“Well… it’s not the worst thing in the world, right?” he offered weakly.
I sat back up and gave him a look because we both knew this was worst-case scenario for us. Hell, his hands were gripping his wavy, black hair as if he was ready to rip it out over this.
“I’m not sure there’s enough therapy in the world to make me trust him. Hockey always comes first for hockey players,” Rylan said. His voice was intense, begging me to believe him. I already did, but my omega was begging me to give him a chance.
“What does this mean for us?” he asked as he stared at me.
“For us?” I questioned. “I’m not sure. Is he your match, too?”
My omega shrugged, looking downright miserable. “He’s not gotten close enough to me yet. This place has scent filtration.”
“What if he is?” I questioned right back, needing to know his reaction.
“I want a match,” he admitted softly. “But I don’t know. Is he part of a pack?”
“I don’t know anything about him,” I admitted. “He literally cornered me afterward to apologize because Coach Hayes was anabsolute asshat the whole time. The coach is taking it personally that I’m there. I don’t know if it’s because I’m an omega, because I’m a woman, or because he just doesn’t like bureaucracy, but his coaching skills are not enough to redeem the fucking Narwhals. Not after that trauma.”
“You’re right about that,” Kota said as he sat back down.
This time next to Rylan.
My eyes stayed glued to the omega, watching as his shoulders tensed and his eyes widened. His panicked gaze met mine.
I knew immediately that he was a match, too.
Of course, Kota’s smile grew wider. He was in heaven.
“Two omegas in one day? Are you kidding me? This is fantastic.”
I could tell he meant it. Kota was one of those people with such expressive eyes that even though they were a deep, dark brown, I could still see every emotion on his face.
He was elated while we were terrified.
Then his smile fell as he looked between the two of us.
“Wait… do I even have a chance here?” The fear in his expression nearly broke me.
Rylan and I looked at each other, fighting through our own inner demons.
“If you would’ve asked me before I scented you, I would’ve told you to go fuck yourself,” I admitted simply.
“But now?” Kota hedged. “Now you can’t resist my charm?”
The pure hope and innocence in that statement had some of the fear fading away. It was hard to be anything but charmed by this delta.
He was sweet and funny and so endearing. His playfulness didn’t come from cockiness. He was just genuinely happy and open.
Thankfully, our waitress chose that moment to walk up, saving us both from answering.
We’d chosen a quick lunch spot since Rylan had to get back to work, and I already had a feeling he was going to have a miserable rest of his day. We were both so thrown off by the revelations that I knew I wasn’t going to have much better luck.
Not to mention I still had to go face off with a coach who hated my existence and had no say in my involvement with his team.
“Do you have a pack?” Rylan asked as she walked away.
Well, demanded, really. It was said with such intensity that I froze, glancing over at Kota.
The delta was completely unbothered by the jagged edges of the omega’s attitude. He simply smiled and shook his head.
