THE TRIBID HOCKEY GOD & HIS OBSESSION

EVELESSA

It takes everything in me to convince my father and brothers to let me change schools. After bouncing in and out of high schools for over five years, all I want is one university I can actually stay in till graduation.

So, despite being far ahead of me, my brothers, both third-year students, and my dad, an art professor, uprooted their lives and moved here with me.

"Eve, slow down," Richard mutters beside me, shifting his backpack. "Why are you acting as if you're on your way to take a life?"

"That's what your sister looks like every other day" Emmanuel adds with a smirk. "Resting bitch face: elite intimidation level. Doesn't work on us, though."

I glare at them.

"It's called determination," I correct. "And confidence. You two should try it."

Richard snorts. "You have lived for all of nineteen years, live a little sis."

" So easy for you to say as boys since you get most things easy".

As we walk through the part, I see students flirting, taking first day pictures,having fun but I don't want any attention so I adjust my hoodie to keep my face covered. My curves push against the fabric, and I already feel eyes on me.

Great.

Day One and the attention is ridiculous already.

"You should have allowed us to drop you at your dorm Eve, he complains for the fifth time... Dad's going to be pissed if we leave you on your own."

"Dad is teaching a lecture," I remind him. "And you two have hockey practice. I'm fine. I'm a big girl."

"You're outrageously beautiful with a dangerous body," Richard says. "Beautiful girls attract trouble."

"That makes no sense."

"Girls like you attract dudes," he clarifies. "Dudes are trouble."

I groan loudly. "I came here for a normal life. Can we pretend I might actually get one?"

They fall silent.

Normal.

Human.

Safe.

Everything Dad wants for us since the night Mom-

No. I refuse to revisit that memory.

"Anyway," I say quickly, exhaling. "I'm only trying out for cheerleading. I have been dancing for years. I need something normal."

Emmanuel makes a face. "Cheerleaders have beautiful bodies and rotten characters, don't let them bully you."

I hit the back of his head.

We make a stop in front of the athletic center which is covered with glass and watch as students move in and out.

"There better not be any supernatural crap today," I mutter.

Emmanuel laughs. "Eve, we moved three states away. No vampires. No wolves. No fated mates. No kings. You're safe."

But my stomach twists anyway.

Every town we've moved to... every time I've said those words...

Fate laughed in my face.

"Go," Richard says gently. "Knock 'em dead."

I nod, leave them behind, and walk inside.

Hours later I change and walk to the main gym where the cheerleading tryouts are happening. The moment I step inside, I am overpowered with the smell of sweat and perfume. Every face around stares unabashedly at me now.

Whispers start instantly.

"Who's that?"

"Transfer student?"

"Holy-look at her body."

"She looks like she should model."

"She's so curvy-"

"Brian, shut up!"

I lift my chin.

Confidence, Eve.

Act like your insides aren't trembling jelly.

A squad of shiny-ponytailed girls turns toward me like a synchronized hive.

The leader, blonde, tan, terrifying, steps forward.

"You're late," she snaps.

I blink. "Tryouts start in ten minutes."

"I know. I just want to know if you're up to date with your schedule."

Okay, guess this is how we'll roll here.

"My name is Evelessa," I say.

She smirks. "We know. Word travels fast." Her eyes drag over me. "Transfer girls never last. Especially ones who look like competition."

"It's cheerleading," I say dryly.

She laughs, pure evil Barbie energy.

"No, sweetheart. It's a hierarchy."

She whips around dramatically and her clique follows.

"Too curvy to be a flyer," one girl mutters.

"Too pretty," another whispers. "Cassain is going to notice."

My stomach drops at the name.

Cassain.

The campus hockey god.

The billionaire heir.

The whispered legend.

And, most terrifying of all-

The boy with star-black eyes who used to follow me everywhere as a child.

The boy who vanished before everything went to hell.

The boy who belonged to the world I left.

My childhood crush.

My childhood curse.

He shouldn't be here.

Not in this human school.

"Evelessa?" the coach calls.

I breathe in, walk forward.

"You'll go third," she says.

I move to the side, warm up, trying to steady my heart.

Dance is safe.

Dance makes sense.

Dance belongs to me.

I'm stretching when I freeze.

Across the gym... leaning against the wall like he owns the world...

Cassain.

Tall. Broad. Sharp-jawed. Midnight hair.

And those eyes-

He looks at me instantly.

His irises flicker.

Storm-gray.

Then molten gold.

Then back again.

No.

No.

This should not be happening here, this is meant to be a safe space.

He eyes me like his next meal without any reservations.

I almost fall at the weight of his intensified lust.

"Cass? You good?" one of the guys asks.

Cassain doesn't answer, he stares at me like I'm the only one that exists in his orbit.

"Evelessa, you're next," the coach calls.

Music starts.

I dance.

My body moves on instinct, spins, pops, rolls, kicks, flips. Electricity vibrating through every muscle.

Whispers break out.

"She's insane."

"She's so flexible."

"She's getting a spot."

"Cassain is literally drooling."

I don't dare look at him.

But I feel him.

Every second.

I finish with a perfect landing.

The gym falls silent.

The coach stares.

"Well. That was... unbelievable."

I nod, breathless, and rush into the locker room.

I need air.

I need a moment.

I need-

Answers.

The bathroom is empty by the time I walk in, I grip the sink, splash cold water on my face.

Calm down.

Maybe you imagined it.

Maybe-

A warm breath ghosts across the back of my neck.

I freeze.

No.

I look up.

He's behind me.

Cassain.

Close, Too close.

His chest brushes my back.

The smell and feel of his body overtakes my sense of reasoning and I'm stuck at one point.

He lowers his head to my neck.

I shiver violently.

"Evelessa," he murmurs, voice deeper than I remember. "I finally found you."

My breath stutters.

He inhales slowly, purposefully, like he's claiming something.

Our eyes lock in the mirror.

His aura thickens.

His presence suffocates everything else.

"You can't be here," I whisper.

His lips curl in a slow, lethal smile.

"Sweetheart," he says softly, "I am everywhere you are now."

He trails a finger along my hip.

"Because you-"

His voice drops.

"-are mine."

My pulse stops.

He leans closer, mouth brushing my skin.

"Welcome to campus, mate."

My world collapses.

I spin, push him back with trembling hands.

"Cassain, this is a human school. My father, my brothers, please don't mark me-"

"This isn't a negotiation," he says, eyes glowing brighter. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again."

"I left that world," I breathe. "You left me first."

His expression darkens. "Something happened. When I came back, you were gone."

He touches my jaw gently. "And now you've walked right back to me."

Footsteps echo outside.

Before I can react,

He's gone.

Vanished like smoke.

But his scent lingers on my neck, a faint bite throbs.

No.

No, no, no.

He's back.

My fated mate.

My childhood crush.

The one thing my family can NEVER know about.

"Evelessa?"

Richard's voice snaps me back.

"Are you okay?"

CASSAIN

I never dream, kings like me do not dream.

Monsters like me cannot dream.

Yet for years, every time I shut my eyes, all I ever saw... was her.

Evelessa.

The child with silver eyes and fire-lit limbs.

The only being alive who wasn't afraid of me.

The one fate carved for me.

The one I lost.

Not by choice.

Not by desire.

Not by fate being kind.

On the night I was meant to meet her , as always...

I fell.

A coma.

A fucking coma.

The King of Shadows, Master of Realms, brought down by an illness no one could understand.

Her laughter in the clearing was the last sound I heard.

Her small hands throwing wildflowers at me.

Her smile, bright and fearless.

Then blackness.

Nothing.

I always wake from the memory choking on the same fear that has stalked me for years.

"Your Majesty," someone warns quietly, "your eyes-"

"I know."

They're burning.

Molten gold.

My soldiers stiffen immediately. They've been trained for this.

When my eyes shift like this, it means only one thing:

She is near.

Or at least... my mind believes she is.

I run a hand through my hair and lean against the cold metal wall of the Athletics Centre.

This campus.

This building.

This air.

It carries her.

"How many years now?" Lucian, my deputy, murmurs.

"Six," I breathe. "Six years without her voice. Six years without her scent."

"Six years of outbursts," he mutters.

I glare. He wisely shuts up.

The truth stays the same.

When I woke from the coma, she was gone.

Her father vanished with her and her brothers.

Their scent erased. Their trail removed.

As if they had never existed.

And I-

I tore the world apart searching for her.

I remember waking as if it happened moments ago.

I rose upright in bed, chest heaving, fingers clawing the headboard.

"Where is she?" I growled.

Even my council , warriors who commanded thousands , recoiled from me.

"Your Majesty," the healer stammered, "you've been unconscious for three months-"

"Where. Is. She?"

Pity filled the healer's eyes.

I nearly ripped out his throat.

"She's gone," Lucian whispered. "Her father took her. Even the royal trackers couldn't follow."

Something inside me shattered.

I burned villages.

Demanded answers.

Threatened elders.

Interrogated seers.

I even begged the Ancient Oracle , a woman I despise.

Her words:

"You will not find her until the world decides you are ready."

I hit her.

She only laughed.

Years.

I searched for years.

Every realm.

Every town.

Every coven.

Nothing.

"Cassain," Lucian's voice pulls me back. "Your heart is racing."

Then,

The gym doors open.

Students walk in laughing, talking, oblivious.

Humans.

I've been hiding among them, wearing masks:

Ice hockey star.

Billionaire heir.

Third-year student.

All lies.

Until the one scent that can break me fills the air.

Warm. Soft.

Jasmine dipped in fire.

My whole body goes rigid.

Lucian notices. "What is it?"

My voice is barely a breath.

"Her."

And then she walks in.

Evelessa.

My mate.

My curse.

My salvation.

My obsession.

My tiny spark,

now grown into something dangerous and devastatingly beautiful.

She steps into the gym and the entire world stumbles.

Sound fades.

Time slows.

My vision fractures.

Dark hair in a messy bun.

A sweatshirt clinging to curves that make my teeth ache.

Pink lips.

Silver eyes , still bright, still sharp, still mine.

My gaze follows her brothers guiding her inside.

Overprotective idiots.

But I barely see them.

I see her.

"Cassain," Lucian warns. "Your eyes."

I don't care.

She looks at me.

Directly at me.

Electricity rips down my spine.

Her lips part.

Her heartbeat stutters.

She remembers.

My mate.

Found.

Finally.

My men murmur:

"Is it truly her?"

"She's... stunning."

A roar explodes out of me, shaking the wall.

They all fall back instantly.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

She jolts and quickly looks away.

Good.

Be afraid.

Run if you want.

It changes nothing.

She's here now.

I'm never letting her vanish again.

Then some blonde cheer captain starts tormenting her.

A Barbie-looking parasite with a death wish.

"I'm going to tear that girl in half," I growl.

"Cass," Lucian hisses, "humans are fragile. Please delay murder until after midterms."

I breathe. Barely.

Then the coach calls her name.

"Evelessa, you're up."

She walks to the middle of the gym and every man in the room stares.

Idiots.

"She's incredible-"

"Who is she-"

The sound I make is not human.

My soldiers immediately form a shield behind me.

"Look away if you want to live," Lucian warns them.

Then she dances.

And gods,

the universe bows.

Her body bends, rolls, snaps into shapes that make my bones shake.

Hair flying like dark fire.

Legs slicing the air.

Hips moving like molten honey.

I grip the railing so hard the metal bends.

"Holy hell..." Lucian breathes.

One hockey player whispers, "Cass, are you-"

I turn my head.

He runs.

Good.

No one watches her like that but me.

She finishes her move, breathless and divine,

and I forget to breathe entirely.

Then,

She runs out.

Straight to the locker room.

Panic slices through me.

I follow.

"Cassain!" Lucian hisses. "Not in public-!"

Too late.

A King retrieves what is his.

The moment I step inside, her scent slams into me.

Water.

Jasmine.

Heat.

I'm undone.

She leans over the sink, water dripping down her neck.

I take one step.

Then another.

Until I'm right behind her.

Her breath falters.

Good.

I lower my face, brushing her neck with my nose.

Her pulse flutters like wings.

I breathe her in.

Long. Deep.

Something ancient inside me awakens.

Mine.

Mine.

MINE.

"Evelessa," I whisper. "I've found you at last."

She freezes.

"You, you shouldn't be here," she whispers.

I smile.

"My love... I go wherever you are."

My hand slides to her hip.

She trembles.

"I will not lose sight of you again."

She turns, palms pressed to my chest, silver eyes burning with old hurt.

"You left me," she whispers.

The words gut me.

"I never left you," I breathe. "I was in a coma."

She blinks, stunned.

"When I woke... you were gone. I searched every world. Every day. For years."

My chest burns.

"I nearly lost my mind."

Her voice cracks. "My father, my brothers, they don't want-"

"I don't care," I hiss. "Because you're mine."

Her breath shatters.

I almost kiss her.

Almost.

But the door swings open.

"Eve? You okay?" her brother calls.

She gasps.

I disappear.

But I leave something behind.

A soft bite on her neck.

A promise.

A claim.

Found you.

And I'm never losing you again.

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.