Chapter 27 Kane
Kane
We were pretty much in our dark night of the soul as a pack. Or, I hoped we were. I really didn’t want it to get any worse than this.
Ollie’s mad at me and not replying to my texts and calls, Timber is angry at both of us, and I’m splashing around like a fish in a tub of shallow water as I search for ways to fix it.
Which is why I’m jogging in a freezing forest park at dawn in winter instead of working out in my considerably warmer basement.
You’d think a guy who spent half his life on ice would like the cold, but it’s different when I’m in trainers, sweats, a jacket, and a hat while running up a hill, and not smoothly gliding in skates and padding on nice, flat ice.
Yesterday, Timber stormed into practice like he was out for blood.
The only time he looked at me was when I passed the puck to Thorne instead of him, and he exploded at me.
At least we got some nice one-on-one time as he beat the shit out of me for the first time in weeks. And we’d been doing so well…
From the lines etched into his face and the pain that seeped through his words, it was pretty obvious what happened.
My mind has been racing with all the repercussions Ollie swore she’d deal out after my tricks backfired.
So it makes total sense for me to initiate stage one of my super-duper plan to get my mates back together. Especially after promising Ollie I wouldn’t screw with them anymore.
I’m definitely clutching at straws, because I don’t know how I’m going to get them to make up when they’re pissed off at me. I have to fix that first and get them both to trust me, while also not forcing them into anything, so I don’t upset them even more.
I need a fine balance, and I’m absolutely going to fuck it up. But I have to try. I’ll keep acting like I know what I’m doing until the absolute last moment, and then maybe I’ll admit how terrified I am that I really might have lost them.
As soon as I see the back of a jogger in front of me, I step it up a notch and run straight toward her.
Ollie is so right when she said that my priority is making a pack, so now I have to make sure they’re happy, and that starts by making them happy with me. Easy.
“Well, hello there, sweetness,” I say as I run in close, putting a hand on her shoulder. I’m already grinning because Ollie’s sweat smells so damn good that it sends a bolt of lust straight through me.
She flinches, and out of nowhere, her elbow surges backward and slams right into my stomach.
The sharp point digs between my abs, and I double over, gasping in shock as I stumble on the slope.
She spins around, glaring as she pulls out her earbuds.
“You know, I was hoping my omega would be happier to see me.” I cough as I rub my stomach. Her skinny elbow hit the mark, alright, and I groan as I rise.
Ollie in tight black leggings and a long-sleeved Lycra top is everything I could have dreamed of, but her glare deepens as she catches me running my gaze over her. But that’s not why I’m here.
“That’s strange, because I don’t know you,” she says as she props her hands on her hips. “You can’t be my alpha, because my alpha wouldn’t mess around with me and then sneak up on me like a creep when he’s already on thin fucking ice.”
I grimace because she has another fair point. Even if she didn’t have her earbuds in when I approached her, acting cozy with her isn’t my best play.
From the way she’s almost snarling, whatever happened with Timber must have gotten to her, too.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume it’s my fault.
“Can’t I just come and see you?” I ask. “I was looking forward to our talk about what a shit person I am, but I haven’t heard from you all week.”
“You shouldn’t even know where I live. How did you know I’d be here this early in the morning?”
I had to drive an hour to get to this part of town, so no wonder she’s suspicious.
I place a hand on my heart, sighing whimsically.
“Our connection is so strong that I can feel you wherever you are in the world.” She folds her arms and keeps glaring, which turns me on more than anything.
“Or maybe I heard it on the wind?” And the corner of her lip hitches, but, for some mysterious reason, she doesn’t buy it.
So I give it another go. “Or maybe your brother told me this is where you jog every morning.”
“Oh, did he now?” she asks as her brows raise.
“We may never know.” I shrug.
I want to stamp the image of a pissed-off but smirking Ollie into my mind. If Timber stands behind her, glaring at me as well, it would be the perfect picture.
“So, do you want to keep running?” I ask.
“Why do I have the feeling you’re going to turn it into something sexy?”
“I can if you want me to. I honestly just came to be your friend, nothing else.”
“I don’t want a friend, Kane. I’m happy by myself.”
“What if you need one though?”
Her gaze narrows again. “I’m not in the mood for your tricks.”
“I swear I won’t try anything,” I say as I hold up my hands. Except most of my plans involve tricking my mates in one way or another.
The air thickens with tension. If she says no, I really will go.
But I’ve been rolling around in guilt and anxiety because she left before I could properly apologize last time.
I just hope to hell absence actually makes the heart grow fonder, like Marilyn said, because I don’t know what I’ll do without her or Timber.
Ollie sighs as she turns and takes off, and I see that as my cue to follow.
I stay quiet as we run along a flat path and get into a rhythm, but it’s hard to do when the run makes me intensely aware of her.
As I work up a sweat, lavender wafts in the air around us along with the fog of our warm breaths in the cold air, and I’m getting carried away just inhaling the blend of our scents.
I’m waiting for the right time to talk. I’ve rehearsed how I’ll say it, and noted all the things I’ve done that could have made her angry, along with reasons for all of them and why I shouldn’t have done it.
“Oh my God, you could at least make it look like this is an effort?” she suddenly bursts out.
My eyes widen as I look back at her in surprise. I got so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn’t realize I left her behind. Now she’s red-faced and panting as I’m casually jogging along ten yards ahead of her.
“Well, I work out for an hour or two a day by myself and more with personal trainers. I have to keep myself fit to play,” I say as I slow down to run beside her.
I nearly groan as I realize I sound like a dickhead again. She doesn’t glare, but I can tell from her expression that she thinks I’m bragging.
Except that she gave me another one of her small smiles, so it isn’t all bad.
“This is basically a walk in the park for you. I’m over here gasping away, and you’re not even trying!”
“Okay, how about I do this?” I spin around and jog backward. “This way, I can see you as we run.”
“That’s not fair!”
“I trust you to be my guide.”
“I won’t help. If you run into a tree, that’s on you.”
“You’re so cruel. What if your poor alpha gets hurt? You’ll have to stay by my bedside and heal me with your kisses.”
She laughs before I flip around and run beside her again. “Besides, if I overtake you, you can drool over my ass like it’s a carrot in front of a horse.”
Just making her smile feels like a milestone. I really am aiming for the friend route, despite my agenda.
Luke says she normally runs for half an hour, so I fill the space between us with chatter.
She responds with chuckles and short answers, but her expression is as guarded as Timber’s.
I want her to be relaxed before I apologize, but after ten minutes, we fall into a silence that has the same weight that we were left with after our argument at the rink.
Nerves choke me, but I have to remember that she wouldn’t let me run with her if she didn’t want to talk. So there’s hope for me yet!