Chapter 27
27
brIAR
“I’m starting to believe that this baby will never come out,” Sadie moans, collapsing on the arena seat between me and Clover.
“I’d prefer not to induce you, so as long as everything keeps looking as great as right now, we’ll keep you cooking the little girl for a bit longer,” Clover says.
She gently pats Sadie’s swollen belly and offers her a sympathetic smile.
The pregnant omega sighs.
“It could be worse, I guess.”
“That’s the spirit,” Clover cheers.
I shake my head at the two of them, too nervous to add anything to the conversation.
I’m not only at my first-ever hockey game, but the star players are also my future packmates.
Getting dressed this morning in the custom jersey Jasper sent me felt like a dream.
It’s a claim that’s obvious to me but subtle to those who don’t know me or them.
The giant number 1 and letters spelling out Montgomery on my back make my skin tingle beneath the jersey.
Even sitting only a few rows from the ice, I’m burning up inside, my skin damp and mouth dry.
It helps having Clover and Sadie here with me for support.
The shy omega we only met a few weeks ago seems to be the perfect fit for our small friend group.
She’s the only pre-existing hockey fan out of us three and was gracious enough to give me a bit of a rundown on the rules and positions on the way here.
“You look like you’re going to crap your pants, Bee,” Clover says, leaning over Sadie’s lap.
“I’m just nervous.”
“Why? Do you think they’ll lose?”
“No. They’re good, right?”
“The Riptides are doing well so far. They’ve been better, though,” Sadie says with a hand buried deep in the bucket of buttery popcorn she’s balancing on her belly.
I’m more concerned about Landon’s knee than I am the team’s standings in the league.
From the look of his bruising, he’s been in a lot of pain for at least a week.
I’m not sure continuing to play with an injury is the best choice.
“Do you know how Landon hurt his knee?” I ask.
Sadie nods. “It was a knee-on-knee hit with another player.”
“That’s allowed?” I ask, sucking air between my teeth.
Another flush of heat races up my spine as I try not to outright pant.
“No. The hit came in the middle of a game a couple of weeks ago. Orlovsky is a dirty player and got kicked out for it.”
My stomach turns, cramping slightly.
“That’s good, at least.”
“The team wouldn’t let Montgomery play if they thought he could worsen his injury,” someone says from my opposite side.
Our seats are close to the rink in a section reserved for omegas.
That doesn’t change that the man standing beside my seat is clearly an alpha.
He’s wearing a Rayton Riptides jersey, and after studying the numbers of the Montgomery pack earlier today, I know the 5 on his shoulder belongs to Ronan.
“I think you’re in the wrong section,” Clover snaps.
The anxious vibes coming off Sadie right now are strong enough to make my nose burn with her scorched scent.
She agreed to come out tonight knowing that we would be in the omega-only section.
I’m still shocked she said yes even with that reassurance.
“The seats here are better than they are on the other side. That’s not very fair, is it? We all pay the same to watch these games,” he states nonchalantly.
Still standing beside me, he stares down at us with intrigue.
It’s the same look that’s responsible for the special “Omega Only” sections in most public spaces.
Some alphas don’t know how to properly behave around an unmated omega, and that makes them a danger to us.
After having so many accidental matings over the past decade, all omegas must be given the opportunity to sit in omega-only areas.
Usually, Clover and I don’t bother, but with Sadie in attendance, we figured we’d give it a try.
It seems that now it was just a waste of a few extra hundred bucks.
“Do you want me to call security and have them haul you out of here?” Clover asks, pushing to her feet.
We’re all small in comparison to this guy, but Clover’s the tallest of us and has the sharpest bravado.
I’ve seen her intimidate alphas far bigger than this one in less busy spaces.
I sneak a glance at the seats around ours and relax slightly when I see the number of empty seats.
Apart from our small section, everyone already sitting on this side of the arena seems to be focused on the ice and where both teams are now skating around the boards for their warm-up.
I try to search for one of the Montgomery alphas but flinch back into my seat when a firm hand touches my head, stroking my hair.
“Hands off, fucker,” Clover hisses at him.
He glares at her. “Settle down, omega. I’ll warm this seat here for whoever it belongs to.”
I don’t jump out of my seat the way I want to.
Sadie was supposed to have a fun night out before baby comes, not get caught up being accosted by a no-good alpha like the ones she’s currently trying to avoid.
I’ll happily be a buffer between her and him until security realizes that they let an alpha in.
“You’re all unmated. Why not give a guy a chance?” the alpha asks, his grin making bile crawl up my throat.
If his receding hairline wasn’t bad enough, his strong rubber scent would be.
I want to run away from him, but I stay in my seat and reach for Sadie’s hand, finding it fisted in her lap.
This is the last situation I wanted to be in tonight.
Calling attention to myself while attending my very first hockey game is a complete nightmare.
I don’t want a single member of the Montgomery pack to think I’m trying to embarrass them or that having an omega is more work than it’s worth.
“Who said we’re unmated?” I ask, cocking my head.
His eyes fix themselves to my throat, and he inhales deeply.
“Where’s the bite, then? You smell good enough to eat, omega.”
“Don’t you know that there are far more interesting places to be marked than the throat,” I retort.
It’s the wrong thing to say.
Instead of respecting that I could be mated, he grows more interested.
His eyes slip down my body at a snail’s pace, lingering on my chest.
“Do tell this lonely alpha where you’ve been bitten, beauty,” he drawls.
“Briar,” Clover says.
I ignore her, narrowing my eyes on this guy.
When I push to my feet, his expression shifts, growing darker.
“Unless you want me to scream for help, you’ll leave us alone. I’m sure you’re aware of what happens to alphas who find themselves threatening the safety of an omega in a public space,” I warn, voice low in an attempt not to call any more attention to us.
“Briar,” Clover repeats my name with more force behind it this time.
“Look?—”
The alpha extends his hand and tucks a finger beneath the collar of my jersey to try and expose my shoulder.
I flinch, his touch ice-cold.
There’s a bang from the boards a breath later that sends him stumbling.
I step back and nearly fall onto Sadie’s lap before Clover’s catching me, standing at my back.
As I whip my head to the ice, my heart skips several beats.
Electric-blue eyes catch mine from where Landon stands at the plexiglass.
My inhale is shaky and sharp as I take in the sight of him wearing bulky padding, a jersey with the number 29 and a C on the chest, and skates that add a few inches to his already towering height.
His nostrils flare as he wets his lips and darts his eyes to the alpha beside me who’s frozen in place, still lingering.
The growl that escapes Landon is feral, cold enough to chill someone right down to the bone.
He punches the glass with a gloved hand and flashes twin rows of white teeth as he snarls at the man, who takes another careless step in our direction.
The gasps from around us don’t faze me.
I’m trapped in Landon’s orbit, too busy preening at his protectiveness to worry about what other omegas are thinking.
He’s my alpha, not theirs.
Oh, god. I’m hot all over again, this time in addition to a tightness in my belly that shouldn’t be there yet.
I keep waiting for another sign of an impending heat to come, but nothing does.
My temperature dies down before I can smell a change in my scent, the pain disappearing.
False alarm.
“Landon Montgomery,” the alpha beside me blubbers.
His large body suddenly stumbles over the empty seats in front of us and down to the glass, where he continues speaking.
“Can you toss me over a puck? I’m a huge fan! Do you think you could get Ronan to give me a stick?”
The warm-up music blaring through the arena speakers hides Landon’s reply, but slowly, I watch as the alpha fawning over him takes a step back from the ice, back ramrod straight.
His heel catches on the empty seat behind him before he flops back onto it.
Landon pins him in place with a predatory gaze as I pull away from Clover and use the steps beside her seat to go down to the ice.
My throat is dry as I pass by a row of women and keep my eyes in front of me instead of looking to see if they’re watching.
I blink, and then Ronan’s on the ice in front of me, his stick held at his side as he hangs back behind Landon.
Dash appears on Ronan’s right, both of them watching with strained expressions.
I flash them a thumbs-up, and Dash nods, nudging Ronan’s shoulder.
There isn’t time to properly appreciate how good they look in all their gear right now, but I make a promise myself that I will once I’ve spoken to Landon.
What I’ll say to him .
. . I don’t know yet.
Thank you? Does this mean you’re starting to like me?
By the time I get to where he’s still standing on the opposite side of the plexiglass, the stranger is gone.
“What did you say to him?” I ask, clasping my hands at my middle and pressing them against the boards to avoid palming the glass.
He rakes his gaze over me from head to toe, as if doing a check to make sure I’m okay.
It’s less savage than it was a few seconds ago, but there’s still a wicked gleam in the bright blue that feels like a rough touch on my body.
“Who was he?” His voice is almost garbled, the words tangled in a web of rage.
“I don’t know. He showed up a few minutes ago.”
Gosh, he’s like a goliath right now.
All of that messy black hair is poking out from beneath the back of his helmet, and damnit, he looks tired again.
It’s been two days since I sat beside him in the bathroom, and the bags beneath his eyes make it appear like he hadn’t slept at all.
“Have you been sleeping?” I blurt out.
He flexes his jaw. “That’s not your concern.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Do you think one night of you invading my personal space to watch me sleep is an invitation into my life?”
I press my lips together hard, trying not to let my hurt show on my face.
“How did you know I did that?”
He laughs, but there’s no humour in it.
“Your scent was everywhere. Including my hair.”
“You could have drowned. Weren’t you ever told not to sleep in the bath?”
As his laugh dies off, he pushes closer to the plexiglass and narrows his eyes on me.
“I don’t need you to look after me. If I want to sleep in the bath, I will. And next time, I’ll make sure to lock the fucking door.”
“I’m trying here, Landon,” I push, hating the quiver in my voice as I plant my hands on my waist and lift my chin.
“What can I do to prove to you that I’m not as bad as you think I am?”
Even with the wall between us—both physically and emotionally—I still want to touch him.
Want to be with him in any way possible.
And I’ve never felt weaker in my life for it.
“Nothing,” he grits out, tightening his grip on his stick.
“You can wear the jersey and make yourself comfortable in my home, but you won’t be my packmate, let alone my omega. I have enough packmates, and I’ve never wanted an omega.”
I shake my head, pushing harder.
“I don’t believe you. If you didn’t feel anything for me, you wouldn’t be here right now, inserting yourself into a situation that didn’t involve you at all. And when I sat beside you and kept you company for an hour in the bathroom, you wouldn’t have called out for me and leaned into my touch like you knew I was there.
“I want to know what it is that’s keeping you from giving me a chance.
Unless you tell me what I’m up against, I won’t be able to help change your mind, Landon.
”
He turns his head to the right and then to the left, checking his surroundings before focusing the full weight of his attention on me again.
I don’t bend beneath it.
“If you want to help me, you’ll sit back down and forget about what just happened. It was a mistake to come over here.”
And just like that, the slimmest glimmer of light is blocked out.
Landon turns around and skates off before I can get another word out.
I’m silent as I avoid looking at the other guys on the ice and return to my seat.
Silent and with a fake smile.