I just hope it works.
Skylar
We spendthe next week starting practice, attending home games, and searching for a permanent residence. The real estate agency is used to working with players to cut through the red tape quickly, because they know that the cash is there to pay for everything.
Instead of waiting months, the process is up to a week to complete the sale once a house is chosen. House hunting hasn’t yielded anything yet, but I’m hopeful it will soon. We just started, and the realtor is scouring listings before they officially go on the market for us. She’s on it, we just have to be patient.
Rhodes and I have a nice nest egg saved up, and we’ve been investing to grow it over the last several years. A hockey career can be over in the blink of an eye, and both of us are aware of this.
“Koen uses an alpha pheromone blocking cream,” I tell Rhodes as I move through the information my investigator uncovered.
We haven’t had a chance to go through everything together since part of our duties also include charming the press about our new trade. Rhodes slipped easily into the role of charming goalie, and is proving how good he really is behind his crease.
The reality is that he’s not doing well mentally though. He’s short tempered and upset that Koen continues to run from us after being in his space for the past week. The omega is in the locker room before everyone else and the first to disappear after practice and games. Sometimes that means he’s in an ice bath with headphones in, and others he’s on an exercise bike zoning out as he runs through plays in his head.
Koen could simply be focused on the job. He kind of ignores everyone on the team when he’s playing unless he needs to communicate about a play or suggesting a player adjust something they’re doing on the ice.
The suggestions are always done gently, and I’m impressed with how much the team appreciates him. When the puck is in play, I find that the team protects Koen fiercely, showing me that the Angels game was a weird fluke. They’re aware he seems to have no self preservation and they join him in his fights.
We’ve won two out of the last four games we’ve played, and I believe that part of that is because the team is getting used to me. I have to work for the camaraderie that’s important for good team morale. It’s going to mean I’ll be spending more time to win over my new teammates, but hopefully it’ll help with Koen’s skittishness too.
This is the only way we’ll be able to work better as a team on the ice. My new teammates need to trust that I have their backs. This means I need to plan a night out to get to know them better after our game on Friday night.
“How often does he use the blocking cream?” Rhodes asks, leaning back on our hotel couch.
“It appears that he uses it all the time,” I reply. “Fishman planted cameras in Koen’s apartment, and it caught him putting it on in the morning.”
“I can’t imagine being nose blind at all times,” Rhodes says, shuddering in disgust. “Wait, he was interested, though. He perfumed for us despite not knowing that we’re his. That has to mean something, right?”
“He likes us,” I reassure him. “There’s nothing in this report that suggests any kind of abuse, but?—”
“Excuse me?” Rhodes stiffens at my words, but I need him to understand something.
“The only reason he’d be so against alphas is if there’s been some kind of abuse,” I say gently. “There’s not much known about his home life outside of what he’s told the press. We know shit can be rough for omegas. But this goes beyond that. Koen is always in defensive mode. This report also says he hasn’t been in a relationship in years, though he’s had a few hook ups with beta males. The media doesn’t know he’s gay, and it appears he’s not publicly out yet.”
“Will his family not approve?” Rhodes asks. “Sky, I have more and more questions the further we dig.”
“I do too. However, we’re not competing with another pack for his affections, which is decent news. We need to push to be around him more. I know we’re on the same team, but he’s impossible to talk to. We may need to become more accessible to the team, and that means inviting them out.”
“I don’t mind being sociable for the cause,” he admits. “Are you thinking about more charity work, brand deals, what? I think we’ll photograph well together. How are we going to get into his space? Even if we all go out for a drink after a game, he could refuse to go or ignore us.”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” I say, amused by how his brain works. They’re all smart options. “I’ll put the idea into Edna’s head that we would do more with Koen. He has a soft spot for kids, and apparently he really likes dogs as well. He travels too much for a pet, but we can set up time to volunteer with him. As for that drink, he prefers a Moscow mule over beer. Apparently, the report says he likes the bite of the ginger beer.”
“Got it,” Rhodes says, nodding. I can tell that he’s repeating this tidbit of information to himself to solidify it, and I give him an extra beat before I continue.
“His favorite food is loaded French fries when he’s off season, and his favorite meal prep meal is an avocado taco bowl,” I say. “He loves the color blue, and Fishman sent me the code to watch his security cameras. An apartment doesn’t feel safe enough to me for his heats.”
“I wonder what his flavor is. So he’s definitely not suppressing his heats?” Rhodes asks.
“Funny enough, I don’t know what his favorite fruit is. It doesn’t appear as if he’s suppressing his heats from what I’m seeing here,” I reply. “The cream won’t hit his bloodstream so he can get away with it, and he doesn’t take as much as acetaminophen more often than prescribed. Koen isn’t taking anything else.”
“Good,” he growls. “So now, we just need to force ourselves into his space regularly until he realizes we’re not out to hurt him.”
“Correct,” I say. “Ugh, and we also need to find a more permanent place to live. I fucking hate living out of a hotel.”
“Me too,” he sighs. “At least we get a couple meals that are decent at the rink. The nutritionist is on our asses to eat well, but having to hit up the protein rich restaurant on the corner every day is making me insane.”
“Let’s see what our little omega is doing while I check our emails from the real estate agent,” I decide, pulling up the video feed on my computer.
