Contracted To The Beast novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

SERA

I walked into the locker room with my father’s voice still echoing in my head.

Bring the girl.

Just four words and sometrow they sat heavier than a body check to the ribs.

The worst part?

Victor Kane never asked for things he didn’t already own. Once Victor Kane focused on something, he didn’t let go until he broke it or owned it. There was no shifting his focus. I needed to find a way to get Nia off his radar completely.

I changed into my hockey gear and headed to the rink. I needed to blow off steam and clear my head.

“Right on time, Kane. Get in. We have work to do,” Coach Riggs said the moment I arrived.

I laced up my skates and took my position at center. We were running a mock game. The playoffs are not too far and we needed to be sharp. I won face-offs and controlled the flow of play exactly like Coach wanted.

Hockey was the only thing that ever shut my head up. On the ice, there were no family expectations. No scandals. No Bella. No Nia.

Just instinct. Violence. Control.

“Torres, eyes forward! Moreau, reduce your speed!” The coach yelled at Liam and Jasper.

Jasper tried to slow down but lost his footing. He crashed hard into the boards, directly impacting his knee.

“Fuck!” he cursed through the pain.

“Shit, man! Paramedics!” I shouted, rushing to his side with the rest of the team and Coach.

We helped lift him carefully. “One, two, three.” Jasper groaned as they loaded him onto the stretcher.

I sat down on the bench and pulled off my helmet. My chest heaved from the stress. Liam dropped beside me.

“You good?” he asked, bumping my shoulder.

“How did your conversation with Nia go?”

“Hmm.”

“Not great, I see,” he said with a smirk. “What was your approach like? You fucker, you were supposed to speak to her nicely” He slapped the back of my head. “You have to apologize to her.”

“I know.” I dragged a hand down my face.

“And now my father wants her at family dinner.”

Liam went dead silent.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.

“What??” Liam looked shocked. “That is bad news.”

“I know, goddammit. I cannot even explain what is going on anymore.”

14:33 Tue, Jul

Chapter 12

“Gather round, boys,” Coach called.

“We will continue later,” Liam said as he tied back his dreads and put on his helmet

“Moreau is out. He had a dislocation. Jacobs, you are in.” The coach announced the change and we resumed practice

My hair was still wet from the shower when I left the arena. I drove to the condo with the windows down, exhausted. Nin’s car was not in the driveway. Not that I expected it to be. She avoided staying here as much as possible.

1 went straight to my apartment and tried to sleep. It had been a long day.

The next morning I walked into the physio suite and was told Nia was not coming in.

“What do you mean she is not coming in today?” I asked the nurse. She looked nervous.

“Today is her day off, Mr. Kane.”

I didn’t care if it was her day off.

I needed to warn her before my family got their claws into her. I already knew something was wrong when I did not see her car yesterday.

I told Coach I had an emergency. He made me promise to run twenty laps when I returned. I did not care. I needed to see her today.

My private investigator sent me her address. I plugged it into the GPS and began the thirty-minute drive to Richmond.

I pulled up to a brick house with a modern twist. The lawn was neatly mowed. It looked like a real home. I put on a baseball cap to hide my face and walked to the front door. I knocked gently.

“Coming.” I heard her voice.

She opened the door and her jaw dropped. “Maddox? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Can I come in please?” I asked politely. I did not want to risk being seen outside.

She stepped aside and locked the door behind me.

I stared longer than I should have.

Tiny gray shorts. Bare legs. Messy bun. Oversized glasses slipping slightly down her nose.

She looked nothing like the polished woman from the photoshoot yesterday. This version was worse. Softer. Real.

Dangerous in a completely different way. It should be illegal to look this good in the morning.

Nia noticed where my eyes went. Her cheeks flushed.

“What is he doing here?” A woman with the same hazel eyes as Nia asked angrily from the living room. Her mom.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” I said, taking off my cap.

She ignored me completely and walked into the kitchen, gesturing for Nia to follow.

“Sit. I will be back,” Nia said before disappearing. My eyes locked on her ass as she walked away.

I sat down and looked around. A child’s drawing on the wall caught my attention immediately. Two stick figures holding hands. “Mom Hockey Man” was written in bright crayon above them.

+

14:33 Tue, Jul

STEA

Chapter 12

Something twisted hard in my chest.

1 could hear hushed voices in the kitchen. I didn’t need to hear the words to know her mother hated me

Honestly?

She probably had every reason to.

Nia returned a few minutes later. “What are you doing here?”

“Do you always greet people this warmly?” I asked dryly.

“Cut the bullshit.” She crossed her arms, eyebrows furrowed as she stared down at me.

“My father requests your presence at our family dinner this weekend,” I said, cutting straight to the point.

“What? Why?”

“That is what we are going to find out together. I do not have the slightest clue what he wants. Do not argue with him. Do not challenge him. And whatever happens at dinner, stay close to me.”

“Oh my goodness.” She started pacing. I had noticed she always did that when stressed.

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