Unsportsmanlike Conduct

When the Boston Harbor Hawks and the Boston Guardians share an arena, things tend to get loud. Mostly because their captains are one bad comment away from throwing punches at any given moment.

Maeve Gallagher is everything hockey should be-disciplined, relentless, controlled. The captain of Boston's women's team, she's built her career on precision, sacrifice, and never letting emotion cost her the game.

Jack Donovan is the exact opposite.

The Guardians' captain is talented enough to get away with being reckless, cocky enough to enjoy it, and irritating enough to make Maeve want to put him through the glass every time he opens his mouth.

They clash constantly.
At practices.
In hallways.
During media appearances.
Across the rink.

Their alternate captains are exhausted from dragging them apart before one of them commits a felony with a hockey stick.

Everyone knows they hate each other.

And maybe they do.

Because the problem isn't the rivalry.
It's the way the hatred burns a little too hot.
The way every argument turns electric.
The way Jack looks at her like he wants to challenge her and ruin her composure at the same time.
The way Maeve can't stop noticing the smirk, the hands, the swagger she claims to despise.

One impulsive kiss is supposed to get it out of their systems.

Instead, it turns their rivalry into something far more dangerous.

Now they're trapped in a volatile secret of late nights, sharp words, stolen touches, and chemistry neither of them can control. They still fight. Still provoke each other. Still swear this changes nothing.

But somewhere between the screaming matches and the bruising tension, the line between hate and obsession starts to disappear.

Because some rivalries aren't meant to break.

They're meant to burn.🔥