Offside With The Alpha Captain

GO BACK.

AURELIA’S POV

“Don’t turn around.”

The softness in Zane’s voice scared me more than if he had shouted and my body immediately went stiff against the wall.

The footsteps behind me crunched slowly against the snow and this time it didn’t sound like security.

Zane’s arm tightened slightly around my waist while his eyes stayed fixed over my shoulder, every muscle in his body looked tense.

“What is it?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer, the silence went on for one terrifying second. Then another and suddenly Zane shoved me behind him.

A growl ripped out of his chest so violently it barely sounded human, I held my breath for a minute. A shadow moved between the trees near the edge of the arena path.

For one split second I saw glowing eyes reflecting against the snow before the figure disappeared back into the darkness.

Security voices echoed nearby again. “Over there!”

Flashlights moved through the snow quickly, Zane grabbed my wrist immediately. “Go back to your dorm. Right now.”

“What was that?” I demanded.

But he was already backing away from me, breathing heavily again. “Aurelia.” His voice came out rougher this time. “GO.”

The expression on his face made me listen. I turned and hurried toward the dorms without looking back.

The next morning, the entire academy was buzzing, everyone was talking about how Zane had nearly beaten a teammate unconscious in the snow. I tried to stay out of it, but the academy had other plans.

I was pulled out of my first class and called into the administration office. The woman behind the desk, Ms. Hargrove, smiled at me politely, but her eyes were cold.

“Aurelia, please sit down,” she said. “We wanted to speak with you about last night’s incident.”

I sat stiffly, keeping my hands in my lap. “I didn’t do anything.”

“We know that,” she replied smoothly. “However, we’re concerned about your… proximity to Zane Miller. He has a history of violent episodes. For your own safety, we strongly suggest you keep your distance from him. Avoid any unnecessary interactions, being associated with Zane can become quite dangerous.”

I frowned. “You’re not punishing him?”

Ms. Hargrove’s smile didn’t waver. “Zane is a special case. We handle him differently. But you’re new here. A scholarship student. It would be wise not to get caught up in his issues. Focus on your studies, that’s the best thing you can do.”

The warning was clear, they weren’t protecting me. They were protecting whatever control they had over Zane. I left the office feeling uneasy and angry.

Later that afternoon, Kenzie Leray cornered me outside the girls’ dormitory. She stepped in front of me, blocking my path with two of her friends behind her.

“You really don’t listen, do you?” she said in a low voice. “I told you to stay away from the hockey team. Especially Zane.”

“I’m not looking for him,” I replied flatly.

Kenzie laughed coldly. “That doesn’t matter, people who get too close to Zane never end well. They get hurt or worse. I’m warning you to help you, scholarship girl. Walk away before you become another casualty.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, stepping closer. “What exactly has happened to the others?”

She just smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough if you keep ignoring my warnings.” Then she turned and walked away without explaining anything.

Her words stayed with me for the rest of the day. I started wondering if Zane really was as unstable as everyone claimed. The way he attacked that player was brutal, but the way he looked at me through my window… there was something else there.

That night, I stayed late at the library trying to catch up on missed work. It was past eleven when I finally packed my bag and started walking back to my dorm.

The campus was quiet and covered in fresh snow so I took a shortcut behind the arena to save time. That’s when I heard it.

The sounds of heavy breathing and fists hitting concrete.

I slowed down and peeked around the corner. Zane was there, completely alone. His knuckles were blistered and bleeding from punching the concrete wall repeatedly.

His chest was heaving with jerky breathing, and his eyes kept glimmering—shifting from dark brown to bright gold in an unnatural way.

Sweat dripped down his face even though it was freezing outside. He looked like he was barely holding himself together.

I should have run. But I didn’t. “Zane…” I whispered.

His head snapped toward me instantly. His eyes widened with panic and rage.

“Leave,” he growled, his voice had gotten so distorted and rough. “Get the hell out of here right now, Aurelia. I’m not in control.”

I took a small step closer instead of backing away. “You’re hurting yourself.”

“I said leave!” he shouted, slamming his fist into the wall again. More blood smeared across the concrete. “I don’t want you to see me like this.”

But I kept walking toward him slowly, I felt myself being pulled forward towards him. The closer I got, the more his body changed.

His shoulders dropped and his breathing started to even out. The golden gleam in his eyes faded and by the time I was standing right in front of him, the violent tautness had almost completely disappeared from his form.

He stared at me, breathing calmly now, looking shocked.

“What the f**k…” he muttered, looking down at his bloody hands like he couldn’t believe what was happening. “This doesn’t happen, at least not this fast.”

I swallowed, my heart was racing. “You were losing control a second ago. Now you’re… calm.”

Zane stepped closer to me, his eyes searching my face intensely. The space between us felt charged, he lifted one bloody hand like he wanted to touch my cheek but stopped himself.

“You shouldn’t be able to do this to me, do you know that.” he said quietly, almost angrily. “No one calms my wolf down like this. Especially not you.”

“Especially not me?” I repeated. “What does that mean, Zane?”

He didn’t answer. He just kept staring at me like I was some kind of miracle and a curse at the same time. For the first time since I arrived at Westbrook, I realized I might be connected to whatever was wrong with him.

That my presence actually affected him in ways neither of us understood, the thought terrified me.

Zane finally took a step back, clenching his injured hands. “Go back to your dorm, Aurelia. And stay away from me if you’re smart.”

But even as he said the words, his eyes told a different story. He didn’t want me to leave and deep down, a part of me didn’t want to either.

I turned and walked away quickly, my mind spinning with too many questions. Zane Miller was dangerous, but I was starting to suspect that I was dangerous to him too.

The snow crunched beneath my boots as I finally reached the dorm building. My fingers were still trembling slightly while I searched my coat pocket for my room key.

Then I stopped, someone was standing outside my door.

A man….tall and dressed entirely in black, at first I thought he was security until he slowly lifted his head toward me.

And my stomach dropped, because I recognized him. He was one of the medical staff members I kept seeing around the hockey team after practice.

The older man smiled politely when he noticed me watching him. “Aurelia Dunne,” he said calmly. “I was hoping we could have a conversation.”

Every instinct inside me screamed to run immediately. Run to Zane or anywhere else. But I stood there, tightening my grip on my bag before responding. “About what?”

His eyes flicked briefly toward the direction of the arena behind me before returning to my face. Then he smiled again. “About what exactly you’re doing to Zane Miller.””