**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.**
I gagged, surprised at how he evaded my comment about Brianna. “Ew.”
Drake laughed. He laughed genuinely for the first time since I'd known him, and I was taken aback by how angelic his laughter sounded. It felt oddly like music to the ear. “Do you want to bet on who would be winning the match?” He asked as he stopped laughing.
I shook my head. “I don’t bet.”
“Oh, c’mon, friends bet—”
“Friends?” The word felt like an insult coming from him. Drake had done nothing but made my life difficult since the moment we met, and here he was, pretending we were buddies. Let’s not forget he’d taken one of my lives—and don’t get me started on his affair with Topper, who had a girlfriend, mind you. “Last I checked, friends don’t take each other’s lives,” I muttered, keeping my voice low so Karina wouldn’t overhear.
I glanced at Karina and the rest of my friends. They were all glued to the rink, practically vibrating with anticipation as the officials prepared to start the game.
“I’d love it if we stopped pretending to be close,” I added, turning my attention back to Drake.
His face was hidden behind his mask, but I could imagine his expression—probably that infuriatingly calm look he always wore. One thing I’d learned about Drake in our short acquaintance was that nothing ever seemed to faze him. “I’m not asking you to be my friend, Eline. You are my friend, and it’s not up for debate.”
I opened my mouth to argue but then closed it with a sigh. There was no point. Drake was as stubborn as they came. Deciding to ignore him for the rest of the game, I turned back to the rink just as the whistle blew, signaling the start of the game.
The game began in a whirlwind of motion. I tried to follow it, but the players moved with a speed and intensity that made my head spin. Was I paranoid, or were these guys playing faster than humanly possible? I lost sight of the puck several times, only realizing it when one side scored a goal.
I knew little to nothing about the game of hockey. However, if there was one thing I knew about hockey it was that it shouldn't be a game of violence. At least, hockey wasn't rugby…but I was wrong. The game I was watching could as well be called *‘Rugby on ice’* with the amount of shoveling and tackling. What really caught my attention, though, was how the Cortland players seemed to have it out for Draken. Every move he made, they were right there, ready to pounce.
Draken scored a goal for NYU, and the whistle blew again, marking the first period.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding as the players left the ice and the cheerleaders took over.
“Well, that was intense,” Karina said, launching into a conversation with the others that I quickly tuned out. My eyes were drawn to Draken, who was seated on the bleachers, taking a swig of water. I watched, mesmerized, as his Adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow. I knew I should look away, but I couldn’t. It was like I was under some kind of spell, completely captivated by his presence. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest that I was sure everyone around me could hear it. When Draken finished his water and tossed the bottle aside, he looked up, and our eyes met again.
The intensity in his gaze made my pulse stutter. It was like he was a predator, and I was his prey. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, though it was probably just a few seconds in reality, before he broke the connection and turned to talk to his coach.
“Why do I feel like one day Draken is going to eat you up?” Drake’s voice cut through my thoughts, snapping me back to the present.
I ignored him, but his words lingered in my mind. After all, wolves were natural predators of cats…
The second period of the game flew by in a blur—literally. The third period was also the same. The players moved even faster than they did in the second period, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Wasn’t anyone else noticing that some of these guys were moving at speeds no human should be capable of? The game was finally decided by a goal from Raphael, who had managed to hit Draken’s knee with his stick, tripping him up before sending the puck sailing into the goal.
I stared in disbelief, my mouth hanging open. It was a clear foul, yet the officials did nothing. The whistle blew, signaling the end of the game, and the arena erupted as Cortland University celebrated their victory.
“There you have it, folks! For the first time in history, the *King of Ice* has been defeated by Cortland University! This is one for the record books!” the announcer crowed.
I shook my head, still in shock. “That was a foul, how didn't they see that Draken was hit with a stick?” I voiced out.
“Draken wasn't hit with a stick, Eline,” Yuri said from where she sat next to Karina. “He simply tripped on the ice.”
I took my gaze to Yuri, staring at her incredulously as I wondered if we'd watched the same match. “But—”
“I thought he tripped,” Karina said, backing me.
“I—”
“Eline, when can I cash in my bet?” Drake asked, cutting me off.
I glared at him. “I don't remember making any bets with you. Besides, that was foul.”
“To normal humans it wasn't foul,” he replied coolly, bringing his voice down to a whisper. “Look, Eline. Shifters and humans see the world differently in case you don't know that already. While to us they seemed incredibly fast on the rink, to normal humans, they are just *normal.* While it's true Raphael did hit Draken with his stick, the humans wouldn't see it that way because of how fast it had happened to make it seem like he'd only tripped on ice.”
I didn't know that.
My gaze drifted back to the rink just in time to see Draken, his face a mask of cold fury, stalk off the ice. Meanwhile, Topper had ripped off his helmet and hurled it aside, his face contorted with unbridled rage as he stormed towards Raphael. The air in the arena seemed to thicken, the tension so palpable that I could almost taste it. Then, like a switch flipping, all hell broke loose.