The Hockey Alpha Captain's Secret Heir

5

ELENA

“ You look like you slept only four hours. ” Lora huffs as soon as I take my seat beside her in the meeting room.

“ Wyatt had a nightmare about cartwheeling wolves. ” I take a long sip of my coffee before I say anything else. “ It's a whole thing. Don't ask. ”

Lora laughs, and I shake my head. She is on the media relations team and is the first person I trusted in this city. We are still going strong after six years of being friends. It won’t be wrong to say that I made it through my darkest phase of life just because of her.

“ You want to know what I heard about this meeting? ” She asks excitedly.

I nod without giving it much thought.

“ I saw the press release draft this morning. They are bringing in a captain-level guy. He is a big name in the league. Front office thinks he is going to change our whole locker room culture. ” She informs me and giggles like a teenager.

“ Good for the front office. ” I shrug, only half paying attention to her and more focused on whether the coffee is going to be enough to get rid of my headache or not.

' You should ask his name. ' Luna's unease from earlier has not faded.

‘I don't know why you are so worked up about a trade announcement.’ I sigh.

' I don’t know either. That’s what worries me. ’ She mumbles in my head.

“ You okay? ” Lora’s leans towards me when I zone out.

“ I am fine. ” I force a smile. “ Just a little tired because I didn’t catch much sleep last night. ”

She doesn't push me. That's one of the things I love most about her. She knows there are rooms in my life she is not invited into, whole years I have never explained, and she has never once demanded a key.

She just keeps showing up with coffee and easy laughter and a steady loyalty that has rebuilt my definition of what family can mean.

Yes, I have that now—a small family in a way I didn't expect to find again after everything.

I have Lora who is always there for me. I have Coach Mallory who is gruff but fair and sometimes gives me bonuses so I can buy toys for Wyatt. And I have a whole community of people around me who don’t know my real last name, but stand by me nevertheless.

I have found my place in life, and I wouldn’t like to trade it for anything else in this world.

After a few moments, Coach Mallory and other members file in, taking their seats around the round table. I straighten up, my gaze following Coach to the head seat.

“ Alright, settle down. ” He waits for the room to quiet down before speaking again.“ I know rumors have been flying for weeks, so let's stop the guessing. ”

He nods toward the door, and someone from the front office pulls it open.

' Elena. ' Luna's stammers in my head, and I turn to the door, understanding why she was so out of it.

I recognize that walk before I see the face attached to it. He walks with an unhurried confidence like the room should already know to make room for him.

Six years have not changed him. If anything, it has sharpened every hard edge. He is taller than I remember, broad enough to block the doorway without trying, his shoulders stretching the black team jacket like it was tailored for someone smaller.

Years in professional ice hockey have carved lean muscle over every inch of him. He has powerful thighs and thick forearms built from endless hours on the ice.

Dark, slightly unruly hair falls over his forehead in the same careless way it always did, while a day's worth of stubble only makes the sharp line of his jaw more dangerous.

His face is the kind that cameras love…high cheekbones, a straight nose, full lips that have broken more hearts than he will ever know, but it's his eyes that undo me.

Stormy gray with flecks of blue. They carry the same quiet intensity that once made me believe I was the only woman he would ever look at.

Even standing perfectly still, he has that effortless confidence only elite athletes possess, the kind that turns heads the moment he walks into a room.

“ I would like everyone to welcome our new captain. Damon Hawthorne! ” Mallory's grinning, oblivious to the way the floor has just dropped out from under me. “ I am sure you all must know him. But let me still introduce him. He is the star player who played six years with the Ironhawks. League MVP two seasons ago. Four All-Star selections, a scoring title, and now he is ours. ”

Damon steps fully into the room. His eyes sweep across the crowd the way you would expect from a new captain, professional, assessing, already cataloging faces he will need to know. They move past me once. Then stop. Then come back.

It’s like the world comes to a slow halt when his gray eyes meet my green ones. I find myself unable to breathe, and unable to move. My hands shake, and I have to hide them under the table to keep my facade up.

Everyone claps for me, welcoming the new star player who will take our team to new heights, but I still stay frozen.

He walks ahead, one step at a time, and reaches Coach Mallory. His eyes never leave mine, but I look away, choosing to stare at my lap instead.

' Breathe. ' Luna's voice is the only steady thing in my entire body right now. ' Elena, breathe, people are looking at you. '

I don't know how I am still sitting upright. Every part of me wants to be anywhere else than here.

I can slide under the table, out the door, back in the parking lot pretending this meeting never happened, but I make myself stay very still, very composed. It’s the exact posture I have spent six years perfecting for this moment, but I never imagined it would actually come.

Lora leans toward me, whispering. “ You okay? You have gone completely white. ”

“ Fine. ” The word comes out more balanced than I expected “ I just…have a headache. ”

She nods, and falls silent. People are talking around me, and meeting the new captain, but I find myself trying hard to not slip back into the past.

He is going to find him. The thought hits me at once. He is going to find Wyatt and take him away from me.

I rise from the chair and run out of the meeting room. I can hear Mallory calling out from behind, but I don’t stop or stay to listen.

I have to get Wyatt and leave before he gets to know about him.

I run for the bathroom and lock myself inside one of the cubicles before taking my phone out. I should call Derick and ask him to get Wyatt. Meanwhile, I can pack our things and…

‘ Slow down. ’ Luna murmurs.

My shaking fingers tap on the phone, but nothing works. Fear just takes over everything rational.

Sighing, I put the phone back and take some deep breaths. I should go and get Wyatt myself. That way Derick won’t ask me any questions, and I will be gone before anyone gets in my way.

I stay there for some time, and then rush out. I beeline for the parking lot and grab my keys from the bag. But before I can unlock the door and get inside, the hair on my neck rises on its ends.

A hand slams on the car door, keeping it closed before a broad chest brushes against my back. His cedarwood scent overpowers everything, leaving me holding my breath.

“ Elena. ” His voice is quieter than I remember it and rougher too.