Chapter 15. Clean Break

Wyatt’s POV

Six a.m. practice on a Saturday is a crime against wolves.

The rink is freezing, the lights are buzzing, and my body still thinks it’s in the front seat of my car at 11:52 last night with Tessa Evans’s hands fisted in my shirt.

I miss a pass from Chase by three feet.

“Cooper!” Coach Noa’s voice rips across the ice like a slapshot. “Where’s your head? Do something!”

I do something. I skate harder. It doesn’t help.

Next drill, I go into the corner with Rhett Ashford, a sophomore who’s been on my line since August, and I hit him harder than I need to. Not dirty. Just hard. He goes into the boards and bounces off, and for half a second, my vision narrows. The edges go dark and gold. The ice smells like blood that isn’t there.

I stop. I make myself stop, skates scraping, ten feet from him.

“You good, Cap?” Rhett asks, rubbing his shoulder.

“Yeah.” My voice sounds normal. My hands don’t feel normal. “Sorry. Heads up next ti