Taming The Ice King : He Went Wild After Rejecting Me

2

MAYA

He walked off with his crew, leaving with their laughter stinging in the hallway.

Anger and humiliation burned in my chest. Limping, I forced myself to walk toward the admin building, then crossed over to the campus newspaper office in the building next door. I needed to get my mind off things. I needed to hand over the memory card with the hockey team practice photos I'd taken from behind the rink barrier earlier that day to Dan, my head photographer.

I pushed open the glass door of the newsroom, hoping for some peace. But the room went dead silent the second I stepped in.

"Sorry, Maya. We can't use your photos," Dan said before I could even set my bag down on his desk. His face looked frustrated and he refused to meet my eyes.

"Why?" I stepped closer, frowning, not accepting it. "I got great angles during their power-play practice earlier today, Dan."

"Vance refused to be interviewed or photographed if you're still on the editorial team." Dan sighed, rubbing his face roughly and pointing at an official letter on the desk. "He's even threatening to boycott all exclusive coverage of this season's games if the name 'Maya Miller' is still in the print credits. The school's pressuring us, Maya. The hockey team is the face of Ridgebrook University. We can't lose access."

I clenched my fists, realizing just how far Kaelen's bullying reached. "So you're firing me just because that selfish bastard is throwing a tantrum?"

"You're not fired. But you're being transferred to archiving old clippings in the basement. No camera. Until Vance changes his mind," Dan said quietly. "Just a piece of advice, May. Go see him and apologize. You don't know who the Vance family is in this town. You can't win."

I didn't answer. With my chest tight from swallowed rage, I turned and walked out of the newsroom. Instead of going back to my dorm, my feet took me right back to the sports building. I remembered my intern ID card was left behind in the locker room when I rushed to help that player earlier. Without that card, I couldn't even get into the archive room tomorrow morning.

As I walked down the hallway of the sports building—which was now pitch black, lit only by dim yellow emergency lights since operating hours were over—a strange sound stopped me in my tracks.

From the direction of the medical room at the end of the hall, there was a low, painful groan, mixed with ragged, wild breathing like a wounded animal.

The medical room door was slightly open, casting a sliver of faint light onto the hallway floor. My curiosity beat out my fear. I walked without a sound, pressed my face closer to the gap in the door, and peeked inside.

In the dark room, Kaelen Vance was kneeling on the cold tile floor. He was shirtless, just black training pants. His broad, muscular back was slick with sweat, heaving up and down erratically.

But that wasn't what made my breath stop cold.

Kaelen's fingernails were lengthening, turning into sharp black claws that were now scraping against the tile floor, making a horrible screeching sound. The muscles along his spine were vibrating hard, like something big and wild was trying to force its way out from under his skin.

"Damn it... get out of my head!" Kaelen groaned, his baritone voice cracking, shifting into a deep animal growl that rattled the window glass.

He looked up at the ceiling. Sharp fangs pushed out from behind his lips, which were bloody from where he'd bitten them.

I gasped and stumbled back in shock, making a plastic water bottle near the door roll after I accidentally kicked it.

That tiny sound was like an explosion in the quiet room.

In a split second, Kaelen's head whipped toward the door.

The scent of pine and frost exploded in the air, slamming into my sense of smell with such massive force that my knees went weak. That crazy heat burned in my chest again, triggering a heavy dizziness that made something between my thighs throb. This was impossible. My father said I would never have a mate my whole life because I was born from a human mother.

Kaelen slowly got to his feet, his claws gradually shrinking back into human fingers as he steadied his breathing, but his eyes stayed glowing gold in the darkness. He stared at me with so much frustration, like he was cursing my presence there too.

"You... you..." I whispered, my voice completely shaking, tears of fear now fully escaping down my cheeks.

Kaelen stepped forward, letting the dim hallway light illuminate his face—terrifying and captivating at the same time.

"You should've stayed in your basement, Maya," Kaelen hissed, his voice hoarse and trembling hard as he held himself back from getting closer to me. "Now you know why I told you to stay away. Get out of my sight, before I lose control."

---

I don't remember how my legs carried me out of the sports building that night. Kaelen's words, his wolf form, and the glow of his gold eyes kept spinning in my head like a nightmare that wouldn't leave. The fear gripped me so tight that for the next three days, I completely buried myself in the basement archive room, doing my new job sorting dusty old newspaper clippings. The place was cold and isolated, but at least it was safe from Kaelen Vance's reach.

But that temporary peace had to end on Friday night.

As an editorial assistant, I couldn't skip out on the mandatory attendance at Ridgebrook University's victory party in the main hall.

The hockey team had just won a big game, and all campus newspaper staff were required to be there to document the event. I was forced to go, walking through the crowd of students while carrying a box of spare lenses for the main photographer on my shoulder.

The main hall was packed with a sea of people. The bass music was pounding hard against the walls, mixing with the smell of alcohol and sweat. Everyone was celebrating the win, but the second I walked past the drink table, the atmosphere around me suddenly shifted.

"Look, it's the New Girl. Still has the nerve to show her face here after causing trouble with Kaelen Vance?" some girls near me whispered with mocking looks.

I ignored them, adjusting the bag strap on my shoulder and planning to walk to a quieter corner of the room. But my steps stopped when the crowd in the middle of the hall suddenly parted fast.

Kaelen Vance walked in. He looked insanely good in his black and gold jersey jacket, surrounded by the starting-line hockey players and girls trying to get his attention. He was the king here. The undisputed alpha.

Instantly, his sharp eyes locked onto where I stood in the corner of the room. My heart betrayed me, suddenly pounding hard because of the hot sensation flaring up in my chest again and something between my thighs.

Kaelen walked straight toward me. His steps were slow, deliberately pulling the attention of the entire room until the music seemed to fade and whispers started spreading.

I squared my shoulders, clenched my fists at my sides, and refused to look weak in front of him.

"Miller," he called, his voice loud enough to cut through the conversations around us.

He flashed that crooked smirk I knew—the one he always used right before destroying someone.

"What is it, Vance? Want to order some old newspaper clippings from the basement?" I shot back sharply, staring straight into his eyes that somehow could drown anyone.

Kaelen chuckled low, his baritone voice sounding so condescending. "I heard you've been spreading some weird rumors in the newsroom. Something about... us?"

I frowned, feeling like something was off. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb," Kaelen stepped closer, shoving his hands into his jersey pockets with that arrogant stance. "You stare at me like I'm your destiny, Miller. You've been telling people we're fated? That there's a bond between us?"

My blood ran cold. I had never said that to anyone!

"I never said anything that disgusting!" I half-yelled, panicking as I realized hundreds of pairs of eyes in the hall were now on us, waiting for the next drama.

"Oh, really?" Kaelen looked down, staring at me with this fake disgusted look. "Listen, New Girl. Let me make this clear in front of everyone so you can stop dreaming too high."

He half-turned toward the crowd, then looked back at me, his voice loud and echoing firmly through the now-silent hall.

"You're just a low-rank nobody with no place in my world. You're not on my level, Miller. Not even close to being my mate. You wouldn't even be worthy of being a servant in my house. So stop your delusions. I reject you. In front of everyone, I'm stating that you will never be anything to me but a useless nuisance."

Hearing the word "reject" come out of his mouth, something in my chest felt like it shattered into pieces. An incredibly intense pain—like an invisible knife stabbing my heart—made my breath catch and my knees go weak instantly.

The burning sensation that always showed up when we touched now exploded into a pain so deep my eyes suddenly burned with tears.

Total silence fell over the hall for a few seconds, before it finally broke with mocking laughter from his teammates and sharp whispers from the spectators surrounding us.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks, but I refused to lower my head. I tried to swallow that pain deep down, replaced by pure rage that burned up every ounce of my self-worth as a person.

I stepped forward one big step, wiping the tears off my cheeks roughly with the back of my hand. I stared straight into Kaelen's eyes.

Slap!

Reflexively, my hand flew through the air and landed right on his left cheek, making his face turn to the side.

The laughter in the hall stopped instantly. Everyone gasped in horror. No one had ever dared to touch Kaelen Vance, the all-powerful hockey captain. The academy's golden boy.

"You're right, Vance," I said, my voice shaking hard from holding back tears and rage, but every word came out sharp and clear. "I am just an ordinary human. And as a human, I have enough common sense to know that you're nothing more than a pathetic, arrogant monster."

I pulled the camera bag off my shoulder and threw it down right in front of his expensive shoes, making a loud bang.

"To hell with your world, to hell with your hockey team, and to hell with your rejection," I hissed right in his face, which was now tense with his jaw clenched tight. "From this second on, you're the one who means nothing to me."

I turned and ran through the gasping crowd, shoved open the double doors of the hall, and went out into the cold darkness of the night, leaving behind the storm I had just created inside.