Claimed by the Alpha Captain: My Forbidden Mate

JADE'S POV The first thing I saw on my first day at Black River Arena was blood on the ice. It happened so fast. One second the players were skating hard, sticks clashing, the crowd roaring. The next second, a huge man in a black jersey slammed into another player so hard the glass behind them cracked. Both men went down. The whistle screamed, but nobody stopped. Gloves flew off. Fists started swinging. "New girl!" Coach Daniels yelled, grabbing my arm and shoving my medical bag into my hands. "That's your job now! Go!" My heart slammed against my ribs. I had been hired three hours ago. Three hours. And now I was being pushed toward the rink doors while two grown men tried to kill each other on the ice. "Wait, I haven't even met the team yet, I don't know who-" "Go, Doc! Now!" I stumbled onto the ice in my sneakers, sliding the moment my feet touched it. The cold hit my face like a slap. The crowd's noise turned into one giant wall of sound, stomping feet, screaming fans, somewhere a kid crying. A player was down near the boards, holding his shoulder, his face twisted in pain. Young. Maybe nineteen. Blood ran from a cut above his eye. I dropped to my knees beside him, ignoring the fight still happening a few feet away. "Hey, look at me," I said, pressing gauze to his eyebrow. "What's your name?" "T-Tyler," he gasped. "My shoulder. I think it's out." "Okay, Tyler. Don't move it. I've got you." Behind me, something hit the boards so hard the whole rink shook. I turned my head just in time to see him. The captain. I didn't know his name yet, but I knew exactly what he was the moment I saw him. Six foot four, maybe more. Black jersey stretched tight across a back built like a wall. He had the other team's biggest player by the collar, and he was not letting go. "You touch my rookie again," the captain growled, and his voice carried even over the crowd, "and I will end your career. Tonight." The other player tried to swing. The captain didn't even flinch. He took the hit on his jaw, barely moved, and then drove his fist straight into the man's face. Three referees grabbed him at once. It took all three. And that was when he looked at me. Just for a second. Across the ice, through the chaos, his eyes met mine. They were a strange, pale gold. Almost glowing under the rink lights. For one heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe. My whole body went still, like something deep inside me had just woken up and started screaming. Then a referee yanked him backward, and the moment broke. "Doc, we need you over here!" someone shouted. I blinked hard, shook my head, and went back to Tyler. "Sorry. I'm here. Let's get you to the bench." Twenty minutes later, the game had stopped completely. Tyler was on his way to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder. The other team's enforcer had a broken nose. And I was standing in the locker room hallway, my hands still shaking, when Coach Daniels found me. "Colton needs stitches," he said, like that explained everything. "Who?" "Captain Colton. Above his eyebrow. He won't let the assistant trainer near him. Says he wants the new doc." My stomach dropped. "He doesn't even know me." "Doesn't matter. Go." I walked into the medical room with my bag, my legs still a little wobbly from the ice. And there he was, sitting on the table, shirtless, a deep cut above his eyebrow dripping blood down the side of his face like he didn't even notice it was there. Up close, he was even bigger. His shoulders were wide enough to block a doorway. His knuckles were split open and raw. And his eyes, those strange pale gold eyes, were locked right on me. "You're new," he said. It wasn't a question. "Jade Langford," I said, trying to sound calm as I pulled on gloves. "Team doctor. Now hold still, this is going to need a few stitches." "You're shaking," he said, watching my hands. "I'm fine." "You're not." A small, lazy smile pulled at his mouth. "Relax, Doc. I don't bite. Much." I felt my face go hot, which was ridiculous, because this man had just punched another player in the face less than half an hour ago. I cleaned the cut, trying not to notice how close I was standing, how warm his skin felt under my fingers, how his breathing seemed to slow the longer I touched him. "You're going to scar," I told him, threading the needle. "Good," he said. "Gives the other team something to think about." I almost laughed. Almost. Then he leaned in, just slightly, and said in a low voice only I could hear, "Your heart's beating really fast, Doc. I can hear it." I froze. "That's... that's not possible." His gold eyes held mine, and for one terrifying second, I swore they flashed brighter, like there was something burning behind them that wasn't human at all. "Rafe," he said simply. "Rafe Colton. Welcome to the team, Jade." I finished the last stitch with hands that wouldn't stop trembling, and stepped back fast, way faster than I needed to. "All done," I said. "Try not to get into any more fights, Captain." He smirked, like that was the funniest thing he'd heard all night. I grabbed my bag and walked out before I could embarrass myself any further, my heart still pounding from whatever had just happened in that room. I told myself it was nerves. First day jitters. Nothing else. I made my way down the hallway toward the staff exit, desperate for fresh air, when I looked up toward the owner's box above the rink. And every bit of air left my lungs. Standing behind the glass, in a dark suit, with a drink in his hand and a smile I used to know better than my own face, was Declan Cross. The man I had run away from two years ago. He raised his glass to me. He had known I would be here all along.