Offside With The Alpha Captain

WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

ZANE

The final whistle echoed throughout the arena as the scoreboard lit up with the final score.

11-0.

The players gradually slowed to a stop, and the rink filled with excited chatter. Some of the boys slapped me on the back as they skated past, while others shook their heads in disbelief. A few months ago, none of them would have imagined I'd be the one carrying the team again.

I removed my mouthguard as I skated towards the bench. Coach Damian was waiting for me with his arms folded across his chest.

"You finally remembered how to play hockey," he said.

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. "I always knew how."

"You forgot after last season."

The smile disappeared from my face.

Coach Damian studied me for a moment before his expression softened.

"The scouts came back today."

I frowned. "Scouts?"

"They've attended your last three matches. At first, they came to confirm the rumours that you'd lost your edge." He paused before nodding towards the scoreboard. "Now they're coming because they're interested again."

I looked at him without saying a word.

"Our ranking has climbed because you've started performing consistently again. The academy board is pleased, and the elders have begun talking."

"Talking about what?" I asked.

"They believe you still have a chance of becoming the Alpha heir your family expects."

The words should have made me feel proud.

Instead, they barely registered.

My attention drifted past Coach Damian until it settled on Aurelia.

She stood a few metres away with her clipboard pressed against her chest as she reviewed the statistics she'd recorded throughout the match. Almost as though she felt my gaze, she lifted her head.

Our eyes met.

Everything around me seemed to fade into the background.

The tension that had followed me for weeks eased the instant I looked at her. Her expression wasn't guarded this time. Her eyes were calm, almost gentle, and the slight pout on her lips as she concentrated made my wolf stir beneath my skin.

She brushed one of her braids behind her ear before lowering her gaze to the clipboard again.

I swallowed.

She had no idea what she was doing to me.

Every little thing she did caught my attention without permission. The way she tucked her hair back. The way she bit her lip whenever she was thinking. Even the way she frowned at her notes made me want to walk over and ask what was bothering her.

My mind betrayed me as it wandered back to the night I'd held her.

I'd only touched her waist for a moment, yet I still remembered how perfectly she'd fitted against me. The memory had refused to leave me alone ever since.

A faint blush suddenly crept across her cheeks.

My heart skipped.

She looked away almost immediately.

Did...

Did she just realise what I'd been thinking?

"Zane."

Coach Damian's voice snapped me back before I could think any further.

I cleared my throat and turned to him.

"You've finally found something that keeps your wolf under control," he said firmly. "Whether you admit it or not, she's affecting you. Use that stability wisely instead of letting it distract you."

I frowned.

"I'm serious," he continued. "Keep winning. Don't throw everything away again."

"Yes, Coach."

He gave my shoulder a firm pat before walking away.

The moment he left, my irritation returned.

I'd greeted Aurelia this morning.

She hadn't even spared me a glance.

Yet the second Elias called her name, she'd smiled as though nothing else in the world mattered.

I clicked my tongue.

Unbelievable.

I dropped onto the bench and removed my helmet, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. When I looked up again, Aurelia was still talking to Elias.

He'd made her laugh.

Something inside me snapped.

Before I could stop myself, an idea formed in my head.

A stupid one.

I shoved my helmet back onto my head, stood up too quickly, and deliberately stumbled over my own skate.

"Ah!"

I crashed onto the floor with a loud thud.

Every head turned.

Several teammates rushed towards me.

I groaned dramatically before lifting one hand into the air.

"I think... I broke something."

Aurelia looked over.

She blinked once.

Then... nothing.

She simply stared at me with the most unimpressed expression I'd ever seen.

I sighed internally.

This wasn't going according to plan.

I pointed towards my forehead where a thin line of blood trickled down my temple.

"I hit my head," I said weakly.

Before Aurelia could move, Elias hurried over and grabbed my arm.

"Zane!" he said. "Can you stand?"

I shot him a glare.

"I was waiting for someone else."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Ignoring the warning in my voice, he pulled me to my feet before turning towards Aurelia.

"It isn't serious," Elias said with a reassuring smile. "Just a small cut."

I resisted the urge to shove him back onto the ice.

"My head feels strange," I muttered while rubbing the side of it. "I don't think I can finish training."

The colour drained from several of my teammates' faces.

"Captain!"

"You can't stop now."

"If Coach finds out you've been injured, he'll kill us."

One of them turned desperately towards Aurelia.

"Please help him."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

Then she bit her lower lip.

I tried not to smile.

That tiny habit had become one of my favourite things about her.

Without arguing, she walked over to the medical cabinet and returned with the first-aid kit.

"Sit down," she said.

I obeyed without complaint.

She stood in front of me while I sat on the bench, then gently lifted my chin so she could examine the cut.

Her fingers brushed against my skin.

My wolf immediately lifted its head.

Her scent surrounded me, soft and comforting, and it took every ounce of self-control not to lean closer.

I had rejected her.

So why did my wolf still reach for her every chance it got?

Why did the bond still feel alive?

She dabbed the antiseptic onto the wound.

The sharp sting made me hiss.

"Serves you right," she muttered.

I looked up at her.

She was beautiful.

Not because she was trying to be.

She simply was.

The loose braids framing her face, the determination in her eyes, and the tiny crease between her brows as she concentrated made it impossible to look anywhere else.

She finished wrapping the bandage before pressing the edge of it firmly into place.

"There," she said as she stepped back. "You're alive."

"I was never dying."

"I know."

She clapped her hands together before picking up the first-aid kit and walking towards Coach Damian.

I watched her speak quietly to him before turning and leaving the arena.

I immediately stood.

"Where do you think you're going?" Coach Damian barked.

I looked towards the exit where she'd disappeared.

"Back on the ice," he ordered.

I clenched my jaw.

For once... hockey wasn't the thing I wanted to chase.

Unfortunately, Coach Damian had other plans.

"Get back on the ice, Zane" he repeated, fixing me with a warning look. "The match may be over, but training isn't."

I clenched my jaw before forcing myself to skate back onto the rink. Every instinct urged me to follow Aurelia instead, but abandoning practice now would only earn me another lecture.

The rest of training dragged on longer than usual.

Coach Damian pushed us through one drill after another, refusing to let anyone slow down.

"Again!"

His whistle pierced the arena.

"Your footwork is getting lazy."

We immediately reset our positions.

"Again!"

By the time he finally dismissed us, my jersey was soaked through with sweat and every muscle in my body ached.

The boys headed towards the changing rooms, laughing as they argued over the goals I'd scored earlier.

I barely listened.

After showering and changing into my academy uniform, I left the arena without waiting for anyone else.

Hockey season always kept me away from lessons, so I had no reason to be anywhere near the academic building.

Yet my feet carried me there anyway.

I told myself I only wanted to apologise.

That was a lie.

I simply wanted to see her.

The corridors were unusually quiet as I searched the classrooms. A few students greeted me as I passed, but I ignored every one of them.

She wasn't in the library.

She wasn't in the dining hall.

She wasn't outside the dormitories either.

I stopped in the middle of the corridor and ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

"Where are you?" I muttered.

A strange feeling settled in my chest.

It wasn't anxiety.

It was... a pull.

The same invisible thread I'd been trying to ignore ever since I rejected her tightened so suddenly that my wolf became restless.

He wanted me to move.

Now.

Without questioning it, I followed the feeling through the hallway.

The further I walked, the stronger it became.

Then a movement near the girls' bathroom caught my attention.

Someone disappeared around the corner.

I slowed.

A foul smell drifted through the corridor.

It was sharp enough to make me wrinkle my nose.

My wolf growled.

Something was wrong.

The pull became almost unbearable.

Before I realised what I was doing, I had broken into a run.

"Aurelia?"

There was no answer.

I rounded the corner.

The world seemed to stop.

She was sitting on the cold tiled floor with her knees drawn slightly together. Fresh blood ran down both knees where the skin had been scraped raw.

Her academy jumper and skirt were soaked.

Water dripped steadily onto the floor beneath her.

She didn't move.

She simply stared at the ground as though everything inside her had gone numb.

Standing over her with her arms folded was Kenzie.

She looked down at Aurelia with a smug smile.

"I told you," Kenzie said coldly. "People like you should learn where they belong."

Something inside me went frighteningly still. Every sound around me disappeared until all I could hear was the slow pounding of my own heartbeat.

Kenzie finally noticed me.

The confidence on her face faltered.

"Zane..." she began.

I didn't even look at her.

My eyes remained fixed on Aurelia.

Her shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly, but she still refused to lift her head.

Seeing her like that made something dark stir inside me. Slowly, I stepped forward until I was standing between Kenzie and Aurelia.

Only then did I turn to look at Kenzie.

She took an unconscious step backwards.

My voice was quiet enough that she had to strain to hear it.

"I'll ask you once."

She swallowed.

"What happened here?"