Chapter Five
Evan
Rock music played from the AirPods in his ears as Evan finished the page in the book he was reading and turned to the next.
Everyone in the locker room was deep into their pregame rituals.
Some teammates were louder than others. Evan kept his head down but watched as Nix offered his bag of seasoned pumpkin seeds to anyone that passed him.
The kid was smart, sweet, and funny.
Evan was getting used to the multiple text messages from Nix daily.
They spent a lot of time together. As the season progressed, Evan found himself drawn out of his self-imposed solitude by the little shifter.
He looked forward to seeing Nix’s quick smile and hearing the boy’s cheery voice.
Evan was also struggling to hold back his attraction to Nix.
Since the night he’d teased Nix about punishment, Evan hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Nix’s reaction.
Nix’s entire body had reacted to Evan’s teasing.
Evan had regretted the words the moment they slipped from his mouth until Nix had shaken for him.
Fuckling shuddered and his pupils had widened.
For a second it was like he’d gone into a trance.
If the boy wasn’t submissive then Evan would give up his entire hoard.
He just didn’t know what to do about his discovery.
He knew what he wanted to do.
Evan would have liked to have taken Nix up to his apartment and ordered the boy to his knees. Nix would look beautiful kneeling for Evan.
Marlin stalked across the locker room and Evan tracked him. The defenseman hadn’t messed with Nix in front of Evan again. And Nix hadn’t said anything, but Evan still watched closely. He couldn’t help his protective instincts. Not when it came to Nix.
Nix laughed at something a teammate said before he turned.
Evan saw it.
Marlin veered into Nix’s path.
The defenseman smacked the bag of seeds out of Nix’s hands before he rammed his shoulder hard against Nix’s.
Evan was on his feet in a second. He crossed the room in a flash using the paranormal abilities he so often tried to hide. Catching Nix, Evan caught the boy under his armpits, keeping Nix from crashing to the floor, as he glowered at Marlin.
“My bad,” Marlin said, holding his hands up.
Red-hot anger filled him. Evan had warned Marlin. Nix was not to be messed with. The boy was his. Very carefully Evan moved Nix to the side so he was no longer between Evan and Marlin.
“Uh, Evan?” Nix said quietly. Nix tugged on his arm.
“Stay there,” Evan ordered, not taking his hard gaze off Marlin. They were going to take care of this right now.
“Sure,” Nix whispered. “But—”
Evan marched forward, bumping his chest against Marlin’s.
Marlin’s eyes widened as he tried to take a step back. He ran into Laney’s chest as the captain stepped up behind him.
“Sorry, man,” Marlin said to Evan. “Accident.”
“Bullshit,” Evan said harshly. He wasn’t putting up with this any longer.
The years had changed him. When he’d played in the NHL with Marlin and other shifters, Evan had been known for his fiery temper, but he’d calmed.
Betrayal would do that. Nix was bringing back every dragon instinct and desire that Evan had stuffed down.
“Look,” Marlin started.
Evan wrapped his fingers around Marlin’s throat then yanked him forward until they were practically nose to nose. “No, you look. You were warned to leave Nix alone.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Marlin claimed.
“Shut up.” Evan tightened his fingers. “I warned you. You didn’t listen. You really should have listened.” Inside his core began to heat. The dragon inside wanting out to make sure that Marlin would never be able to target Nix again. Evan was trying to remember why he denied his true nature.
Marlin’s face began to turn red. “Cap! Help!”
Pressing his chest against Marlin’s back, Laney chuckled. “I warned you myself. I told you to let up on the kid. Like Evan said, you didn’t listen.”
“Stupid,” Evan growled out. ”You aren’t normally a stupid man so I will give you one chance to explain what your problem is with Nix. And it better be a fucking good reason.” Heat traveled up his body to his fingertips, burning where he still gripped Marlin.
“Nothing!” Marlin clawed at Evan’s hand. “I said I was sorry.”
“Do not touch him again,” Evan told him, but he eased up his grip.
He wanted to make one-hundred-percent certain that Marlin understood him this time.
Opening his mouth, Evan allowed his fangs to drop.
There was so much that people had forgotten about his kind.
Like the fact that there were very few species who could even compare to his power and ability.
“Fuck!” Marlin tried to jerk out of his hold and only got away because Evan allowed it. “What the hell is so special about this rookie anyway?”
“All you need to know if Nix is off-limits. Don’t fucking touch him!” Evan growled out.
“Fine! I’ll leave the kid alone!” Marlin promised.
“I will tear the skin from your bones if you even look at him wrong,” Evan threatened.
Marlin put all his raptor shifter speed in getting far away from Evan.
Evan watched as Marlin practically hid behind other members of the team. They were all looking at him. Evan met each curious stare and returned it with a hard one of his own. They all needed to understand. Evan would take them all out if it meant keeping Nix safe.
“Evan,” Laney whispered. “Calm yourself, my friend. Nix isn’t hurt. They get it.”
Evan gave a sharp nod before turning to his captain.
Laney was grinning at him. “Fuck, man. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that part of you.”
He stiffened but Laney just laughed.
“That’s not a bad thing,” Laney whispered. “You’ve been hiding yourself for too long. I knew putting you with Nix was the right thing to do.”
“It’s not like that,” Evan lied.
“Sure.” Laney nodded but he couldn’t keep the smirk from his face. “You keep telling yourself that.”
Evan slapped Laney on the shoulder. “Shut up.”
Laney rubbed his hands together. “First Vin and now you. I don’t know what it is about these little shifters, but they are definitely shaking things up in the league.”
Evan couldn’t deny that fact.
“I think your boy is freaked out,” Laney said quietly. “You might want to calm him down before the game. We need his head on straight.” Laney snorted. “Maybe not straight…”
He rolled his eyes at his captain.
“Anyway, go talk to him. He’s surprised us all by his unselfish and hard playing. We need him on top of things.”
“Yeah.” Evan cleared his throat. The heat inside him was starting to cool as Evan calmed himself down. He might not breathe fire like Nix wanted but he was a dragon. His abilities were so unique that Evan often wondered what Nix would think if he knew everything.
“Go to your boy.” Laney shoved him in Nix’s direction.
It would be stupid to deny Laney’s claim.
Nix was his. The weeks, month, that they’d been together, had all been leading up to this.
Turning on his heel, Evan made sure to meet the gazes of the teammates clustered around Nix, probably concerned as Nix was obviously upset.
They didn’t need to worry about his boy.
Evan would take care of everything. His!
The word repeated over and over in his head as the dragon wanted to stake his claim loud and clear.
He received several nods, not that Evan was worried about anyone other than Marlin. Most of their other teammates had accepted Nix quickly. The kid was just so easy to get along with. Quickly, he stalked and closed the distance between him and Nix.
Their teammates immediately found somewhere else to be.
Nix stood with his back to his cubby, wringing his hands. His orange eyes were wide as he watched Evan. Such unique eyes for the shifter. One more thing that set him apart from everyone else.
Evan didn’t stop until he stood right in front of the boy. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Nix danced in place. “Really! It was no big deal.”
Evan pressed his lips together. It was a big deal.
Nix didn’t deserve to have to put up with a bully.
Nix was the kindest, sweetest, most laid-back person that Evan had ever met.
Nix just wanted to be liked and accepted.
Evan stepped closer until he could feel Nix’s breath against his face.
He wanted to smile at the scent of Nix’s beloved pumpkin seeds seasoning.
“Everyone is staring at us,” Nix whispered.
“Are they?” Evan asked. Like he gave a damn. The dragon inside him cared even less. Now that his dragon was so close to the surface, Evan wasn’t as intent to keep him buried as he’d been before.
“Yes,” Nix hissed.
“Let them,” Evan ordered. He cupped Nix’s face with one hand as he wrapped the fingers of the other around Nix’s wrist. He liked holding Nix still. “No one touches you. Ever.” Except for him. Evan was the only one who should have his hands on the boy. Period.
Nix’s eyes widened as he licked his lips. “Your eyes are glowing.”
“I know,” Evan said. It was time that he stopped hiding his feelings.
They were always together, him and Nix, and that meant something to Evan and the dragon.
He just needed Nix to understand his nature.
Being with him wasn’t like dating another paranormal and definitely not like being with a human.
“We will talk about this after the game.” It was obvious that Nix was confused and, yes, maybe freaking out a little.
“The game.” Nix nodded.
This was the worst time for all of this to happen. Evan needed to get Nix’s focus where it belonged. “Did you know that the deli started their fall menu today?”
Nix shook his head. “The deli— What?”
“I checked out the menu online,” Evan told him. “They have a whole section of pumpkin items.”
“Really?” Nix squealed. The confusion cleared as excitement lit his features.
Evan wanted to laugh. He knew that would work. “How many goals should you have to score to earn some treats?”