“Okay boys!” Bella claps her hands decisively twice. The room barely notices her until Estelle puts two fingers in her mouth and whistles. The sound is so high-pitched it could break glass.
“Time to go! Everybody get the fuck out.”
The room of mostly men, alphas and betas, goes dead silent, dumbstruck.
Tia puts out her hands as if she’s herding cattle. “We have a situation. Everyone needs to clear the room. Right now.”
“Are you fucking nuts? They tied the game. They are about to start overtime.” That comes from some beta in a suit I was never introduced to.
Liam takes in the scene, going from face to face of the women who surround me. When he finally gets to me, I can see him doing the math in his head. He mouths the word “fuck”.
“Okay, cupcake,” Bella flips her hair back and puts her hands on her hips. “There’s an omega about to go into heat. If you don’t get the fuck out right now, I will let her alphas loose and I will enjoy watching them tear you apart and then I’ll use your small intestines for a jump rope. Mm-kay?”
That beta looks from Bella, to Liam, to Pierce, then puts his drink down and gets the fuck out. There’s a rush for the door.
“We need security,” Liam's voice is a little high-pitched.
“On it.” Estelle’s head is down, in her phone, typing furiously. “My cousin says he’s sending an all-beta security team, and he’s working on locking down the floor.”
“Your cousin?” I ask, fanning myself. It’s way too fucking hot.
“Yeah, Carmen.”
“You’re cousins with Carmen Montenegro, head of security for the Pinnacle Arena?” Pierce asks. Estelle shrugs.
“We should get Beckett,” Liam whispers.
“No! I’m not ruining this for him. My alpha is going to win. He’s earned this. It’s just heat. It’s not a big deal.” Just as the words come out of my mouth, a cramp hits and I double over, groaning.
“But Beckett would want to be here.”
“No means no, Liam. Don’t argue with your fucking omega.” Bella steps right into his personal space. “You take care of her. Let Beckett play. We’ll take care of everything else.”
“I will guard the door. You enjoy my suite. We’ll bring the Cup here once we claim it.” Alexei motions the stragglers out the door and takes Sandra’s hand as they exit.
“We got this. We’ve handled worse.” Estelle pats Liam on the arm.
“You keep saying that. What’s worse?” I ask, wiping sweat off my brow. She just winks at me.
Estelle is still texting with Tia leaning over her shoulder as they step out too. Bella, bouncing on her feet, kisses my cheek and skips after them.
Alexei’s box is eerily quiet now that it’s just us. I crack open the bottle of water Sandra gave me and grimace. It’s not icy cold anymore.
When I pick my head up, my alphas look like someone pressed pause. Liam’s eyes keep shifting from me and the windows overlooking the rink.
Pierce swallows hard and says. “We’re suing the therapist.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I croak out. Why am I so thirsty?
“There was not a single book about heat on the fucking reading list.”
I trade a glance with Liam just as the giggles start. And then we all lose it.
Chapter fifty-eight
BECKETT
Ihatethetasteof blood. The hit was hard enough to knock another tooth out, but the mouth guard took the brunt, just a split lip. The ice is chaos. This isn’t hockey anymore. It’s a street brawl with puck rocketing around.
