Holiday Hockey Tale: The Icebreaker's Impasse Novels & Stories

"I've never seen anything like it." "Explain it to me." Gregor pointed to the center. "The ice didn't melt. It shattered. From underneath. Like something pushed up from below." "Something? Or someone?" Gregor's eyes met mine. "I don't know, Alpha. But I've been doing this job a long time. Ice doesn't do this naturally." I nodded. "Fix it. Whatever it costs. I want the rink ready for practice by tomorrow." "Tomorrow? Alpha, that's..."

When an ice hockey match is meant to be for fun, it's alright to lose, even though we never do. When it comes to solving political issues...that's when things start to get ugly. I arch a brow at her silence, the same brow with the stitches on it. They're completely unnecessary because the wound is practically healed. I don't know how she did it. I'm pretty sure that gash was deep as hell. I felt the pain of the impact—it really hurt. I felt dizzy as I left the rink. I mention this to her, then add, "What's your secret? How'd you get it to heal so quickly?"

CHAPTER 250 (EPILOGUE) HOME WAS NEVER A PLACE ISLA If someone had told me months ago that this was how my story would end, I would have laughed and cried. Because nothing about my life had ever been simple.Not losing my parents. Not living under my brother’s rigid protection. Not falling in love. And definitely not falling in love three times. Yet there I was, standing in the middle of the rink one last time before summer break officially began, watching the golden lights reflect off the ice. The place that had once been the center of scandal, whispers, betrayal and healing.

Things were definitely not fine. I pressed my palms over my face, breathing into them, as if I could block out the mess closing in around me, especially hockey and the boys . The very word, hockey , made my stomach twist. I never asked for it, never wanted it, but here I was, tangled up in a sport that demanded everything I didn’t have. My old town barely saw snow; ice skating had been foreign to me until we moved here. Everyone else seemed to skate like they’d been born on ice, but me? I was a stumbling mess, a girl chasing after something that wasn’t hers. It was ridiculous.

“They were relatively tough fuckers. They held out way longer than I thought they would.” “Yeah,” Holt agreed as he slid into the driver’s seat. He turned to Ice and said, “I thought you were losing your touch. Seriously, almost one full hour to finally break a head? You’re slipping, old man.” Ice glared at him, then pulled out his cell phone to call Wolf, dreading everything that was lurking, and happening, and coming. He pushed the ‘1’ on his phone, heard the distant ringing, felt every mile stretching out between himself and Wolf. New Mexico shared a state border with Colorado, but Ice had never felt farther away from his club, from his family, from his home. From her.

END OF BOOK 2 The Mitchell-Volkov family's story continues in Book 3: "CHAMPIONSHIP ICE" - where new challenges in New York will test everything they've built, while Franklin's legacy influences decisions from afar and unexpected opportunities arise for Emma in women's hockey development. The question isn't whether they can succeed in their new life—it's whether they can maintain their family bonds while pursuing individual dreams on the biggest stage in professional hockey.

"Tell me this is a joke. You brought a ballet dancer to teach us how to play hockey?" A few chuckles erupted from the players on the ice. Liam felt a hot flash of anger burn through his chest, replacing his anxiety. He stepped onto the ice, his blades cutting into the surface with silent, lethal precision. He didn't slip. He didn't stumble. He glided smoothly until he was standing bare inches from Jaxson’s massive padded chest.

No emotional investment, no getting on ice and getting dragged back into a world I'd spent months avoiding. And yet somehow I'd spent my entire evening on the ice, yelling at an immature guy about angles and positioning. A goalie who kept smiling every time I got annoyed. Wait, was he even a goalie? I could’ve sworn he didn’t play as one when he forced me to come to the game of his wearing his jersey— A knock sounded on my door jerking me out of my thoughts. And before I could even think of answering, Harper barged in. Of course, who else would be at my room door besides her or mum?

"Ethan, please... put the paper down. Let me explain "What is this?!" Ethan screamed, his voice breaking into a sob as he threw the envelope onto the marble island counter. "You sat in a specialist's office today! You have a dangerous heart condition! Your heart muscle is damaged, you need a defibrillator, and you can never play hockey again!" Adrian took a slow step forward, raising his hands in a calm, placating gesture. "Ethan, listen to me "Don't tell me to listen!" Ethan cried out, taking a sharp step back, wiping his wet eyes with the back of his sleeve. "You've been lying to me for two whole weeks! Every morning! Every night! Every time you kissed me and told me everything was routine