Chapter 89: Scoreboard doesn’t lie
Kayden
I heaved a deep sigh as I watched Rhys walking toward the tunnel, getting booed by a section of the crowd.
I removed my helmet and watched as Miller was being taken away on a gurney with Leo by his side, and I hoped that he hadn’t suffered any serious injuries.
What the hell were you thinking, Rhys? I thought.
My chest burned, but it wasn’t just from the exertion. It was the sheer stupidity of it all.
Rhys was the Captain, and yet he couldn’t keep his protective instincts in check after I had repeatedly told him that I was fine. He had handed the Stallions exactly what they wanted: a broken Avalanche.
A part of me wished he had listened to me, but another part of me was glad that he retaliated and inflicted the same damage on their enforcer.
I looked toward our bench as Coach Reddick called us over.
The atmosphere was pure chaos as I headed toward him; everyone was locked in heated conversations about what had happened.
Coach Reddick looked like he was on the verge of a stroke. His face had turned a mottled purple as he leaned over the boards, screaming to get the attention of the remaining lines.
"Vane! Rossi! Get your heads in the game! Now!" Reddick’s voice cracked as he rubbed a hand over his face.
Jaxson and Luca scrambled over the boards, their expressions grim. As they glided toward me, the referee signaled for the puck drop, and Coach Reddick began to bark his instructions.
"Listen up!" he shouted, his eyes darting between us. "Because of that stunt that Rhys pulled, we’ve been assessed a five-minute major penalty. We are playing short-handed, and the Stallions are going to swarm in. Vane, Rossi, Kelly—you’re the forward unit. Vale, Philip—you’re the back line. I want a tight diamond formation. Don’t chase the puck; let them come to you and then clear it! If a single puck gets past that blue line, I’ll have all your heads on a platter! We must prove to everyone why we are the Northern Avalanche!"
"Yes, coach!" We all responded and skated toward our positions.
I skated into my position at left defense while Philip took the right. Moving to the back line meant I was now the one standing between the Stallions’ heaviest hitters and our net.
It was at that moment that I knew we really needed Rhys on the ice; without his massive frame to deter them, it was going to be hard, and I knew I would become their target.
Philip was huge, but he was not Rhys, and we barely played together even during resets. Still, I had to do my best, because none of this would have happened if Rhys wasn’t busy protecting me.
"You okay, Kayden?" Jaxson muttered as he lined up for the face-off. "You’re shaking."
"I’m fine," I snapped, though he wasn’t wrong.
My legs were shaking because, at that moment, all I could think about was whether I could actually play without Rhys’s guidance and presence anchoring me.
I clenched my fists tightly by my sides, shut my eyes, and took a deep breath as I tried to focus, replaying the words in my head: Just focus. We have five minutes to survive without a Captain.
I didn’t know how long I had repeated those words, but when my eyes opened, the Stallions were already lined up opposite us.
The change in their energy was instant; they weren’t just looking to score anymore; they were looking to humiliate us.
"Look at that," Leon sneered, gliding into the circle and staring directly at me instead of the puck in front of him. "The King is gone, and he left his little pet to guard the palace. This is going to be embarrassing, because I am going to crush you so badly that you’ll walk out of here with your head bowed in shame."
I raised my head to meet his brown eyes and chuckled. "Keep talking, Leon, because by the end of this period, I am going to prove to everyone in this arena why Rhys calls you ’Stupid Leon.’ You are all muscle and zero brains, and I don’t need a King to outplay a clown."
Leon’s jaw tightened, and his face flushed a deep, angry red. When he opened his mouth to reply, he never got the chance, because the whistle blew and the puck hit the ice.
Once the game resumed, I knew it was going to be bloody. Just as Leon had promised, he was playing ruthlessly, like a brute. As soon as Jaxson tied him up on the face-off, Leon didn’t go for the puck; instead, he drove his shoulder straight into my chest as if he wanted to knock me off the ice completely.
The air left my lungs in a sharp wheeze. For a moment, I felt my Omega instinct trying to force me to submit, but I fought it. My body didn’t recognize Leon as my Alpha, and I refused to yield.
I stayed on my blades, hooked my stick around the puck, and flicked it hard against the boards to Luca.
"Move it, Rossi!" I yelled.
Luca received the puck, and we all formed a diamond defense just like the coach had instructed. I was the anchor on the left, watching carefully as the Stallions lunged at us. When they realized that I was the one holding the line, they targeted me. One of their wingers, a mountain of a man, came charging at me near the circle.
I didn’t try to out-muscle him. I waited until the last second, dropped my center of gravity, and slid down onto the ice, blocking the passing lane with my entire body. The puck clipped my shin guard as the Stallions player tried to hurdle over me, his skate slamming hard into my ribs.
I let out a groan as he struck me—intentional or not—and sent me rolling across the ice.
The crowd gasped as I lay on the ice.
For a second, I saw dark spots, and my side burned like I had been branded. Suddenly, I saw Leon closing in on the loose puck, his eyes meeting mine with a mischievous look.
That was all the fuel I needed.
I winced in pain and grabbed Jaxson’s hand as he pulled me up.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
I nodded in response.
But I wasn’t.
My ribs were on fire, but my eyes were fixed on the puck. Without saying a word, I signaled to Jaxson with a look, and he understood immediately as he moved back into position.
I hacked the puck away from Leon’s front just as he reached for it.
"Not today, Stupid Leon!" I shouted and whipped a cross-ice pass to Jaxson, who caught it cleanly on the fly. He immediately streaked down the left, drawing two defenders toward him before centering it perfectly to Luca.
I heaved a deep sigh as I looked up at the Jumbotron. The clock was counting down, and we were left with 15 seconds. We already had one point, and I should have been satisfied with that, but I wasn’t.
I remembered that Rhys was sent off the ice because of me. I had to win this round for him.
My eyes met Luca’s as he held the puck, dancing near the high slot. He looked like he was going to shoot, but the Stallions’ goalie squared up, cutting off the angle. Then Luca’s eyes met mine, and he gave me a sharp nod as he passed the puck back to me at the point.
9 seconds.
I was standing near the blue line, my heart pounding hard against my aching ribs as I received the puck.
The entire Stallions defense realized the threat a second too late because they had stayed focused on Luca.
I didn’t hesitate; I didn’t wait. I leaned into a slap shot, my stick striking hard against the ice before snapping forward like a whip.
The puck flew, whistling past Leon’s ear and through a screen of players before tucking itself into the tiny top-right corner of the net. At that exact moment, the countdown ended with a flash of red light.
0.0.
The buzzer groaned, signaling the end of the period, but the scoreboard said it all. We had survived, and we had won the round.
I stood there, leaning on my stick with my chest heaving as Jaxson and Luca tackled me in a celebratory huddle.
"That’s our left defenseman!" Jaxson shouted, lifting me up as Philip joined in.
The three of them threw me into the air, and I let out a hearty laugh, finally relishing the fact that I had managed to shut Leon’s mouth.