Contracted To The Beast novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

CLEA

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My phone rang like crazy and cut through the quiet of my slow morning. I grabbed it from the counter Nia’s name hit up the screen. My stomach tightened. She never called this early.

I answered quickly. “Yeah?”

“Maddox?” Her voice sounded small. Tired.

“What is going on?” I asked. I could already hear her moving around, probably pacing the floor of her apartment.

“You tell me. You have to tell me what is going on,” she said.

“Listen, Nia. Stop speaking in code and tell me exactly what happened.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. My head already ached.

“Your dad called me.”

The words hit me hard. I stopped in the middle of my kitchen. “What? What do you mean my father called you?”

“He just called and demanded we meet. He said he’d send the details later…. then told me not to mention it to you before hanging up. He did not even wait for me to respond.” Her voice shook a little.

Of course he didn’t. Control was his thing-cutting people off before they could think, let alone fight back.

“Classic him. He never waits. He just expects everyone to obey.”

I walked to the window and looked out at the city. The sun had barely risen. “I wish I could tell you not to go. But I cannot. The only thing I can say is that my father is not the kind of man you mess with. Don’t go alone. I’m serious, Nia-don’t.”

“Okay. Do you have any idea what he might want?” Her voice sounded even smaller now.

“That is the thing with him. You can never really know what he is thinking. Be careful with him. Please.” I meant it. I was genuinely worried for her.

“Alright.”

“Fucking hell,” I cursed as soon as the call ended. I tossed the phone on the counter. What did he want with Nia? Was he trying to pressure her into breaking the contract? Or something worse?

That man was a psycho. There was no telling what his real plan was. Once Victor Kane set his mind on something, he did not care what path he took. He saw people as tools. Pawns in his game. Eyen his own son was not safe from him. How the hell was I supposed to protect Nia when I couldn’t even protect myself?

I grabbed my phone again and called Beck. He was the only person who might have any clue.

“Maddox,” he answered dryly.

“What is going on with Father?” I jumped straight to the point. There was no time for small talk.

“What do you mean?” He sounded distracted, typing on his keyboard in the background.

“Father called Nia.”

“What?” His typing stopped. That got his attention. “Called her for what?”

“That is what I am calling to ask. I put the call on speaker and laid out my clothes for the day on the bed. “He called her early this morning and demanded a meeting.”

Chapter 26

“I do not have the slightest clue what is going on, but I will try my best to find out,” he said firmly.

“Are you sure?”

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“Wait. You really think I have something to do with this?” His voice rose. “At least it shows I care about her. Unlike you, I would never put Nia in harm’s way or do anything to hurt her. You are so fucking unbelievable.” He ended the call.

1 scoffed at the dial tone. He would do something about it. I knew he would because he genuinely cared about her. No matter how much I disliked him, that much was true.

But I also knew he would not go against our father. He simply could not.

I took a quick shower and got dressed in navy blue sweats, a white tank top, matching hoodie, and Nike Air Force ones. stuffed my duffel bag with my hockey gear and headed out the door.

I should’ve been focused on the game. Instead, my head was still stuck on her. We played the Avalanche tonight. My old rival Wallace was on their team. I could not wait to face him on the ice.

I blasted Kendrick Lamar as my driver took the familiar route to the arena. I checked for Nia’s car in the parking lot, but it was already gone. Typical early bird. I had my driver drop me off today since we were not playing at Rogers Arena.

“Morning, Coach,” I greeted as I walked in. The rest of the team and medics mumbled greetings.

I paused before sitting down and glanced at Nia. She wore black cargo pants that hugged her in all the right places, her Vipers top, and classic high-top Vans. Her hair was in its usual high ponytail. She looked focused. Professional. Beautiful in a way that made my chest feel tight.

“We have a big day ahead of us today, boys,” Coach said. “We have been training hard for this game and it has to go smoothly.” He gestured as he spoke. “We will train here for a few hours, take a break, then head to Robson Square. Any questions?”

No questions came. We all went about our business. We trained hard for two hours before we took a break.

“It is time, boys,” I said as I entered the locker room. “Let us go knock them dead,”

They responded with loud cheers. We loaded onto the bus and headed to the venue.

Robson Square was packed. We could hear the crowd roaring before we even stepped onto the ice. Wallace spotted me and smirked behind his mask. Cheeky bastard.

The referee blew the whistle. The game started fast. We were evenly matched. The score stayed tight at three points each after the first two periods.

Then, halfway through the third period, Wallace tripped one of our defenders and sent him sliding. The crowd roared as their team celebrated the goal.

“Hey!” I shouted, skating up fast. “That’s a trip!”

“Watch yourself, fool,” Wallace barked back.

The referee reviewed the replay. He cancelled the goal and gave us a penalty shot. I took it and scored clean.

“Who’s the fool now?” Wallace sneered

Before I could react, Wallace shoved me hard. I lost my balance. His fist connected straight to my jaw. Pain exploded across my face. I retaliated fast, throwing punches before the other players rushed in and pulled us apart.

The referee didn’t hesitate-Wallace got a game misconduct. I got hit with a penalty.

14:36 Tue, Jul

Chapter 26

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I skated off the ice without a word, because if I opened my mouth, I wasn’t sure I’d stop. My jaw throbbed. Anger and frustration burned in my chest. Pain shot from my jaw up to my nose with every step.

I sat on the bench and pressed a towel to my face. Blood came away on the white fabric. The coach looked at me but said nothing. The crowd roared in the background. The game continued without me.

I had let my temper get the best of me again. And this time it cost the team.

The final buzzer sounded. We won by one point. The boys celebrated on the ice, but I stayed on the bench. My head pounded. My jaw ached. But the real pain sat deeper. I had disappointed everyone again.

I stood up slowly and headed to the locker room. The noise of the crowd faded behind me. I ‘changed in silence, grabbed my bag, and walked out to my truck.

The drive home felt long. My mind kept replaying the hit. Wallace’s smirk. Nia’s face from the night before. My father called her this morning.

Everything was spiraling. And I did not know how to stop it.

I parked in the garage and took the elevator up. The apartment felt empty when I stepped inside.

Too quiet.

I dropped my bag by the door and headed straight for the kitchen. I pressed a cold pack to my jaw, leaning against the counter as the ache pulsed through my face.

My phone buzzed.

Nia.

Į

I opened the message.

Nia: He called again.

My grip tightened around the phone.

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