🏒 Chapter One: The First Period
The rink was colder than she remembered.
Lina Kovac stepped into the echoing cavern of ice and concrete, her breath rising in pale ribbons. The boards, the benches, the smell of sweat laced with Zamboni exhaust—it all came rushing back. And with it, the weight.
She adjusted the clipboard under her arm and scanned the ice. Half the team was already warming up, weaving between cones like half-tamed wolves. This was her second chance, and she wasn’t about to waste it—not on a failing team, and definitely not on any lingering ghosts.
“Coach Kovac,” a gruff voice greeted her. It was Markson, the assistant GM. “They’re yours now. Good luck.”
She gave a curt nod, eyes already trained on the group of players. She spotted the usual dynamics—hotshots, slackers, brawlers. Then her gaze caught on him.
Number 13.
He skated like he owned the ice—low, fast, shoulders loose, eyes sharp. He coasted to a stop right in front of her, sending a spray of ice at her boots.
“Nice to see you again, Coach,” he said, helmet under his arm.
Calder Reyes.
Lina felt her stomach clench. He was taller than she remembered. Broader. The boy who used to hang around the edges of her life now stood with the confidence of a man who’d been waiting to be noticed.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said, voice like steel.
He smiled slowly, the kind of smile that made her chest tighten with something dangerously close to heat.
“Neither are you, Coach,” he murmured, eyes dark with promise.
And just like that, the first period began.
