Temptation On Ice: My Rival Is A Girl

NOT EXACTLY NORMAL OPTIONS

Hannah~

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

I sat on a bench near the coaches’ office with my stolen bread bag at my feet, waiting while the adults argued about where to put the girl who wasn’t supposed to exist on the men’s hockey team. Ethan had stuck around for a bit, leaning against the wall like an unofficial bodyguard, but Coach eventually waved him off to go change. Every time someone walked past and stared, I’d just stared right back until they kept moving.

The door finally opened. Coach stepped out looking like he’d aged five years in one afternoon. Colton followed him, still in the same navy hoodie, expression blank. His gray eyes found mine immediately and I held the look for a second longer than I should have, then forced myself to glance away.

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

I stood up. “I’m listening.”

“We don’t have spare rooms in the main 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 rubbed the back of his neck. “The only option that makes sense is the private quarters upstairs. Captain has a two-bedroom setup. There’s an unused room. It’s separate. Closer to the staff offices if anything comes up.”

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

Colton’s jaw flexed once but he didn’t speak.

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

I almost laughed out loud. The idea that they needed formal permission for a room that literally no one was using felt so human it hurt. Back home an empty room was just an empty room. You walked in, claimed it, done. Here they stood around holding meetings about it. Very ridiculous.

*Humans are so dramatic,* my wolf muttered.

Colton finally spoke, 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 nodded like that settled 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 stayed on me for another second then he turned and walked away down the hall without another word.

I picked up my bread bag and followed Coach toward the elevator. The doors closed and soft music played. I stared at the numbers climbing.

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

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

I raised an eyebrow. “That was… fast.”

“You broke a wall and still made the cut. Hard to ignore that.” He shifted 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 stayed even, but there was 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 slipped out of me before I could stop it. “In my defense, the wall started it.”

Mark's mouth twitched. “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 looked 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 nodded once. “Deal.”

“Good.” The elevator dinged softly as it reached and opened onto a quieter floor. Thick carpet. Soft lighting. Actual framed photos on the walls instead of motivational posters. He led me to a dark wood door at the end of the hall and knocked once.

Colton opened it like he’d been waiting. He’d taken the hoodie off. The black t-shirt underneath fit too well on him. I deliberately looked past him into the apartment instead.

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

I stepped inside without thinking. My foot caught the edge of the rug and I stumbled at once, pitching forward hard.

Colton moved faster than I expected. One second I was falling, the next my hands were flat against his chest and my face was inches from his collarbone. Solid muscle. Warm. The contact lasted less than a second but it might as well have been a lightning strike.

Something inside my chest yanked sideways so hard I almost lost my breath. Heat shot down my arms at once and my wolf surged up so fast I felt my eyes burn for half a second. The pull was sharp and unmistakable and completely, completely wrong.

“No way!” The words ripped out of me louder than I meant. I shoved back hard.

Colton’s hands closed around my upper arms and set me on my feet in one smooth motion. His fingers stayed there a beat longer than necessary before he let go. His expression had gone carefully blank, but his eyes were a shade darker than before.

“You good?” he asked, voice lower than it had been earlier.

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

*Mate,* my wolf whispered, almost reverent.

*Shut. Up.* I retorted at once.

*You felt that.*

*I said shut up.*

Colton studied my face for another second. Whatever he saw there made his mouth tighten. Then he glanced at Coach like the moment hadn’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 nodded. “Understood.”

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

I managed a tight nod. “I won’t.”

He turned and disappeared into what I assumed was his own room and the door clicked shut.

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

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

I dropped the bread bag on the desk and just stood there for a second.

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

Mark stood 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 walked over to the bed, pressed a hand into the mattress, then gave up on dignity completely and jumped onto it. The bed was solid and soft at the same time. I bounced once, then dropped onto my back and let out a sound that was half laugh, half squeal.

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

I sat up still smiling.

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

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

He shrugged like it was nothing. “You earned the chance. People are just loud when they’re wrong.” He checked 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 nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

“Good.” He stepped 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 laughed under my breath. “I’ll try.”

He turned and left.

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

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

*You felt it,* she began.

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

*He’s—*

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

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