I pushed open the heavy double doors of the locker room, Asher’s custom knee pads gripped tightly in my hands. The interstate hockey semifinals started in exactly ten minutes.

"Get some, Alpha!" a voice hollered from the corner.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Vanessa sat straddling Asher’s lap right on the center bench. Her fingers tangled in his dark hair while their mouths clashed in a messy, aggressive kiss.

"They look good together, don't they?" muttered Jax, the team's Beta, bumping his shoulder against another player. "Future Alpha and Luna right there."

"Definitely," another teammate chimed in. "She’s got the Luna aura. Perfect match."

I swallowed the bitter lump forming in my throat. I was just the team’s rehab assistant. A wolfless Omega. I stepped forward, forcing my face into a blank mask, and dropped the pads onto the bench next to Asher’s thigh.

"Your gear," I said, keeping my voice entirely flat.

Asher broke the kiss. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shot me an annoyed glare. "Took you long enough, Lena. Put them on me."

"Put them on yourself," I replied, turning on my sneaker.

"Excuse me?" Asher snapped, his Alpha tone lacing his words. "You work for me. Do your job."

"My job is rehab, not dressing you," I shot back. "Game starts in ten."

Vanessa laughed, a high, grating sound. "Don't be so sensitive, Omega. Just strap his pads on. It's not like you have anything better to do."

"Do it, Lena," Asher ordered.

"No," I said. "I prep the medical kit. You dress yourself."

I marched out before he could issue another command. The locker room erupted in low murmurs behind me.

The buzzer blared. The arena vibrated with the roar of the pack.

Third period. The score was tied. The rival team's Alpha, a massive guy named Thorne, locked eyes with Asher across the center line. Thorne lowered his shoulder, picked up speed, and rammed Asher straight into the boards.

The crack of fiberglass echoed through the rink. Asher crumpled to the ice, clutching his right leg.

"Ref! That’s a penalty!" Coach barked, slamming his clipboard against the glass.

"Play on!" the referee shouted back, waving his arms.

I didn't wait for permission. I scrambled over the boards, my sneakers sliding on the slick surface until I reached him.

"Let me see it," I demanded, dropping to my knees beside his thrashing form.

"Back off," Asher hissed through gritted teeth, shoving my shoulder. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine, you can't even straighten it," I argued.

I ignored his protest and pressed my bare hands against his injured knee to assess the joint.

The second my skin met his, a violent shockwave ripped through my chest. Golden sparks danced behind my eyelids. Pine and winter frost—his scent—suddenly overwhelmed my senses, magnifying a hundred times over.

*Mate.*

The word echoed in my mind, loud and undeniable.

Asher jerked back. His golden eyes went wide, locking onto mine. The same shock mirrored on his face. He felt it too. My secret crush of five years. The future Alpha of our pack. He was my Fated Mate.

"No," Asher whispered.

Disgust twisted his handsome features. He scrambled backward on the ice, moving away from my touch like I was a disease.

The crowd went dead silent. The pack link buzzed with sudden, sharp whispers. They could smell the shift in our scents. The sudden spike of mate pheromones filling the cold air.

"What is happening?" Jax yelled from the bench.

"Asher?" Vanessa skated over, her figure-skating blades carving the ice. She stopped beside him, glaring down at me. "What's wrong with her? Why is she staring at you like that?"

Asher stood up, putting his weight entirely on his good leg. He looked down at me, his lip curling in a sneer.

"Nothing," Asher announced, his voice booming across the silent arena. "She just thought she could claim a bond with me. A wolfless Omega. Pathetic."

My stomach dropped to the ice. "Asher, you felt it. You know exactly what just happened."

"I felt nothing!" he roared, his voice cracking like a whip.

"Liar," I said, my voice trembling but loud enough for the front rows to hear. "The bond just snapped into place."

"You think I'd be paired with a weak, wolfless nobody?" Asher mocked. "The Moon Goddess wouldn't insult me like that."

He reached out and yanked Vanessa by the waist, pulling her flush against his chest.

"You want to know who I actually want?" Asher sneered at me. "Who my real Luna is?"

He smashed his lips onto Vanessa's.

The newly awakened bond flared to life inside me, a cruel, twisted connection. A searing heat flooded my veins, but it wasn't my own. It was Asher’s lust. I felt his desire for her pulsing through our bond, thick and undeniable, burning through my chest.

A sharp, physical pain pierced my heart. My knees gave out, and I hit the ice hard. I gasped, clutching my chest as the phantom sensations of his arousal battered my mind.

"Look at her," Vanessa mocked between kisses, pulling back just enough to laugh. "Can't even stand up. Keep your pathetic delusions to yourself, Omega."

"Get off the ice, Lena," Coach yelled from the bench. "You're making a scene!"

I forced myself up. My fingers went to the silver chain around my neck. The wolf-fang pendant Asher had given me for my sixteenth birthday, back when we were just friends. I unclasped it and hurled it at his skates. It bounced off the sharp steel with a tiny ping.

"I quit," I told him, looking straight into his cold eyes. "Find someone else to fix your knee."

"You can't quit!" Asher barked, his face flushing with anger. "You're under contract with the team!"

"Watch me," I said.

I turned my back on him and walked toward the exit.

"You'll be back tomorrow, Lena!" Asher yelled after me, his voice echoing off the rafters. "You always come crawling back!"

I kept walking.

The referee blew the whistle to resume play. I paused in the tunnel, glancing back just in time to see Asher push off the boards. He refused to sit out. He needed to prove a point.

He took two strides. The injured knee buckled completely.

A sickening pop echoed through the arena. Asher collapsed, screaming in pure agony.

"Lena!" he bellowed, his voice laced with panic. "Lena, get out here! Fix it!"

"Someone get the medics!" Jax shouted, rushing onto the ice.

"Lena!" Asher screamed again.

I stood in the shadows. For the first time in my life, I didn't run to him. I turned away and walked out the arena doors.

Midnight. My bedroom was dark. I sat on the edge of my mattress, staring at the blank wall. The bond still hummed weakly in the back of my mind, a constant reminder of the rejection.

My phone vibrated on the nightstand. The screen lit up the dark room.

A message from an unknown number. I opened it.

It was a photo. Vanessa, wearing one of Asher's oversized hockey jerseys, lying in his bed. Asher's sleeping face rested on the pillow next to her, his arm draped over her waist.

Text below the image: *So what if you're his Fated Mate? I'm the one in his bed tonight.*

I stared at the screen, a cold resolve settling over my shattered heart. I typed out a reply.

*Keep him.*

I hit send, blocked the number, and tossed the phone across the room. The real game was just beginning.

I shoved the resignation paperwork across Coach Miller’s desk.

"I'm done," I said, ignoring his sputtering protests, and walked out of the office.

Asher blocked the hallway. He leaned heavily on his aluminum crutches, a thick brace locking his right knee in place. He didn't look sorry. He looked annoyed.

"You're making a mistake, Lena," Asher stated.

"Move."

"I have a compromise," he said, shifting his weight to block my path. "We keep the bond a secret."

I stopped. "Excuse me?"

"You're wolfless. It’s embarrassing for me," Asher explained, his tone completely flat. "But you're my mate. So, we keep it private. If you ever manage to shift, I'll claim you publicly. Until then, you belong to me behind closed doors."

"And Vanessa?" I asked.

"She stays my public girlfriend. You don't interfere with us."

My palm met his cheek with a sharp, echoing crack.

Asher’s head snapped to the side. A red mark bloomed across his jaw. He touched his face, his golden eyes flashing with anger.

"Keep your secret," I told him. "I reject your offer."

I shoved past his shoulder and headed straight for the training rink to clear out my locker. I needed my personal gear before I left this place for good.

"He’s going to reject you, you know."

I paused at the top of the bleacher stairs. Vanessa stood two steps below me, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger.

"I don't care," I replied, gripping the handrail. "Get out of my way."

Vanessa grabbed my wrist. Her grip felt like a vice. "You think you can just walk away and make him chase you? I won't let you play the victim."

She yanked her hand back, let out a piercing scream, and threw herself backward. She tumbled down the last three steps and landed in a heap on the rubber matting.

"Vanessa!"

Asher hobbled out from the tunnel, dropping one crutch to rush to her side. He scooped her into his arms.

"She pushed me," Vanessa sobbed, burying her face in his jacket. "I just asked her to leave us alone."

Asher glared up at me. "Apologize to her, Lena. Now."

"I didn't touch her."

"Apologize," Asher barked, his Alpha command lacing the word. "Or you are done with this team forever."

I unclipped the plastic staff badge from my waistband. I tossed it down the stairs. It hit his chest and clattered onto the floor.

"I already quit," I said.

I turned my back on him.

"Wait!" Asher yelled. His voice cracked. For the first time, panic leaked into his tone. "Lena, stop!"

I kept walking.

Nighttime blanketed the arena. I returned at nine to empty my locker, hoping the building would be completely empty.

"Look who slinked back."

I froze. Vanessa stood blocking the locker room exit. Three of her friends flanked her, holding up their phones. The red 'LIVE' icons blinked on their screens.

Vanessa held a stack of faded pink envelopes. My letters.

"Found these in his old desk," Vanessa announced to the cameras. She ripped open the top envelope. "Let's see what the pathetic Omega wrote to the future Alpha."

"Give those back," I demanded, stepping forward.

Vanessa laughed and read aloud. "'Dear Asher, I know I don't have a wolf, but when you look at me, I feel like I belong.' Oh, that is tragic."

Laughter echoed off the concrete walls.

"Stop it!" I lunged at her, snatching the letters.

Vanessa snarled. Her eyes flashed bright yellow. She shoved me hard in the chest.

My sneakers slipped on the polished concrete edge of the high bleachers. Gravity yanked me backward.

I tumbled down the steep stairs. Hard metal struck my ribs. My skull smacked against an iron railing. Warm blood immediately slid down my forehead, blinding my left eye.

I braced for the crushing impact of the floor.

It never came.

Thick, muscular arms caught me mid-fall. The scent of cedar and storm clouds washed over me, grounding my spinning senses.

I blinked through the haze. Piercing blue eyes stared down at me. A sharp, chiseled jawline. Ronan. The new transfer student. The rival team's ace.

"Got you," Ronan murmured, his grip tightening securely around my waist and shoulders.

The gym doors slammed open with a deafening crash.

Asher stood in the doorway, chest heaving. His nostrils flared as the scent of my blood hit the air. His eyes went entirely, terrifyingly gold. The dormant mate instinct violently clawed its way to the surface.

"My mate," Asher growled, his voice dropping an octave. He limped forward, completely ignoring his injured knee. "Put her down. Now."

Ronan didn't flinch. He held me closer, his broad chest a solid wall against my battered ribs.

"She doesn't look like yours," Ronan challenged smoothly.

"I said, give her back!" Asher roared, baring his teeth.

Ronan looked down at me, ignoring the furious Alpha storming toward us. "Who do you want to go with?"

I looked past Ronan's shoulder. Vanessa had scurried down the stairs and was clutching Asher’s arm, acting terrified. Asher growled at Ronan, but he didn't push Vanessa away. He still shielded her.

I turned my face into Ronan's chest, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

"Take me away," I whispered.

Ronan smirked, shifting my weight higher in his arms. He turned his back on the furious Alpha.

A deafening, inhuman roar ripped from Asher's throat, shaking the very foundation of the arena.

But Ronan was already carrying me out the door.

"You're going to pay for that," Ronan said quietly to me as we stepped into the cool night air. "He's following us."

The sharp scent of rubbing alcohol stung my nose. I adjusted the ice pack on my bruised ribs, staring at the ceiling tiles of the school infirmary.

The door swung open. Asher walked in, his jaw set in a hard line.

"The security cameras caught the whole thing," he stated, stopping at the foot of my cot. "The dean is drawing up Vanessa's suspension paperwork right now."

"Good," I replied.

"You need to drop the charges, Lena."

I sat up, ignoring the sharp pain radiating through my side. "Excuse me?"

"She's up for the elite university athletic recommendation," Asher argued, stepping closer. "A suspension ruins her entire future. You're fine. You just have a few bruises."

"She pushed me down a flight of concrete stairs, Asher."

"It was an accident."

"An accident?" I laughed, a bitter sound that scraped my throat. "She looked right at me and shoved."

"She worked hard for that college spot," he insisted. "Don't be vindictive."

I locked eyes with him. "If Ronan hadn't caught me yesterday... If my skull cracked open on the floor and I died. Would you still forgive her?"

Silence stretched across the small room. Asher opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked away, staring at the linoleum floor.

He couldn't answer.

The last remaining ember of hope inside my chest turned to ash.

"I, Lena," I began, my voice steady and loud.

Asher's head snapped up. His golden eyes widened in pure panic. "What are you doing?"

"Reject you, Asher Madden, as my Fated Mate."

The words hung in the sterile air. A sharp, tearing sensation ripped through my chest. The invisible thread connecting my soul to his snapped violently.

Asher gasped, stumbling backward as the physical pain hit him.

"Stop!" He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist. His fingers dug into my skin. "You can't do this!"

"The bond is broken," I said, ignoring his grip.

"I won't allow it!" he yelled, his Alpha aura flaring in the confined space. "I don't care if you're wolfless. I refuse to let my mate belong to someone else!"

A large hand clamped down on Asher's wrist.

Ronan twisted Asher's arm backward, forcing him to release me.

"If you don't want her," Ronan said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble, "I do."

Asher snarled, baring his teeth. "Back off, new guy."

"I'm the new starting center," Ronan corrected, stepping between us. "And I just submitted my paperwork to the coach. Lena is my official rehab assistant now. Get out of her room."

Three hours later, the whistle blew in the main arena.

I stood by the glass, holding a fresh towel and a medical kit. Ronan glided across the ice, his dark jersey standing out among the pack.

Asher tracked him like a predator. Jealousy practically rolled off the future Alpha in thick, suffocating waves.

The puck slid toward the corner boards. Ronan skated past the defense to intercept it.

Asher didn't go for the puck. He lowered his shoulder, planted his skate, and rammed all his weight into Ronan's back.

The illegal check sent them both crashing into the fiberglass.

"You think you can take what's mine?" Asher spat, throwing a wild punch.

"She was never yours," Ronan shot back.

Ronan dodged the hit, dropped his gloves, and drove a hard right hook straight into Asher's jaw.

"Break it up!" Coach yelled, blowing his whistle frantically.

The two wolves traded brutal blows on the ice. Jax and the other players rushed in, pulling them apart. Blood dripped from Ronan's eyebrow. Asher's lip was split wide open.

I grabbed my kit and unlatched the rink door.

"Sit," I instructed Ronan, pointing to the penalty box bench.

He dropped onto the wooden seat, chest heaving. I pulled out an antiseptic wipe and gently dabbed the cut above his eye.

"You didn't have to fight him," I muttered.

"He checked me from behind," Ronan smirked. "That's a coward's move."

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

"Not anymore." He leaned into my touch.

"Lena."

I didn't turn around.

"Lena, I'm bleeding too," Asher demanded from the ice. His voice carried a pathetic edge of expectation.

I tossed the bloody wipe into the trash can. I pulled out a fresh bandage and smoothed it over Ronan's skin.

"You're good to go," I told Ronan.

I picked up my kit and walked back to the tunnel. I didn't spare Asher a single glance.

The locker room was empty when I went to grab my coat.

Ronan leaned against the metal frames, holding my battered pair of hockey skates.

"You play," he noted.

"I used to," I answered, reaching for them. "Before I realized wolfless Omegas don't make the team."

Ronan pulled the skates out of my reach. "The girls' squad is holding open tryouts right now. Put them on."

"I haven't played in two years, Ronan."

"Then I'll teach you."

"I don't even have a stick," I argued.

He handed me his spare. "Use mine. It's taped exactly how you like it."

"How do you know how I like it?"

"I pay attention."

Ten minutes later, my blades carved into the fresh ice. The cold air rushed past my face, waking up muscles I forgot I had.

I aimed my stick at the practice net and fired. The puck went wide, slamming into the glass.

"You're stiff," Ronan called out, skating up behind me.

He didn't stop. He pressed his chest against my back, his large hands wrapping around my waist.

"Lower your center of gravity," he murmured, his breath warm against my ear.

He guided my arms, adjusting my grip on the composite stick. His strength surrounded me, solid and entirely safe.

"Now shoot," he commanded.

I snapped my wrists. The puck flew top shelf, hitting the back of the net with a satisfying thud.

A loud, genuine laugh escaped my throat. I spun around in his arms, a massive smile stretching across my face.

"I did it!" I cheered.

"You did," Ronan smiled back, his blue eyes softening.

A sharp noise drew my attention.

Up in the dark bleachers, Asher stood frozen. He clutched the metal railing so hard his knuckles were stark white.

His golden eyes locked onto my smiling face. The arrogant sneer was completely gone. In its place was pure, unadulterated terror.

He watched Ronan's hands resting comfortably on my hips. He saw the way I looked at the new transfer.

For the first time in his life, the future Alpha realized the truth.

I wasn't waiting for him anymore. I was going to fall in love with someone else.

And there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it.

The heavy arena doors suddenly slammed shut, echoing like a gunshot through the empty rink. Footsteps marched down the concrete stairs, heading straight for us.