Chapter Eight #3
“Dinner,” Evan announced.
“That was fast. It’s the first intermission,” Nix told him. He managed to roll onto his side where he was facing Evan. His face was flushed and he was a little sweaty from fighting the ropes, but he also looked adorable.
“I saw,” Evan said. “Aries is playing well.”
“He’s having a great rookie year,” Nix boasted.
“So are you. And Gem made starting goalie as a rookie. The league will never be the same now that you three are here.”
Nix laughed. “That’s the plan. We bring all the fun with us.”
“Sure, boy,” Evan said. “You keep telling yourself that. I think you bring trouble.”
“That too.” Nix did his best to shrug while still tied up.
Evan moved the cart close to the bed before he climbed onto the mattress. Lifting Nix, he situated the boy between his legs. Evan had chosen a meal that would be easy to feed Nix. The perfect end to the night.
* * * * *
Nix
With his stomach filled with the best ever lasagna that Nix had ever tasted and warm and comfortable in Evan’s arms, Nix was in heaven.
“Are you still doing okay?” Evan rubbed Nix’s upper arms.
“Yes.” Nix leaned against Evan’s chest. His Daddy had set an alarm for when the ropes needed to come off. Evan had claimed that they would work up to Nix spending longer periods of time tied up. If Nix wasn’t a shifter, Evan would have already untied him.
“Make sure to let me know if you’re growing numb,” Evan said.
“I know, Daddy,” Nix said for the third time. Evan was such a worrywart.
“Don’t give me that sassy look,” Evan told him. “It’s my job to take care of you.”
Nix pressed his lips against Evan’s neck before returning his attention to the game. They were at the end of the third period and the Vegas Vikings were winning.
“Go! Go!” Nix shouted. Bane won the faceoff, passing the puck to Shawn.
Shawn and Aries took off down the ice with the defensive duo from their opponents chasing after them.
Robbs knocked away one defenseman while Vin threw the other into the boards.
Aries flew down the ice. Aries drew his stick back and sent the puck to the net.
The little black disk whistled through the air before entering the net over the goalie’s left shoulder.
“Fuck yes!” Nix shouted. It had been a beautiful shot.
Aries threw his arms up in celebration as he turned toward the goal.
Nix bounced since he couldn’t really celebrate properly.
The play was over.
The goal light flashing.
The whistle blew.
Greg Thompson didn’t stop.
Didn’t slow.
“Aries!” Nix screamed at the screen.
Aries was lifted off his feet as he soared back. He crashed through the reinforced glass around the rink. The glass shattered and Aries disappeared from sight.
“No!” Nix bolted from the bed. Or he tried. Without the use of his arms, Nix crashed onto the carpet. He wiggled as he tried to see the television better. Not that it mattered. The game had gone to commercial.
“Nix! Stop. Let me get you.” Evan was standing next to him.
“Aries! Aries!” Nix sobbed.
“I got you. Stop, boy.” Evan knelt before flicking out his claws. He cut the ropes away from Nix’s wrist.
As soon as the bright blue rope fell to the carpet, Nix tried to push off.
His arms tingled and gave out.
That meant he needed to crawl. Nix didn’t care. All he knew was that he needed to get to his little brother.
“Stop! Nix! It’s going to be okay.” Evan lifted Nix onto his feet.
He headed straight for the door.
Evan wrapped his arms around Nix, pulling him close.
“Let me go!” Nix shouted. “I need to get to Aries.”
“You can’t,” Evan said. “Nix, you can’t.”
“Let me go!”
Evan’s mouth slammed down on his.
All of Nix’s senses went haywire until all he could do was cling to Evan. By the time that Evan pulled back, Nix had stopped crying. He could think more clearly.
“There you are,” Evan said, gazing down at him. “Welcome back.”
Nix gripped Evan’s shirt. “My brother.”
“We’ll find out,” Evan told him. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“The hit. It was so hard. Aries shouldn’t have been able to go through the glass.” It had looked horrible. Aries was just a little guy.
“If I’ve learned anything about you and your brother, it’s that you’re tough.”
Nix nodded. The television changed from the commercials back to the game. Nix hurried closer so he could hear just as banging came on their door.
“I’ll get that,” Evan said.
Nix didn’t care. Since it wasn’t going to be Aries that meant Nix didn’t care about anything.
The commentators were talking about the hit. Replaying it even. Nix hated that he couldn’t tear his gaze from the screen.
There were murmurs behind him.
They weren’t saying anything important! Nix shuffled closer to the TV as if he could make them give a status on his brother.
“Hey.”
Glancing to the side, he frowned at Marlin. “What?”
“I was watching the game. I saw what happened to your brother. Is he okay?” Marlin asked.
“I don’t know!” Nix wailed. “They’re not saying. They went back to playing. They kicked Vin off the ice too. Why? Is he with my brother?”
Marlin placed a hand on Nix’s shoulder. “I’m sure he is. Didn’t you see the way that Vin beat the living hell out of Thompson? They literally had to carry Thompson off the ice.”
“I didn’t—” All Nix could remember was Aries crashing through that glass.
“There are only a few minutes left. The team doctor is probably with your brother. They’ll take every precaution to make sure that he is okay.”
“But why!” Nix spat. “Aries is the sweetest person ever.”
Marlin patted his shoulder a little awkwardly. “Laney came up with me. He’s already reaching out to people he knows on the Vikings. I think Evan is doing the same. They’ll get answers for you.”
Nix turned. He took in the room and really had to wonder how long he’d been staring at the TV.
Laney and Evan were both on their phones.
More of his teammates had entered and were milling around.
Laney bent and picked up the shredded rope before stuffing it in his pocket. He caught Nix’s gaze and winked.
Huh, well now that just happened. Their captain totally knew their secret.
Nix tuned in to the friends that had come up.
They were talking about how to help Nix and his family. Asking questions of one another. It was nice, made Nix’s heart happy, but it didn’t appear that they knew any more than he did.
Nix sat on the edge of the mattress, looking back at the screen.
The hockey game was over.
Every member of the Vegas Vikings stomped off the ice. They might have won the game but no one celebrated with their rookie out of the game and possibly severely injured.
The game went back to the commentators.
The bed dipped as Marlin sat beside him.
“Dude,” Nix drawled. “Why are you all of a sudden my shadow?”
Marlin flushed. “I…I’ve been trying to talk to you for a few days. I even attempted to get your attention on the plane, but Evan was glaring at me.”
Nix snorted. “He does that.”
“Yeah. For you. He never cared enough to glare or talk much to the rest of us.”
“I guess I just bring out the best in people,” Nix quipped.
“I think that might actually be true,” Marlin replied.
Nix leaned close enough that their shoulders brushed. “Are you starting to like me? Are we going to be friends?”
“I always liked you,” Marlin said quietly. “That was the problem.”
“Problem?”
“You’re just so…likeable. From the first minute you entered the locker room, everyone loved you. It was a lot harder for me to fit in when I got here. Some of the older teammates gave me so much shit.”
“Who?” Nix demanded. “I’ll kick their ass.”
Marlin snorted.
“Okay, I’ve learned my lesson fighting. But I won’t give them any more treats,” Nix promised.
“Thanks, but they aren’t here any longer. Most got traded or retired a couple of years ago. The last two years have been good. I found my place with the team,” Marlin explained.
“And then I came along and you felt like it wasn’t fair,” Nix guessed.
Marlin’s gaze flicked toward where Evan was on the phone in the corner across from them.
“Oh!” Nix whispered. Marlin had a thing for Evan?
“Shh,” Marlin hissed. “No one else knows!”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Nix vowed. “As long as you get that he’s mine now. I don’t share.”
“Neither would he,” Marlin said with a grin. “It was hard to watch him fall for you. He tried to fight it, I could tell that, but he really liked you.”
“I like him too,” Nix said. “And we could totally be friends. You obviously have good taste in men. I could totally help find you someone of your own.”
“I think I’ll pass on the offer to help hook me up but,” Marlin grinned, “we could be friends.”
“Cool!” Nix wished he could celebrate adding Marlin as a new friend but not knowing if Aries was okay was killing him.
Evan stalked across the room as he disconnected his call. The room grew quiet as their teammates, friends, watched.
Crouching in front of Nix, he grabbed Nix’s knees.
“Is it bad news?” Nix asked quietly.
“He will be fine,” Evan told him. “He has a concussion and some bruises but he will be fine. Vin is taking him home and staying with him.”
Nix grabbed Evan’s collar and yanked him forward. “You swear?”
“Yes, they gave him something to help him sleep so he’ll heal.”
Marlin patted his back before he rose and left him and Evan alone. Or as alone as they could be with a room full of teammates. It was a big room but not that big.
“They all just wanted to make sure you were okay. Show their support,” Evan said quietly.
Nix rubbed his forehead where an ache was forming.
“I’ll get rid of them,” Evan whispered. “Maybe a hot bath and massage and then we’ll try to call your brother or Vin.”
“Thanks.” Nix normally loved being with his friends—he loved large groups. But he was wiped out. Honestly, he still felt like crying.
Nix rose. As each teammate made their way to their door, they offered Nix a word of encouragement, a fist bump, or a small smile. By the time Laney closed the door behind them all, the tears had welled up in his eyes.