Offside With The Alpha Captain

LEAVE!

AURELIA’S POV

By the next morning, it was clear that everyone at Westbrook Academy already knew who I was.

I hadn’t even made it halfway down the hallway to my first class before the whispers started. Students turned their heads, some staring openly while others quickly looked away when I met their eyes.

A group of girls near the lockers stopped talking the moment I passed. I kept my expression poker and continued walking, but I could feel their eyes tagging behind my back.

During lunch, it got worse. I sat alone at the edge of the cafeteria with my tray, trying to mind my own business.

But hockey players at the next table kept glancing in my direction, but their looks weren’t friendly. They were strange and curious, in fact almost cautious. I heard one of them mutter something about “the new girl” and “Zane’s reaction yesterday.”

I stabbed at my food, pretending I couldn’t hear them.

The rumors about Zane Miller spread very quickly. From what I picked up in passing conversations, most students were genuinely afraid of him.

They talked about his violent temper, how he would suddenly lose control during games and destroy everything in his path. Some called them “episodes.” While others said his wolf was going feral. Either way, people gave him a wide berth.

Well I didn’t care, I had my own reasons for hating him.

I was halfway through my lunch when she appeared….Kenzie Leray.

Even without anyone telling me, I immediately knew who she was. Tall, beautiful, with sexually apealling features and expensive clothes that screamed luxury. She stopped right in front of my table, flanked by two other girls who looked just as unfriendly.

“So you’re the new transfer,” Kenzie said, her voice sounded sweet but I could hear the facade in it. “Aurelia Dunne, right?”

I looked up at her calmly. “Yup. That’s me.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Let me give you some friendly advice. Stay away from the hockey team, especially Zane. Girls like you don’t belong near our Ice Wolves…you’ll only cause problems.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Girls like me?”

“Scholarship girls who show up out of nowhere,” she replied, tilting her head. “We don’t need any distractions this season. So keep your head down and we won’t have any issues. Okay.”

I wanted to give her a befitting comeback, but I held my tongue. I wasn’t here to make enemies. Well, at least not yet. So I simply nodded and went back to my food.

Kenzie waited a second longer, clearly annoyed that I didn’t react more, before she and her friends walked away.

The rest of the day went on with more stares and silent questions. A few people asked why I transferred in the middle of senior year.

I gave them short, vague answers and kept moving. By the time the final bell rang, I was exhausted and ready to disappear into my dorm room.

But fate clearly had other plans.

I was walking toward the library when I nearly collided with someone. I looked up and froze. Zane Miller stood right in front of me, all tall and imposing in his academy jacket. Up close, he looked even more intimidating and his eyes locked onto mine.

For a moment, neither of us uttered a word.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said finally. “You never should have come to Westbrook.”

His words felt like ice water on me and for a moment all the memories of the old humiliation came rushing back—that night years ago when he publicly rejected and embarrassed me in front of so many powerful families.

That memory still hurt me whenever I thought about it.

I lifted my chin and stared straight at him. “And you’re the last person I ever wanted to see again, Zane. Trust me.”

His face tensed up in a a bad way, and his eyes went darker. “Then leave. Transfer back out before things get worse.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I shot back. “I have every right to be here. Unlike you, I didn’t come here to ruin anyone’s life.”

The hostility between us was instant, people in the hallway had stopped to watch. A few whispered excitedly. I could feel the attention growing around us, but I refused to back down which made Zane and his overwhelming presence step closer.

“You have no idea what you’re walking into,” he said quietly, sounding almost like a warning.

“And you have no idea how little I care about your warnings,” I replied.

We stood there staring at each other, the tension between us was literally crackling. For a second, I thought he might say something else, but he simply clenched his fists and walked away without another word.

As he did I let out a shaky breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

For the rest of the evening, my mind wouldn’t settle down. I tried studying in my dorm, but I kept replaying our conversation and the way he looked at me.

The tone of his voice when he told me to leave, there was too much history there.

Later that night, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to take a walk around campus to clear my head. As I passed behind the arena, I heard voices.

A small group of hockey players were standing near the side entrance, talking quietly. So I tiptoed closer, stayed hidden in the shadows and listened.

“…you noticed it too, right?” one of them said. “Zane hasn’t had a single episode since she got here. Not even during yesterday’s practice after he saw her.”

“No way,” another player replied. “That’s impossible. He’s been losing it at least twice a week for months now.”

“Exactly. But ever since she showed up… nothing. It’s like she calms him down or something. I’ve never seen him this stable before.”

They laughed nervously, like they couldn’t believe what they were saying. One of them muttered, “Captain’s acting weird as hell around that new girl.”

I stood completely still, while my heart was doing a marathon. Zane hadn’t lost control once since I arrived? That couldn’t be a coincidence, at least not with the way he looked at me in the arena yesterday.

I quietly backed away before they could notice me and hurried back to my dorm. But my mind was spinning with questions. Zane hasn’t had a single episode since I arrived.

Those words refused to leave my head. By the time I got back to my room, my nerves were completely fried. I locked the door behind me, tossed my bag onto the desk and immediately froze.

My room was freezing, not the normal winter cold. It was freezing. The window beside my bed was wide open, letting snow blow lightly across the floor.

My stomach dropped, because I knew for a fact I had shut it before leaving earlier. Slowly, I stepped closer. That was when I noticed it.

A hockey puck sitting neatly on my pillow, I held my breath and moved closer. There was something written across it in silver marker.

LEAVE WESTBROOK.

I stared at the words while my chest tightened painfully. Then movement outside the window caught my attention and I looked up quickly.

A figure was standing down below near the tree line beyond the dorms. Tall, still and watching my room. I stood solidified to the spot for a minute and then rushed to my window to shut it.