Temptation On Ice: My Rival Is A Girl

NOT EXACTLY NORMAL OPTIONS

CHAPTER 4

Hannah~

It’s been a few minutes now and the place has mostly emptied out. The hole in the far wall is already covered with a temporary sheet of plywood and a handwritten sign that just says “DO NOT TOUCH.” Someone has even drawn a little skull next to it. I pretend not to notice.

I sit on a bench near the coaches’ office with my stolen bread bag at my feet, waiting while the adults argue about where to put the girl who isn’t supposed to exist on the men’s hockey team. Ethan has stuck around for a bit, leaning against the wall like an unofficial bodyguard, but Coach eventually waves him off to go change. Every time someone walks past and stares, I just stare right back until they keep moving.

The door finally opens. Coach steps out looking like he’s aged five years in one afternoon. Colton follows him, still in the same navy hoodie, expression blank. His gray eyes find mine immediately and I hold the look for a second longer than I should, then force myself to glance away.

Coach clears his throat. “Alright. Housing situation.”

I stand up. “I’m listening.”

“We don’t have spare rooms in the main campus dorm wing. Every single one is occupied. And even if one opened up tomorrow, putting a girl in the middle of twenty guys isn’t happening. Not on my watch. Privacy, safety, all of it.” He rubs the back of his neck. “The only option that makes sense is the private quarters upstairs in athlete housing. Captain has a two-bedroom setup. There’s an unused room. It’s separate. Closer to the staff offices if anything comes up.”

I blink. “You’re putting me in the captain’s place?”

Colton’s jaw flexes once but he doesn’t speak.

Coach looks at him. “Only if he’s willing. I’m not forcing it.”

I almost laugh out loud. The idea that they need formal permission for a room that literally no one is using feels so human it hurts. Back home an empty room is just an empty room. You walk in, claim it, done. Here they stand around holding meetings about it. Very ridiculous.

Humans are so dramatic, my wolf mutters.

Colton finally speaks, voice low and even. “She stays in the spare room if she’s willing. Door stays closed. No late-night noise. No using my kitchen like it’s hers. She keeps to her side.”

Coach nods like that settles everything. “Good. I’ll walk her up myself so she doesn’t get lost. Practice is in an hour. Full team session. She’ll need to be ready.”

Colton’s eyes stay on me for another second then he turns and walks away down the hall without another word.

I pick up my bread bag and follow Coach toward the elevator. The doors close and soft music plays. I stare at the numbers climbing.

Coach lets out a long sigh and leans his shoulder against the wall, arms crossed loosely.

“Quite a day, huh?” He glances over at me with a small, tired smile that actually reaches his eyes. “Welcome to the team. Provisionally, anyway.”

I raise an eyebrow. “That was… fast.”

“You broke a wall and still made the cut. Hard to ignore that.” He shifts his weight. “Guess I should properly introduce myself. I’m Coach Mark Thompson. Most of the guys just call me Coach. You can too.”

“Hannah.”

“I know.” His voice stays even, but there’s a dry edge of humor under it. “You made an impression. The good kind and the ‘we might need a new wall’ kind.”

A short, unexpected laugh slips out of me before I can stop it. “In my defense, the wall started it.”

Mark’s mouth twitches. “I’ll take that under advisement. For the record, I don’t usually put new players in the captain’s spare room on day one. But you didn’t exactly give us normal options today.” He looks at me a second longer, more serious now. “You’re gonna get a lot of eyes on you. Some of them won’t be friendly. Just keep your head down, do the work, and let the ice do the talking. Deal?”

I nod once. “Deal.”

“One more thing. Summer session. The school needs you enrolled if you’re living on campus and taking a roster spot, even a provisional one. One class. Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll send the building and the room number. Show up. Sit down. Don’t make it my problem.”

I blink. “I came here to play hockey.”

“You came here to stay eligible long enough to play hockey. That’s the deal on a campus team.” His mouth twitches. “It’s one class, Hannah. Not a degree.”

“Fine.”

“Good.” The elevator dings softly as it reaches the floor and opens onto a quieter hallway. Thick carpet. Soft lighting. Actual framed photos on the walls instead of motivational posters. He leads me to a dark wood door at the end of the hall and knocks once.

Colton opens it like he’s been waiting. He’s taken the hoodie off. The black t-shirt underneath fits too well on him. I deliberately look past him into the apartment instead.

The place is… nice. Really nice. Open living area, big windows, clean modern furniture that looks expensive. A kitchen with actual counter space. It smells faintly like clean laundry and something like—cedar maybe.

I step inside without thinking. My foot catches the edge of the rug and I stumble at once, pitching forward hard.

Colton moves faster than I expect. One second I’m falling, the next my hands are flat against his chest and my face is inches from his collarbone. Solid muscle. Warm. The contact lasts less than a second but it might as well be a lightning strike.

Something inside my chest yanks sideways so hard I almost lose my breath. Heat shoots down my arms at once and my wolf surges up so fast I feel my eyes burn for half a second. The pull is sharp and unmistakable and completely, completely wrong.

“No way!” The words rip out of me louder than I mean. I shove back hard.

Colton’s hands close around my upper arms and set me on my feet in one smooth motion. His fingers stay there a beat longer than necessary before he lets go. His expression has gone carefully blank, but his eyes are a shade darker than before.

“You good?” he asks, voice lower than it has been earlier.

I take another step back, heart slamming roughly. “Fine. It’s just the rug.”

Mate, my wolf whispers, almost reverent.

Shut. Up. I retort at once.

You felt that.

I said shut up.

Colton studies my face for another second. Whatever he sees there makes his mouth tighten. Then he glances at Coach like the moment hasn’t happened at all.

“Spare room is the second door on the left. Bathroom is shared but she gets first claim in the mornings. Kitchen rules stand. Don’t touch my coffee setup.”

Mark nods. “Understood.”

Colton looks at me one last time. “As long as you don’t make this inconvenient, we’re fine.”

I manage a tight nod. “I won’t.”

He turns and disappears into what I assume is his own room and the door clicks shut.

Mark lets out a short breath and gestures down the short hallway. “Come on. Let’s get you settled before practice.”

The spare room is bigger than the entire shared space I’ve been living in for thirty days. Queen bed. Clean white sheets. A window that actually opens. A small desk. A closet that is currently empty and somehow still looks luxurious. Soft gray walls. No weird smells. No roommate socks on the floor.

I drop the bread bag on the desk and just stand there for a second.

“This is…” I turn in a slow circle. “This is actually beautiful.”

Mark stands in the doorway, arms crossed. “Captain doesn’t do half measures. Even the guest room is nicer than most apartments. Door locks from the inside. Use it.”

I walk over to the bed, press a hand into the mattress, then give up on dignity completely and jump onto it. The bed is solid and soft at the same time. I bounce once, then drop onto my back and let out a sound that is half laugh, half squeal.

“Finally,” I say to the ceiling. “An actual place. With a door that locks. And no one else’s laundry in the bathroom.”

I sit up still smiling.

Mark watches me with a tired sort of amusement. “Are you good now?”

“Better.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed. “Thank you. For walking me up. And for earlier. At the rink.”

He shrugs like it’s nothing. “You earned the chance. People are just loud when they’re wrong.” He checks his watch. “I need to go. Full practice starts in fifty minutes. Dryland first, then on-ice. We’ll have gear for you to try. Nothing fancy, but it’ll work until we get you sorted properly.”

I nod. “I’ll be ready.”

“Good.” He steps back. “The door’s always open if you need anything. And Hannah?”

“Yeah?”

“That wall shot was legendary. Just… maybe aim lower next time.”

I laugh under my breath. “I’ll try.”

He turns and leaves.

I stay sitting on the edge of the bed, hands flat on the mattress, staring at the closed door that leads to the rest of the apartment.

My wolf is pacing inside my head, restless and far too pleased.

You felt it, she begins.

I press the heels of my hands against my eyes. “Yeah. I felt it.”

He’s—

“Don’t you dare,” I cut her off immediately.

She goes quiet for a second, then says, We’re not going back. Not to Alex. Not to Dad. We’re staying with our mate.