Maybe not,” he said, smiling. “

SIERRAThere was nothing about the howl that suggested distance.It sounded close.Close enough to make the hairs stand up on my arms, like the air around us had changed. Asher’s fingers immediately closed around mine, not in panic but as an ingrained instinct. Protective. Grounded.“We’re leaving,” he said, low and firm.There was another flicker of the hallway light, now some semblance of stability returned, but the feeling did not subside.The rink that minutes before had been so loud with life that you could taste it in the air now sounded “hollow.” Too quiet. Like everyone already left, even though we knew they hadn’t.We matched each other’s pace, without even thinking about it. Asher moved himself slightly in front of me as we walked, turning just enough to shield me should anything come from Straight Ahead.“Do you smell that?” I asked quietly.He nodded. “Yeah.”“What is it?”“Someone who doesn’t belong here.”I gripped his hand tighter.The emergency exit doors at the end of

Sierra.The sirens became louder, ripping through the night air like a warning. Red and blue light glowed in the windows of the house, shattered glass on the floor through the broken window. Asher didn’t release me as the first patrol car pulled in. His arms remained locked around my shoulders, and his chin rested on my head like the world might tear open again if he loosened up.“I'm here.” He said, quieter now. “I have you.”I nodded, even though I was still trembling. My side was pulsing where I had fallen. Each breath was so sharp, a nudge toward the gravity that had taken me. But I was standing. I was alive. He was holding me, and his warmth was the only thing that kept the cold away.Aiden was the first one out of his car. He was quick, his eyes flicking, his hand close to his gun. He decelerated when he spotted us, but his”？expression grew even colder as he slowed his pace when he saw us, but then turned into a snarl.“ Uh oh, these are not good signs! He glanced at the broken d