Chapter 142: Westbridge Falcons- Game 1
Rhys
Today was finally the day when we would face the Westbridge Falcons and either proceed to the finals or end the season right there.
Kayden and I had barely seen each other during practices because, according to Leo, he had a stomach bug and I shouldn’t be near him, but I knew it was more than that. I could feel it in my gut.
Every time I’d tried to swing by the clinic, Leo had basically hissed at me to stay away, and even now, the air around Kayden felt... off. It wasn’t the usual orchid scent that signaled he was mine. It was something distant, and he seemed more like an Alpha than an Omega.
But there was no time to ask questions due to the conference finale.
And now, as we stood side by side in the locker room listening to the coach, I turned toward him, but he wasn’t looking at me; instead, he was speaking to Theo.
Both of them were laughing at something the coach had said, and I couldn’t help but feel the jealousy settle within me. It felt like a hot coal sitting in my stomach.
Why was he acting like everything was fine when he had almost fainted on the ice during practice?
Why was he laughing with Theo when he hadn’t even looked me in the eye since he got back?
I knew that we had agreed to stay away from each other, but I couldn’t help but feel jealous.
I was so desperate to find out what was happening to him and why he had disappeared during almost all of the practices.
"Listen up, boys!" Coach barked, slamming his clipboard against the metal bench to get our attention.
"Tonight we continue the legacy this team has spent decades building! We are facing the Westbridge Falcons and we have heard news about their brutality on the ice. This is the first time they would ever make it to the conference finals, so this is the first time the Northern Avalanche is facing them. We have to fight until the end. They think we are weaklings. Are we weaklings?"
"No!" the team roared back, the sound echoing off the lockers.
"That’s right," Coach growled, his eyes scanning every single one of us. "Tonight, you don’t play for the name on the back of the jersey. You play for the crest on the front. You play for the man standing next to you. I want blood on the ice and fire in your hearts. We play to show everyone why the Northern Avalanche has remained at the top for years. Now, get out there and take what’s yours!"
The room erupted with cheers and applause. Gloves were snapped on, sticks were grabbed, and the thunderous sound of skates hitting the floorboards filled the room.
We filed out of the locker room in a line, the adrenaline starting to pump through my veins, pushing the jealousy aside for just a moment.
As we reached the tunnel, I caught Kayden’s reflection in the glass. For a split second, our eyes met.
We both stared at each other as if it was the first time we were seeing each other.
I searched his gaze for anything—the warmth, the fear, the love—but his eyes were like flint. Hard and cold, which made me wonder why he was playing the pretend role perfectly
After staring at me for a while, he looked away almost instantly, skating onto the ice without a single word to me.
The moment we stepped into the arena, the atmosphere hit us like a blow. The crowd was screaming our names so loudly that the sound vibrated against my chest every few minutes.
"Welcome back, hockey fans, to the game we’ve all been waiting for!" the commentator’s voice boomed over the speakers, nearly drowned out by the deafening roar of thousands of fans. "The Conference Finals are officially underway! You can feel the electricity in the building tonight. All eyes are on the powerhouse duo, Rhys and Kayden. There’ve been rumors about Kayden’s health this week, but looking at him out there during the warm-up, he looks faster than ever! It’s like he’s playing with a completely new kind of energy tonight. And tonight, Captain Rhys Caldera returns to the ice after he was off for the last games. Even Miller Reid is back to the games after his accident."
"You’re right, Jim," the second commentator added. "We are happy to have them all back. Tonight, it’s do or die. The Falcons look hungry, but our boys look... well, they look possessed. Let’s see if that chemistry holds up under the pressure of the Westbridge defense!"
I took my position at the face-off circle, my lungs burning with the cold air. Kayden was just a few feet away, his back to me, and even when I tried to pretend as if he wasn’t there, I couldn’t. I wanted to reach out, to demand to know what Leo had done to him, but the referee was already holding the puck.
As the Westbridge Falcons skated up to the face-off circle to join us, the atmosphere shifted from competitive to toxic. I kept my eyes on their center and then I noticed the sudden change in Kayden. He wasn’t leaning into his stance like he usually did. He was standing too stiff, his frame vibrating with a tremor so violent I could see his jersey fluttering.
He was shaking.
It wasn’t from the cold or the pre-game nerves. It was something deeper, as if he was tearing apart from the inside.
The Falcons players noticed it immediately. They didn’t even look at the referee; they just stared at Kayden, their mouths twisting into identical, arrogant smirks.
One of their wingers, a guy with a round face and blue eyes, pointed his stick toward Kayden and laughed, nudging the player next to him.
"Look at him," the winger sneered, loud enough for half of us to hear. "Hey, Kayden! You still holding the Captain’s bag? Or did he finally let you off the leash for five minutes? I heard you became his shadow as soon as you joined the Northern Avalanche."
The guy next to him let out a bark of a laugh, leaning over his stick to get a better look at Kayden’s face. "Why are you even out here, kid? You’re half his size. How can you play like that on the ice when you’re too small? You know it’s the reason why Westbridge dropped you."
I felt my jaw lock so tight it ached as I listened to them.
My hand gripped the shaft of my stick until the composite material creaked under the pressure.
I wanted to reach out, to put a hand on Kayden’s shoulder and assure him that everything was going to be fine, but the rules of the draw kept me pinned to the circle.
"He’s just the backuper," the first one continued, his voice dripping with mock pity. "The little sidekick. I bet Rhys even picks out your skates for you, doesn’t he? Must be nice having a captain to hide behind while the real men play the game."
I looked at Kayden. He still hadn’t said a word. He was staring at the ice, his head tucked down, but the shaking was getting worse.
For the first time in all the years I’d known him, he looked like he was actually shrinking under the weight of their words.
I seethed, my vision tunneling until all I could see was the smug face of the winger who’d called him a "backuper." I didn’t care about the puck. I didn’t care about the Westbridge Falcons, and I also didn’t care about us pretending not to be together. I just wanted to feel his teeth shatter against my glove.
"Shut your damn mouth," I growled, my voice coming from the back of my throat, vibrating with a warning that should have made them back off.
The winger didn’t even flinch. He just winked at Kayden. "Don’t worry, little guy. We’ll try not to bruise you too badly while you’re busy watching Rhys win the game for you."
My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I watched Kayden, waiting for him to snap back, to show them that fire I knew was buried in his chest. But he just kept shaking, his eyes fixed on the black circle beneath our feet.
What the hell have they done to him? I thought as I watched him.
Before I could lunge across the line and take the winger’s head off, the referee’s hand moved.
The puck dropped.
The sound of the rubber hitting the ice was the only thing that stopped me from starting a riot. The game was live, and the Falcons were already moving, but my head was still back at the circle, wondering why Kayden hadn’t looked at me once.
The puck hadn’t even been in play for thirty seconds before the game turned ugly. I was chasing the play into the corner, my eyes tracking the movement of the Falcons’ defense, when I heard the sound of a heavy impact behind me.
I spun around on my skates, the ice spraying up in a sharp arc, and my heart stopped when I saw him.
Kayden was down.