Page 108 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

I looked ready to break some rules.

Chapter Two

BECKETT

I was ten feet tall when I strolled into the team house. My teammates hooted and cheered me on. My cheeks flushed with excitement and I directed all my attention to concealing my surprise.

I’d floated my name in passing, yes, but I hadn’t expected Coach Murray to take it seriously. Hell, I’d hardly expected Coach Murray to notice my ambition. In the two years I spent with the Arctic Titans, I wasn’t exactly the most beloved teammate. I was a skilled winger with the ambition to take the center offensive role, but I hadn’t thought that would qualify me.

“Here, here,” someone on the far side of the full common room on the ground floor cheered. I glanced over there and saw Sebastian grinning at me. He was in the Beckett-friendly camp, but not too many labeled themselves that way.

Now, though, they all seemed happy for me. I scanned the room and discovered most of the team was present. I was the last to leave the rink, having stopped by Coach Murray’s office for a short consultation. I’d basically thanked him for the trust he showed in me, to which he replied: “Don’t screw this up, kid.”

I noticed two important faces missing, but I didn’t let that phase me. Our goalie wasn’t in the group, nor was our left winger. Sawyer had never really aligned himself with either of us. Rather, he was friendly in his own way with everyone. A normally pouty and broody kid, Sawyer had been going through changes in his behavior lately, and I credited his tutor-turned-boyfriend with that. Unlike some team members, Sawyer had never hated me for the simple fact of being myself.

The same could not be said of Caden Jones, who refused to join the celebrations. While our previous captain, Riley, had had the sense to keep his dislike of me off the ice, I doubted Caden would be able to do half as much. Those two had been thick as thieves and had conspired for Caden to pretty much inherit the captaincy once Riley was gone.

Tough fucking luck. There were other candidates on this team. I was sure that came as a surprise to the God-given Caden.

I jumped up and sat on the kitchen island’s edge behind me. My duffel was still hanging from my back. “Alright, you good people, I know what some of you are thinking. ‘Let the era of decadence begin.’” The cheers exploded through the room. The thunder of shoes stomping the hardwood floor rocked the walls. “I’m tempted,” I admitted. “But that’s just the first of the many tests coming our way. I can see the inevitable challenges in the weeks to come.” The grin quivered and left my face. “‘What’s this piece of shit doing leading us?’ And, ‘What the hell was Coach thinking?’” I nodded and let the silence hang heavy in the air. The awkwardness replaced the euphoria nearly instantly.

I held my breath for a little while and scanned all the faces in the room. Avery was stone-cold, as usual. Sebastian folded his lips and kept a sympathetic gaze on me. Tyler arched one of his eyebrows. Paxton’s jaw was set, teeth gritted. My buddy, Jordan, nodded, his arms crossed on his broad chest. And the newbie, Asher, scowled on the opposite end of the room. Asher deliberately looked at nothing in particular and I had a strong feeling he wasn’t even listening. If I knew him, he was stuck in his head while the rest of the world existed in his periphery.

Asher hardly mattered to me right now. I doubted he would last long.

Fresh words filled my mouth instantly. I had hardly blinked since the last ones left my lips. “And I know it’ll be a surprise to a lot of you, but I mean to take this seriously.”

Someone whistled in the crowd. I glanced and found Jordan, feigning surprise. It stretched my lips into a ghost of a smirk.

“Don’t think for a second that I take this responsibility lightly. We’re all here with the same goal in our minds. To kick the Blizzard Breakers’ butts.” A round of laughter lifted the mood. “And carve out careers for ourselves, of course, but we should stick to the priorities.”

“Kick their butts,” Sebastian chanted.

“Kick their butts,” Jordan joined on the second one.

“KICK THEIR BUTTS!” Half the team said in unison, and laughter rippled through them all.

I nodded at that. “Tonight, we’ll celebrate as a team.” I glanced at the opening and closing of the first door at the top of the stairs. Ah. Mystery solved. Sawyer left Caden’s room wearing a pout as he descended the stairs and joined the rest of the crowd. “Because that’s what we are. That’s all we have. And let’s not let any strife between individuals get in the way of the whole. We’re brothers, boys. We’re comrades on the ice. We’re the motherfucking Titans.”

The entire team exploded into cheers, their feet thundering louder against the hardwood floor. The joy of the moment lifted me and carried me so high that I became instantly dizzy. It was the best thrill of my life — and I was known for thrill-seeking.

I hopped off the kitchen island and saluted my brothers in arms with a casual grin on my face. Hands reached to clap my shoulders, some shook me reassuringly, while some drew further back.

Jordan cocked his head at me. “Where to, Captain?”

“Thirsty Thinker,” I said. “It’ll get tough starting tomorrow. Let’s go out with a bang.”

There was a glint of mischief in Jordan’s eyes. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

I chuckled dryly, struggling to believe these words weren’t sarcastic. It truly was me. There was someone who believed in me enough to put this responsibility squarely on my shoulders. Even going out tonight seemed like the wrong thing to do, but it was a tradition. It was what Riley Brooks had done two years ago when he had become the captain.

“Are you taking the simp with us?” I asked in a low voice as we moved a little further from the other guys.

Jordan’s eyes appeared sharper in an instant. “The simp can do whatever the hell he wants. He’s not my responsibility.”

I wondered if Jordan and Asher’s parents would have agreed with that. After all, it had always been their biggest ambition for their sons to get along. So much so that I had personally witnessed both of their parents insisting that the two were brothers. Something about the way Jordan tacked the ‘step’ part to it had always irked his father like it was an insult of some kind.

Then again, Jordan had an immense talent for making simple words appear insulting. He was the master of backhanded compliments and the best defense the Arctic Titans had seen in years.