“I love you. I loved you from the moment I recognized you. I was willing to wait as long as you needed. If you never loved me, I would still love you. I would still keep you safe. You’re my mate.”

I watch my first New York Predators game from a private suite, telling myself the glass makes me untouchable.

Then my uncle brings me downstairs to meet the team, and the moment I step into the corridor outside the locker room, my omega turns toward one man like it’s been waiting all its life.

Nikolai Volkov.

He’s a ruthless Russian alpha with blond hair, blue eyes, and a presence that makes the air feel too sharp in my lungs. On the ice, he hits like a threat and leads like a king. Off it, he looks at me once and goes very still, like he just found something he’s been missing for years.

Me.

The bond snaps tight. My instincts answer. Nikolai knows exactly what I am to him.

His omega. His mate.

He doesn’t flirt. He doesn’t hesitate. He chases with patience and control, staying close like a protective shadow, making it clear I’m safe with him even while my body is begging to be claimed.

I came to New York to escape the last man who made me feel small.

I didn’t come here to be loved by an alpha who swears he’ll honor my choice even if I never choose him back.

But devotion like that doesn’t loosen. It doesn’t fade.

It waits.

And when I finally stop running, Nikolai is there, ready to take me home and make me his.

For readers who MM omegaverse hockey romanceInstinct-based fated mates instalove“I’ll love you even if you never love me back” devotion