PROLOGUE
TOREN
One year ago…
“Okay, so are we doing this or what?” Masen shouts over the roaring waves and music, drawing all our attention to him. I shake my head when he stumbles back a step, spilling some of the whiskey over the rim of his red Solo cup. My brother loves to drink and sometimes I think he believes he may actually be Aquaman with the amount of shit he swallows.
“I’m too drunk to argue with you, so let’s do this.” I peer over at Caspian and roll my eyes. He encourages my brother’s crazy ideas and never tries to talk him out of them. Hence, the current bonfire on the beach and the stolen liquor from our father's private collection. Whenever Masen sets his mind to something, there is no stopping him.
“My man!” Mase slurs, winking at Cas who raises his cup in salute.
“You two are idiots.” KennaDee snickers from beside me, and I nod my agreement.
“You’ll just jinx everyone by making that stupid pact. Let life be a mystery and live it with no restrictions.” I sneak a glance over at Kellan and my breath lodges in my throat. I have had a crush on Kellan for years. Sometimes I think he returns myfeelings when he smiles in the way only he can, or sometimes I catch him sneaking glances at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention.
“Stop being a pussy. We all make this pact now and we live by it.” Masen’s statement causes a hush to fall over our group. KennaDee places her hand on my thigh and squeezes, much like me she can feel the tension rising in our small group. She’s my best friend and this year is our year, we’re starting college with the guys and we can’t wait. The last thing we both want is for Mase to go and ruin it because he’s drunk.
“We ain’t no fucking pussies, Kellar,” Caspian growls. Cas is the biggest out of all of the guys. He may be big and burly but he has a heart of gold. Kellan is slightly smaller than Cas. Mase hates being the smallest out of the three of them.
Mase waves Cas off. “I didn’t mean it like that, you big fucker. I want this year to be epic. My little sister and her best friend are finally going to be in college with us and I want everything to remain the same. This is going to be a year we will never forget. I want to win the championship against Stormsend and finally wipe those fuckers off the map.” Masen’s words strike a chord with me. I can’t exactly explain the feeling but it feels like something bad is about to happen. I just have this feeling in the pit of my gut that something is lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce and destroy the happiness we have all built.
“Alright, I’m in but if shit goes south because of this damn pact, I’m breaking your nose, Kellar.” We all chuckle at Kellan’s declaration, who looks at me and shoots me a wink. I suck in a sharp inhale and force myself to remain calm.
“Yeah, whatever, asshole.” Mase’s tone is filled with mirth. “Raise your glasses.” We all do as instructed. Masen takes his time running his gaze over each of us. When he finally lands on me his eyes soften. Unlike most siblings who can’t stand each other, Masen and I are thicker than thieves. “To teach is to learn.To learn is to excel. To excel is to thrive. To thrive is to live. This is our year to live, the eight of us against the world, fuckers. Up the mighty fucking Eagles,” he shouts. “To living and vibing with all you assholes and my sister and Kenna.”
“To living!” KennaDee and I call out.
“To the mighty Eagles!” the guys roar, causing me and Kenna to roll our eyes, of course all they took away from that speech was the part about their hockey team.
It’s not long after that everyone else starts arriving at the beach. When the rest of the hockey team makes their entrance, KennaDee and I make our escape. This beach is the only safe zone for Stormsend and Somerset to interact. If anyone is caught fighting, they are banned for life from ever attending another bonfire party. We love hanging out with the guys, don't get me wrong, but not when they’re with their team. They tend to act like assholes. Well, not so much Kellan as whenever Mase is occupied with the team, he uses that time to hang out with me.
Kenna and I find some of our friends and hang out with them. It takes me a little longer than normal to get into the vibe of the party. Unlike Masen, who is a social butterfly and loves being the center of attention, I like to fade into the background and not be noticed by people. I’m totally okay with everyone knowing me as Masen Kellar’s little sister. Living in my brother’s shadow is better than people realizing how mundane I am and the polar opposite of my superstar brother.
“You need a refill, gorgeous?” I whirl around and come face to face with Darren Parker—he’s a defenseman on the team. I shake my head and cover my cup with my hand to stop him from trying to fill my cup.
“I’m okay, thanks.” I smile, trying to soften the blow. Darren hasn’t been subtle with his advances toward me. I’m flattered but Darren isn’t the one I want acting bold and making a move.
“Come on, Tor, loosen up and have fun.” I know he means it lightheartedly but I take offense. Darren thinks if he gets me drunk all my senses will go out the door and I’ll finally give in and sleep with him.
Eww.
“She said no, Parker.” The sound of his voice has me straightening.
“Fuck off, Kellan. This has nothing to do with you, right, Tor?” I open my mouth to tell him he’s wrong but the words lodge in my throat when I feel Kellan press flush against my back. My body heat soars and I suddenly feel like I’m on fire. With the bonfire at our backs his shadow shrouds me in darkness. I’ve always been afraid of the dark but not tonight.
He leans down and whispers in my ear, “Do you want a drink?” A shiver works its way through my body, and I bite down on my lip to keep the whimper from escaping as I shake my head. When his arms band around my waist, I gasp. This is the first time he has ever touched me and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t loving every second of Kellan’s hands on me. “Fuck off, Parker.” Darren glares at Kellan over my head.
“We’ll see how tough you are at practice.” I cringe. When Darren disappears into the crowd, he releases me and I instantly feel cold as he moves to stand before me.
“Never accept a drink from him.”
My brows draw in as I look up and see nothing but seriousness in his eyes. “Why?”
Kellan runs a hand through his hair and tugs on the strands. I quickly push that thought away and fight not to show in my expression where my mind had just wandered. “Your brother has no idea that Darren made a bet with a few of the other players that he would be the first on the team to fuck the captain’s sister.”
My eyes widen and my mouth pops open in shock. “I–I… No!” I say, as disgust rolls through me.
“You want a drink, come see me or your brother. Don’t take a drink from anyone else, okay?” I nod like an idiot, too transfixed on his sheer beauty to formulate a rational thought. “Don’t look so shocked, Toren. You're beautiful and any guy here would kill to have a shot with you.”
