Page 85 of Shattered Hate

“Devil Hawks isn’t just any old ice hockey team.”

My eyes drift up to the arena screens, which are alive with sketch after sketch of our team—some capturing us in the heat of action, others in the locker room, where we’re relaxed and happy.

“They’re a family, a brotherhood, a bond held so tight together no one could ever break it,” Daxton’s voice says over the pictures. A drawing of the three pucks in chains, the one Daxton designed for my tattoo, flashes on the screen, and I can’t help but grin widely. Kal and Bray stand beside me, each placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “They test each other; they go against each other in training.” Now a video plays, showing us as fierce rivals on the ice. “But they always come back together.” The screen shifts to us laughing together, the friendship clear as our training session wraps up.

“They protect, they fight—this time a clip of Cope appears, seated in the locker room where we all give our interviews. “Whowinds you up the most, Cope?” Daxton asks. “Definitely Tray,” Cope replies without missing a beat, prompting laughter from us and the crowd. At that moment, I almost forget everyone is watching. “But I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

“Awww,” echoes warmly throughout the rink. “Well, okay, maybe I’d change a little bit,” Cope adds with a cheeky grin. I turn to Cope and playfully flip him off. Daxton’s voice smoothly narrates over the video as Bray’s face fills the screen.

“They love.”

Bray looks over at Dax, his wide, toothy grin lighting up the screen and warming my heart. “What does hockey mean to you, Brayden?” he asks. Brayden’s smile softens, as if he’s drifting into a sea of memories. “It means hoping it could change my life and my brother’s,” he begins. “It’s those Saturday mornings at the rink, meeting people who turn into your forever friends, into family. It’s shaking the vending machine until all the candy tumbles out after practice. It’s tears when your team loses. It’s punches, black eyes, and split lips. It’s blood, and lots of it.” He chuckles, and we all join in, knowing it’s all so true. “It’s hope and dreams. It’s the chill in the air. It’s the place where you battle your demons. It’s Tray, Kal, Cope, Jennings, Becketts, Jacobs, Masons, Smithson, Coach, Number 13’s Biggest Fan, and it’s you.” Brayden beams at Daxton. “It’s an unbreakable bond. It’s brotherhood. It’s family.”

I clench my jaw, trying to keep my emotions in check, but that speech really hit home. I sniffle, and Brayden turns his head toward me, laughing. “Oh my god.”

“Say one word,” I warn, trying to sound tough. “And I’ll tell everyone how you got off just from eating Bohdi’s ass.”

“You really are an A-class bitch, you know that.”

“Queen bitch to you.” We both burst into laughter, turning our eyes back to the screen as the arena seems to freeze, captivatedby Daxton’s work. It’s flawless, the way he’s captured the essence of everything. He definitely deserves top grades for this.

Kal’s face fills the screen, and he glares at the camera as if it has personally offended him.

“Kal, where do you see yourself in five years?”

Kal shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable for the first time. “Erm, signed with the NHL, living out my hockey dream.” His answer is blunt, pure Kal.

“What about outside of hockey?”

Suddenly, Kal’s face lights up for a moment, then dims slightly. “A beautiful fiancée on one arm while I hold my baby in my other,” he says, genuinely smiling as if he’s watching it unfold. “A nice house, somewhere quiet, with a front porch and lots of land. Maybe a dog.” He shifts in his seat again and looks at Dax. “I see myself being happy, watching the halftime show with all my boys, but most importantly, I see Bray and Tray on either side of me, having succeeded in every sweet way possible. I know that as long as they’re by my side in five years, my life will be complete.”

Brayden chokes on a sob, and I rub his back gently. “Little bitch,” I whisper, feeling my own bottom lip tremble.

And then my face shows.

“Here we go,” Kal mumbles behind me.

I remember this day. It wasn’t long after I sucked his dick in the library and demanded that he meet me in the locker room for the interview. I remember looking at him at this very moment, wishing I could grab him right there and fuck him. But I couldn’t because I “hated him.” What a load of horse shit.

“What are you thinking right now?” he asks. I knew he saw it in my eyes. He saw the heat because it was mirrored back.

I rub my thumb against my lip, remembering the way I collected the dripping cum from my lips and pushed it into his mouth, hooking his teeth to pull him closer. I was teetering onthe edge of storming over to him and fucking him so goddamn hard. “Next question.”

“What do you love about Devil Hawks?”

“Why don’t you ask me something you really want to know? Not for the camera. For you.”

The loud sigh comes through the speakers from Daxton.

“Do you believe in love?” My eyes flash on the camera in complete shock. I remember I was expecting him to ask me why I was such a prick or something along those lines, but not that.

“No,” I say. “What does love mean to you?”

“I’m leading the interview.”

“And I’m asking you a simple question.”

There’s silence for a minute. And then Dax speaks. “Love is many different things. Love could mean one thing to you and a thousand things to me.”

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