Chapter 220 Hockey practice chaos

Chapter 220 Hockey practice chaos
Chapter 220

RAVENNA

I immediately ducked my head, hiding my glowing hands under the desk.

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "I've nothing to share with the class."

The professor stared at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

Then she looked away and continued her lecture about ancient treaties.

I kept my head down for the rest of class, my hands tucked tightly against my stomach where no one could see them.

As soon as the professor dismissed us, I grabbed my bag and bolted for the door.

"Miss Ravenna," the professor called out.

I froze, my heart sinking.

I walked slowly back to her desk, my heart racing.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked quietly.

She looked up from the papers she was marking and stared at me for a moment.

"Are you fine?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No. I'm not."

I swallowed hard. "I'm sorry about what happened back there. I lost control. It won't happen again."

The professor studied my face carefully. "Be careful. Right now, everyone is watching you silently. Any mistake you make will greatly affect you."

I nodded, the weight of her words settling on my shoulders. "I understand."

"Good," she said, her expression softening slightly. "And thank you for not freaking out and making a scene. I appreciate that you tried to handle it quietly."

I blinked in surprise. "You're thanking me?"

She actually laughed. "Yes. You could have panicked, drawn more attention to yourself. Instead, you kept your head down. That shows self-awareness, at least."

I managed a weak smile. "Thank you."

"Now go," she said, waving me off. "And try to stay in control."

I found Sam waiting for me outside the classroom.

"Are you okay?" she asked immediately.

"No," I admitted. "But I have to be."

We headed toward the hockey rink together.

I hadn't wanted to return to hockey at all. After everything that had happened—the kidnappings, the accusations, the protests—I'd wanted to quit.

But Torren and Darius had both insisted.

"It won't help you if you isolate yourself," Torren had said firmly. "You need normalcy. You need routine. You need to be around other people."

Darius had agreed. "Don't let them take this from you. You love hockey. Don't give it up because of fear."

So here I was, back at the rink, trying to pretend everything was normal.

Sam and I went to the locker room and changed into our practice gear.

The other girls were already there, and I felt their eyes on me as we changed.

No one spoke to me directly, but I heard whispers.

"Is that her?"

"The MoonWolf?"

"Did you hear what happened at Mooncrest moon festival?"

I kept my head down and laced up my skates.

Coach Bonn was waiting for us on the ice.

"Welcome back, ladies," he called out. "I'll be taking over the female team for a while. Your previous coach has left, and we haven't found a replacement yet."

He skated to the centre of the rink. "Today is just a practice game. Play safe and don't injure anyone. This is about seeing how good you still are, not about winning."

He divided us into two teams.

Luckily, Sam was on mine.

I put on my helmet and got into position.

As soon as Bonn blew the whistle, Sam passed the puck to me.

I raced toward the net, my body moving on instinct.

I passed it to another teammate before I could get tackled but the tackle came anyway, hard and brutal.

I hit the ice, my neck slamming against the floor.

The air left my lungs in a rush, and for a moment I couldn't breathe.

I pushed the girl off me and struggled to my feet, gasping.

My team was already moving without me.

The player I'd passed to missed the shot completely, and the puck went wide of the net.

I was furious.

We started again.

The teams kept passing the puck back and forth, but no one was scoring.

Then the other team finally got one in.

I was mad. My team was playing rubbish.

"Sam!" I yelled, my voice muffled by my helmet. "Pass it to me!"

She did, and I took off with the puck, heading straight for their goal.

A player from the other team came at me, trying to block.

But Moonlight surged forward inside me, aggressive and territorial.

I box-checked the girl so hard she flew backward and crashed into the boards with a sickening thud.

I paused, staring at what I'd just done.

The entire rink went silent.

Everyone was staring at me—teammates, opponents, Coach Bonn.

Even Sam was staring, though I could see beneath her shocked expression that she was deeply disappointed in me.

Coach Bonn blew the whistle sharply. "Stop! Everyone stop!"

He skated over to me and gestured toward the bench. "Ravenna, come here."

I skated over slowly, my stomach churning.

He pulled me aside, away from the others. "Are you on something?"

I looked at him, confused. "What?"

"Drugs," he said bluntly. "Are you taking anything? Because you're showing the signs."

My face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "Drugs are the last thing I'd do."

Bonn sighed. "I'm sorry for asking. But you've been playing aggressively. With too much force and the way you just pushed that girl into the boards—that wasn't normal, Ravenna."

I struggled to find words to explain, to make him understand.

Finally, I managed a simplified version. "My wolf wants to dominate and win at any cost."

I paused, my voice dropping. "My wolf is pushing me to assert my position in the pack hierarchy. Even though this is just a sports team, she doesn't see it that way."

Bonn's expression softened slightly. "You need to be careful. If you hurt someone again, I'll have to bench you. Or worse, remove you from the team entirely."

I nodded miserably. "I understand."

When I turned and returned to the rink, everyone was watching me.

The girls had divided into small groups, whispering and looking at me with wary eyes.

Sam skated over and touched my arm. "Don't mind them. Just do your thing."

I sighed heavily. "This was a bad idea. Darius and Torren's idea was a bad one."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I can barely control myself in private," I said, my voice breaking slightly. "And yet somehow they decided public would be the best place to practice control? They're just going to make a fool of me and get me into trouble."

My hands trembled. "I don't want any more issues with the Council. I can't afford it."

Sam squeezed my arm. "You're going to be fine. Just breathe."

But I didn't feel fine.

Coach Bonn blew the whistle again. "That's it for today, ladies. I need to work with the men's team."

Relief flooded through me.

I skated off the ice as quickly as I could and headed for the locker room.

I was changing out of my gear, my hands still shaking, when one of my teammates approached me.

Her name was Jessica, and she'd always been friendly before.

Now she looked at me with suspicion and something like fear.

"Are you a witch now?" she asked bluntly.

I frowned. "What? Why would you ask that?"

"Because of the way you pushed Lillian," Jessica replied. "That wasn't human strength. That wasn't even normal wolf strength."

She paused. "I just wanted to know if you're a witch. Because if you are, maybe you could grant me a wish."

Anger flared hot in my chest. "You're mad. Get out of my sight."

Jessica's expression hardened. "Don't talk to me like that, you freak."

I stepped forward, trying desperately to conceal my anger, to push it down.

But I felt Moonlight rising, felt my control slipping.

Jessica's eyes widened, and she backed away quickly.

I turned to look in the mirror on the locker room wall.

My eyes were glowing gold and they looked so bright, inhuman, terrifying.

"Perfect timing," I muttered bitterly.

Jessica practically ran out of the locker room.

Sam appeared beside me. "Raven—"

"I know," I said quietly, staring at my reflection. "I know."

I closed my eyes and forced slow breaths until the gold faded and my normal brown eyes returned.

When I got home to my pack territory, I found Theodore and my father waiting for me in the sitting room.

My stomach dropped.

"How do you already know?" I asked.

Theodore crossed his arms. "I have sources at the academy. They told me what happened at hockey practice."

My father stood, his expression stern. "Is it true? Did you injure another student?"

"She's fine," I said defensively. "Just shaken up."

"That's not the point," my father said, his voice rising. "You're losing control, Ravenna. You're putting other students at risk."

I looked down at my hands, shame burning through me. "I know. I'm trying—"

"Trying isn't enough," Theodore interrupted. "You need proper intensive training."

My father nodded. "You'll be having daily sessions with Torren. Starting tomorrow. You're going to learn to control your wolf before you seriously hurt someone."