Chapter 4
VANN
“Have you seen this?” Rhodes points at his computer screen as soon as I step into the small kitchen in our Olympic Village apartment. He’s sitting on a barstool at the counter, his lips turned down, dark brows pinching inward.
Rhodes has a knack for finding bizarre shit online.
I wonder what it is this time. The history of Mothman?
The mating habits of pink fairy armadillos?
If the strength of a peacock mantis shrimp could break glass?
The man watched not one, but two thirty-minute videos on how dishwashers work. I’ll say this for him: he’s got range.
Walking past Rhodes, I catch the name of the website, but don’t pay much attention to the rest. “Since when do you read Omega Weekly?”
That’s new, even for him. As a beta, there’s not much reason for Rhodes to be reading a magazine dedicated to omega drama.
“Are you trying to tell us something, Rhodes?” Orion says in a teasing voice as he comes down the hall and takes the stool next to our beta. “Any urges to nest recently? I did notice I’m missing a couple shirts…”
Rhodes shoves Orion off his stool, then scoots back his computer, turning it so we can all see better. “Read the damn headline.”
First American Omega to Openly Compete in the Olympics: Raven Novak.
My heart stalls before picking up faster than ever.
I can’t take my eyes off the picture of Raven on the screen.
Her hair is longer than it was in high school, falling across her shoulder in dark waves.
Her skin is pale, like she doesn’t get enough sun—she never did.
She was always more of a bookworm than the kind to spend hours outside.
There’s a slight rosiness to her cheeks and her lips are painted a tempting red.
Damn. She’s not quite looking at the camera, rather just past it, a genuine smile lighting up her face.
A pang of jealousy that someone else could make her smile like that jolts through me.
“What’s going on?” Tanner asks as he joins us in the kitchen. His hair is still wet from a shower, and he shoves a well-worn ballcap over it even though we’re inside. He’s had that hat since we were in high school, back when we screwed everything up.
“Did you know about this?” Orion asks Tanner, pointing at the screen.
Tanner takes one look at it, then walks calmly past where the rest of us are gathered at the counter. “Yes.”
He knew? And he didn’t tell us?
Tanner opens empty cupboards, probably looking for coffee. The man can’t survive without the stuff. The caffeine likely accounts for half of why he’s wound so tight. But right now, I’m the one feeling jittery.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” My voice wavers at the end. I can’t believe he kept this from us—from me. He knows what she is to me.
Tanner keeps his back turned while he opens the small travel bag on the counter and pulls out a packet of instant coffee. Of course he brought an emergency stash with him. That stuff is gross, but as long as it has caffeine, Tanner doesn’t seem to mind.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tanner says. “We’re here to focus on a medal, not a woman.”
I get up so fast my stool topples over. “She’s not just any woman.”
He ignores me and dumps the coffee into a mug. “What we should be talking about is the article published this morning about that bar fight you got into.”
“Who fucking cares about me whooping some jerk’s ass?”
“Everyone.” Tanner spins around and glares at me. “You represent your country. Our team. Our pack. You know that.”
“The guy was being a creep to Rhodes!”
Rhodes gives me a small smile. “I was fine, Vann. It bothered you more than me.”
He’s downplaying it now, but I could tell he was upset. And I have no tolerance for bullies. Not anymore. I learned my lesson. “The asshole deserved it,” I mutter.
“I don’t care if he deserved it.” Tanner slams his palm down on the counter so hard I jump. “You told me you would be on your best behavior, and now I’ve got to clean up this mess.”
Orion gets up and moves around the counter to stand next to Tanner. He puts a hand on Tanner’s back in a soothing gesture, but it does little to calm the tension in our packmate’s shoulders.
“You need to issue a public apology,” Tanner says.
“We’ve got to do damage control. We already have a reputation for being impulsive and getting into brawls.
This was supposed to be our chance to change that.
Not lend credence to it. So, no more fights.
No bothering Raven. Keep your head down and your mind on the game. ”
Tanner’s always cared too much about what other people think. But this time, I know he’s right. If we don’t want to get kicked out of the Olympics, we need to keep our cool. Our careers are on the line, as well as our sponsorships and Orion’s dream.
“I won’t bother Raven,” I grumble. “I just want to apologize.”
“Now’s not the time.”
“But—”
“No.” Tanner holds up his hand. “Focus on the ice. That’s all that matters right now.”
Easy for him to say. He’s never scented Raven, and he gets all his sexual needs met with Orion.
It’s different for them. That one brief hit of her scent at our high school graduation party was enough to re-wire my brain chemistry.
I haven’t been able to get hard for anyone else since.
I’ve tried reaching out to her, apologizing, but none of her old contact info works, and she never responds to my messages over social media.
But she’s here now. Okay, fine, not here. She’s at the other Olympic Village, five hours away in Milan where the figure skating competitions are being held. She’s close, but just out of reach.
How did I not realize she was competing?
Oh yeah, Tanner banned us from social media for the past six months because we needed to focus.
I knew they were letting omegas in this year, but it never crossed my mind that one of those omegas could be Raven.
Tanner handles all our publicity and social media accounts, while the rest of us spend all our time practicing, training, and working second jobs.
The world doesn’t exactly value curling teams.
But as our pack lead, our Team Captain, and The Manager of All, Tanner dictates every move, controls every bit of information. And I’ve let him, because I believed he had our best interests at heart. God knows I’m not organized enough to do it myself.
But not telling me my scent match is here in Italy—when he knows how hard I’ve tried to contact her—isn’t in my best interest. He’s never liked Raven. He did this on purpose. The more I think about it, the more my blood boils. All he’s ever cared about is Orion and winning the gold.
“You fucking knew, and you didn’t want us to find out.
” I circle the counter and close in on him.
“Why don’t you want us to be happy? You never wanted me to make things right with her.
What do you have against her anyway?” I shove him.
His back hits the counter, and he steps to the side, holding up his hands.
Before I think better of it, I throw a punch.
He ducks, and I hit the bill of his hat, sending it flying.
“You were gonna keep me from my mate all for a fucking chunk of metal!”
“Hey! Slow down. I’m not gonna keep you from anyone. I just don’t think this is the time.” He steps back, but there’s nowhere to go. “Did you forget she hates us?”
“She doesn’t hate me,” Rhodes mutters unhelpfully. The beta didn’t join our pack until after high school, so he’s never met Raven—though he’s heard about her plenty.
I pause, fist in the air. She hates us. All the times I ran my mouth about her, all the times I excluded her or looked down on her, every moment we interacted negatively runs through my mind at once. I was such an asshole. My hand drops to my side. Fuck.
I always planned on tracking her down once we got through the Olympics, but now she’s right here within reach. And she probably wants nothing to do with me.
Orion comes up behind me and sets a hand on my shoulder, a heavy weight that’s both irritating and comforting at the same time. He’s always been the peacemaker of the group.
“Look,” Orion says, “we all know how much you want to apologize and win her over, but maybe Tanner’s right. The last thing she needs when she’s trying to focus on the Olympics is for the guys who teased her incessantly in high school to show up and throw off her game.”
I let out a slow breath and step back. “Fine. But the second she’s done competing. I’m finding her. Even if we still have games to play.”
I don’t give any of them a chance to argue before I storm back down the hall and lock myself in the bedroom with my phone.
To hell with Tanner’s rules about social media.
I’m gonna learn everything I can about Raven Novak and exactly when she’s competing.
I might not be able to talk to her yet, but I can still start winning her over, and I sure as hell am gonna be in the stands cheering her on when she skates. She deserves that much and a lot more.