𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭

prologue - K

In a world divided by winners and losers, there are those who seem destined to rise above, the ones who glide through life with an ease that seems unfair to everyone else. The charming, the bold, the ones who make it look effortless, as if success is their birthright.

And then there's him.

Kaiden McAllister.

Kaiden knows what it feels like to be somebody, to be the one people admire without question.

He's known it since the first time he held a hockey stick, the first time he felt the rush of cold air on his face as he sped down the rink, and the thunder of applause that came with victory. He's the golden boy, the name everyone knows on campus and off, the face people turn to when they're looking for someone to believe in—and maybe someone to envy.

Arrogant? Sure, some would say that. He's heard it more times than he cares to count.

Stubborn? Absolutely. But that's what makes him who he is.

The McAllisters are practically royalty in the world of sports. His father was a hockey legend, and his brothers were champions in their own right. Growing up in the McAllister family meant knowing how to win, knowing how to fight, and knowing that you'd better live up to the name. For Kaiden, confidence isn't optional; it's a survival skill.

School was never his strength, and he's smart enough to know it. While the classroom bored him and textbooks felt like walls closing in, he discovered early on that he didn't need perfect grades. He had something else that mattered more—charisma. People were drawn to him. He could walk into any room and own it without trying.

Friends, admirers, teammates—they were easy enough to find. His confidence is magnetic, the kind that lets him shrug off the critics and lean into his strengths, knowing that his talent will speak for itself. He could be in the worst mood, but a room full of people looking at him like he's someone worth knowing has always been enough to keep him going.

And Kaiden knows he's not an easy person to deal with. He's stubborn, opinionated, and has a tendency to dig in his heels, whether it's on or off the ice.

He has standards and expects everyone around him to live up to them, sometimes to the point of driving people away. But why change? His reputation is his pride, his arrogance, his edge. If someone can't handle it, they're not worth his time.

People think he's cocky, but he likes to think he just knows exactly who he is—and he's never needed anyone else to tell him otherwise.

There's a thrill to it all, a sense of invincibility. When he steps onto the ice, he's unstoppable. He knows the game as well as he knows himself: fierce, relentless, unforgiving. And he's built himself to match, wearing his confidence like armor. Because in his world, respect isn't given—it's taken. And he's earned every ounce of it, through grit, sweat, and more bruises than he can count.

Kaiden McAllister is used to being on top, to walking through life as if it belongs to him.

People expect him to succeed, to be the one who's always out in front, and he's never given them a reason to doubt. The ice is his kingdom, and he is its king. Anything else is just background noise.