Before I could answer, Coach walked in.
"Vale. My office. Now."
I followed him out, feeling my teammates' eyes on my back.
Coach's office was small, cramped with filing cabinets and whiteboards covered in play diagrams. He shut the door behind us, turned to face me.
"You bonded."
Not a question. A statement.
"Yes."
"During the season. Without telling anyone."
"It wasn't planned."
"Bondings never are." He sighed, rubbed his face. "But you're my captain, Luca. I need to know if this is going to affect your game."
"It won't."
"You sure about that? Because you look like you haven't slept in two days, and we're playing the Steel Wolves tonight. I need you at one hundred percent."
"I'll be there."
He studied me for a long moment. "This Omega. She important to you?"
"Yes."
"More important than hockey?"
The question caught me off guard. Was she?
"I can do both," I said instead.
"Good. Because we need this win." He moved to open the door, then paused. "Congratulations, by the way. Bonding's a big deal. Even if the timing sucks."
I went back to the locker room, suited up in silence while my teammates whispered around me. Let them talk. Let them speculate. It didn't matter.
Except it did matter. Because I could feel Jaxon through the bond now, getting ready in the Steel Wolves locker room across the arena. Could feel his anticipation, his competitive fire.
Could feel Reina too, somewhere in the building. Her nervousness and excitement mixing together.
She was wearing my jersey. I could picture it. Number twelve. VALE across her shoulders.
The possessive satisfaction that thought brought was almost overwhelming.
Warm-ups were torture.
I skated onto the ice with my team, went through the drills automatically. Stretches, passing practice, a few shots on goal.
The Steel Wolves came out for their warm-ups on the other end of the ice.
Jaxon was easy to spot. Number seven. Bigger than most of his teammates, moving with that reckless confidence he'd always had.
Our eyes met across the ice.
The bond flared between us. Hot and electric and impossible to ignore.
