Chapter 3 Axel
AXEL
The final buzzer sounded, and my teammates mobbed me on the ice. Everyone was pounding gloves and cheering as the crowd roared. That was another win in the books, and we were off to a strong start for the season.
I should have been riding the high of that third-period goal that sealed our victory. But my wolf was pacing inside my chest, as he’d been doing off and on since we arrived in the city. He hadn’t done that in years, and I couldn’t work out what the problem was.
“Chartris! Are you coming to celebrate with us?” Angelo, our left wing, had his arm around my shoulder as we headed for the tunnel. “We’re hitting the local sports bar, and the first round’s on me.”
“Maybe later.” I waited for the disapproval that I knew was coming.
“What? We just destroyed them, and you’re bailing? What’s with that?”
I plastered a smile on my face. “You know how I am after a game. I need to wind down.” That wasn’t a lie. After every game I needed to do something with the adrenaline surging through my veins. But a few beers with the team usually took care of that.
Tonight was different because my wolf was unsettled, and he couldn’t explain why he was so restless.
In the locker room, I got changed fast. Coach gave his usual post-game speech about not getting cocky and focusing on the next opponent. I nodded in the right places and escaped as soon as I could with a promise that I’d meet the guys at the bar in an hour.
The night air hit me as I left the arena, and it was cold enough I could see my breath.
I had no destination in mind and started walking.
My wolf was insistent that I go somewhere, though he didn’t say where.
We'd never been to the city previously, so it wasn’t as though he wanted a hot dog slathered with mustard and onions that was the city’s must-have.
He huffed at the mention of a dog and told me to move.
I let my thoughts wander. I’d been a professional hockey player for four years and made it through my first season without embarrassing myself. After working hard and getting a starting position, everything I’d planned back in college was checked off my list.
I’d gotten the scholarship, the division one team, and gone pro. It was everything I’d ever wanted, with one exception. Stan wasn’t part of my life, and I wasn’t sure my success had been worth it because not only were we not mated, but we’d lost touch.
After the scandal and I had accepted the offer from Whitford University, we called and texted every day. Gradually that became once a week because he had exams and I had practice. We had different lives in different cities, and the texts dried up.
There was a giant Stan-sized hole in my life, and every day I wondered what he was up to. I’d look at the sky every night thinking of him and wonder if he was doing the same.
I heard from a mutual friend that Stan had finished his degree and was working as a nurse.
I’d been going to call and congratulate him but hesitated.
What would we have said to one another? It might have been awkward, and I imagined hearing a guy’s voice in the background who might have been a lover, a friend with benefits, or a mate.
I couldn’t bear the pain of knowing he was in love with someone else.
My wolf had never forgiven me for leaving Stan behind. He reminded me regularly that we should look for him, but what did a wolf understand about human behavior?
You’re not human, he pointed out.
A few blocks from the arena was a park that we’d driven past on the way to the game. It was dark except for scattered streetlights. Maybe I could shift. Taking his fur and running might rid my beast of whatever was bugging him.
I ducked behind a bunch of trees and got undressed, placing my folded clothes under a bush so any passerby wouldn’t see them. My beast was still agitated when he bounded over the grass, and keeping to the shadows, he raced through the park with the wind whizzing past.
The trees, benches, and lights blurred as my wolf’s paws pounded over the ground. But instead of releasing stress, he was getting more worked up and demanding we find what he was looking for.
What are you doing?
I don’t know. But he kept running.
After twenty minutes of circling the park, he hadn’t found whatever it was. A rabbit, perhaps? But he’d never been so passionate about eating a bunny in the past. I should have joined the team at the bar and had those beers instead of running around in circles.
After getting dressed, I left the park and strolled onto a side street. My mind was on my beast’s distress and the need for a beer, and I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me.
So many things happened at once. There was a screech of tires and a horn blared. My shifter reflexes should have had me leaping out of the way of the vehicle bearing down on me. But I was exhausted, and my wolf had retreated inside me.
The impact had pain exploding in my shoulder, ribs, and wrist, and I slammed onto the road.
Someone was screaming, and it might have been me.
My wolf, who should have been alert and telling me to get up, was silent.
My legs wouldn’t cooperate, and I lay on the road waiting to be crushed by vehicles whizzing past.
A panicked voice in my ear said I’d just walked in front of their car and they didn’t have time to stop. A crowd gathered around, and I drifted in and out of consciousness. I remembered a siren and being hoisted up. There were bright lights, voices asking me questions, and hands touching me.
It was easier to close my eyes and sleep.
“Axel, can you hear me?”
I was dreaming that Stan and I were back in our dorm room. Maybe he had coffee for me and a sandwich.
“Mmmm.”
“Axel?”
His voice was insistent, with a hint of authority, but I didn’t recall him being like that in college. I wanted to go back to sleep, and maybe if I did what he wanted, I could.
“Stan.” But this wasn’t Stan, my dorm mate. He was older, and he was wearing scrubs and holding a tablet. There was a badge attached to his pocket. Where was his backpack? I was disappointed there was no coffee.
But his eyes were the same and so was his intoxicating scent, despite the disinfectant smell that washed over me.
“Welcome to Brookline Hospital. You picked a heck of a way to get in touch.”
Huh? I closed one eye, trying to recall what happened and why Stan was dressed as a nurse. He said hospital. That was where I was?
A car hit us. My wolf jogged my memory, or was that me reminding him? I couldn’t tell.
“How did you get here?”
“I work here as an ER nurse, and you’re my patient.”
I grinned. Stan was a nurse. That was nice. But I needed to snap out of my drug-induced haze and tell him something. I needed my wolf’s help, but he wasn’t saying much, just groaning.
“Your shoulder’s dislocated, you’ve got three broken ribs, a concussion, nasty road rash, and a broken wrist.” His detached voice reminded me of the staff in TV medical dramas when they were dealing with difficult patients. “You’re going to be admitted.”
“Okay.” My brain couldn’t fathom what happened when you were admitted, but I trusted Stan wouldn’t allow me to be hurt, or hurt more than I was.
“You were lucky you weren’t killed.”
Lucky? Meeting Stan again was sheer luck.
He told me that Coach was on his way. Great. He’d probably chew my ass for being a fool.
“Is there anyone else we can call?” His voice wavered before he cleared his throat.
Was there? Like a partner or a mate? “No. There’s no one else.”
Stan glanced away. He spoke to someone else and moved from the bed. My wolf was burbling about Stan, our roommate, and going to class, but that didn’t sound right. I needed Stan close by, but I wasn’t able to leap off the bed and restrain him.
“How are you? Long time no see?” If I wasn’t attached to machines I’d have smacked my head. That was what I came up with after years of silence? The Stan of old would have rolled his eyes.
“I’m fine, but I have other patients.” He beckoned to someone. “You’ll be moved to a room shortly.”
He strode away. I tried to sit up, but a pair of hands pushed me back.
We’d found Stan, but now I had to figure out how to keep him in my life.