Wolf On The Ice

Logan Hale sat on the edge of the therapy table, his massive frame making the sturdy medical equipment look small. His knuckles were raw and bleeding. Again. Third time this week. The beast inside him was getting harder to control with each passing day. "You should be more careful with these hands, Mr. Hale. They're worth millions to this team." Logan looked up at the soft voice. Mia Reed. The team's new physical therapist. Quiet. Small. Always smelling like lavender and something else he couldn't name. He watched her gather supplies, her movements efficient but gentle. "Tell that to the other guy's face," Logan grunted. A hint of a smile touched Mia's lips, but she didn't look up. "I'm sure his face had it coming." Logan almost smiled back. Almost. But the darkness churning in his gut wouldn't let him. It was getting worse. The rage. The bloodlust. The need to hurt something. Someone. His father had warned him this would happen. The Hale family curse. Every alpha male in his bloodline was born with a wolf that was too strong, too wild. A beast that eventually took over completely if not tamed. "This will sting," Mia warned, dabbing antiseptic on his split knuckles. Logan didn't flinch. Physical pain was nothing. It was the other pain—the one clawing at his insides—that he couldn't stand. "Coach says if you get one more fighting penalty, you're suspended," Mia said, wrapping gauze around his hand. "Coach talks too much." "And you don't talk enough." Her eyes flicked up to his. Brown. Warm. Honest. Something in his chest tightened. He looked away. The training facility was empty this late. Just the two of them under the harsh fluorescent lights. It was well past midnight, but Logan couldn't sleep. Never could after a game. Especially not after a game like tonight's, where he'd nearly killed a guy for a cheap hit. "Your heart's racing," Mia said, fingers pressed lightly against his wrist as she secured the bandage. "Just adrenaline." "The game ended four hours ago." Logan pulled his hand away. "I'm fine." "You're not fine. Your hands are shaking. Your pupils are dilated. And this is the third time this week you've hurt yourself." Mia crossed her arms. "What's going on with you?" The beast stirred at her challenge. No one talked to him like that. No one dared. "You wouldn't understand," he growled. "Try me." Logan stood, towering over her. Most people backed away when he did this. Mia didn't move an inch. "It's none of your business." "It is when you're destroying your body—the body I'm paid to keep in one piece." She stepped closer. "Let me help you." The sweet scent of her hit him hard. Lavender. Honey. Something else—something that made his wolf pace and whine. "You can't help me." His voice was rougher now. "No one can." "That's not true." Mia touched his arm. Everything stopped. The moment her fingers met his skin, a jolt of electricity shot through Logan's entire body. Heat flooded his veins. His vision sharpened. His hearing heightened. The wolf inside him howled in triumph. Mate. No. No, no, no. Not her. Not now. Not when the curse was already taking hold. Mia gasped, her eyes wide. She felt it too. The bond. The unbreakable connection that had just snapped into place between them. "What...what was that?" she whispered, hand still on his arm, unable to pull away. Logan's breathing came hard and fast. The wolf was clawing to get out, desperate to claim what was his. His mate. His Luna. The one person who could save him from the darkness. But he couldn't let that happen. Because the Hale curse didn't just make the wolf stronger—it made the man dangerous. His father had found his mate too, once. Had loved her. And then, in a moment of rage, had killed her. Every Hale alpha eventually destroyed what they loved most. It was the curse. The darkness in their blood. And Mia—small, gentle Mia—wouldn't stand a chance. "Logan?" Her voice trembled. "What's happening to us?" He could see the confusion in her eyes. She wasn't a wolf. Just a human who worked for a team full of supernatural creatures. She didn't understand what had just happened. What it meant. What it would cost them both. "You need to go," Logan said, voice strained as he fought for control. "I can't." Mia looked down at her hand on his arm, seeming shocked that she couldn't make herself let go. "I don't understand what's happening." "It's a mate bond." The words felt like they were being ripped from his throat. "It happens sometimes. Between wolves and...compatible humans." "A mate bond? Like..." "Like forever. Like fate." Like salvation. "Like the one thing I can never have." Confusion turned to hurt in her eyes. "Why not?" In that moment, Logan wanted nothing more than to pull her against him. To bury his face in her neck. To claim her as his and never let go. The wolf was screaming for it. His entire body ached with need. But all he could see was his father's eyes the day they found him standing over his mother's broken body. Black. Empty. Gone. That would be him someday. And Mia would be the one paying the price. "There's something wrong with me," Logan said, the words coming out in a rush. "My family—we have a curse. The wolf inside us is too strong. It takes over. Makes us violent. Makes us hurt the ones we..." He couldn't say the word love. "The ones closest to us." "We can figure it out," Mia said, her free hand reaching for his face. Logan caught her wrist, careful not to squeeze too hard. Even now, with his control slipping, he was terrified of hurting her. "There's no figuring it out. My father killed my mother. His father nearly killed his mate too. It's in our blood, Mia. And it's getting worse in me every day. I can feel it." "Logan, please—" "I have to reject the bond." The words felt like glass in his mouth. "It's the only way to keep you safe." Fear flashed across her face. "Reject it? How?" "There's a ritual. Words I can say that will sever the connection." He didn't tell her what it would cost him. How it would accelerate the curse. How it might be his final push into madness. Better him than her. "Please don't." Tears filled her eyes. She didn't understand it all, but she could feel it—the rightness of their connection. The promise of something beautiful. Something he would destroy. Logan closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. And spoke the words that would shatter them both. "I, Logan Hale, reject you." The pain was instant and overwhelming. Like someone had ripped out his heart and set his insides on fire. He heard Mia's soft cry of pain, felt her hand finally drop from his arm. When he opened his eyes, he expected tears. Pleading. Anger. Instead, Mia stood straight, her face pale but composed. She looked him directly in the eye, nodded once, and turned away. "Mia—" he started, not even sure what he wanted to say. "Goodbye, Mr. Hale," she said softly, her voice steady despite the pain he knew she must be feeling. "I'll have another therapist assigned to you tomorrow." And then she was gone, the door closing quietly behind her. The moment she disappeared, Logan lost control. The wolf burst through his human skin, not in a full shift but in a violent surge of power. He roared, the sound echoing through the empty facility as he smashed his fist through the nearest wall. Equipment flew. Tables overturned. Glass shattered. By the time he collapsed to his knees in the middle of the destroyed locker room, blood dripping from his hands and tears streaming down his face, Logan knew the truth. He had just rejected his only chance at salvation. And the beast inside him had just won its first real victory.