Chapter Five
Nix
“So how are we going to do this?” Nix asked, rubbing his hands together. Nix had been amazed by the ice rink that Evan had made in the backyard. Well, technically Eirwen, his dragon, had made it. Nix loved his dragon and planned to make sure Eirwen knew how much Nix appreciated the sweet gesture.
He was sorry that he’d missed Eirwen creating a magical ice rink especially for this visit.
Evan had explained it had been done when they first got to the cabin and Nix had jumped in the shower after traveling. It couldn’t have been more than half an hour but in that small amount of time Nix had an ice rink. Dragons were awesome! His was the very best ever!
“Evan and I against you three, of course,” Vin said.
They were all suited up in warm clothes and their skates. While not in full gear, the hockey game was sure to be a battle. Good thing they were all paranormal so if things did get out of hand, no one would get too hurt. They were still in the middle of their seasons, after all.
“But, Daddy,” Aries said. “Is that fair?”
“Fair?” Vin’s brow shot up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nix knew what Aries was going to say before the words left his brother’s mouth.
“We’re good, Daddy.” Aries waved his hand to include himself, Nix, and Gem.
Yep, Nix wanted to laugh but also was smart enough not to draw attention to himself. Not when his little brother was so entertaining. One thing about Aries was that he had no doubts about his ability. The little shit was downright cocky about his hockey prowess.
“And we’re not?” Vin’s voice held amusement.
“No, you are,” Aries said quickly, potentially realizing his mistake. “But you’re both…old.”
Or Aries was just going to keep digging a hole that he should bury himself in. Nix had to smack both hands over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
“You’re going to pay for that, little one,” Vin warned, pointing a finger at Aries.
“You had better not be laughing.”
Nix jumped as Evan spoke in his ear. He whirled to bat his eyelashes innocently at Evan. “I would never. Aries is such a brat! How could he even say something like that.”
Evan didn’t look convinced.
“I know how amazing you are,” Nix said sweetly. “The best goalie in the PAHL and the NHL.”
“Hey!” Aries turned on him. “Zany is awesome!”
“Standing right here,” Gem said dryly.
“Right,” Nix said. He was honestly at a loss where to go from here. He didn’t want to get in trouble with his Daddy. And Gem was going to be the most talented goalie in the entire PAHL one day. He just needed to find the same confidence that he used to have.
“Just score a goal on your man,” Gem said as he bumped past him.
“But, Daddy!” Aries was saying in the background. “I score goals! It’s like my entire job. You throw people around. How are you going to win?”
His little brother just didn’t know when to stop.
Nix skated over to yank Aries away from Vin so they could start the game.
He had no doubt that once they started, Aries would have his head in the game.
No matter how friendly this game was supposed to go, Nix had a rather good idea that it was going to turn into the best type of chaos.
Gem and Evan went to their respective nets as Vin skated to face him and Aries.
Aries looked a little worried as he got into position with his stick close to the puck. Vin smirked as he copied Aries’s stance.
Nix skated back a few steps to allow Aries and Vin to go head-to-head.
“Ready, boy?” Vin taunted.
Aries sighed. “Okay, Daddy. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
Vin’s eyes twinkled as he snorted. “I think I’ll take my chance. Now, ready, set, go!”
Aries immediately went for the puck, but Vin beat him to it by one second.
Vin knocked the puck past Aries and Nix before skating around them fast. Like way faster than Nix had ever seen him move. And Nix didn’t miss many of the games Aries and Vin played.
“Hey!” Aries yelled.
Nix was too busy trying to scramble to catch up to the wily vampire.
Vin was racing to the net that Gem was guarding. He moved the puck from side to side, heading straight for where Gem crouched in preparation. Vin took his shot. Gem’s right arm came up, saving them from Vin scoring a goal, then batted the puck right in front of Nix.
Nix halted his momentum then headed in the opposite direction. He skated forward as he spotted Aries getting into position on his right side. This was familiar. This was right. They’d played together so many times that Nix knew where Aries would end up.
Pulling his stick back, Nix aimed to pass to Aries but before he could connect with the black rubber disk, Vin’s stick snuck from around him and that asshole stole the damn puck!
Nix spun, nearly tripping over his feet as Vin skated back toward the net. “Fuck!” he spat as he went to chase after Vin again.
Gem saved them from Vin scoring again and the battle was on.
He couldn’t help releasing a happy yip as he caught the puck on the end of his stick. This was amazing! The best Christmas Eve ever!
* * * * *
Nix
“So, this is your thing,” Gem said from his seat on the couch.
Nix brought the mug of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows—Aries’s whining had totally gotten them extra—to his mouth with his bound wrists with a smile.
“You know.” Gem made a humming sound. “It makes sense actually.”
Nix wasn’t sure whether to be offended or not. “Does it?”
“It’s probably the only way to make you sit still,” Gem responded with a knowing look.
Nix was offended when Evan chuckled before burying his fingers in Nix’s hair. He felt a little better at his Daddy’s betrayal when Evan started to scratch at his scalp. God, Nix loved Evan’s hands.
“It was my first thought upon meeting him,” Evan commented.
Okay, now Nix was a little annoyed. Just a little though because while scratching, Evan had started to tug on his strands as well. A gentle reminder that he was still in charge. Besides, that wasn’t entirely fair! He was awesome. Everyone should have a friend like him.
“You wanted to tie him up when you first met him?” Aries asked. He was playing with his new hockey action figures on the coffee table as they all relaxed before dinner. Aries and Nix were on the thick fur rug while Vin, Evan, and Gem all lounged on the furniture in the small sitting area.
The room was decorated like Christmas had thrown up. Maybe Nix had gone overboard there, but it was so awesome. His mom was going to love it, which was why Nix had gone all-out.
It was intimate and warm with the fire blazing just a few feet away.
“He likes to play a game that he calls ring around a goalie during practice to try to distract me,” Evan said.
Aries’s eyes grew wide. “That sounds awesome!”
“It’s fun,” Nix said.
“And doesn’t work,” Evan mentioned.
“That’s not the point,” Nix argued. It kept him close to Evan during practice, which was Nix’s favorite place to be.
It had started as a way to try to distract Evan, but now Nix did it just because he could.
Even when Evan was decked out in his full gear, Evan would catch Nix’s eye.
Nix was addicted to having all of Evan’s attention.
Although he wasn’t going to share that. Nope, sometimes it was best to keep his own secrets. “It’s fun.”
“I wonder if Zany would think it’s fun,” Aries said.
Nix cackled. “You should find out.”
“Or,” Vin drawled. “You could take practice seriously. Maybe then you and your brothers could beat the two old guys.”
Aries scowled, said something too low for Nix to hear, and went back to playing with his hockey figures.
And that was when he noticed Vin’s figure off to the side away from the other players in the middle of the table. Leaning forward, Nix tapped the top of plastic Vin’s head. “Why’s your Daddy over here by himself?”
Aries pressed his lips together before he answered. “He’s in time-out.”
“You put your Daddy in the sin bin?” Nix asked with delight. His little brother really was taking the earlier loss hard. Vin and Evan had won by one goal, but they had won.
“He’s naughty,” Aries claimed.
Vin sat forward in the chair from behind Aries to peer over his shoulder.
Nix expected Aries to get some kind of reaction from Vin, to possibly get a little bit in trouble, but the vampire shrugged and smirked. “I do spend a lot of time in there.”
“’Cuz you’re a big meanie who knocks people down,” Aries stated with a pout.
“You shouldn’t have been showing off. Again,” Vin replied. He settled back in the chair again. “You keep showing off and I’ll keep knocking you down.”
This was amazing! No one ever called Aries on his cockiness. The coaches from their college team had fallen all over themselves with delight and greed at signing the hottest upcoming hockey player and his brothers.
Nix wasn’t jealous. Well, not much, but even he could see for himself that Aries just had something special inside him. Not that Nix would ever admit that out loud. To anyone. Ever. No, Nix was going to be giving Aries shit for the rest of their lives. He was an amazing brother like that.
He returned his attention to Gem and Evan as they began to discuss some common friends they had.
Gem had always been the social one out of the triplets.
Nix made friends with everyone that he came across while Aries was a little too shy and mostly became friends with those that were drawn into his orbit.
Neither Nix or Aries collected people though. Gem did.
It had been that way their entire lives.
Gem made connections. He still spoke to the kids that they had grown up with. Everywhere Gem went, he always came home with a number and Gem followed up with actually calling people.
Admittedly, Nix was terrible at keeping in touch with people. He just didn’t have the attention span when there was so much happening in his life.
Leaning forward, Nix set his mug on the coffee table. After their hockey game, he and Evan had showered together. After they dressed, Evan had held up the cord of rope and Nix hadn’t even hesitated.