Pain is just a sensation. That's what my coach always tells me. But as I sat on the cold steel bench of the locker room, clutching my right shoulder, I was pretty sure he was full of crap. The adrenaline from the third period was finally wearing off, leaving behind a throbbing, white-hot agony. Some rookie from the opposing team had caught me with a dirty check against the boards. I heard the sickening pop before I felt the pain. "Tala, you good?" my teammate, Jenna, asked, pausing as she unlaced her skates. "I'm fine," I gritted out, forcing a tight smile. "Just a stinger." I wasn't fine. But as the only female player in the professional league-I couldn't afford to show weakness. If I shifted here, in front of the cameras and the screaming fans, my career was over. My life was over. "Coach says the new physio is waiting for you in the medical room," Jenna said, giving me a sympathetic look. "He's supposedly the best in the business. Cost the franchise a fortune." "Great," I muttered, grabbing my towel and heading toward the back corridors. "Another old guy with cold hands and bad breath telling me to take a week off." I pushed open the door to the medical suite, ready to snap at whoever was inside. The words died in my throat. The man standing by the treatment table was not an old guy with bad breath. He was tall-easily over six-foot-three-with broad shoulders that strained against the fabric of his tailored black dress shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing veined forearms and hands that looked more suited to handling a weapon than a muscle strain. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, and when he turned to look at me, I was hit with a pair of piercing, ice-blue eyes that seemed to look right through me. He looked like sin wrapped in a medical degree. "Tala Vance," he said. It wasn't a question. His voice was deep, smooth, and laced with an authority that made my wolf bristle. "Who the hell are you?" I asked, suddenly very aware that I was sweaty, bruised, and not at my most intimidating. "Dr. Kael Thorne," he said, stepping forward. "Your new lead physiotherapist. Coach said you took a hard hit. Let me see your shoulder." I didn't move. There was something off about him. My wolf, a creature of pure instinct, was pacing anxiously inside my chest. She didn't sense danger, exactly. She sensed... power. "I don't need a doctor," I said, taking a step back. "I heal fast." "I'm sure you do," Kael said, his lips curving into a slow, knowing smirk. "But I still need to do my job. Now, sit down." It was a command. Not a request. And against my better judgment, I found myself sitting on the edge of the treatment table. He stepped into my space. He smelled of cedarwood, winter frost, and something darker-something that made my pulse flutter. He reached out and gently tugged the collar of my compression shirt down to expose my shoulder. His fingers brushed against my bare skin. A sharp, electric spark shot through my body. I gasped, my head snapping up to look at him. His pupils dilated, the ice-blue of his eyes darkening for just a fraction of a second. He felt it too. I knew he did. "Bruised, not broken," he said, his voice a little rougher than before. He pressed his thumbs into the knotted muscle, and despite the pain, a soft moan escaped my lips. "See?" I breathed, trying to regain my bravado. "I told you I heal fast." "You do," Kael murmured, his eyes never leaving mine. His hands began to work the muscle, but his touch felt entirely too intimate. "A normal human would be in a sling for a month with this kind of trauma. But you... your body is already healing the micro-tears. Almost like a supernatural ability." My heart stopped. I froze, my eyes widening. "What did you just say?" Kael leaned in closer, his breath fanning across my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. His voice was barely a whisper. "I said, you heal remarkably fast, Little Wolf." Panic, cold and swift, drenched me. I reached up, grabbing his wrist to push him away, ready to bolt. But I might as well have been trying to move a mountain. He didn't budge. "Who are you?" I demanded, my voice shaking. Kael smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile. It was the smile of a predator who had cornered his prey. "I told you," he said softly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver object. It wasn't a medical tool. It was a pendant-a silver wolf's head on a heavy chain. The emblem of the Silver Moon Pack. My pack. Before I could react, the door to the medical room clicked. The heavy deadbolt slid into place. Kael dropped the pendant onto the treatment table next to my hip. "Your father sent me," he said, his eyes turning utterly glacial. "He's tired of waiting for you to come home. So, here's the deal, Tala. You have two choices. You can come with me quietly and fulfill your destiny as the Alpha's daughter, or..." He let the threat hang in the air, a terrifying, heavy silence. He leaned down, placing one hand on the table beside my head, caging me in. His face was inches from mine, his eyes burning with a fierce, dark intensity. "Or I drag you out of this building, kick you off this team, and make sure you never step on the ice again. The choice is yours, Little Wolf. But you have exactly sixty seconds to make it."

Sixty seconds. My pulse thundered in my ears, a frantic drumbeat counting down the time I had left before my entire life shattered. I stared into Kael's ice-blue eyes, looking for any sign of a bluff. There was none. He was dead serious. "I'm not going back," I gritted out, my voice shaking with a mixture of rage and fear. "I left that pack for a reason. I left him for a reason." Kael didn't even blink. "Your reasons don't matter to your father, Tala. He wants his heir back. He wants the Silver Moon Pack to have its future Alpha. And he's paying me a fortune to ensure that happens." "So you're just a mercenary," I spat, trying to yank my arm out of his grip. "A hired dog." "Watch your mouth, Little Wolf," Kael warned, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating with a dangerous timbre. "You have forty-five seconds." "Or what?" I challenged, letting my eyes flash gold. My wolf was clawing at my chest, demanding to be let out. "You're going to drag me out of here in front of the human press? You're going to expose us both? I don't think my father would like that very much." Kael leaned in closer, completely unfazed by my glowing eyes. "You think I care about exposure? I own the press, Tala. I own the police. I own the very ice you just skated on. If I want you out of this building, you're out." Panic, cold and suffocating, wrapped around my throat. He was too calm. Too in control. "Thirty seconds," he murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips for a fraction of a second. The air between us crackled with a strange, undeniable tension. I was out of options. If I fought him, I would shift, and my career would be over. If I let him drag me out, I looked like I was in trouble, and the team would bench me. I needed to buy time. "Fine," I breathed out, the word tasting like poison. "You win. I'll go." Kael's eyes narrowed, searching my face for the lie. He knew I was bluffing. Knock, knock, knock. The sharp rap on the medical room door made us both freeze. "Tala? You in there?" Coach's gruff voice echoed through the metal door. "You better not be hiding. The press wants a statement about that dirty hit. Open up!" Kael didn't move. His hand remained planted beside my head, caging me in. He was waiting for my next move. "Let me handle this," I whispered, my eyes pleading for just a second of cooperation. "If you want me to go with you quietly, give me ten minutes to talk to my coach. Otherwise, I scream." Kael stared at me for a long, agonizing second. Then, a slow, terrifying smirk spread across his face. "Ten minutes," he agreed, finally pushing himself off the table. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black business card. He slid it into the front pocket of my compression shirt, his fingers brushing deliberately against my collarbone. A jolt of electricity shot through me again, making my breath hitch. "Don't keep me waiting, Little Wolf," he murmured. He walked over to the door, unlocked the deadbolt, and pulled it open with the smooth grace of a predator. Coach Jensen stood on the other side, his face red from the heat of the arena. He blinked in surprise at Kael. "Oh, Dr. Thorne," Coach said, his tone suddenly respectful. "I didn't realize you were still in here. How's her shoulder?" "Just a mild strain," Kael said smoothly, his voice shifting back to the charming, professional tone I'd heard when I first walked in. He flashed Coach a disarming smile. "She'll need some rest, but she's cleared for the next game." Coach nodded, looking relieved. "Great, great. Tala, get your gear. Press conference in five." Kael stepped out into the hallway, pausing just outside the door. He looked back at me over his shoulder. His eyes were cold again, devoid of warmth. "I'll be seeing you very soon, Tala," he said softly. And then he was gone, swallowed by the shadows of the corridor. I collapsed back against the treatment table, my heart hammering against my ribs. What the hell just happened? I pulled the business card from my pocket. It was matte black, with no name, no title. Just a single silver phone number embossed in the center. "Tala!" Coach snapped, pulling my attention back to the present. "Move it! You're stalling." I shoved the card into my bag, my mind racing. I had ten minutes. If I was fast enough, I could sneak out the back door, get in my car, and disappear before Kael even knew I was gone. I grabbed my gear and headed toward the press conference room, my shoulder aching, my wolf still pacing anxiously. But as I rounded the corner and stepped onto the media stage, the blood drained from my face. Sitting in the front row, dressed in a flawlessly tailored suit, was Kael. He wasn't looking at the cameras. He was looking right at me. And he was smiling. Next to him sat an older man with silver hair and the unmistakable golden eyes of my father. The Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. He stood up, adjusting his cufflinks, and addressed the press. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to make an announcement. I have just purchased the majority stake in this hockey franchise. And my first order of business is to reinstate Tala as the captain of the team. Provided, of course, she accepts my terms."

The press room erupted. Cameras flashed like a firing squad. Reporters surged forward, microphones thrust toward the stage like weapons. The hum of their voices rose to a deafening roar, drowning out the thundering beat of my own heart. "Mr. Vance! Mr. Vance! Does this mean you're relocating to the city?" "Is it true you've been estranged from your daughter for five years?" "Tala! Tala, how do you feel about your father buying the team?" I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I stood frozen on the stage, my hockey bag slipping from my numb fingers and hitting the floor with a heavy thud. My father-the man who had banished me from the pack for refusing an arranged mating-stood in the front row, his golden eyes gleaming with cold satisfaction. He looked exactly as he had five years ago. Immaculate. Powerful. Utterly ruthless. Beside him, Kael leaned back in his chair, his expression one of lazy amusement. He was enjoying this. The bastard had set me up. He hadn't just come to drag me back to the pack. He had brought the pack to me. "Dad," I choked out, my voice caught by the microphone and amplified across the room. "What are you doing?" Alpha Vance stepped onto the stage with the grace of a predator. He took the microphone from my trembling hand, his smile polished for the cameras. "My daughter and I have had a... difference of opinion over the years," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "But family is family. When I heard she had been injured, I realized it was time to mend fences. I purchased the team to ensure she has the resources she needs to be the best. Starting with the upcoming championships." The lie was so smooth, so perfectly delivered, that even I almost believed it. He hadn't bought this team for my benefit. He had bought it to control me. The press conference continued in a blur. My coach took over, answering questions about the franchise's future. My teammates stared at me with wide eyes, whispering behind their hands. I stood on the stage like a condemned prisoner, waiting for the executioner's axe to fall. When it was finally over, my father grabbed my arm in a grip that was just barely polite enough for public consumption. "My office. Now." He dragged me through the back corridors of the arena, past the locker rooms and the training facilities, until we reached a private suite at the end of the hall. He pushed me inside and slammed the door. Kael was already there, sitting behind the mahogany desk, his feet propped up on the polished surface. He was twirling a pen between his fingers, watching us with those unnerving ice-blue eyes. "Was that necessary?" I snapped, rounding on my father. "You couldn't just send a letter?" "A letter wouldn't have brought you home," Alpha Vance said, his voice cold. "You've been ignoring my calls for five years, Tala. You've disgraced the pack. You've disgraced me." "I didn't want to be a bargaining chip!" I shouted, my wolf surging forward, my eyes flashing gold. "You tried to mate me to a psycho who wanted to use my bloodline to overthrow you! I saved myself, and I saved the pack, and you exiled me for it!" My father's face tightened. "That's not how it happened." "That's exactly how it happened," I shot back. "You chose politics over your own daughter. And now you want to drag me back so you can use me again." "You will return to the pack," Alpha Vance said, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "You will fulfill your duties. You will mate the wolf I choose for you. And you will produce heirs. This is not a negotiation." I opened my mouth to argue, but Kael cut me off. "Actually," he said, his voice smooth as silk, "there's been a slight change of plans." Both my father and I turned to look at him. Kael swung his legs off the desk and stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the room. "The terms of our agreement, Alpha," Kael said, pulling a folded document from his jacket, "state that I retrieve your daughter and return her to the pack. In exchange, you pay me ten million dollars and grant me a lifetime supply of silver ore from your mines." My father's eyes narrowed. "That's correct." Kael smiled. "However, you neglected to mention that your daughter is fated to me." The room went deadly silent. I felt the blood drain from my face. My father's expression shifted from anger to shock to something I had never seen before-fear. "What?" I whispered. Kael turned to me, his eyes blazing with a fierce, possessive fire. "The moment I touched you in that medical room, I knew. Your wolf recognized mine. You felt it too, didn't you?" The spark. The electricity. The way my wolf had calmed the moment his hands were on me. No. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. "Kael," my father said slowly, his voice tight, "the contract is binding. You agreed to return her to me." "I agreed to retrieve her," Kael corrected, his voice hard. "I never agreed to hand her over. As the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, my claim supersedes yours. She is my mate. The bond is sacred. You cannot break it." My father's face contorted with rage. "You tricked me." "I outmaneuvered you," Kael said, shrugging. "There's a difference." I stood frozen, my mind reeling. Mate. I was mated to Kael Thorne. The mercenary. The monster. The man who had just spent the last hour threatening to destroy my life. "You can't do this," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I don't even know you." Kael turned to me, his expression softening just a fraction. "You will. I promise you, Tala. I'm not your enemy. I'm your only chance at freedom." "How?" I demanded. "You just bought my team, allied with my father, and threatened to drag me back to the pack!" Kael reached out and took my hand. His touch sent another jolt of electricity through me, making my wolf purr despite my fury. "I bought the team so your father couldn't use it to control you," Kael said quietly. "I allied with him so I could get close enough to protect you. And I threatened to drag you back because I needed to know if you would fight for yourself. And you did." I stared at him, my heart hammering. "You're lying." "I never lie," Kael said, his eyes locked on mine. "You want your freedom, Tala? You want to play hockey, live your life, and never bow to a man again? Then trust me. Let me help you." Before I could answer, the door to the office burst open. Coach Jensen stood there, his face pale, his eyes wild. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, his voice shaking. "But there's a problem. The press found out about the hit. The rookie who checked Tala-he's claiming she used her 'freak strength' to try to injure him. He's demanding an investigation. And he's got proof." He held up his phone. On the screen was a blurry video-footage from the game, slowed down. My eyes were glowing gold. My fangs were extended. The human world had seen the wolf. Kael stepped forward, his expression hardening. "Who sent this video to the press?" Coach Jensen swallowed hard. "The rookie's manager. And he says if Tala doesn't withdraw from the championships immediately, he'll release the full footage. The footage that proves she's not human."