Page 13 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)

LILAC

T he chill of the ice cuts through my tights as I glide backward across the rink, breath puffing in soft clouds around me.

The grand arena is quiet except for the sharp slice of blades and the soft hum of the overhead lights.

Or is that the air conditioner? Some of our figure skating team stayed late after practice.

We just need to be out before the Zamboni makes an appearance and before the hockey boys storm the place like the deviants they are.

It's peaceful for now. Controlled. Like I need it to be.

I angle my body and launch into a triple axel, something I’ve never been able to land clean. My toe pick digs in, I spin, but I wobble on the landing, arms flailing, and crash into the boards with a groan. I can’t get out of my head. Or more exact…I can’t get Callum out of my head.

"You’re getting closer," Tara calls from across the rink.

“Closer doesn’t land it,” I mutter, brushing frost from my fingers.

My heart is racing in my chest, and it feels like it has been since I found out about Ryan being found dead.

I didn’t see it like I saw Mina die, but the fact that he died on campus and not where we were trespassing has me thrown.

The flowers in his car could be a rumor, but something in my gut is telling me that it isn’t.

It’s a warning, just like the rock through Callum’s windshield.

And yet... I feel safe.

Because Callum’s been hovering. Checking in.

Watching. Even when no one’s around to see it.

When he has an obligation he can’t skip, he has other people watching out for me.

Hayden is my least favorite bodyguard, because he doesn’t do it from afar like Ramsey Blackwood and Tristan.

He makes it known that he’s annoyed and constantly tells me what he could be doing instead of following me around.

Some of the girls who are done skating already are talking while they stretch, using the side of the rink for leverage.

"So...since no one else is going to bring it up, I will," Kennedy draws out the word. "Callum Grey proposed in front of everyone? I didn’t know you were even dating him. How long could it have been?”

I skate over, shrugging casually as I bend to tighten my laces. "I’m just a private person."

"Okay, but how did you get him to settle down?" Tara asks, but I can tell she’s just joining in because she feels like she has to. Her face tells me something different. She’s struggling just like I am with everything that happened.

I glance up. "What makes you think I did anything?"

"He turns down everyone. Like, literally every girl I know has tried. He just gives them that cocky little smirk and walks away,” Kennedy says, swinging her ponytail.

“I know he peacocks around campus, but I don’t buy it.

I had such a huge crush on him last year, so of course I went down a rabbit hole to learn everything I could about him.

I couldn’t find him linked with one girl.

He talks a big game, but that’s about it.

I had no idea it was because the two of you were hiding your whole relationship. ”

My stomach twists in a weird, fluttery way. Because I remember what he told me that it was all fake. Smoke and mirrors. His reputation was just a mask to keep people away.

And I like that. I like knowing there’s a version of him only I get to see.

"Maybe I’m just irresistible," I say with a cheeky grin.

They all laugh, but I don’t think any of them are sincere.

"Hey, has anyone heard from Lexi today?" Kennedy asks, frowning. "She wasn’t in math class and obviously skipped practice."

Tara and I exchange a look because we know exactly why no one has seen her.

"Maybe she’s sick?" I say it because it doesn’t feel like a complete lie. I’d probably be sick if I found my boyfriend like that. Hell, I’m nauseous just thinking about it, and I didn’t even like Ryan.

I take another lap around the rink, trying to work out my nerves.

I catch sight of Winter on the far end of the outside of the rink, arms crossed, her braid swinging slightly as she searches for something in a hardback book.

Tristan stands beside her, his fingers brushing over the top of her head and trailing all the way to the end of her braid.

Just then, I notice a man pacing near the far doors. Whistle clipped to his collar. Clipboard. Stopwatch. Square-framed glasses.

Coach Kavanaugh.

I smirk. Even from here, I can tell he’s annoyed. Checking his watch. Glaring toward the locker room.

"Looks like the boys are late, or either the coach is just early and considering them late for not being early," Tara says as I approach the girls again.

"He’s gonna blow a gasket," I say, because it’s true. I swear the man always looks like he’s on a level one hundred, even when things are going his way.

"I heard he’s got something going on with that girl in my lit class," Kennedy says casually as I hop off the ice and grab a seat to put the guards on my blades.

"Wait, what?" I blink. “He doesn’t seem like the type. I pegged him for a bachelor. One who has one plate, one fork and a glass in his house because he doesn’t like clutter.”

Kennedy shakes her head no, because she’s very serious about her gossip.

This is why Mina and Lexi didn’t throw her an invite to the mansion.

She will literally tell anyone’s business to anyone who will listen.

"No, I’m serious. Her name is Ellie. I saw her crying in the courtyard, and he was comforting her.

Not like a dad, but like a boyfriend. Stroking her hair, holding her to her chest. I even saw him kiss the top of her head.

Then he saw us staring and whisked her away. Everyone’s talking about it."

I barely have time to react before the Zamboni starts up, signaling the end of our session.

We start gathering our stuff to head to the locker room when the main doors fly open and the hockey boys start filing in. Coach Kavanaugh’s face twists like he’s disappointed.

Hayden is front and center, swinging his arms like he’s already hyped up on pure chaos. One of the figure skaters laughs at the way Coach Kav smacks him on the back of the head as he passes by.

"How does Madison deal with him?" Kennedy’s question is probably rhetorical, but I decide to answer her anyway.

I smile. "I think she’s the only thing that calms him down. I’ve talked to her a few times when he’s around, and he’s different with her."

Callum enters not too long later, and I swear he barrels in like he owns the place, pushing past teammates to wedge himself between Tristan and Winter. He’s pretending he’s interested in whatever Winter is showing Tristan in that book.

Callum’s eyes lock on mine. He grins. Big. Shameless.

Slaps Tristan on the shoulder and points to me with the other hand before he announces to the whole damn arena, "That’s gonna be my WIFE."

Every head turns. Every pair of eyes is on me.

My cheeks flush hot, and I try to hide it with a smirk, but I’m fucking shy and he knows that.

Coach Kavanaugh doesn’t miss a beat. "She’s going to be marrying a dead man if you don’t get your ass suited up! You too, Vale! And tell Lockwood no throwing shit around in my locker room either! I can already hear him in there getting riled up."

Hayden yells from inside the locker room, “I’m not even doing anything!”

Tristan grabs Callum by his hoodie pocket and steers them toward the locker room. Callum doesn’t stop smiling at me. Not once, and it’s moments like this make me forget this isn’t real. That all of this is fake. I’m not going to be his wife, even if he sounds like he really believes I will be.

Only... it doesn’t feel fake.

Callum isn’t that good of an actor, and I swear he looks at me like I’m everything to him.

But I push the thought away. I can’t afford a broken heart on top of everything else.

My brother never deserved to call Callum a best friend, but I’m glad I get to see the friendship he’s cultivated with Hayden and Callum. They really have Callum’s back, and I’ll forever love them for that. It should be my brother. My entire family, but it’s not.

We head into the girls’ locker room, laughter still in the air.

Until Kennedy slips, wiping out and falling on her ass.

"Ow—what the hell?"

There’s something wet on the floor, and it’s red.

Blood.

We freeze.

"Is that?—?"

Someone screams, but there’s too much going on for me to know who.

We round the corner and see Lexi is on the floor. Sprawled in a pool of what looks like her own blood.

Her lips are blue. Her eyes wide open. Her skate lies beside her, the blade red and glinting. There’s a boot print stamped across her chest. Her throat is slashed.

It feels like my hearing cuts in and out. I don’t know what I’m really imagining or what is really happening.

Screaming. Mine. Theirs. It’s all around me.

I drop to my knees. My hands press to Lexi’s chest before I can stop myself. She’s not breathing. We need to help her.

I hear myself screaming that someone, anyone needs to help her!

I’ve got her blood everywhere. It’s on my palms, on my sleeves, and I feel it on my face.

I don’t even realize I’m crying until I feel arms wrap around me. Strong. Familiar. Possessive.

Callum.

He lifts me like nothing else in the world matters but getting me out of that room. His jaw is clenched, but his hands are gentle. One is cradling the back of my head, the other is locked around my waist like he’s never letting go.

"I’ve got you," he murmurs, voice shaking with barely restrained rage and there’s something else there that I can’t quite place. "I’m here. It’s me, baby. I’ve got you."

He presses his mouth to my temple. Then my forehead. My cheek.

"Shhh, bambi. You’re okay. I won’t let anything happen to you. Not ever. You hear me? You’re safe now. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you."

His chest is solid against mine, his heartbeat pounding against my ear, like he’s ready to take on whoever did this with nothing but his bare hands.

He carries me out of the girls’ locker room, shielding my face with his large palm. "Don’t look. Just breathe, baby. I’m taking you out of here. I’m not letting you go."

The sound of sirens in the distance barely registers. All I hear is his voice.

All I feel is Callum.