The Ice Alpha’s Mate (Aria and Ryder) novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96

RYDER

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Coach Murdock shoots me a venomous look when I approach him. The crowd is chanting and the team is moments away from stepping on the rink.

“Drexel!”

“I’m sorry,” I say right away while searching the place for Ray. I don’t know what will happen the minute I set my eyes on him.

If he knew any better, he wouldn’t be here.

But he’s an idiot, so I know he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to try to gain the upper hand.

He has no clue what’s coming to him.

The rest of the team’s looking at me with those faces I’ve come to ignore. I’m not here for them and I couldn’t give a crap less about what they think. The truth about me and Aria will be out soon, anyway.

It’s only a matter of time.

“The Alpha asked me to call you as soon as you arrived,” he continues angrily. “Do you have any idea what this game means for the pack?”

I don’t answer him. I know what it means. Moonveil has humiliated us twice before. If it happens again, well, it’ll be

shameful.

In my defense, I wasn’t myself during either of those games.

This time, everything will be different.

Coach turns away from me and keeps on talking to the team, giving us our last instructions before we move to the ice. The lights are blinding and turning everything white. I skate to the center at the same time Ray does.

I knew he’d be here. He wouldn’t miss this game for the world. When we make eye contact, raw anger slams into me, and I have to admit that my desire is to slam my stick into his fucking face and break it apart right here, right now.

But I hold my anger back. In the end, it’ll be a lot more satisfying

A ghost of a smirk tugs at the corners of his lips, just before the puck is dropped and the game begins. He thinks he’ll beat me again, but I’ve never felt calmer. I have a goal in mind, and I not leaving this rink until I see it through.

The puck drops and the war begins.

Ray crashes into me as he tries to steal the puck from me, but I pass it to one of the other guys. This is all a provocation. This is the only way Ray ever wins a game. Soon, he’ll start throwing jabs at me, and then it’ll all go downhill from there.

But I won’t let his shit get to me.

The game passes in a blur for me. Moonveil isn’t scoring as well as they expected to, and that really pisses Ray off. On top of that, he’s not pissing me off the way he thought he would. For the most part, I’ve been ignoring him.

It’s not long before he starts with the taunts.

“What’s the matter, Drexel?” he asks once he’s close enough to me. “I’m starting to think that something’s wrong with you.”

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09:59 Mon, Mar 2

Chapter 96

I skate right past him. The puck is passed to me and we score.

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The crowd cheers, but I can see it in Ray’s eyes that he has a lot more to lose than me if we win this game, which we will.

It’s time for a quick break, and Coach passes me a bottle of water I rinse my mouth and spit it out.

“You’re doing good out there, Drexel. At least.”

I simply nod at him, then look around for Aria. She must be back there somewhere, but I can’t see her. Just the thought of her being close by gives me the strength I need.

“Your father will be really proud of you if you win this game, Drexel,” he continues. “I spoke to him moments ago on the phone.”

I frown. “He’s not here?”

“No. He had something to do, so he didn’t show. He asked me to keep him posted.”

I find this really fucking strange. My father wouldn’t have missed a game as important as this one. Plus, as the hosting Alpha, he’s supposed to be here.

This makes no sense at all.

“Keep ignoring that punk,” Coach says to me before we return to the rink! “I see what he’s doing. Don’t let it get to you. That’s what he wants.”

“Don’t worry, Coach. The situation is under control.”

Ray keeps his eyes on me the entire time and starts becoming more aggressive. The whole team does, in fact. So many players are rushed to the medics, and even so, Moonveil doesn’t manage to get as many scores. We’re ahead of them by six goals, and I’m sure it’s humiliating at this point.

Ray crashes into me again. “I heard your father’s not around. Everyone’s talking about how he didn’t want to feel the humiliation of losing three times in a row

us.”

When I don’t answer him, he shoves me. “Come on, Drexel! Dort pussy out on me! I’m fucking talking to you!”

The ref’s arm shoots up immediately and Ray gets five minutes. We go on scoring. Those five minutes feel like a lifetime.

I need him in this rink if I plan to teach him a lesson.

It’s now or never.

Ray’s return is marked by half of the crowd booing and the other half cheering him on. Ray is a popular player, known for his aggression in the rink. He’s always shoving someone or being a shove away from seriously hurting somebody.

Ice hockey is his life. It’s all he’s ever lived for.

And I’m going to take that away from him.

Of course, he targets me again, and at this point, his behavior is predictable. He smirks at me and I narrow my eyes at him from the other side of the rink. I replay the scene where he was trying to hurt Aria over and over again in my mind. I finally see the bruises of the punches I threw at his face.

I don’t know how I didn’t manage to notice them earlier. I’m so lost in my thoughts, so determined, that I’m not even paying attention to anything else.

“Have you lost your nerve, is that it?” Ray asks as he skates close me to try to snatch the puck from my stick. “Maybe I should’ve fucked your girl. Then you’d-”

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Chapter 96

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I give him a hard shove with my shoulder and it almost makes him lose his balance. Then, he comes at me with all he has, and that’s when my plan goes into motion.

It all happens quickly.

My skate hooks his just right, and because of his speed, Ray goes crashing on the ice. His hand slams down, and I don’t hesitate.

This is my punishment.

This is how I ruin his life for daring to touch what never belonged to him.

I skate right over his hand.

The crowd goes wild.

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