Chapter 85: Cutthroat Ice

Kieran’s POV

I skated hard across the cold ice, but my eyes were not on the puck. My eyes were completely fixed on Theo Mercer. I was watching him closely from the defense line. The first period was a total disaster.

Every time the puck came near Theo, he did something wrong. He was doing it on purpose. I saw him look directly at Asher Carter, and then I saw him refuse to pass the puck. He was intentionally cutting Asher out of the play.

The stadium was completely packed. Bright television lights heated up the air, and the national cameras were broadcasting every single move we made. The scouts were in the stands. This was the biggest championship qualifier game of our lives. Yet, Theo was out there trying to ruin Asher's stats in front of the whole country.

During the next play, I watched Theo do something even worse. He saw an opposing player charging forward. Instead of skating fast to block him, Theo intentionally missed the defensive block. He stepped aside and let the player slide right past him. He left a massive gap in our defense. He did this to make Asher look weak and slow to the national scouts.

Asher had to skate twice as hard just to fix Theo's massive gaps. I could see Asher's chest heaving. His breathing looked heavy and painful under his hockey jersey. He was exhausting his body because his own teammate was sabotaging him.

I felt a hot wave of anger explode in my chest. I could not sit back and watch this happen. I took a massive risk with my own offensive position. I skated back fast into our defensive zone to cover Asher's blind spot myself. I blocked the opposing player, stole the puck, and forced it straight onto Asher's stick. Asher did not waste time. He slammed it hard into the net and scored our first goal.

The horn sounded loudly. The crowd went completely wild. But I did not celebrate. I skated straight toward the bench, my teeth clenched tight inside my mouthguard. The first period ended a few seconds later.

I did not wait for the team. I skated off the ice fast and went straight into the narrow tunnel. waited right there in the hallway. When Theo walked off the ice and entered the tunnel, I stepped forward and put my massive hockey frame directly in front of him blocking the hallway completely so he could not move.

“What the fuck, Mercer?” I growled loudly, my voice shaking with pure rage. “It is a fucking championship qualifier. You're destroying your own future along with ours.”

Theo did not look scared of me. He stopped walking and sneered right into my face.

“My future was destroyed the second you turned Asher Carter away from me, captain,” Theo spat back. He looked completely bitter. “We used to be close friends. Now I don't even know what we are.”

I did not care about his excuses. I stepped closer to him, my chest pressing against his shoulder pads.

“Stay off the ice, Mercer,” I warned him, keeping my voice low and dangerous. “It is best if you don't play the second half.

You are not in your right mind today. I am warning you, it won't take a single second for me to report how you are using personal feelings to sabotage our game.”

Theo clenches his fists tightly at his sides. His face went bright red with fury. He wanted to push past me, but he knew I was the team captain. If I told Coach Hale about his deliberate sabotage on national television, his hockey career would be over before the night ended. He stayed silent, breathing heavily.

I turned away from him instantly. I walked straight into the main locker room and found Coach Hale standing by the whiteboard. I needed a convincing lie to get Theo away from the ice immediately.

“Coach,” I said, pulling Hale into a quiet corner.

“Mercer is having a massive panic attack in the back equipment room. His hands are shaking badly. He is not in the right headspace. He won't be able to play the second half of this game. We need to replace him right now.”

Coach Hale looked toward the hallway. He saw Theo looking angry, red, and upset. Because the game was being broadcasted on national television, the coach did not want to risk any mistakes. He did not ask me any questions. He needed to make a quick choice for the team.

“Fine,” Coach Hale snapped, waving his hand. He looked over the players on the bench. “Silas, get out there. You are taking Mercer's spot on the first line. Let’s go!”

Theo came into the locker room and sat on the bench. He was completely furious. His eyes were burning with pure hatred as Silas grabbed his helmet and skated onto the ice rink. Silas had a strange, small smile on his face as he took his position next to Asher.

I did not trust Silas at all, but right now, I needed Theo off the ice to protect Asher's safety.

The loud horn sounded, and the second half started.

With Theo benched, Asher and I began to dominate the ice. Asher was skating very fast. His movements were sharp and perfect. Silas was actually passing the puck to him, keeping the game moving. We were moving like a real machine. The crowd was screaming, and the television cameras followed our every move.

However, the opposing team grew desperate. They were losing the qualifier, and they were running out of time. They started playing incredibly dirty on national television. They were using high sticks, slashing our legs, and throwing heavy body checks after the whistles blew. The referees were missing the calls. The game was getting wild and dangerous.

“Stay close to me!” I shouted to Asher during a fast play. He nodded his head, his eyes focused on the black puck.

Suddenly, a loose puck bounced out of our defensive zone. Asher saw it first. He took off like a rocket down the ice. It was a fast-paced breakaway for the final score.

An opposing defenseman tried to chase him down, but Asher was too fast for him. He kept his balance, fake-shot to the left side, and then slammed the puck right into the top corner of the net.

The horn sounded loudly through the stadium. Asher scored the winning goal. The entire stadium exploded with cheers.

But I did not look at the scoreboard. My eyes were on the other side of the ice. Another opposing player was charging down the rink at full speed. He was not looking at the puck. He was looking directly at Asher's blind spot. He was going to blindside him from behind while he was celebrating.

If he hit Asher that hard, Asher could get hurt badly and The secret would be exposed to the national scouts and the television cameras.

I did not think about my own safety. I just moved.

Threw my entire body into the lane, putting myself directly between the rushing player and Asher.

The player blindsided me at full speed. The impact was loud and violent. It felt like hitting a wall The force threw my body high into the air. I spun around and landed awkwardly on the hard, frozen ice.

A sharp, terrible sound echoed inside my own body.

A blinding, white-hot pain exploded in my side and my left leg. I felt my ribs crush inward. My left ankle twisted completely the wrong way under my heavy skate. The agony was unlike anything I had ever felt in my life. It was suffocating. I could not get any oxygen into my lungs.

I heard Asher scream my name from somewhere far away. His voice sounded panicked and scared.

I tried to keep my eyes open. I tried to look for him to make sure he was safe. But the pain was too heavy. It crushed down on my mind like a giant weight. The bright stadium lights started to blur and fade away. The loud roar of the crowd turned into a low, buzzing noise.

The darkness rushed in fast. The pain vanished into nothing, and I passed out cold right on the rink.