Chapter 3 HOCKEY GOD

RICHARD

Funny how a memory can snap into sharp focus when least expected. That old fear returns without warning, cutting through calm like cold water. Protecting her never needed discussion - it just was. My feet moves before thought catch up. The past pulls me back without asking.

She was never in danger, not really, but the body remembers differently. Something about shadows changed that day. Six years vanished in a breath. Running toward her felt less like choice, more like gravity.

Out of nowhere, while we stood by the gym doors debating if vanilla or chocolate powder can be swallowed easier, whispers spread - every guy nearby suddenly mouthing Evelessa like a secret they'd just learned.

"Where the hell is she?" I mutter, pacing.

Emmanuel eyes me nonchalantly "You'd get brain aneurysm if you don't calm down. She's probably on her way to us already as we speak."

"She's been gone too long."

"Or you're being dramatic."

I glare at him. "You didn't see the way people stared at her in there. The girls looked like they wanted to skin her alive and the boys-"

"Wanted to climb into her skin?"

I punch his arm. "Can you not be creepy for five seconds?"

He laughs... but it's tense. I know he's worried, too.

She's our baby sister. Our tiny hellcat. Our sunshine-covered-in-spikes.

We've survived five high schools, two states, and countless supernatural threats protecting her. We can smell danger before it even walks into a room.

But today?

Today, something felt off. Sinister. Thick. Like eyes tracked her from the shadows.

"I'm going in," I say.

"Richard-"

I ignore him and head toward the hallway leading to the bathrooms. I raise my knuckles to knock-

And then I hear her.

"Evelessa?" I call, voice sharp.

The door swings open in the next second.

She steps out fast. Too fast. Like she's escaping.

Her hoodie is crooked, her eyes are wide, and she looks like she's been sprinting for her life.

"What happened?" I demand.

"Nothing." She tries to walk past me.

I grab her wrist gently. "Eve."

Her pulse is racing.

Her scent is wrong-fear and adrenaline buried under her perfume.

"Richard, I said I'm fine."

"No, you look like you just saw a-"

"Please," she whispers. And something in that tiny plea... guts me.

I let go instantly.

"Okay. Let's go home."

She exhales shakily, nodding.

And I walk her out silently, shielding her body with mine like every threat in the world has suddenly located her GPS.

THE CAR

Emmanuel is already in the driver's seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

When he sees us, he frowns. "What happened?"

"She's tired," I lie.

Evelessa climbs into the back and immediately curls against the seat, closing her eyes. The exhaustion is instant-like her body is running on fumes.

In my mind, I shove the link open between us.

Richard: She's shaking.

Emmanuel: I noticed. What the hell happened?

Richard: She's not saying. But something scared her.

He grips the wheel tighter.

Emmanuel: Day one, and this already feels wrong. There are too many eyes on her. Too much attention. We need to set up protections. We need cameras around-

Richard: Agreed. And we shouldn't let her walk around campus alone anymore.

Emmanuel: Or let guys approach her. Or look at her. Or breathe near her.

I snort aloud.

"She's our sister, not a demigod."

But even as I say that, I know it's not that simple.

Evelessa... draws attention. Always has. Her beauty is just a piece of it. There's something else-magnetic, dangerous, supernatural-that's always drawn eyes to her like moths to a flame.

Dad says it's our legacy. Our mother's blood. Our destiny we're supposed to hide from.

But suddenly, it feels like destiny is hunting us.

I shift to look back at her.

Her breathing softens.

She's asleep.

And that scares me more-because Evelessa NEVER falls asleep in cars.

"Let's just get home fast," I say, trying to steady myself.

Emmanuel nods and turns the key.

The engine sputters.

Then coughs.

Then dies.

He tries again.

It does the same damn thing.

"You've got to be kidding me," Emmanuel mutters, pounding the wheel. "We serviced this car last week!"

"Try again."

He does.

Nothing.

I open my door to get out-and freeze.

Because walking toward our car...

Like he owns the universe...

Like gravity bends for him...

Is a man.

Tall. Dark-haired. Built like a damn god.

And his eyes...

His eyes are locked on Evelessa.

I don't need to smell him to know.

I don't need to ask his name.

Because I recognize the aura.

That suffocating, powerful, ancient presence.

Supernatural.

Dangerous.

Deadly.

"Emmanuel," I say through the link, my blood going cold. "We've got company."

My brother peers out the windshield.

"Holy shit."

Yeah. That about sums it up.

The man stops at my window, expression cool but eyes molten-like a starved man who has finally found his meal source.

"You need help?" he asks.

Smooth voice. Deep. Confident. Too confident.

I know that type.

I hate that type.

"No, thanks," I say curtly.

He ignores me completely.

His gaze moves past me.

To the back seat.

To her.

Evelessa shifts, murmuring in her sleep.

His jaw clenches.

His eyes flicker-gold, then darker, then back to human.

Oh, hell no.

"Who are you?" I demand.

He looks at me then. Slowly. Like I'm an annoying fly buzzing near his ear.

"Cassain."

Emmanuel chokes. "The hockey god?!"

I kick his seat.

This is not the time to fangirl.

Cassain glances at our dead car. "You won't be going anywhere with that engine. I can give you a ride."

"No," I say instantly.

Emmanuel hesitates. "But-"

"No."

Cassain raises an eyebrow. "Your sister is exhausted."

My entire body stiffens.

"How do you know she's my sister?"

He doesn't answer.

Just keeps staring at her.

And the possessiveness in his gaze makes my skin crawl.

I open the back door and see that Evelessa is slumped sideways, breathing softly, completely unaware.

Shit.

She really is exhausted.

I lift her into my arms gently. She barely stirs, resting her head on my shoulder.

And Cassain watches.

Every. Damn. Move.

"You can ride with me," he says quietly.

I want to say no.

I want to punch him.

I want to throw holy water at him and pray he combusts.

But we're twenty minutes from home, her weight is limp against me, and Emmanuel's car is officially a corpse.

I grit my teeth. "Fine. But we're watching you."

He smiles.

Actually smiles.

And it's not friendly.

It's the smile of a creature who knows he already won.

THE RIDE

Cassain's black SUV looks like it costs more than our entire apartment. His driver-a silent, stone-faced guy-opens the door.

I settle Evelessa in the back seat.

And Cassain... sits right next to her.

No.

I yank him back by the shoulder.

"You're sitting in the front."

"I'm not," he says calmly.

"Oh yes, you are."

We stare at each other.

And I'm not ashamed to say my legs feel numb.

There are beings in this world who dominate the air they breathe.

He's one of them.

He finally sits in the middle row.

Not because I made him.

But because he chose to.

The car starts.

Evelessa's head slips sideways and falls onto my lap. I gently reposition her so she's comfortable.

But Cassain's gaze follows her like a shadow.

I see every twitch in his jaw. Every inhale. Every flicker in his eyes.

He's not looking at her beauty.

He's looking at her soul.

And that alone confirms what I feared.

Emmanuel... he knows her. Or recognizes her. Something's off.

Do you think he's supernatural?

I KNOW he is.

Then why isn't he hiding it better?

Because he doesn't give a damn.

I glance backwards.

Cassain's eyes meet mine.

It's like staring into the heart of a storm.

I swallow hard and break the gaze.

The ride feels like an eternity.

Finally, the car stops outside our apartment building.

I open the door, pull Evelessa into my arms again, and step out.

Cassain steps out, too.

Of course he does.

Emmanuel immediately stands between him and us.

"I don't know who you think you are," Emmanuel says, voice steady, "but stay away from our sister."

Cassain looks at him with mild amusement. "Is that so?"

"Yes," I add. "We don't want trouble."

His smile is slow.

Dark.

Dangerously soft.

"Trouble," he murmurs, holding my gaze, "arrives whether you want it or not."

I don't like the way he says that.

I don't like the way he looks at her.

I don't like him.

"Stay away," I repeat.

He turns.

He starts walking back to his SUV.

But before he enters, he pauses and glances over his shoulder.

And he says, almost gently-

"Goodnight, brothers."

The door closes.

The SUV drives away.

And a chill runs down my spine so violently I almost drop my sister.

Emmanuel exhales shakily. "Rich..."

"I know."

"That wasn't human."

"I know."

"And he was looking at her like-"

"I KNOW, EMMANUEL."

We both go silent.

I carry Evelessa up the stairs, tuck her into her bed, and watch her sleep for a moment.

She looks peaceful.

But something in her scent...

Something in the tiny mark on her neck...

Something in the way her magic swirls faintly...

My hands curl into fists.

She's still connected to the supernatural world.

She still has enemies.

And somehow...

Cassain is at the centre of all of it.

I step back, close the door softly, and stare at Emmanuel.

"We need to protect her," I say.

"From him?" he whispers.

But another thought hits me.

Hard.

Cold.

Devastating.

What if she doesn't want protection from him?

I don't say it.

Because speaking, it makes it real.

Instead, I say-

"We watch him. We watch her. Every second."

Emmanuel nods.

But neither of us sleeps that night.

Because for the first time since we escaped that hellish world...

Something has found us again.

And its name is Cassain.