Pucked By The Puca (Monstrous Meet Cutes)

6. CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX

PEM

I’m a mess.

To my right, my coach screams at me to pull my head out of my arse. To my right, the Gallagher twins joke about how painful it’ll be with my horns.

“Sod off, you wankers,” I snarl at them.

The duo skates on either side of me, closing in until we’re all shoulder to shoulder. I slash at them with my twig, trying to trip them both.

“Cromlech!” our coach bellows.

I try not to flinch as Puck—the actual Puca that Shakespeare based his character on in A Midsummer Night’s Dream —barrels toward me.

“Sorry, Coach.”

“Sorry doesn’t win us the Norsphere Cup!” Behind me, the arsehole wingers chortle, and our coach whirls around to face them. “And you two—knock off the shite! No more distractions on the ice. Everyone better get their heads in the game if we want to win!”

He’s right, but it’s hard to focus when my thoughts keep drifting to Iseol, so soft and warm in my lap.

Stroking her tails.

Nipping her ears.

Feeling her come undone at my touch.

“Crom, you ok?” the tendy whispers as I skate near the crease—the opposite of where I should be.

“What? Yeah. Sorry, man. Off day.”

“Well you better figure it out, or Coach will be up your arse for hours.”

By some miracle, I’m able to stop the flood of mental images of Iseol coming— of me coming —and actually do my job.

Five hours later, Coach calls everyone off the ice. We’re exhausted, aching, and starving, and I can’t wait to eat and go visit Ramani.

I desperately need her advice, but before I can escape, Coach shouts for me.

“Cromlech, a word.”

Everyone stares at me in pity, and I swallow my groan. Skating over, I lean against my twig, hoping it has enough flex to keep me up.

“What’s going on?” he demands without preamble.

“Pardon?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. You’re the best center I’ve ever seen—that’s a fact, not a compliment—”

“And I wouldn’t dream of taking it as one, sir.”

“Shut it, ya bampot. I’ve got shite to do, so out with it—or I’ll ask Skye.”

I cringe. Skye is the Puca’s wife and a Bean Nighe. Notably, her kind is able to read minds and worse, emotions .

“Alright, alright, don’t talk to Skye. You’re a cruel man. I just…met someone.”

“A woman. Of course, it’s a woman. You have six months out of the year that’s your own, and you find someone now ? Now after years and years of actively turning down everyone else and being a self-declared bachelor?! Now when everything we’ve ever worked toward is on the line?”

“Sheesh, you sound like Ramani! It’s not like I planned this—it just kinda happened.”

Puck snorts. “Your sister’s a smart woman. What did she say about this?”

“She was surprised but happy for me.”

“As am I—and I’m not being a walloper. I mean it. This woman who’s caught your eye must be one in a million, but you’ve still got to keep your head on a swivel. Your team needs you.”

“Don’t worry. I would never do anything to let this team down. We’re a family.”

“That we are—and since you admit to being family, I’ll tell Skye she can expect you for Sunday dinner after the season is over.”

“Fine.”

“You can bring your new lady friend.”

“And risk you scaring her off? Not a chance!”

He shoots a spray of ice from one of his blades, and I leap out of the way while chuckling.

“Night, Coach!”

The other Puca grumbles under his breath as I sprint away, no doubt cursing me. Once I change out of my skates, I head out to visit Ramani.

She’s waiting for me when I arrive, her hands firmly planted on her hips, a scowl already twisting her full lips.

“You’re in trouble.”

“Aw, come on, I already got yelled at by the Coach.”

“For what?”

“Never you mind.”

“Pem! Look at you. You’re worn thin, and I know you haven’t eaten tonight.”

“How do you know this?”

“Never mind how I know! It’s a long hike to come see me, especially when you haven’t had food and need your rest. Not to mention, you must be playing like crap if your coach yelled at you.”

“He yells at everyone.”

“Is this about Iseol?”

“…maybe.”

Ramani sighs. “Come inside. You can tell me while you eat—and you’re staying here tonight.”

“You’re so bossy. I pity the man who falls in love with you.”

“Only pity him if I don’t love him back.”

“I knew you were a heartbreaker.”

She rolls her eyes, and I laugh. It’s like the two of us were born to be siblings for as much as we take turns ribbing one another.

But there’s no one else in this world I trust more than my sister. I know she’s always got my back, no matter what.

Ramani leads me inside, and I stare at the intricately carved stone walls. They depict tales of the Huldufólk, and are woven with various gemstones.

It would seem it’s just her and me tonight as my sister sweeps into a dining room, the table already laid out with bowls of some type of steaming stew.

Sitting down, I inhale the delicious aroma, my stomach rumbling loud enough to echo off the walls. Ramani chuckles, shaking her head at the sound.

“I take it that your date this morning must’ve gone well for you to have skipped a meal?”

“Things, erm, escalated this morning.”

Ramani raises a brow. “Escalated? Pembroke Cromlech, were you getting frisky on ice with Iseol?”

I tug at the neckline of my sweater. “Just a little bit.”

“You were supposed to talk with her—get to know her.”

“Oops,” I mumble around a mouthful of stew.

My sister heaves another enormous sigh. “Oh, Pem.”

“Maybe if you just told me—”

“No. Absolutely not. It’s against the rules of The Sight.”

“Bollocks. You bend the bloody rules however you want.”

Ramani wags a finger at me. “And it’s for a reason. All I’m saying is try to get to know Iseol. Wooing is more than just the physical aspect of a relationship.”

“I know that! I didn’t mean to just jump into physical intimacy…it just sort of happened. I get the impression that Iseol isn’t very experienced.”

“Has she said so?”

“No, it’s more in her actions.”

“Which is why you need to talk to her!”

“But I know you know something! Are you really not going to tell me anything?”

“Not when you can just ask Iseol yourself, bhaee.”

“Fine—but no more cryptic advice. My mind can’t it take anymore. I’m already a mess between everything that’s happening.”

My sister bites her lip. “Uh oh.”

I drop the spoon and hang my head with a groan. “Now what?”

“Hmm? Oh, I was just observing with detached pity that if you’re already a mess now …”

“Ramani!”

“Shhhh! You’re a guest—stop shouting!”

I look around, ready to apologize, but the two of us remain alone. Regardless, she’s right. I shouldn’t be raising my voice, even if my sister is trying her best to annoy me into an early grave.

“Listen, I think you should treat Iseol like you do hockey.”

“Bang out my frustrations on the ice?”

A slice of butter smacks me straight between my eyes before sliding down my nose and plopping into my bowl of stew.

“Don’t be disgusting,” Ramani reprimands me like she’s not a thousand times more vulgar than me.

“Don’t be childish—who throws butter at someone?”

“Rub it in. It might help with your wind-chapped skin. Old Indian secret. Actually, we use ghee, but butter will work, I suppose.”

“I said no more cryptic advice.”

“It wasn’t cryptic. Maybe if you stopped thinking with the head between your legs as opposed to the one attached to your shoulders, you would get it.”

There she is.

“And I’m the disgusting one?”

“Most assuredly.”

I grunt, pondering her words, but I’m too tired to figure it out. Ramani seems to take pity on me, though.

“You know how I don’t tell you anything about hockey?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to know. That’s cheating, and I want to play a fair game.”

“Exactly. Treat Iseol the same. Don’t ask me to tell you about her—learn for yourself.”

Ramani knows how important playing fair is to me. The game isn’t any fun if the sides are stacked.

“Ok…you’re right. It’s what Iseol deserves.”

“When do you see her again?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Then you best get to bed, bhaee. You have a big day of balancing.”

“Balancing?”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing—balancing yourself between Iseol and your team?”

“I suppose, but I’m doing a shite job of it. That’s what Coach was yelling at me about.”

“Is Iseol distracting you from doing your best for your team?”

“The truth? Yes.”

“Mmm, and not being with Iseol isn’t an option, so you better figure out how to balance better.”

As I tuck into the soft bed another friendly Huldukona prepared for me, I consider Ramani’s words.

She makes it sound so simple.

I’ve spent my entire life learning how to balance myself out on the rink. I do it every day without thought.

But this is different.

This time, it’s not thin ice beneath me—it’s a precipice. One wrong move and I can easily tumble off one side or the other.

But losing Iseol or my team isn’t an option.