Page 117 of Full Body Hit, Part 1

Sammy pointed his finger at Noah. “Don’t make me knucklebone you.”

It was his go-to threat since Chase had gifted him the fortune-telling sheep knucklebones. Sammy had even gone to a lesson, returning with a mischievous squint. He’d been predicting worse and worse futures for Noah, who had stopped finding it funny and now looked genuinely scared when Sammy went into his ‘psychic trance.’

Just like that, the topic of Auston was left behind in the flow of conversation, but it lingered with Chase, sticking to his skin,

It was true that Auston wasn’t mated. Didn’t have children. Didn’t seem to have any interests outside hockey, although Chase would hardly be an expert on that.

He thought about Aunix and his journey as he went through the last year of his career.

It was a lot easier to have empathy for Aunix—for someone who wanted to teach the next generation.

What the hell was Auston doing to move on? Apart from terrorising Chase, that was.

It was hard to respect a person who was doing absolutely nothing to help themselves and taking it out on others to boot.

He put the thought out of his mind. He was trying to think of Auston as little as possible lately, no matter how hard that was at times.

The conversation had turned to easier subjects by the time dinner ended. Chase spent most of the time observing how Emilio and Beau interacted, feeling a lump of something heavy but not entirely unpleasant in his chest.

Chase wondered if he and Aunix would fit together like that if they met.

The group parted eventually, Beau and Emilio returning to the hotel and Chase, Noah, and Sammy in the car as they drove Chase home.

“I can’t believe how much their scents have changed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody whose bond has taken so strongly,” Sammy mused.

“Tell me about it,” Noah grunted. “It’s fucking weird. Not that I’m not happy for Beau or whatever, but he barely smells like us anymore.”

Chase stayed silent in the back seat, skin prickling, pulse humming, hoping they wouldn’t involve him in the conversation.

He had no idea how Beau and Emilio smelt.

“He does smell like you guys,” Sammy protested, obviously referring to the family smell of the Lavoies. “It’s just morphed into something new. I think it’s nice, anyway. Most people don’t find a mate like that.”

“Makes sense, with how they smelt to each other before the mating.”

Chase had to pipe up at that. “What do you mean? Didn’t Emilio hate Beau’s scent at the start? There was that thing when he covered his nose…?”

“Oh, yeah. Apparently that was just Emilio being overwhelmed by how good Beau smelt, which, ew,” Noah explained.

“Oh,” Chase muttered.

Of course it was all about their scents. How else could people test out their biological compatibility?

His chest felt heavy as he got to his apartment. He sat on the couch in the dark living room, staring at nothing.

What was he even doing with Aunix? Where could it possibly go if Chase didn’t even have a scent? Aunix was one of the nicest, most caring people Chase had ever met, but that didn’t mean he’d be okay with Chase’s condition.

The Alpha Chase ended up with…they wouldn’t be able to scent him until they mated—Chase’s scent would drive the Alpha into biting him whether the Alpha wanted to or not. It could end with them mated to someone they hated the smell of.

That was a ridiculous expectation to set on someone. It was like expecting someone not to know how their partner looked until they got married.

Aunix was spending so much time and energy and money on Chase without even knowing what he was getting himself into.

It wasn’t fair to Aunix. Chase knew that. He already took so much from Aunix; the least he could do was give the Alpha all the information. Let Aunix decide if Chase really was worth investing in.

Chase closed his eyes, letting the black and the silence settle over him. Every inch of him ached at the thought of Aunix rejecting him. Telling him he wasn’t enough. That Aunix deserved more.

His stomach churned with seasickness, with being tossed around by the waves of fear and apprehension and guilt, Chase limp like a rag doll in their grip.