Chapter 144: The Headline
Kayden
"And that’s it for the night. The first game ended with the Northern Avalanche winning with two goals and the Westbridge Falcons one!" The announcer’s voice boomed throughout the arena as the game came to an end.
It had been one hell of a game.
I had faced my sworn enemy—at least, that is what he had made himself. Julius, the center for the Westbridge Falcons and the son of their coach and CEO.
When I first saw him on the ice, I was terrified, and so I started shaking. My worst fear came to pass when he sent his minions to attack me, as he always does.
Julius doesn’t like to get his hands dirty; he always sends those he controls to get the job done for him—at least, that’s what I know about him.
But that wasn’t the only reason why I was shaking. There had been other reasons, too, and one of them was the look he had given me. That knowing look, as if he knew my hidden identity.
The day before I left the Westbridge Falcons, I had found a note in my locker, and the bold writing was still vivid in my mind: "I know what you are!"
Maybe it was Julius or somebody else who had placed the note there; I had no idea. No one had come forward to tell the secrets they knew, even months after I left, but after being attacked on the ice and called those names, I knew that whosoever dropped the note was among the players.
Rhys had noticed the Falcons’ attitude toward me, and I wasn’t surprised when he pushed one of them to the ground. I was thankful to him for that because he stood up for me when we were supposed to be pretending to hate each other.
I stood on the ice for a long second after the buzzer, my chest heaving, my lungs burning with the sharp, artificial cold of the arena.
My legs felt like lead, and the tremors that had racked my body during the first period had dulled into a heavy, aching numbness.
I looked up at the scoreboard. 2-1.
Rhys had been the one to secure that lead, playing with a ferocity I hadn’t seen in him for months.
I could still see the image of him leveling that defenseman—the one who had mocked me, the one who knew exactly which buttons to push to make me feel small.
As the team began to file off the ice, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched instinctively, my head snapping up to see Jaxson.
"Hey," I muttered, forcing a smile onto my face as our eyes met.
"Hell of a game, Vale," he panted, giving me a solid thump on the pads. "I don’t know what happened today, but I felt like you were not at your best," he pointed out.
I managed to give him a weak nod because he was right about that. I had not played to my fullest because of Julius’s gaze on me and the way the Falcons were all hunting me.
"This is just game one. I am sure we will be able to get through the rest of the games. Come on, let’s get out of here. I don’t think I want those annoying reporters near us," he said.
I followed behind him toward the tunnel, making sure I waved at the thousands of fans chanting our names.
As I passed the Westbridge bench, I felt a heavy, hateful gaze boring into the side of my head. I didn’t have to look to know it was the defenseman Rhys had crushed.
The glare he sent me was a promise that this wasn’t over.
And he wasn’t the only one staring; Julius had his eyes fixed on me, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips and a finger pointed toward me like a warning.
But I pretended I didn’t see any of it. There was no way in hell I was going to let anyone get on my nerves right after the first game. I had to ignore them, no matter what happened.
When we reached the locker room, my teammates were shouting as usual, but I ignored all of that and headed toward one of the benches. I slumped onto it, my head dropping into my hands.
I heaved a deep sigh and closed my eyes for a moment. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and raised my head to see Miller staring at me with a look of concern. He looked like he wanted to ask questions, but he didn’t; instead, he just pointed toward Rhys, who was leaning against his locker with his eyes on me.
His focus was entirely on me. We should have been pretending that we didn’t care about each other, but anyone in the room who paid attention would have figured out what we were hiding.
"Kayden," Rhys muttered, walking toward me. He stood beside Miller and stretched forth his hand to touch me, but he stopped before he could.
"You two can go to the bathrooms. They’re free for now—at least for a few minutes," Miller whispered to us.
We both gave him a questioning look, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew. "What are you..." I tried to ask, but he just chuckled and pointed toward the door.
"You have a few minutes. You’re welcome. I will lead the way." He tapped me on the shoulder and started walking toward the bathroom.
Rhys and I stared at each other for a few seconds until he turned and walked behind Miller.
Moments later, I was on my feet and heading the same way. I met Miller at the entrance, and he winked at me as I walked in. I moved through the stalls, trying to figure out which one Rhys was in through his scent, when suddenly his large, strong hands grabbed me and pulled me into one of the stalls.
"Rhys..."
Before I could finish, he pulled me into his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me so tight I could barely breathe.
"I’m fine, Rhys," I whispered, raising my arms to hug him back.
He pulled away just enough to see my face and heaved a deep sigh. "You were shaking out there," he muttered. "And that guy... the one I hit. He said something about Westbridge dropping you. Why didn’t you tell me you had a history with them? I know we haven’t seen each other in days, and I missed you so much."
He lowered his head to the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply. "It took all the willpower I had not to crush that fool who dared to attack you!" he said through gritted teeth.
I chuckled when I remembered how the defenseman had fallen as he tried to outplay Rhys. "But you showed him who you truly are, and I am grateful that you did all of that for me. Thank you, Rhys," I muttered, hugging him again.
He rubbed my back gently and kissed my forehead. "If there is anything going on—anything that I should know about why they are like this toward you—then make sure that you tell me, no matter what!"
I nodded, but deep down, I knew I couldn’t tell him yet.
How was I supposed to tell him that they didn’t just drop me? They discarded me because I wasn’t "Alpha" enough for their roster, and I had been a victim of Julius’s bullying.
"It’s in the past," I said, finally meeting his eyes. "We won the first game, and we will do the rest. That’s all that matters."
Rhys seethed, a muscle jumping in his jaw. "It’s not all that matters. Not when you’re out there looking like you’re about to fall apart. Leo said you were sick, and I—"
"Leo said I had a stomach bug," I interrupted sharply. "So let’s stick to the script, Captain. We have to keep fooling everyone at least until the game ends."
The look on Rhys’s face was one of pure frustration, but before he could respond, the door to the stall swung open and Miller poked his head in. "That’s enough. The coach is addressing everyone now. Do all your talking at home," he winked.
Rhys let out a groan, but he said nothing, just holding my hand as we walked out of the bathroom. When we returned to the locker room, the coach was already addressing the team.
"Great work tonight, boys," he shouted, silencing the room. "But don’t get comfortable. That was one game. We have a series to win, and the Falcons are going to come back twice as hard in two days. Go home, get some rest, and I’ll see you at the morning skate. Vale, a word."
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of my name. I looked at Rhys, who was staring at the coach with a suspicious glint in his eyes.
"Now," Coach added.
"Yes, coach," I responded and followed him to a corner. When we were alone and out of earshot, Coach Reddick took out his phone and showed me the screen.
"Explain this, Vale."
I blinked twice, then looked down at the phone. On the screen was a headline: KAYDEN VALE IS A BULLY?