Stalemate In Chess

BLURB Ava Carter has one dream: play elite hockey. But the Falcons Academy doesn’t recruit girls. So when her twin brother Noah walks away from his scholarship, Ava makes a reckless choice. She steals his identity, his jersey, his future. Now she’s living as Noah Carter, training, competing, and sleeping in the same dorm as Kai Bennett, her brother’s ruthless rival. Kai has spent years trying to defeat Noah. Now they’re roommates. And Kai is starting to notice something is wrong. The way Noah moves. The way he looks at him. The way his pulse changes when they collide on the ice. Then there’s Liam Brooks, captain of the Eagles. Noah’s best friend. The boy who knows her better than anyone. And the only one who might recognize the truth. Caught between her brother’s rival and her brother’s best friend, Ava is playing the most dangerous game of her life. Because the more she wins on the ice, the closer she gets to losing everything: her dream, her secret, her heart. And when her helmet falls in front of a packed arena and her hair spills free… The silence is louder than any crowd. Now the whole world is watching. And no one feels more betrayed than the two boys staring at her from opposite ends of the ice.

Zane Kessler, tough captain of the Thunder Wolves, has spent years vowing to crush Jaxon Caldwell, the fast, clever captain of the Storm Hawks. Their rivalry is brutal… hard checks, sharp words, pure hatred on the ice. But after Zane's team loses their biggest game of the season, Jaxon finds him alone in the empty locker room. An argument flares… then a simple touch turns into a soft, surprising kiss. Hate suddenly feels warm and confusing. From that moment, their rivalry begins to melt into something sweeter and deeper. But the hockey world isn't kind to feelings like this. Coming out could destroy their careers, and their teams would never forgive the captains falling for the enemy. Then the league drops the bombshell… the Thunder Wolves and Storm Hawks must merge into one team for the upcoming National Championship. To foster unity, Zane and Jaxon are forced to share a small apartment near the rink. They share the same space, the same locker room, and literally breathe the same air. At first it feels like torture… bumping into each other in the kitchen, sharing the couch after tough games, trying to act like nothing has changed. But the walls come down fast. Quiet talks turn into laughter. Simple meals become excuses to sit close. Stolen kisses in the dark hallway feel like winning the biggest game of their lives. Now they must lead their new team to the title while hiding a love that grows stronger every day. One wrong glance, one slip, and it could shatter everything… the championship, their careers, and the beautiful thing they’ve finally found. On the ice they were sworn enemies. Off it, they’re falling hard. And the closer they get, the more impossible it is to let go. Who will surrender first?

The mistakes he made in the past, caused a grudge. Which is where a grudge, dominates a game. In the game there are always puzzles, so that anyone will be obsessed with ending this game. __________________ "I managed to find you again ... You will always be with me forever! " "You took me in this game! So, never regret ... If someday, you will lose me for the umpteenth time! " __________________ What games are being played in this story? Will a grudge end this game? Who will be the winner in this game? Behind Game Over, it is filled with mystery! Love, Betrayal and Regret will complete this game.

Julian Vale—the undefeated actuarial prodigy—finally lost. In an international match, he got taken down by an intern who had just come back from overseas. The story blew up that same day. Reporters swarmed the training room entrance. "Ms. Clermont, Mr. Vale once said if anyone beat him even once, he'd marry her. Now that he lost to an intern, what do you think?" "Ms. Clermont, we heard the intern is his ex from overseas. Did you know?" My head buzzed. I thought about the five years I spent with Julian. I gave everything every match—and never beat him. I used to think he was just respecting the game. Thought I just wasn't good enough. Not until today—when he threw the match to that intern. That's when it clicked. The girl he wanted to marry was never me. I faced the mics and forced a smile. "That match was rigged."

Mable Thorne is on her third life, and she’s done playing the victim. In Life One, she was betrayed. In Life Two, she was murdered. In Life Three, she’s coming for blood.She’s dating the pack’s most dangerous disaster—pro-hockey star Darin Salvator—to burn her ex’s reputation to the ground. Darin Salvator is on his fifth life, and he’s done playing the hero. He’s watched every version of his mate die across timelines he can’t escape. He’s numb, he’s scandalous, and he’s accepted that they are a doomed bloodline. Then Mable knocks on his door with a fake-dating contract and a scent that screams of a future he thought fate had stolen. But there’s a ghost between them—a memory of a child lost in a past life, and a lie that says Darin was the one who killed it. On the ice, they are a PR stunt. In the shadows, they are a war. And this time, fate is not just trying to kill them—it’s trying to erase them.

Their rivalry was fierce, until passion broke through the ice. **** Aspen Jackson, captain of the Phoenix Frost and king of the ice, has one goal: making it to the NHL. Hockey is his everything, and he’ll do whatever it takes to stay on track, keep his scholarship, and secure his future. Nothing, and no one, will stand in his way. Enter Kelly Blackwell, his rival since junior hockey and the one player who can always get under his skin. When a trade lands them at the same college, their on-ice feud reaches a dangerous boiling point. With the Frozen Four on the line, their battle of wills spirals into a game of dirty tricks and mind games, each determined to see the other fail. But when Aspen stumbles upon a secret that Kelly’s been hiding, he seizes the chance to turn their rivalry into an advantage—both on and off the ice. Yet the more he pushes, the more their legendary animosity melts into something neither of them expected: an attraction that could ruin them both. With dreams of the NHL and their reputations on the line, Aspen and Kelly must decide—will winning cost them everything, or will their forbidden connection become the ultimate game-changer?