Chapter 6 Someone's feeling scared

Chapter 006

DARIUS

The next morning came too early. The alarm went off at five, and I dragged myself out of bed feeling like I had not slept at all. My wolf had been too active, too present, pacing and growling in my head until nearly three in the morning.

The locker room was cold when I arrived, the fluorescent lights harsh and unforgiving. I sat on the bench, already in my practice gear, and stared at the opposite wall. My teammates filtered in one by one, their voices low and groggy. Nobody was fully awake yet.

Then she walked in.

Raven entered the locker room like she owned it, head held high, duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She did not look at anyone as she walked to the far end of the bench and started unpacking her gear. The room went quiet. Not the comfortable quiet of early morning tiredness, but the heavy quiet of people holding their breath.

Marcus broke it first. "So, the girl actually showed up."

A few others laughed, but it sounded forced. More of like they're nervous.

"Did you think I would not?" Raven replied, not looking up from lacing her skates.

"I mean, yesterday was probably just beginner's luck, right?" This from Tyler, one of our defensemen. "Today is real practice. With real drills. And real contact."

Raven looked up then, and even from where I sat, I could see the way her eyes hardened. She did not say anything, just held Tyler's gaze until he looked away. Then she went back to her skates.

The silence fell again, and this time no one broke it.

My wolf paced inside me, restless and on edge. I did not like the way she stood there, so confident, so sure of herself.

I did not like the way she had looked at Tyler, like she was daring him to say more. I did not like any of this.

Coach Bonn arrived a few minutes later, his whistle already around his neck. "Right, everyone up. Let's get moving. Warm-up starts now."

We filed out onto the ice, the cold air hitting my face and clearing some of the fog from my head. Bonn had us start with laps, then skating drills, then passing exercises. Standard stuff. I went through the motions, barely paying attention, until I felt eyes on me.

I turned and found Raven watching me from across the rink. When our eyes met, she did not look away. She just raised an eyebrow, like she was asking a question.

"Alright," Bonn called out, skating to the centre of the rink. "Let us make this interesting. Scrimmage. Red jerseys versus blue jerseys. You know the drill."

I grabbed a red jersey. Raven grabbed blue.

Of course she did.

The scrimmage started fast. Bonn dropped the puck, and immediately it was chaos. Bodies crashing, sticks clashing, shouts echoing off the arena walls.

I spotted a few early morning students who had been at the gym stopping by the glass to watch, drawn by the noise.

I got the puck and started moving, weaving between defenders, looking for an opening.

Then she was there. Raven, coming at me from the side, fast and low.

She stole the puck right off my stick, her movements smooth and practised.

"What—" I did not finish. She was already gone, racing down the ice towards our goal.

I went after her. My wolf surged inside me, and I pushed harder, faster, until I caught up.

We collided at centre ice, both of us fighting for control of the puck.

She was strong. Stronger than she looked. I'll give it to her.

Her shoulder hit mine, and I felt the impact reverberate through my chest.

"Come on, Pike," she said, her voice low and taunting. "I thought you were supposed to be good."

Something in me snapped. I dug in, using my size advantage to push her back, but she did not give an inch.

We were locked together, neither of us willing to let go, both of us too stubborn to back down.

The students watching at the glass started cheering. I heard someone shout, "Did you see that?" and another voice yelling, "She is actually keeping up with him!"

For the first time in my life, someone was making me break a sweat. My pride stung, sharp and hot. No one humiliated the Alpha heir on his own ice. No one.

My wolf growled inside, a sound so loud and violent that I felt it in my bones. Fury mixed with something else, something I did not want to name. Something dangerous.

She scored. I do not even know how. One moment we were fighting for the puck, the next it was sliding past our goalie into the net.

The blue jerseys erupted in celebration, and Raven turned to skate back to centre ice, a smile on her face that made me want to put my fist through a wall.

The rest of practice passed in a blur. I do not remember much of it, just the feeling of my wolf snarling and pacing, over and over, until the final whistle blew.

I stormed off the ice without looking at anyone. I went straight to the locker room, ripping off my gear with enough force that I nearly tore the straps.

My teammates followed slowly, their voices subdued. Nobody wanted to talk to me right now.

I heard her come in. Heard the sound of her skates on the concrete floor. I turned around, ready to say something, anything, but she beat me to it.

She was standing by her locker, stripping off her gloves, and when she looked at me, there was that smirk again. That infuriating, maddening smirk.

"Scared I will take your crown, Darius?"

My wolf snarled. It was so violent, so sudden, that I felt my control slip. Just for a second. Just long enough for my eyes to flash golden, the warmth of it spreading across my vision before I could stop it.

The locker room went dead silent.

Everyone stared at me. At my eyes. At the proof that I was barely holding it together.