“Good. Thanks for coming today, man.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”
Eli smiles, and someone ushers him to the kitchen. “See you tomorrow,” he says as he walks away. I’m left in the living room with a drooling dog who wants my cake and the prettiest Alpha hiding from me.
Would it make me a stalker if I started going to her gym?
I walk around the house, and she’s nowhere to be found, so I take the loss and head home. To my large, sparse, and lonely home that I can’t help but wish was filled with a pack to come home to.
* * *
My shoulder is sore, and I already know I’m going to need to take an ice bath later today. I’m rolling my shoulder as I skate on the ice, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Our starting goalie has been absolutely shitting the bed the last few games, and now we have a new backup, one I’m hoping can prove himself and turn into our starter.
The team stretches and Mikael is next to me. I’m sure he’s just as skeptical as I am.
“He better be fucking good,” Mikael says.
“No fucking kidding,rebenok.”
“When are you going to stop calling me a kid?”
“Probably never,rebenok.”
He rolls his eyes and continues stretching. Coach Applegate skates out on the ice. He’s new, so he has a lot to prove. He retired from professional hockey about a decade ago, but he played even longer than I have. He has only coached in the college sector, until now. I’m not sure how I feel about the man, but I appreciate that he’s hungry for a win.
“Men, I’d like to introduce Owen Connery. He’s coming to us from the Icemen, and we’re excited to have him.”
He raises his hand in his full goalie gear. He’s not a big man, and it’s concerning to me. The more surface area he covers in the goal the better. We all acknowledge him with head nods and other greetings as he heads to the goal. He starts skating the crease and stretching.
“Remind me to punch your brother-husband in the face.”
Mikael can’t help the laugh that escapes him, and Coach Applegate gives us a dark look. We both shrug our shoulders, and the new goalie’s eyes meet mine. They’re light blue and menacing, and I find it very intriguing. In what way, I’m not sure yet.
“Let’s see what he can do, Bandnin.”
“If you can catch up,rebenok.”I push his shoulder, making him go down on the ice. He curses but is quickly chasing me as the assistant coach lets loose some pucks so we can warm up. The new goalie surprises me with his movements. He may not be tall, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in his speed and alertness.
He saves some pucks that I’m not even sure Anders would have been able to save. I don’t get my hopes up, not just yet.
“Alright, let’s run a scrimmage. Our game against the Islanders is this weekend. They’ve been playing like shit, but that’s no reason to go in confident. If anything, I want a high scoring game.” Applegate pairs us off into two teams, and I have to grab one of the black pinnies to toss over my practice jersey. The new goalie is on the opposite side, and I can’t help it, but the need to humble his ass is overwhelming.Consider it a formal greeting to the team.
Mikael and I are on the same team. We’re usually on the same line, me, him, and Eli. But Eli is on the other team, and I can already tell they are playing more against each other than the other team during the scrimmage.
We don’t play as rough as we would in a normal game, but it also doesn’t stop me from pushing Luqvist into the boards or elbowing Pavelski as Mikael passes me the puck. I’m quick in seeing where I can score, and I realize I need to get closer to the net. As I do, I get pushed in the back, which sends me into the net, knocking down the new goalie.
I hear thewhooshof air leave his lungs as I land on top of him. Bright blue, angry eyes glare at me as I grab his face mask.
“Welcome to the team,novichok.”
He punches me hard in the side, and I roll off of him laughing. He doesn’t say anything as we both get up, and he’s back in his stance.
Maybe the new guy isn’t so bad after all.
CHAPTER3
I’m not sure what type of introduction I expected from the team, but getting laid out by their massive left winger, Alexi Bandnin, wasn’t it. I nearly thought he would notice something was off when he was so close to me, but he didn’t. He just laughed like a psychopath and said something to me in Russian.
I knew it would take a lot to prove myself to this team. I’m twenty-four and just now getting picked up from a feeder team. It’s not common, but there are reasons for it. Reasons I don’t plan on disclosing unless they’re absolutely necessary.
