Claiming What Was Mine

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Elara’s POV

The arena is deafening. I press my palms flat against my thighs, forcing myself to stay seated. The Blackthorn Blades are on the ice, and Kael is everywhere, slashing through the Steel Wolves' defense like a blade through silk. He's faster than he should be. Sharper.

Although his knee was punishing him. I can see it in the way he favors his right side, the small hesitation before every pivot. He's playing through agony, and it makes me want to scream.

Stubborn, reckless, infuriating...

"He's incredible." Leo slides into the seat beside me, his sandy hair damp from the bench. "Captain's playing possessed tonight."

"Idiotic is more like it." I can't keep the venom out of my voice. "His knee is going to give out."

Leo's grin fades. "He's been pushing harder since you got here."

"Don't." I hold up a hand. "Don't put that on me."

"I'm not. I'm saying..." He shrugs. "He's got something to prove."

My chest tightens. Prove it. That's what I told him. And now he's out there destroying himself to show me he's changed.

"Have you seen his face when he looks at you?" Leo's voice is soft. "I've known him for years. He's never looked at anyone like that."

I force my eyes back to the ice. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?”

Before I can answer, the crowd roars. Kael scores...a beautiful breakaway, deking around the goalie like he's standing still. He slams into the boards, chest heaving, and his eyes find me in the stands.

For a single heartbeat, he smiles. My wolf whines. Something in my chest coils and I look away fast.

I don't return the smile.

Then Viktor Dragunov is on him. The Steel Wolves' captain is a monster...pale, scarred, with eyes like chips of ice. He's been stalking Kael all game, and now he sees his opening. Kael is not focused completely on the game and Viktor takes advantage of the vulnerability.

Viktor's shoulder connects with Kael's right knee at full speed. The impact is sickening...a wet crunch that I feel in my own bones. I almost scream. Kael's leg buckles. He twists, midair, and crashes to the ice.

Oh no.

He doesn't get up.

This is bad.

The crowd gasps. The medics are already rushing forward, but I'm moving before I think. I shove past Leo, past the rows of screaming fans, and vault over the boards onto the ice.

"Elara..." Leo's voice is distant.

I ignore him.

Kael is on his back, his face ashen, teeth gritted against the pain. Sweat beads on his forehead, and his silver eyes are glassy...shock or agony, maybe both.

"Elara." His voice is barely a whisper. "Don't let them take me off the ice."

I kneel beside him, my hands already moving. I check what's wrong. Palpating the joint. The swelling is immediate, the ligaments torn, I can feel the instability even through his gear.

"Your knee is destroyed." I keep my voice calm, even though I feel opposite. "You need to be off this ice immediately."

"No," he said, shaking his head quickly. His hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist. "I can't...they need me. The game..."

"To hell with the game." I meet his eyes. "If you don't get this treated now, you'll never play again."

Something flashes across his face...fear, raw and unguarded. Not of the injury. Of something deeper. It is the first time I will be seeing Kael this way and I don't know what to do.

"I can't lose this." His voice cracks. "This is all I have."

I know. Hockey has alway been his life. It is his everything and I wish... I wish I can do more than this. I wish there is something I can say that will make him feel better.

I pull my wrist free. "You have more than you think. But you won't see it until you stop risking everything for a sport that doesn't love you back."

His eyes search mine, desperate. "Please. Just...stay with me."

I do. I stay with him, holding his hands until the medics arrive. They're reaching for him, but he shoves them away, his eyes locked on me.

"Elara. Please."

I should step back and let them handle it. I'm not his doctor. I'm not his anything.

But my hand finds his and squeezes.

"Fine," I say at last. "I'll stay. But you're coming off the ice. Now."

He nods, the fight draining out of him.

The medics lift him, and I walk beside the stretcher, my hand still in his. The crowd is screaming, but I don't hear them. I only hear his breathing. See his pain.

Feel the bond, blazing between us like a forest fire.

What the hell am I doing?

The ambulance doors close behind us. The sirens wail. Kael's hand is cold, clammy, but he holds onto me like I'm the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth.

"Don't leave," he says again.I press my lips together and swallow the words I want to say.

"I'm not going anywhere," I try to convince him even when the lie tastes like ash on my tongue.

Because I don't know if I can stay. I don't know if I'm strong enough to watch him heal, to watch him fight, to watch him prove himself.

But right now, in this moment, I can't let go.

I won't.

I just hope I'm not making a mistake.

The ambulance speeds through the city, and I'm still holding his hand.