“We going again then?” he asks groggily. I laugh and nod my head, unable to get enough of these two.
Chapter forty-two
HaveIbeencheckingthe mail religiously like a pathetic asshole? Yeah. I slam the lid to the mailbox far harder than I need to. I’m not sure what I expected after how I spoke to her, how I made the situation about myself. The moment I saw her feminine writing in my journal and read what she wrote, my stomach sank. There was realization that I’d been so fucking selfish in my own insecurities while she was suffering in her own way. After I read her letters to me, I made it my mission to earn her forgiveness, even if she doesn’t want anything to do with me. In all honesty, I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to be done with me. What do I bring to this pack anyway? Regardless, even though I’m not worthy of her, of Anders and Eli, I’m willing to do anything to be a part of this pack.
I sulk back into the house. “Still no letter?” Eli asks. I want to reply with obviously fucking not. My hands are empty. So instead I just shake my head. “If it makes you feel any better, I can tell she misses you.”
“Yeah?” I sit down on the couch. We’re all getting our shit together to head to the stadium for the game today. I haven’t been able to gauge just how Eli feels about it. The Lightning was going to give him everything, but he gave it away so he could have a pack, and so that he could have Charlotte. In many ways, Eli is the type of man I want to be.
“I can just tell, ya know. She misses you, even if she’s pissed at you, rightfully so.” I don’t say shit back, because he’s right. Charlotte has every reason to hate me right now. There’s a part of me that’s so deeply insecure I wonder if she only misses me because of my scent and nothing else. “Maybe you need to figure out a way to get her attention.”
“I’ve been writing letters, texting, and calling. She ignores them all.”
“But she hasn’t blocked your number?” My brows furrow as I look at Eli.
“No, she hasn’t.”
“Then you’ve still got a chance. Figure out a way to make it happen.”
I nod my head and devise a plan as we drive to Navy Federal Stadium.
“Don’t let Petrov get the puck. Martel, hit that motherfucker into the ice,” our captain, Alexi Babanin, says to me. The man has been playing hockey for almost as long as I’ve been alive. I don’t think this is anywhere near his last season. Somehow the old fucker just keeps getting goals and taking hits like a goddamn mack truck. He’s just as tall as me and probably has me beat when it comes to bulk. He’s currently missing his front tooth, and his dark hair is graying at the corners. He’s thirty-seven, but it’s clear a pro career has been hard on his body.
“You got it, cap.”
“Becky tells me your lady friend is coming tonight,” he says in his thick Russian accent. It makes Eli’s nickname even funnier.
“Yeah,” I say solemnly.
“Do not wait. Look at me. Old man, no Omega. All I have is hockey. Do not fuck it up.”
“She won’t talk to me. I’ve tried everything.” I know I sound like a little bitch, but thankfully Alexi takes pity on me. He half hits, half smacks my shoulder with his gloved hand.
“When I was young, I had this pretty little thing. He was sweet, my Gregor.” He looks off to the distance like he is reminiscing about this lost love, and I’m not stupid enough to take him out of whatever he is thinking about. He shakes his head at the memory and smiles. “He always hated it the most when I was hurt on the ice. Always ‘poor baby,’ I will take care of you when I bled. Like he was the Alpha and I the Omega.” He shakes his head and smiles at the memory. “Omegas, at the end of the day, don’t want their Alphas hurting.”
“Okay?”
“Fuck,rebenok.Get a little boo boo or something, and she will come running to make sure you are okay.”
“Babanin, you’re a fucking genius.”
He raises his arms in surrender. “I have been trying to tell everyone this for years.” His face then gets serious. “Don’t do anything until the last period and only if we are winning.”
I shake my head in agreement. There’s a lot that I would do for Charlotte, but I’m not about to put my team in a bad place just to get her attention. If we aren’t doing well, I’ll come up with something else.
I’m about to walk away when Alexi stops me. “Does she have any Omega friends?”
I shrug. “Maybe. Are you ready to settle down?”
“Why not? Pack contracts are apparently a thing now.” He laughs as he walks away. I always thought Alexi was a few brain cells short, but apparently not. He’s spent most of his career in Dallas, but was plucked to the Foxes during the expansion draft. At first he was pissed, but it seems like he’s finally found his place on the team.
We’re all dressed and ready for pre-game skate when Anders stands next to me, his gaze super focused.
“Where is she sitting?” I ask quietly so just he can hear.
“Her and Piper should be section 101 row D, I think.”
I nod my head, happy that she’s not here by herself. If anyone is going to make sure she’s okay, it would be Piper.
