Wolf On The Ice

chapter 6

Mia stared at the man standing in her doorway. Richard Blackwood. Owner of the Northwood Titans. A man whose net worth had nine zeros. And apparently, a werewolf.

"I don't think we have anything to discuss," she said, starting to close the door.

Blackwood's hand shot out, catching the door with surprising strength for a man his age. "Five minutes. That's all I ask."

Something in his eyes—a weariness, a wisdom—made her hesitate. That moment of doubt was all he needed.

"You look terrible," he said, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. "Bond rejection hits humans hard. Not as hard as wolves, but still."

Mia crossed her arms. "How do you—"

"Know?" He settled into her armchair like he owned it. Maybe he did. Maybe he owned the whole building. "I'm not just the team owner, Ms. Reed. I'm the alpha of this territory. Nothing happens here without my knowledge."

His eyes flicked to her laptop, where her resignation letter waited. "Don't send that."

"Why not?"

"Because running won't fix this. For either of you."

The mention of Logan made her chest ache. Mia pressed a hand against her sternum, wincing.

"Getting worse, isn't it?" Blackwood asked. "The pain."

"I'll live."

"Yes, you will. You're human. The bond will fade eventually." He leaned forward. "But Logan won't."

A chill ran through her. "What do you mean?"

"Sit down, Ms. Reed. Please."

She sat on the edge of the couch, as far from him as possible.

"Do you know why Logan rejected you?"

"He said something about a curse. That the Hale wolves are too strong. That they..." She swallowed hard. "That they hurt the ones they love."

Blackwood nodded. "That's what he believes. It's what his father believed. What his grandfather believed." He sighed. "They were all wrong."

Outside, rain began to fall, tapping against her windows. Mia pulled her sweater tighter around her shoulders.

"The Hale curse isn't what he thinks it is," Blackwood continued. "Their wolves aren't too strong. They're exactly as strong as they need to be."

"Need to be for what?"

"For true bonding. Something most werewolves never experience." He gazed out the window, watching the rain. "Most wolves and their human sides exist in balance. Like roommates sharing a body. But the Hales have the potential for true harmony—man and wolf as one being."

Mia frowned. "I don't understand."

"The curse isn't that they're born wrong. It's that they need their mates to be whole. Without that completion, the wolf fights harder for control. Gets desperate. Violent." He turned back to her. "What Logan is experiencing now isn't the curse taking hold. It's the rejection tearing him apart."

"But his father—"

"Killed his mother. Yes." Blackwood's eyes darkened. "James Hale rejected his mate—Logan's mother—out of the same fear Logan has now. But later, he tried to claim her anyway. The bond was already broken, twisted. It drove them both mad."

Mia's hands trembled. She clasped them together to hide it.

"If Logan continues on this path, his wolf will take over completely," Blackwood said. "He'll lose himself. Become feral."

"And then?"

"Then we'll have no choice but to put him down."

The blunt words hit her like a slap. "You'd kill him?"

"We'd free him from what he'd become." Blackwood's voice softened with genuine regret. "It's the kindest option, at that point."

Mia stood abruptly, pacing to the window. Rain streaked down the glass, blurring the city lights.

"Why are you telling me this? If rejection is so dangerous, why did you let him do it?"

"I didn't know until it was done. The bond formed and broke within hours." He joined her at the window. "I'm telling you because there might be a way to save him."

Her heartbeat quickened. "How?"

"A new bond. Not forced, not claimed, but freely given. By both of you."

"Is that even possible after rejection?"

"Rare, but yes. If there's true forgiveness."

Mia laughed bitterly. "Forgiveness? He rejected me like I was poison. Walked away like I meant nothing."

"He rejected you because he thought he would hurt you." Blackwood's voice remained gentle. "He chose your safety over his life."

"That wasn't his choice to make."

"No, it wasn't. But he made it out of love, not indifference."

The word "love" made her chest ache again, sharper this time. She gasped, clutching at her sweater.

"The bond is deteriorating faster than I expected," Blackwood said, concern creasing his brow. "For both of you."

---

Across town, Logan curled on his bathroom floor, shaking.

The wolf clawed at his insides, desperate to break free. His skin felt too tight, bones aching to shift, to change.

The flask Blackwood had given him lay empty beside him. It had helped for a few hours, dulling the wolf's rage, but now the pain was back. Worse than before.

His phone buzzed on the tile floor. A text from Jackson: *Coach called emergency meeting tomorrow. Media catching wind of "medical issue." Get your story straight.*

Logan groaned. His "medical issue" was that he was losing his humanity day by day. Not exactly something he could explain to the press.

Another spasm ripped through him. His claws extended, digging into the tile. His fangs dropped, piercing his lower lip. The taste of blood filled his mouth.

*Mate. Find mate.*

The wolf's demands echoed in his mind, constant and growing louder each day.

"I can't," he growled through clenched teeth. "I won't hurt her."

But even as he said it, he knew he was already hurting her. The rejection hurt them both. And part of him—a desperate, selfish part—wanted to find her. To claim her. To end this agony.

Logan pulled himself up, catching his reflection in the mirror. His eyes glowed an eerie yellow-green, unable to shift back to human. Dark veins spread from his eyes down his cheeks like cracks in porcelain.

He was breaking. Fracturing from within.

And time was running out.

---

"He's dying, isn't he?" Mia's voice barely carried above the sound of rain.

Blackwood didn't soften the truth. "Yes."

"How long?"

"At the rate his control is deteriorating? A month. Maybe less."

Mia closed her eyes, memories flooding back—Logan in the therapy room, eyes golden in the harsh light. The electricity when they touched. The pain when he said those terrible words of rejection.

"You said a new bond could save him. What would that mean for me?"

"Commitment. A life tied to his. His emotions, his pain, his joy—you would feel them all."

"And if he lost control anyway?"

"He won't. Not with a true bond freely given."

Mia turned from the window. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I've seen it once before. A Hale who found redemption." He moved toward the door. "Think about what I've told you. But don't take too long."

At the door, he paused. "The team leaves for Alaska tomorrow. Three games on the road."

"During the blood moon," Mia murmured.

Blackwood's eyebrows rose. "You know about that?"

"I've been researching werewolves since..." She gestured vaguely at her chest, at the ache that never left.

"Then you know the blood moon amplifies everything. Control. Power." He fixed her with a steady gaze. "Bond rejection."

After he left, Mia returned to her laptop. Her resignation letter glowed on the screen, cursor still blinking at the end.

She closed the document without sending it.

Instead, she opened a new tab and booked a flight to Alaska.