Bastian Wolf is the Beast: cold, distant, and burdened by a past heavier than any scoreboard. On the court, he is unstoppable; off it, he is a mystery wrapped in silence and rumors.

Bee Holder prefers to go unnoticed. Books, planners, and...

Bastian Wolf is the Beast: cold, distant, and burdened by a past heavier than any scoreboard. On the court, he is unstoppable; off it, he is a mystery wrapped in silence and rumors.

Bee Holder prefers to go unnoticed. Books, planners, and watching from the stands are enough to make her feel safe. Until she starts paying attention to the boy everyone avoids. Until she realizes that behind jersey number 7, there is far more than anger.

As winter blankets Chicago in snow and the lights of the high school fade each evening, they will both learn that some games are not played to win, but simply to survive.

And that sometimes, loving someone does not mean saving them... it means staying.