All Chapters of Carrying the Hockey Prince's Secret child : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Azrielle's POVThe horn sounded, and the Ravens broke first off the opening faceoff, fast enough that I felt Coach Preston tense beside me before he'd even said a word."They're running the same overload we saw on tape," I said, eyes tracking the play. "Watch the far winger, he's about to cut behind Reyes."Preston barked the adjustment down the bench before the winger had even finished his turn, and Reyes shifted a half-second later, cutting the lane off clean. The Ravens' rush died at the blue line."Good call," Preston muttered, not looking away from the ice."I don't make bad ones," I said, and he huffed something close to a laugh.The first period ran fast and mean, both teams trading chances, Declan working the puck up ice with the kind of controlled aggression I remembered from five years ago, a man who'd learned to play angry instead of just fast. He scored midway through the period, a clean wrist shot off a give-and-go with Tobias, and the bench erupted, Marcus screaming loud

Azrielle's POVI watched Declan cross the parking lot toward the bus, shoulders locked tight from the loss, Skye glued to his side like a relentless shadow he couldn't shake off no matter how far or fast he walked."You could say something to him, you know," Mireille said beside me, her arms crossed against the cold night air."What exactly do you think I should say?""I don't know. Console him. He's the captain, you're the consultant." A small, mocking smile pulled at her mouth. "CC. A matching pair."I opened my mouth to answer that with exactly the level of scorn it deserved when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, answered, said almost nothing, and hung up, looking back at me with an expression that immediately put me on guard."Coach says Mr. Kingsley wants to see you.""Me?" I raised an eyebrow, a cold, sharp satisfaction uncurling in my chest. "Looks like he can't keep himself together either if he's summoning me personally. Then let's meet.""Mireille, tell the team w

Declan's POVShe kissed me, and before I could even process what was happening, I heard it — the unmistakable click of a camera shutter, somewhere past the door.I shoved her back so hard she stumbled a step, wiping the back of my hand across my contaminated mouth like it might undo what had just happened."What the hell was that, Skye?""Is it so wrong to kiss my fiancé?" She smiled, entirely too pleased with herself, casually smoothing down her blazer like nothing in the world had gone wrong.I wasn't even listening to her. My mind was locked onto that sound—that sharp, deliberate click—and I was moving toward the exit before I'd fully decided to.The heavy oak door swung open from the outside.Marcus stepped in, sweeping a glance across the room. "Declan, there you are, we've been looking for—" He froze mid-sentence, his eyes flicking from Skye's smug, satisfied smirk to my face, which I could only imagine looked as completely wrecked as I felt."What's going on in here?" Marcus as

Declan's POV"You don't get to do that," I whispered, my voice dropping low, meant only for her. "You don't get to step in front of a punch for me, call me by my name, and then act like you're just a consultant."I reached out, my hand hovering an inch from her face, my knuckles almost brushing her cheek."Who are you really, Azrielle?" I asked softly, searching her eyes, trying to find anything familiar behind them. "Because if you're just a ghost... stop haunting me."Her breath hitched for half a second, but the cold wall came right back up."You're standing too close, Captain," she said, her voice completely even. "And you smell like you've had one drink too many.""I haven't had a drop tonight." I leaned in half an inch closer, holding her gaze with a sudden, reckless edge. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't know who I am. Tell me I'm crazy."Azrielle didn't flinch, but her jaw set tight. "Looks like your captain is drunk," she said, raising her voice just enough to shatte

Declan's POV"Declan, you won't do that." Marcus's voice chased me down the hallway of the club as I stormed toward the back room, my hands already curling into fists at my sides."You think so?" I spun to face him, my boots scraping hard against the polished floorboards. "I knew he was up to something, but this? Dragging her name into a scandal like this? Skye owes me an explanation, and so does my father.""Declan, you need to calm down. Seriously." He caught up, stepping directly in front of me, placing both hands flat against my chest to block the path forward. "If you go in swinging right now, you're going to mess up everything you've spent years building.""Mess up?" I laughed, a short, humorless sound that scraped against my raw throat. I shoved his hands off me, but I stopped moving. "Marcus, it's already messed up. Can't you see that? Everything I've built for five years—every single ounce of it—has been built out of guilt."I kicked a trash bin sitting by the wall, sending i