Chapter 136: Practice Game


    As I watched Nina walk away, I felt my heart break a little more.


    Being around her felt like the most natural thing on earth; being apart from her made me feel as though


    I could hardly even breathe. But there was nothing I could do about it — I had to keep my distance from


    her if I was going to keep Nina, her family, and the town safe. As the son of the Fullmoon Alpha, I had


    to fulfill my duty and go through with the arranged marriage.


    And yet, as I watched her form fade into the distance, all I wanted to do was leave my duties behind


    and run away with her. If only it were that simple.


    …


    The next morning, I woke up early to head to the hockey arena for our scrimmage with Ronan’s team.


    The arena was quiet when I entered, but my father was waiting for me with his arms folded across his


    chest. There was no doubt in my mind that he already got wind of the iming ceremony, and he


    probably wasn’t very happy about it.


    “I see you’ve found a way to somehow turn all of your teammates,” he said with a low voice as I


    approached. “Care to enlighten me?”


    I shrugged. I wasn’t about to tell him that Nina, of all people, had the power of iming. “I have my


    ways,” I said. “You should be thanking me. I just ensured that we’ll win this tournament.”


    My father sighed, but to my surprise, he also nodded in agreement. “You may be right. The fathers of


    the young men who I hired certainly won’t be happy, but I’ll admit you made a good call.”


    I couldn’t help but feel relieved that my father wasn’t going to bite my head off for doing what I did.


    “Go on,” he said, nodding his head toward the locker rooms as the rest of my team starteding in


    through the front door to the arena. “Show Ronan who’s boss today.”


    I nodded, then headed to the locker room to get ready with my team.


    When we re-emerged, the arena was bustling with excited students who hade to watch the


    scrimmage. I scanned the crowd with my eyes for Nina, eventuallynding on her as she sat up in the


    bleachers with Lori and Jessica. She saw me looking, and her face went red before she quickly looked


    away.


    Then, I trained my gaze on Ronan and his team, who were standing on the other side of the arena.


    None of them were talking to each other or hyping each other up like my team was doing; instead, they


    were all standing and staring.


    Staring at me.


    Ronan had a sick smirk drawn across his face.


    Thest time I had seen or heard of him was when he fabricated that horrible lie with Lisa to ruin Nina’s


    image and drive us apart. I wanted to throttle him for what he did to her, how he humiliated her… But I


    knew that I would get my revenge during the game.


    A few minutester, the announcer called the two teams out onto the ice. We got into our ces; my


    team did as I ordered beforehand and kept their heads down, focusing solely on the puck rather than


    the other team’s weak attempt at intimidating us with their dirty stares.


    This may have only been a practice match, but it was still extremely important. In just a few days, we


    would be ying in the final match of the Half-Moon Tournament, and this practice game was our


    chance to show what we were made of.


    The buzzer sounded throughout the arena.


    The scrimmage began. I felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through my body. This was it – the moment


    we had all been working towards.


    I took my position on the ice, my eyes fixed on Ronan as he skated towards me. I knew he was the one


    to watch – the best yer on the opposing team, and my biggest rival. We locked eyes for a moment,


    and then the real game began.


    I focused all my energy on the puck, determined to outmaneuver Ronan and lead my team to victory.


    We yed fast and hard, each side trying to gain the upper hand. Ronan and I shed multiple times,


    each of us pushing the other to the limit, but my team also worked hard to keep our score ahead.


    Ronan’s team was good — really good — but so was mine. Now that we were all werewolves, it was


    an equal match.


    As the game entered its final minutes, I was in the lead. I could feel victory within my grasp, and my


    heart raced with excitement. The sounds of the crowd cheering faded away. Suddenly, all that mattered


    was the sound of my racing heart and the puck sliding across the ice.


    But Ronan had onest trick up his sleeve.


    He skated up beside me as I flicked the puck back and forth with my stick. I heard a low growl escape


    his throat, and I made the grave mistake of ncing up to see his sickening grin and his glowing yellow


    eyes.


    Then… I found myself suddenly off bnce. I tried to regain my footing, but it was toote. Ronan’s


    stick made contact with my leg, and I felt a searing pain shoot through my body.


    I gritted my teeth as I lost my bncepletely and slid across the ice. A sudden burst of anger took


    over me at Ronan’s dirty trick, and without thinking, I stuck my own stick out in retaliation and knocked


    him over.


    The buzzer went off, signifying a time-out, but we didn’t listen. Ronan and I were already on top of each


    other, grappling on the ice. He threw a heavy punch at my head, but I dodged it and hit him with a swift


    uppercut through the jaw. All I could think about, above the game, above the entire tournament, was


    how Ronan had hurt Nina.


    I head-butted him. Blood spattered out of his mouth, but I only saw Nina’s face in my mind, sobbing. I


    should’ve been there for her when Edward first took her. I could’ve stopped him. But Ronan saw to it


    that we were driven apart.


    This fight wasn’t about the tournament.


    It was about Nina.


    I went to punch again… And again, and again, over and over until my fists were covered in Ronan’s


    blood. By this point, the crowd was silent.


    Just then, I felt hands on me. Someone wrenched me away from Ronan, shouting something as I


    struggled against them to get back to the rival hockey captain and continue my assault.


    The referee blew his whistle once, twice, three times.


    “Disqualified!” the referee shouted, putting himself between Ronan and I as he scowled at me. “Get off


    the ice, Rivers!”


    I snarled as I mored to my feet, wrenching myself away from the grip of my worried teammates. “Get


    off of me!”This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “Hey, man, just go take ten,” Matt said, patting my shoulder. Without a word, I jerked away from him


    and skated away, ignoring the silent crowd and the angry eyes of my father trained on me from the VIP


    box. None of that mattered to me, though; I scanned the crowd again for Nina, who only stared back at


    me from her seat on the bleachers with wide, disbelieving eyes.


    Suddenly, Ronan’s mocking voice echoed clearly in my head, breaking my gaze from her.


    “You’re going to lose,” he said. “And when you do, Nina is mine.”


    A growl rumbled in my throat in response. I looked over my shoulder at him to see his team helping him


    up, but even through all of the blood…


    He was grinning at me