Chapter 2 Accidentally mates

Daphne's POV

I paced around my dorm room that afternoon, biting my fingers nervously.

I had gotten what I wanted, to be on the team with William.

I should be happy.

I was happy… but the happiness was drowned out by how much I was trembling.

Conner… If the other boys feared him so much that they couldn’t say a word when he threatened them, what could I possibly do?

That night, I couldn’t sleep a wink. I tossed and turned in bed, but all I could think about was what would happen when Conner finally realized I had made the team.

After a few more minutes of restlessness, I gave up on sleeping. I sat up, stretched, and looked around.

The lights in the room were all turned off. The only illumination came from the moonlight streaming through the window. The room was large, almost the size of two bedrooms. On the other side sat an empty bed and desk.

I didn’t have a roommate yet, but I had been told one would be assigned soon. I prayed they wouldn’t find anyone. I didn’t want to hide my identity in my own bedroom.

I changed into more comfortable clothes and grabbed my ice skates from the corner of the room. One thing I had learned from William was that skating on ice could take a person’s problems away. He had said it in an interview when he was seventeen.

From then on, whenever I felt stressed, I would close my eyes and skate, hands in my pockets, letting the ice carry all my sorrows away.

I arrived at the ice rink a few moments later.

But I wasn’t alone as I had hoped.

As I drew closer, I saw a boy in a black hoodie and pants gracefully skating across the ice. I couldn’t see his face because of the hood, but I watched his movements in awe, my eyes following every glide.

A few seconds later, he reached up and slid the hood off as he slowed down.

My heart skipped a beat.

It was William.

I had only seen him a few times in class since school started a week ago, but never this close.

As he skated toward the door, his eyes met mine and he froze. We both stood still, staring at each other. A puzzled expression crossed his face.

My heart raced, this time not from fear like with Conner, but from pure excitement. I was watching William skate right in front of me.

He was staring right at me.

This was every fan girl’s dream.

His green eyes squinted as he looked at me. “Who are you?” he asked, skating closer.

I gulped, parting my lips, but no words came out.

“Can you not speak?” His tone was harsh. “After school hours, the rink is reserved only for the hockey team.”

“I’m… on the team,” I quickly said.

His eyes scanned me from head to toe. “I think I would know my own teammates.”

“I auditioned today and got in,” I explained.

“Oh…” he muttered under his breath.

I wasn’t sure if that was an “oh” of disappointment or approval.

He stepped off the ice and walked past me. I turned and watched as he grabbed a water bottle from his backpack and drank from it.

I forced myself to contain my smile.

I recognized that water bottle all too well. I had bought it for him back in January and given it to him during a fan meeting when he was signing autographs.

I was sure he didn’t remember me.

Hopefully he didn’t, because it would blow my cover. But knowing he had kept it all this time warmed my heart.

He sat on the bench, panting heavily, and wiped a brownish liquid from the corner of his mouth. I knew it had come from the bottle.

Was that… coffee? This late?

I stared at the bottle. There was no steam. “At least use the heating function on the bottle,” I said.

He looked up at me. “What?” His throat moved as he spoke.

I walked over, reached for the bottle, and slid the lid shut. I pressed the red button on top. “If you need something warm, all you have to do is push this button.”

A number popped up on the display. I showed it to him. “See that? It’s warming up now.”

He slowly took the bottle back and looked at it as if seeing it for the first time. “Thanks,” he said coldly, then began taking off his skates.

Maybe this was my chance to remind him how much he loved hockey. I inched closer. “How did it feel being on the ice?”

He leaned forward, elbows on his thighs, eyes fixed on the rink. “Nice,” he said bluntly. There was something in his voice I couldn’t quite place.

“Just ‘nice’?”

He looked up at me. “What’s it to you?”

“Oh… nothing. Just curious.”

He stood up from the bench. “Go back to your dorm, Softie,” he said and walked past me.

I scoffed. “Softie?” I turned to face him.

He stopped and turned around. “The team and I watched the footage of your audition,” he said, pointing at the cameras. “We’re not exactly pleased about having a wimpy 5’2 boy on our team,” he spat.

My smile fell. “B-but I can play hockey… You saw me out there, right?”

“Have you ever played for more than three consecutive hours?” he cut in.

My fingers clenched. “Well… no,” I admitted, my voice trembling.

“We do more than that, especially when preparing for big competitions.” His towering figure drew closer. “A hockey team is like one body, Softie.”

Softie? Was that really what they were going to call me?

“Each member is a part, head, neck, arms, legs. We all function together to make a perfect game. If one member falters…” His voice echoed through the rink as he barked, making my body jerk. “Then we all fail.”

I swallowed hard. Tears clouded my eyes. “I… I can, ”

He parted his lips to speak, but the words seemed stuck. His eyes suddenly turned red. He shut his mouth quickly, clutching his chest as pain twisted his face and his breathing grew heavy.

Without another word, he turned and hurried away.

I knew something was wrong. I rushed after him. “William!”

He walked faster. Once we were outside the building, it was darker, but lights from the surrounding buildings still shone on him. I could hear him struggling to breathe.

“William!” I grabbed his shoulder.

“Get off me!” he growled. He turned and shoved me hard in the chest.

I stumbled backward and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

His eyes widened with instant regret. “Sorry,” he whimpered. “I didn’t mean, ” He turned to leave again, panting. “I’m…”

I stood up and rushed after him, jumping in front of him. I placed my hand on his chest. “William?” He couldn’t breathe properly, and I could hear soft growls coming from him. “What is it?”

He gripped both of my arms tightly, but this time he didn’t push me away. As he held me, I felt his heartbeat slowly calm down.

“You…” His voice cracked. “Your scent…”

Before I could process what was happening, he cupped my face with both hands and pressed his lips against mine.

My heart dropped in shock as the kiss deepened. It was desperate… hungry. He growled softly against my lips as he kissed me.

What was going on?

Did he know I was a girl and had fallen for me?

No, that was only in my fantasies.

“William…” I tried to catch my breath, but his lips claimed mine again.

“You…” he panted, pulling back slightly. “You are my mate,” he said, his tone displeased.

I blinked in shock.

“Mate?!” I exclaimed.