Rejected By The Hockey Alpha

CHAPTER 5

Harper's POV

The press box felt colder and too quiet now. I heaved a shaky breath and stared at the typewriter keys, but I couldn't force myself to type any word.

My father's voice kept echoing in my head.

Some stories aren't meant to be dug up.

What did he mean by that? And why did it sound like he meant me?

The door opened slowly behind me. I froze in my chair, every hair on my arm standing straight.

"Dad?" I called out, my voice barely above a whisper.

There was no response. Silence.

I whirled around so fast, but the press box was empty. My pulse thrashed in my ears, and suddenly, I was hyperaware of the glass windows overlooking the rink.

Outside, the ice sparkled under the light from the arena, but the shadows around the arena felt wrong. Like something was moving.

I shook my head frantically. "Get it together, Harper," I whispered to myself.

Suddenly, I heard it. Footsteps. Heavy and deliberate, echoing below the press box.

I rushed to the window, pressing my palms against the cold glass. The rink looked deserted with no players or coaches. There was practically no one in the rink.

And yet, a flash of movement. I saw it by the far exit. I swore I did. A tall figure with eyes glowing faintly red in the shadows before it slipped away.

I stumbled back. My notebook slipped from my hand and landed on the floor with a soft thud. My throat went dry.

No, it couldn't be. I imagined that. I had to.

But as I knelt to pick up my notebook, a low, growl rumbled through the press box. It was almost inaudible, but it rattled me to the bone.

I bolted upright, my eyes wide with fear. There was no one here, but I wasn't alone.

As if under a spell, my legs moved on their own accord. But I wasn't going to my dorm. I didn't know where I was heading, but my legs kept moving.

My thoughts spiraled back to every strange thing happening since last night. The more I thought of it, I couldn't shake off the feeling that it was related to Ryker.

There was something strange about him and I wanted to find out what it was.

The cold air slapped against my skin when I stepped out of the press box. Everywhere was dark and silent, which was unusual.

Was there a curfew I wasn't aware of?

Every shadow felt alive, every sound and scent increased. It was as if my sense of hearing and smell had suddenly changed. My mind kept whispering werewolves and with each step, the word felt less ridiculous.

"Harper."

I jumped at the sound of his voice. My heart nearly fell out of my chest.

Ryker stepped out from the darkness, a stick in his hand. His brown hair fell into his eyes, but his expression was unreadable. His presence filled the silence like he'd been waiting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" My voice cracked, betraying the panic I was trying to swallow.

He narrowed his eyes on me for a brief moment, his gaze moving to my trembling hands.

"I could ask you the same thing. This isn't the way to your dorm and you shouldn't be out here alone this late," he said it like he'd been watching me all along and that only fueled the rage burning in my chest.

"Don't you dare act like you care," I snapped at him, my voice louder than I intended. "You've been following me, showing up everywhere, and I'm supposed to believe it's just a coincidence?"

His jaw tightened. That smug grin on his face earlier this morning was nowhere to be seen now.

"Maybe I'm not the one you should be afraid of, Harper," the way he said it with something raw made me tremble.

For a split second, I caught a flicker of something in his eyes, brown shifting, deepening, like the red glow I swore I saw last night.

My stomach twisted.

"You are hiding something," the words slipped out of my lips before I could stop them. "And don't think I've not noticed. You aren't... normal."

A silence stretched between us. His gaze burned into me as he took one step closer. My brain screamed at me to move, but my legs did not. It felt like they were rooted to the spot.

"Careful, Harper," he murmured, his voice dropping so low that it felt like a warning and a confession at once. "If you keep digging, you won't like what you will find."

My chest rose and fell as anger mixed with fear crashed into me. "Then stop giving me reasons to dig, Ryker."

The words hung in the air. He flinched, not physically, but I saw a c***k in his well built walls. His lips parted like he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. He just exhaled sharply, clenching his jaw.

Then, just as he showed up, he turned his back and disappeared, leaving me with my heart pounding and thoughts spiralling.

And the worst part? I was chasing him.

He was running into the woods and I was silently following behind him.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

My eyes narrowed and I hid behind a huge tree. I watched him strip off his shirt, his body tense. I didn't even know how I was managing to see in the darkness, but I was. In fact, my eyes were sharper now.

The sound of a growl rippled through the woods. A cold shudder ran down my spine in an instant.

A wolf leaped at him and I swore the world stopped. My heart pounded so hard it began to hurt.

A werewolf. They were real.

Every part of my body screamed at me to run, but I couldn't.

Right before my eyes, Ryker shifted into something scarier. A massive wolf, eyes glowing as he fought the other wolf with brutal force.

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. And terror widened my eyes.

Ryker was not human. He was a werewolf. A monster. A beast.