The Ice King’s Forbidden Bond Chapter 03
Eden’s POV
The gym was louder than usual tonight.
Playoffs. Game three of the first round.
The Blizzards were leading the series 2-1, but the
tension inside the arena felt like a live wire stretched to its limit.
Mom had forced me to come again, and now I was stuck in my seat, wearing Adrian’s jersey underneath
my hoodie.
I told myself it was only a habit. Nothing more.
But every
time Adrian flew across the ice, my eyes followed him without hesitation.
I watched the way his powerful legs pushed him forward, the way his shoulders moved when he
slammed an opponent into the boards, and the way he always looked toward our section after making an
incredible play, as if he was checking whether I was watching him, I was. I always had been.
But this time, something felt different.
I felt restless, like something deep inside me was struggling to break free but refusing to surface.
By the end of the second period, the score was tied 3-3.
Adrian had already scored twice and assisted once, but
I could tell his back was starting to bother him again. Every time he came off the ice, he rolled his shoulders. repeatedly, his jaw tight with discomfort.
During the break, I slipped into the bathroom and
splashed cold water on my face.
The moment I looked up into the mirror, I heard
someone call my name, “Eden.”
I froze.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening.
It was my wolf. She was calling me. I had finally gotten my wolf.
“Eden, my name is Rue. I’m your wolf.”
“Rue, you’re finally here!” I said excitedly.
At the same time, I smelled something I had never
experienced before. A scent more intoxicating than
anything I had ever known.
“It’s our mate,” Rue said excitedly. “We’re close.
We’re about to find our mate!”
The first person who came to my mind was Adrian. But
I immediately pushed the thought away. I didn’t dare
hope that he could be my mate. NEVER.
Following the scent, I walked into the hallway.
The corridor was crowded with fans celebrating the
game. I lowered my head and pulled my hood up, trying to disappear into the crowd.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
A large man wearing the opposing team’s jersey stepped in front of me. The smell of alcohol
surrounded him, along with a scent that clearly didn’t belong to our pack.
“Did you come here alone? Need someone to keep you company?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
I tried to move around him. I had more important things to worry about. I was trying to find my mate.
He grabbed my arm, “Come on, don’t be like that. Let me buy you a drink.”
I tried to pull away, but he only tightened his grip and dragged me closer.
Then a strong hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
With one forceful movement, the man was pulled backward and stumbled, “Touch her again, and I’ll break that damn hand.”
Adrian.
His hair was damp with sweat, and his eyes burned with pure rage.
He stood in front of the drunk man like an approaching
storm, his Alpha presence filling the entire hallway.
The man took one look at Adrian’s towering figure and murderous expression before muttering something under his breath and quickly backing away.
I stood frozen. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might break through my ribs.
Adrian turned back toward me. The anger on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by worry.
He stepped closer, backing me gently against the wall in the dim hallway. The noise of the arena suddenly felt impossibly far away.
“Are you okay?”
His voice was rough, almost trembling.
I nodded, but my voice betrayed me, “Yeah… I’m fine.”
His hand lifted, gently holding my cheek. His thumb brushed across my skin, and the tenderness of the gesture completely contrasted with the anger I had just witnessed.
After seeing him so protective, that softness almost made my knees weak.
“Mate!”
Rue suddenly cried out inside my mind, “We found our mate!”
And Adrian seemed to feel it too.
His wolf appeared in his eyes, “You finally got your wolf, nerd.”
His voice softened, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this day?”
“I hate seeing anyone else touch you,” he whispered. “I always have.”
I held my breath and stared at him, unable to believe what I was hearing.
“We’re mates?” My voice shook, “But…”
He leaned closer until our foreheads almost touched.
“I knew the day I got my wolf, but I kept it to myself. Every time I stepped onto the ice, I was looking for you. Every goal, every hit, every moment out there was for you, Eden. Even when you called me brute and pretended you couldn’t stand me.”
His eyes never left mine, “I always knew.”
I could feel the heat radiating from him.
His scent, mixed with sweat, ice, and the familiar warmth that belonged only to him, made my thoughts blur.
My wolf wanted nothing more than to get closer to our mate.
“I really did hate you,” I whispered. But my hands had already betrayed me. They gripped the front of his
jersey and pulled him closer.
Adrian’s green eyes darkened, “Then why are you
looking at me like you want me right here against this wall?”
My lips parted. For a moment, my heart stopped.
I thought he was going to kiss me. Then the whistle for the third period blew.
Adrian cursed quietly and stepped back.
“After the game,” he said softly.
His voice was filled with promise, “This time, don’t run away, nerd.”
He turned and walked back toward the ice, leaving me trembling against the wall, my thoughts completely tangled.
My Alpha stepbrother was my mate? How was that even possible?
The game ended. The Blizzards won 5-3.
Adrian scored two more goals, and the entire arena
erupted with cheers. But all I could think about was the
way he had looked at me in that hallway.
And the fact that he was my fated mate.
After the game, I tried to quietly slip away while my family was leaving, but Mom insisted that we wait a
little longer. Then Adrian finally came out of the locker room.
The moment he stepped out, his eyes locked onto mine.
We didn’t even make it to the car.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a quieter side hallway away from the crowd. The moment we were alone, he pressed me against the wall again.
This time, his touch was gentler. But the intensity between us was still impossible to ignore.
“Tell me you don’t feel it,” he whispered, trapping me between his arms.
Tell me that for these past nine years, every look you gave me was just my imagination.”
I couldn’t lie anymore.
How could I, when both my body and my wolf were calling out for him?
“I felt it,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“I felt it when I was fifteen and secretly watched you shower. I felt it when you held me after my breakup. I felt it for so long, Adrian.”
I swallowed hard, “But even if we’re mates, we can’t…”
Before I could finish, his lips crashed against mine. The kiss was desperate and messy, yet somehow perfect.
All the feelings
we had buried for ten years finally broke free.
Every moment we had denied, every emotion we had hidden, came rushing out all at once.
I held onto him tightly, my fingers gripping his hoodie
as if I was afraid he would disappear.
He pulled away slightly, his forehead resting against mine.
“Eden…” His voice was rough, “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to stop pretending?”
The sound of his teammates calling his name echoed from the hallway, We froze.
Reality came rushing back. Slowly, we pulled apart, both of us breathing heavily.
Adrian looked at me for a long moment.
“Tonight,” he whispered. “Come to my room after everyone falls asleep.”
I nodded.
I was too overwhelmed to say anything.
Later that night, I lay awake in bed, my entire body burning with emotions I couldn’t control.
I wanted my mate.
Silence reigned in the packhouse, and I could no longer hold back.
I slid my hand into my underwear, which was already soaked through. Every moment kept replaying in my mind–the way he protected me, the way he pinned me against the wall, the way he pressed against me and caressed me.
I came hard, biting down on the pillow to stifle my moans, murmuring his name softly as if in prayer, “Adrian…”
My bedroom door was ajar.
I didn’t know it at the time, but at the other end of the hallway, Adrian stood frozen, his palms pressed against the wall, listening to my every moan.
His own hand was tightly gripping his cock.
For the first time in nine years, neither of us was pretending anymore.
“Are you ready, nerdy mate?”