BETRAYED BY HOCKEY STAR: LOVED BY ALPHA KING

Chapter 3: Deal

Draven's POV

I couldn’t keep my eyes off the girl's photo. It had been three days since Ronan, my right-hand man, mistook her for the daughter of the Bloodmoon Pack’s alpha and kidnapped her. But even after I saw her face and realized she wasn’t the one, I had ordered my men to return her though my wolf clawed for her.

Thirty-five years I’ve waited for this moment. Thirty-five years I’ve plotted my revenge. Every move and detail all hinged on using the alpha’s daughter as my stepping stone toward vengeance. Yet in the end, the wrong girl had been delivered to me.

And still… ever since that night, ever since my eyes met hers, something in me hasn’t been the same.

My wolf, usually chained and obedient to my will, has been clawing inside my skull, intoxicated by her scent. The moment that perfume lingers in the air, my senses sharpen, my instincts flare. It’s maddening. My wolf doesn’t just want her, he craves her.

The craving drove me to extremes I would have once scoffed at. I had a background check run on her. A human girl. A university student. My men uncovered everything about her—where she lived, what she did, even the humiliations plastered across her social media.

And for the last two days, I’ve been hunting her myself. Me, Draven—the almighty leader of the Shadow Wolves—reduced to this restless state because of a woman. And not just any woman. A human. The absurdity of it burns my pride, yet I can’t stop.

That’s why I found myself standing outside her university gates, anger coiling inside me at my men’s failure. Skilled enough to track anyone in a day, yet they couldn’t bring me her. In the end, I had to search for her myself.

I was about to give up when my wolf suddenly stirred, tugging at me, dragging me toward a secluded path. My instincts questioned it as none of the students used this way. Yet something pulled me forward.

And there she was when I finally found her.

Beneath a tree, her head tilted up just enough for me to see her face streaked with tears. The sight of her hit me like a blade to the chest. Relief. Joy. An emotion I had no right to feel, yet it rushed through me like wildfire.

Without hesitation, I approached. I didn’t need to ask why she cried. I already knew the storm that had broken her.

“You can join hands with me,” I said with a low voice. I held out a handkerchief, watching her every breath, “and have your revenge on him.”

Chivalry was never my style. But for her? For reasons I couldn’t name, I would make the exception.

She hopped up immediately the moment she noticed someone else was with her and without wasting time, began to walk away. I followed, refusing to let the moment slip away.

“Maddox Hayes,” I called out after racking my head for what to say for minutes. His name came easily—it was the reason she was here, the reason her eyes were swollen from crying. Her ex. The very man who had destroyed her, leaving her stranded in a pool of distrust she could never crawl out of.

She paused. The name struck something in her, though she masked it with a sharp roll of her eyes as she turned to face me. The contrast between us was striking. She, with her small frame, a young twenty-three according to the file my men dug up. And me—older, larger, a presence she couldn’t ignore no matter how hard she tried.

“I’m Draven Killaed,” I introduced, hoping the name would spark recognition. Around here, students whispered about it. My name wasn’t just known, it was carved into their world of ambition and sports. But to my shock, she gave me no sign of recognition. Instead, her brows arched, silently demanding an explanation.

The silence stretched, pressing against my chest until I finally blurted it out.

“I want us to fake date.”

Even I almost laughed at my own words. Me, the infamous Draven, saying something so absurd beneath a tree to a human university student. Yet the words tasted right in my mouth.

“I’ll present you to my people as my mate.” Her face flickered with confusion, so I quickly corrected myself. “Girlfriend. You’ll act as my girlfriend before my people, while I’ll act as yours before the world. Maddox Hayes will lose his mind the moment he learns you’re dating the prospective sponsor of his hockey team.”

It was a perfect setup—win-win. She gets her revenge against the man who used and discarded her. I got mine, leveraging her uncanny resemblance to the Alpha’s daughter I had long sworn vengeance upon. And my wolf… finally, he would stop clawing at my insides every time she was too far away. For me, it was strategy. For her, salvation. Together, it would be war.

“And you know this because you are… what? Team sponsor?” she scoffed, laughter laced in her disbelief. “Please, don’t make me laugh.”

Her stare cut into me and she turned to walk away again.

“I’m Draven Killaed,” I repeated, firmer this time. “Yes. The Draven of the hockey world.”

Running a hand through my hair, I caught her gaze again. This time, I saw the flicker of realization in her eyes.

“The five-time hockey championship winner?” she asked, her voice flat, her expression unreadable. No trace of excitement. No flicker of admiration. Nothing of the awe that should come when seeing someone like me.

I nodded, but instead of pride swelling in my chest, embarrassment crept in under her cool stare. Women especially her fellow humans threw themselves at me just by hearing my name. Why was she different? Why was she making this so difficult?

“I heard Maddox will be announcing his relationship with Kyle during this week’s rehearsals,” I said, my tone deceptively casual. “I even received an email invitation to attend. A lot of the coaches did too. He’s throwing a big party.”

The words weren’t for conversation as they were calculated, sharpened to spite her, to fan the embers of her rage into a full blaze.

As expected, I felt the simmering anger rolling off her. Exactly what I wanted.

“He’s invited a lot of musicians at her request too,” I continued mercilessly. “I heard he even took loans using his family name just to surprise her. One look at them during training yesterday, and I could tell they’ve probably been in love since childhood.”

“That’s enough.” Her voice came out barely above a whisper, trembling as she tried to hold back the tears burning at the edges of her eyes.

“Take my hand, Elara,” I urged, stepping closer, my voice a low promise. “Take my invitation to your revenge. Make him mad. Make him jealous for what he did to you and your reputation. Make him burn with regret and hate.”

I stretched out my hand toward her. This wasn’t something I did often. I took what I wanted, always. But because she was human, I tread carefully. I didn’t want her to suspect me. My identity would remain hidden throughout the course of our contract.

“Elara…” I called softly, reaching for her hand at last, ready to console her—my soon-to-be partner in vengeance.

But the instant our fingers touched, I recoiled as though burned.

“No…” The word escaped me like a groan. “This can’t be happening…” My voice was low, strained as my wolf surged violently inside my head, swirling, howling and clawing to get out. This couldn’t be real. Not after all these years of careful avoidance. Not with a human.

Snapping out of my reverie, I lifted my head—and froze.

A silver thread glowed faintly around her wrist before sparking and snapping against mine. My breath caught. She wasn’t just any girl. She wasn’t just my revenge.

She was my fated mate.

But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.

A mate bond shimmered on her wrist as well as mine.

“You’re a wolf?” I breathed, the question slipping out before I could stop it.