Friend or Foe

Pass the puck Damien, we don’t have all day!”

Damien gritted his teeth as he skated across the ice, his stick cutting sharp lines. The crowd cheered loudly, but all Damien could hear was his own heartbeat.

He was lost in the game and for a moment, he felt almost normal again. Just a guy on the team playing with his friends, no hunters, no Alphas, no blood.

He skated forward and turned, his gaze fell on Lyra.

She was sitting in the stands, you wouldn't know she was a badass hunter who wanted his head, their eyes met and she smiled.

Damien’s eyes widened, he lost focus for a moment but that was all it took. The puck slipped past his stick, and the other team snatched it up.

“Damien!” Cole shouted, skating past him with a glare.

Cole was the team’s star player, tall, muscular, and annoyingly confident. He’s the kind of guy who thinks he is better than everyone else and right now, Cole looked like he wanted to kill Damien.

“Eyes on the game, rookie!” Cole shouted as he took the puck back and ran toward the goal.

“Rookie, we’re playing the same game dumbass," Damien replied, Cole’s eyes furrowed but he couldn't do anything, not when they were playing.

"Say that again and you'll be warming the bench with your friend Jack." Cole smirked.

" Dumbass, isn't that what you want to hear."Damien replied, skating forward.

The clock ticked down, they had less than five minutes left. Coach was pacing on the side of the rink, shouting plays. The crowd’s cheers grew louder, filling the whole arena.

Damien knew this was his chance. He couldn’t let his team down, he couldn’t let Cole have all the glory.

He gripped his stick tighter, skating harder than ever before. He felt the wolf inside him pushing, wanting to break free. His muscles moved faster, stronger, sharper than any normal human’s.

The puck came toward him again. He charged, swiping it with perfect precision. The goal was in sight.

But he lost control.

The colour of his eyes changed, his breath was shallow, his vision sharpened and his speed increased. He shot forward like lightning, slamming the puck toward the goal with impossible force.

It flew past the goalie, smashing into the net.

The crowd roared, his team cheered.

He turned back and saw Cole staring at him, he could feel his gaze from the helmet.

Damien blinked fast, forcing the glow in his eyes away. He walked back slowly, Did anyone else notice?

The game ended, and the team rushed off the ice, celebrating but Cole didn’t cheer, he walked straight up to Damien, his fist clenched and eyes burning with questions.

“What the hell was that?” Cole hissed.

Damien swallowed. “What are you talking about?”

Cole grabbed his jersey, pulling him close. “Don’t play dumb with me. Your eyes….they changed, I saw it.”

Jack stepped in fast, pushing Cole back. “Back off, man. He scored the winning goal, you should be thanking him but you're acting like a psycho.”

Cole glared at Jack. “Don’t cover for him, I know what I saw. Normal guys don’t move like that, normal guys don’t have glowing eyes.”

Damien forced a laugh, trying to stay calm. “Maybe you just hit your head too many times on the ice.”

But Cole didn’t laugh. His grip tightened, anger flashing across his face. “You’re hiding something and I’m going to find out what it is.”

Cole shoved Damien, and Jack shoved him right back. They were inches from throwing punches when the door slammed open.

“Break it up!”

Coach stormed in, his whistle echoed through the locker room. He shoved himself between them and kept looking at Cole.

“What is this? A hockey game or a street fight?” he barked.

Cole pointed at Damien. “Ask him! He’s not normal!”

Jack stood upright. “Back off, Cole. We’re not in the mood.”

Cole ignored him. “During the game I knew I saw your eyes changed and there's nothing you can tell me that'll change my mind. ”

Damien’s jaw tightened. “You were seeing things, I told you this already . Maybe the sun got in your eyes.”

“No,” Cole insisted. “I know what I saw. One second, you were on the field like everyone else. The next, you were faster, stronger. Then your eyes flashed bright. That wasn’t adrenaline, we all know you weren't good at the game Damien. How come you suddenly became a star player. "

Jack stepped between them. “Drop it, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cole scoffed. “Don’t play dumb. You both think you’re hiding something, but I’m not stupid. Normal people don’t move like that, you tackled three guys like they were paper. That’s not human.”

Damien’s gaze darkened. “Watch your words, Cole.”

“Oh, what? Gonna growl at me next?” Cole said with a mocking grin. “You think no one noticed, but I did and I’m not letting it go.”

Cole turned to Damien, his eyes narrowing. For a moment, Damien thought he could see suspicion there too but Coach walked in before he could say another word.

“Both of you, cool it down,” he ordered. “You’re teammates, not enemies. I don’t care what’s going on between you. Sort it out, or you’ll both be off this team. Got it?”

"He started it coach." Damien pointed to Cole.

" It's enough, I don't want to know who started it, Cole out. Go prepare for the next game, I don't want what happened today to happen again, all of you should know your field of play. Don't be like Sam who's warming up the field." They all laughed.

Cole clenched his fists, then stormed out, slamming his locker shut so hard it caught the attention of people in the room.

Damien let out a shaky breath. Jack patted his shoulder. “That was close.”

“Too close, he's not going to stop till he finds something and we're going to have to deal with him first." Damien muttered.