Chapter 2
965 Words
The opening faceoff hadn't even begun, yet the atmosphere inside Moonfang Arena felt charged enough to spark lightning.
Octavia tightened her grip on her camera.
She had covered football matches, student protests, charity galas, even a small fire in the engineering building, but nothing compared to this.
Twenty thousand spectators stomped their feet in perfect rhythm.
The vibrations traveled through the concrete beneath the media box.
"MOON-FANG!"
"MOON-FANG!"
"MOON-FANG!"
The chant was deafening.
Maya leaned over the railing.
"I swear, hockey fans are clinically insane."
Octavia adjusted the lens of her camera.
"You think?"
A whistle echoed across the rink.
The referee skated to center ice.
The captains glided toward him.
Kael.
Damien.
For the first time, the two Alpha heirs stood only a few feet apart.
Neither spoke.
Neither looked away.
The hostility between them was so tangible that even the crowd quieted.
One official cleared his throat.
"Gentlemen."
Damien smirked first.
"Still hiding behind body checks, Draven?"
Kael didn't react.
"If that's all you've got, this game will be over quickly."
Damien chuckled.
"You've always confused violence with skill."
Kael finally looked at him.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"I simply know which one hurts more."
The referee immediately stepped between them.
"Enough."
The puck dropped.
Everything exploded.
The speed caught Octavia completely off guard.
The players became blurs of black and red as they chased the puck across the ice.
Skates carved white lines into the frozen surface.
Bodies collided against the boards with enough force to shake the glass.
The crowd screamed after every hit.
Octavia raised her camera instinctively.
Click.
Click.
Click.
She captured a defenseman diving across the ice.
Another player stealing the puck.
A goalkeeper making an impossible save.
Then..
Kael.
The man moved differently from everyone else.
He wasn't the fastest.
He wasn't the flashiest.
He was simply...
Relentless.
His expression never changed.
Every movement was deliberate.
Every check calculated.
Every pass perfectly timed.
"Your eyes keep following Number Nine."
Maya whispered.
"I'm photographing the game."
"Uh-huh."
"I'm working."
"You've taken fourteen pictures of him."
"I have not."
"You absolutely have."
Octavia frowned and glanced down at the digital screen.
"...Fine."
Maya grinned triumphantly.
"I knew it."
"I'm documenting the captain."
"Sure."
"It has nothing to do with him."
"Whatever helps you sleep."
Octavia rolled her eyes before lifting the camera again.
Across the rink, Damien stole the puck.
The Crimson crowd erupted.
"He'll score!"
someone shouted.
Damien accelerated toward the goal.
One defender.
Two.
He slipped between them effortlessly.
Only the goalkeeper remained.
The entire arena rose to its feet.
Then...
Kael moved.
He had been several meters behind Damien.
One second.
That's all it took.
His strides were powerful, almost frightening.
He closed the distance with impossible speed.
Damien glanced over his shoulder.
Too late.
The collision echoed like thunder.
CRACK!
Damien slammed shoulder-first into the reinforced glass.
The transparent barrier shuddered violently.
The puck flew loose.
The crowd exploded.
"HOLY—"
"DID YOU SEE THAT?"
"WHAT A HIT!"
Even Octavia gasped.
Her camera had captured the exact moment.
Damien staggered back onto the ice, breathing hard.
His helmet had shifted sideways.
Anger flashed across his face.
He pointed at Kael.
"You cheap—"
The referee's whistle cut him off.
"Play continues!"
Kael didn't even look at him.
He simply collected the loose puck.
Passed it.
Goal.
The red goal light flashed.
The arena erupted into absolute chaos.
Black-and-silver towels spun wildly through the air.
Students screamed until their voices cracked.
Maya laughed loudly.
"I think he just murdered your ex."
Octavia couldn't help it.
For the first time in months...
She smiled.
Only for a second.
Only because Damien looked furious.
Then guilt immediately followed.
"I shouldn't enjoy that."
"Why not?"
"He still got hurt."
Maya blinked.
"Octavia."
"What?"
"You're too nice."
"I'm realistic."
"No."
Maya pointed toward the rink.
"Look."
Damien wasn't injured enough to leave the game.
He was glaring at Kael with undisguised hatred.
Across the ice, Kael remained completely indifferent.
He adjusted one glove before taking his position again.
No celebration.
No taunting.
No arrogance.
It was as if flattening one of the country's best players meant absolutely nothing to him.
The second period began with even greater intensity.
The Titans became increasingly aggressive.
Late hits.
Slashes.
Elbows.
The referees struggled to keep control.
During one play, Damien intentionally drove his shoulder into one of Moonfang's younger defensemen.
The rookie crashed headfirst into the boards.
The whistle shrieked.
Players converged instantly.
Shouting erupted.
Gloves hit the ice.
Octavia leaned forward.
"Is there going to be a fight?"
"There always is."
Maya answered matter-of-factly.
Before anyone else could react, Kael skated into the crowd of players.
He didn't shout.
He didn't push.
He simply stepped between his injured teammate and Damien.
His silver eyes locked onto Damien's.
"You hit him after the whistle."
Damien shrugged carelessly.
"He should've moved."
"He couldn't."
"Not my problem."
For the first time all evening, Kael's expression shifted.
It wasn't rage.
It was colder than that.
Disappointment.
"You've forgotten how this game is played."
Damien laughed.
"And what are you going to do about it?"
For several tense seconds, nobody moved.
The officials hurried toward them.
"Soften up, gentlemen."
"Break it up."
But the tension was already suffocating.
Damien leaned closer.
"So tell me, Kael..."
His smile turned cruel.
"Does pretending to be honorable make you feel superior?"
Kael answered quietly.
"It makes me better than you."
Before Damien could retaliate, the officials forced them apart.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation.
Octavia lowered her camera slowly.
Something about that exchange unsettled her.
This wasn't an ordinary sports rivalry.
There was something personal beneath every glance, every hit, every word.
And whatever history existed between Kael Draven and Damien Cross...
It was far from over.
- Writer
