Bound By The Ice God's Contract

Chloe POV:

I woke up feeling like my entire body had fallen apart, completely drained of strength.

Every muscle ached with exhaustion, and even the slightest movement sent a wave of soreness through me. The soft silk sheets beneath me felt strangely rough against my skin, reminding me of everything I wanted to forget.

The ornate, luxurious ceiling above me gave me an unreal feeling, so unfamiliar that I wondered if I was still dreaming.

But the room that should have been flawless was now a complete mess.

An overturned champagne bucket sat beside the sofa, melted ice leaving a dark stain on the cream carpet. A pillow had been ripped open, feathers scattered across the room, and a shattered lamp lay broken on the marble floor. A Stallions jersey lay crumpled near the door, its silver crest catching the weak gray light-a reminder of exactly whose world I had spent the night in.

The room was silent.

I tried to sit up, but a sharp cramp twisted through my lower abdomen. A painful gasp escaped my lips as I fell back against the mattress, waiting for the pain to fade.

Then my phone buzzed on the nightstand.

I reached for it, and even that simple movement sent another wave of soreness through my body.

The screen lit up with a bank notification. A six-figure amount had just been deposited into my account.

My payment.

I stared at the number on the screen, but there was no happiness or relief.

The money felt like a brand burned into my skin, a cold reminder that everything from last night had been reduced to a transaction.

Before I could look away, another message appeared.

There was no name saved, but I knew exactly who it was from.

Beckett Sterling. The legendary hockey star everyone knew, and the man who was now my employer.

"Plan B. Take the pill."

The message was short and emotionless. It sounded like a simple instruction, the same way he would assign a task at work.

I stared at those words, and fragments of the previous night slowly returned to my mind. The blurred images, the loss of control, and the humiliation I couldn't erase no matter how hard I tried.

My chest tightened, and I felt as if an invisible hand was slowly squeezing my heart.

I forced myself out of bed and wrapped the sheet tightly around my body.

Then my eyes caught the dark red stain at the corner of the white fabric. My first time. It ended like this.

I stepped onto the cold marble floor and walked into the bathroom.

The woman reflected in the mirror looked like a stranger. Her lips were pale, her eyes were exhausted, and dark circles surrounded them. Purple bruises covered her neck and collarbone, leaving behind traces of a night I wished I could erase.

I turned on the shower. The water was painfully hot, pouring over my skin, but I felt nothing.

I only wanted to wash away his presence, the memories, and everything that happened between us.

When I walked out of the bathroom, a neatly folded set of clothes was waiting on the vanity.

My black skirt and blouse. My internship uniform. He had prepared everything in advance.

A silent reminder that after last night, I was still only his intern in his world. Someone who followed orders and knew her place.

I covered the marks on my neck with concealer until they disappeared beneath my makeup. Then I looked at myself in the mirror and forced my lips into a professional smile.

I picked up the tablet containing Beckett's schedule, the one I had prepared for him yesterday-morning skate, film review, and a press conference before tonight's home game. After taking a deep breath, I straightened my shoulders and walked out of the bedroom.

Beckett stood with his back toward me, looking out through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at the Chicago skyline.

He was already dressed in a perfectly tailored suit that did nothing to hide the body beneath it-the broad shoulders and long, powerful frame of a man who had spent his entire life on the ice. Every detail was flawless, making him look like a man who ruled everything around him-cold, powerful, and impossible to approach.

I walked toward him and placed the tablet on the table beside him. "My. Sterling, your schedule for today."

I deliberately used his last name.

He didn't turn around. A low sound came from his throat. "Mm."

The silence between us stretched for a long moment.

I thought he might mention last night, the money, or the message he had just sent. But he said nothing.

After a while, he finally turned around. His ice-blue eyes moved over me slowly, calm and unreadable-the same measuring stare he gave opponents on the ice-until they stopped briefly at my neck.

I forced myself to meet his gaze. My hands were cold, and my legs trembled slightly, but I refused to let him notice.

A faint flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes. He had expected something else.

But I was standing in front of him with the same calm professionalism as always.

"Get out." His voice was flat and emotionless.

Relief washed over me. I turned around and walked away without saying another word. Each step was steady, even though I could feel his gaze following me until the heavy suite door closed between us.

Only then did I lean against the cold hallway wall and finally allow myself to breathe.

I left the hotel as quickly as possible and returned to my tiny, rundown apartment on the other side of the city.

The sunlight coming through the dirty window was painfully bright, a sharp contrast to the luxury and coldness of Beckett's presidential suite.

This was my world.

I collapsed onto the bed and buried my face in the pillow. The tears I had forced back all morning finally fell.

I didn't know how long I cried.

The sound of my phone ringing suddenly cut through the silence. I grabbed it, my heart tightening instantly.

For a moment, I found myself hoping it was him.

Chloe POV:

The name on the screen was Eleanor Hayes. My adoptive mother. My heart tightened again, but this time, for an entirely different reason.

I swiped to decline the call. I didn't want to talk to anyone from the Hayes family. But a text immediately followed.

"Chloe, come home for dinner tonight. We all miss you."

"Home?" I scoffed at the screen. That place was never my home. It was a gilded cage where I was always the outsider.

I tossed the phone aside and curled up on my bed, pulling my knees to my chest. Was last night a mistake?

My mind drifted back a month ago, to the engagement party for Xavier Hayes and Babette Franco. Xavier, the boy I'd loved for ten years, my nominal brother. Babette, my former best friend, the girl who took him from me.

At the party, Babette had flaunted her enormous diamond ring in my face. "Thank you, Chloe," she'd whispered, her voice dripping with venom only I could hear. "If you weren't so boring and pathetic, always following him around, how could he ever see how amazing I am?"

Xavier had just looked away, embarrassed, but silent. He let her humiliate me. In that moment, my heart finally died.

I couldn't let it go. I needed them to feel the same pain they had caused me. I needed to destroy the one thing they valued most: their obsession with climbing the social ladder. Babette had spent her entire life dreaming of reaching the highest circles of society, and Beckett was the peak she could never reach.

So I made a plan. Using my internship with the Stallions, I would get close to the one man in the league famous for being untouchable, for his absolute disinterest in women. The Ice God, Beckett Sterling.

I would become the one thing Babette could never be: the woman by Beckett Sterling's side. Even if it was only for one night, it would be the cruelest revenge I could ever give her.

I spent weeks studying his habits, his schedule, manufacturing "accidental" run-ins. I played the part of a bold, flirty, carefree puck bunny-exactly the kind of woman I thought he'd be interested in for a night.

And it worked. He noticed me. And then came last night.

But what was the price? I looked at the bruises on my wrists and laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. I thought I was the hunter, but I was the one who ended up torn apart.

I never wanted to get this entangled with a man like Beckett. He was a predator. Unpredictable, violent, and he made me tremble to my core.

I just wanted my revenge, and then I wanted out. But now, it felt like things were spinning out of my control.

The pain in my abdomen flared again, a brutal reminder of last night's violence. I struggled out of bed and into the bathroom, swallowing two painkillers.

Looking at my haggard reflection, I made a decision. This had to end. I couldn't keep his money. I had to break this connection.

I picked up my phone again, ready to transfer the money back, but the text from the Hayes family stared back at me.

I sighed. I couldn't avoid it. If I didn't go tonight, Eleanor would find a hundred ways to make my life hell.

She always did. Using the excuse of "caring for me" to control every aspect of my life. It had been that way since my parents died and they took me in.

"Okay, I'll be there," I texted back.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me. On one side, the terrifying Beckett. On the other, the predatory Hayes family. I was trapped in the middle of a spider's web.

But before I went to the Hayes house, there was one more thing I had to do.

I pulled up a map and searched for the nearest pharmacy. I had to get the pill he commanded me to take.

I changed into a turtleneck sweater to hide the bruises, adding a hat and a mask, covering myself completely.

Outside, the sunlight was harsh. I felt like a vampire, allergic to the day.

The corner coffee shop was playing sports news on the TV. Beckett's cold, handsome face filled the screen. He was giving a post-game interview, his answers short and clipped, the same impenetrable wall he showed on the ice. No one would ever guess what kind of monster he was behind closed doors.

I looked away quickly and hurried down the street, desperate to escape anything related to him.

I walked into the pharmacy, my head down, and found what I needed in a forgotten corner of the store.

The small box felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in my hand.

At the checkout, the pharmacist's sympathetic glance made me feel ashamed.

Outside the store, I leaned against the brick wall, tore open the package, and swallowed the pill with a bottle of water I had in my bag.

The bitter taste spread from the back of my tongue, just like the taste of my life right now.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Chloe POV:

The emergency contraceptive left me feeling miserable. A pounding headache and waves of nausea made it hard for me to stay on my feet.

Going home was only a brief escape. After buying the emergency contraceptive, I still forced myself to go to Stallions headquarters. I couldn't let what happened in my personal life affect my work. This internship was too important for me to lose.

Somewhere far below, I could hear the faint scrape of skate blades and the crack of a puck against the boards-morning practice. The sound that usually calmed me only made my stomach churn today.

I sat at my intern desk in the executive suite, sorting files, trying to look normal. The turtleneck felt like it was choking me, a constant reminder of what it was hiding.

Beckett's office was at the end of the hall, its heavy oak door shut.

We hadn't spoken since I left the hotel. He was a time bomb, and I had no idea when he would go off.

I snuck a look at my banking app. The hundred thousand dollars was still there. I had to find a way to give it back.

Just as my headache reached its breaking point, the sharp click of high heels echoed down the hallway. The sound was confident and deliberate, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

I looked up and saw the last person I wanted to see. Babette was dressed in a brand-new Chanel suit, wearing oversized sunglasses like she was on a runway.

She walked straight toward Beckett's office, ignoring me completely.

"Ma'am, do you have an appointment?" I stood up, my voice shaking slightly, trying to follow protocol.

Babette took off her sunglasses. Her perfectly made-up face twisted in surprise, then disgust, when she saw it was me.

"Chloe? What are you doing here? Working as a receptionist?" She laughed, a high, sharp sound. "Oh, right. I forgot your family went broke. I guess you have to earn a living somehow."

The words were a direct hit, but I kept my face blank. "This is the executive floor. You can't go in without an appointment."

"An appointment?" Babette laughed again, as if it were the funniest joke she'd ever heard. "I'm here to see Beckett. Who the hell do you think you are to stop me?"

She tried to push past me.

Other employees were starting to notice, whispering to each other.

I couldn't let her in. Not just because of the rules, but because I couldn't let her see Beckett. I didn't know what kind of relationship they had, but every instinct told me that letting her through that door would only lead to trouble.

I took a deep breath and blocked her path again, my voice firm. "I'm sorry, it's my job."

My persistence infuriated her. Her pretty face contorted with rage.

"You're just a pathetic intern, don't act like you're somebody!" She raised her hand, her palm flying toward my face.

I flinched, closing my eyes, bracing for the impact. The pain in my stomach and head peaked in that single moment.

But the slap never came.

There was a dead silence, then a sharp crack of bone and a pained cry from Babette.

I opened my eyes. Beckett was standing in front of me, his tall frame a solid wall, completely shielding me.

He had one hand clamped around Babette's wrist, his grip so tight her skin was already turning red and purple.

His face was a mask of cold fury, but his ice-blue eyes were a raging storm.

"Who gave you the right," he said, his voice low and deadly, "to touch anyone in here?"

Babette's face went white with fear. "Beckett... I... she wouldn't let me see you..."