He pointed toward a glassed area situated high over the center of the ice. Best seats in the house, except if you wanted to be down here in the action. “Should you be up there with them?”
“An entire game up there would have me wanting to throw myself through the glass just to escape.”
I glanced up once more, and I swore I felt eyes on us from that box. “Well, it’s good that you’re down here with me, then.”
His arm flexed behind me, and my skin tingled from the contact. “Nowhere I’d rather be, little omega.”
He’d said the same thing earlier, and as my heart pounded in my chest, I wondered how he could utterly destroy me with a single sentence.
The strobe lights went wild, and I focused on what was about to happen, right as the scent of toasted marshmallow hit me. Iturned to find Slade dropping into a chair in our row, not the one directly beside me, but the next one along.
In one of his hands was a giant plate of nachos and in the other a beer.
Sladewas who Hunter had been texting about food.
Dragon delivery at our service.
Chapter
Forty
If you’d told me a week ago that I’d be sitting between two of my scent-matched alphas, watching the other two destroy the Red Pandas in ice hockey, I’d have called you crazy.
It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable afternoons I’d had in years.
Maybe ever.
The food and beer didn’t hurt either, and somehow Hunter ensured there was always a fresh, cold cup in my hand—despite him and Slade never leaving their seats.
Kellan and Finley were brilliant on the ice. Kellan scored a hat trick, and Finley spent half of his time crushing the other team into the glass. He ended up in the penalty box more than once, as the crowd screamedeliminatorover and over.
During the game, Hunter explained that Kellan was an offensive player, faster and more inclined to score, while Finley was a defenseman, bulkier and more inclined to crush his opponents into the side of the rink.
Both were talented and skilled, and while Kellan’s main job might have been to score, he wasn’t shy about bashing players into the glass either.
“It’s a violent sport,” I said with a laugh, wincing as a blood-spattered panda hobbled off the ice. The fight wasn’t over though. Two players continued to punch each other in the faces, until the Celtic Wolf player lost his helmet.
Slade made a disparaging rumble, as if he watched toddlers wrestle in the yard. He rarely spoke, but his presence never let me truly forget he was nearby. Being surrounded by their scents had my wolf in an absolute frenzy, and no doubt, if I checked my underwear, I’d find them embarrassingly wet.
Hunter leaned forward, more interested than Slade in the fight. “Violence is in our nature, and at least alphas have regenerative powers. Kellan and Finley would be minus a few teeth otherwise.”
I shuddered at the thought of how hard they’d have to be hit in the face to lose teeth.Ouch.“Finley looks happy out there. Hockey is good for him.”
It was a stupid observation considering I’d seen the bear no more than a few times and knew the least about him of all the alphas. I had no idea what he was like when he wasn’t scowling at me.
This time Slade’s rumble was softer and introspective. “This game saved him. He’d die without it.”
The thought of Finley dying had my wolf whimpering, and I wanted to curl in on myself and cry. Refusing to lose control here, I shoved that devastating imagery out of my head as fast as I could. “I’m—” I cleared my throat. “I’m glad he has it, then.”
When there was only five minutes left in the game, our team was ahead by four, and the crowd was a cheering, drunk mass. I found myself less invested when Kellan and Finley were off the ice, but I had immensely enjoyed the game as a whole.
The sense of pride I felt watching their skills… They were a lot, and it was no surprise that I’d been squirming in my seat as they destroyed the other team.
This scent match superseded even the strongest bonds I’d ever witnessed, and I was starting to think Mom had lied about being scent matched to her pack. It wouldn’t surprise me, since lying was pretty much par for the course with her. There was no one I could ask for the truth, except for Mom’s pack, who I assumed were still out there somewhere. Beefed up on her stolen power.
Unfortunately, they were evil assholes who should not be reminded of my existence, so contacting them was not an option.
I side-glanced at Slade, who watched the last minutes of the game, and wondered if his hacking skills could be used to answer my questions. Not that we were at the stage of me asking him for a favor, especially when I couldn’t tell himwhyI asked.
