Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
KOEN
My grin should scare people. It’s feral, wild, and cruel. I’m in the mood to beat the fuck out of some Warriors today.
This outdoor fiasco was our owner’s idea. Our owner bought the Cougars last year. I’ve only met him a couple of times, but he’s known to be a bit eccentric.
The media is having a field day today with this game since it takes so much money to put on a professional hockey game outside. There are a lot of factors that go into it, but people have been looking forward to this since it was announced last month.
We have to baby the puck a bit while playing due to snow buildup, and there’s less fancy passing we can do due to the elements. Instead, Olsson sticks to tipping the puck through the air when he’s sending it to someone, and it feels as if our skates have to work harder to keep us moving.
Our equipment people are working overtime today, and it’s clear that they’re the MVPs of this game. Heaters are keeping the ice from cracking, and periodically we need to pause to wait for the crew to shovel off the snow.
It’s also making things interesting as the Texas team plays dirty by intentionally showering us with snow made by the ice when they stop in their skates.
The joke is on them, though, because Coach and I discussed the importance of shielding our eyes from this dirty trick.
Unfortunately, it takes Skylar some time to get used to this, so he uses his fists every time a Texan Warrior goes this route.
Thankfully, Rhodes has his crease locked down, and has been keeping pucks out of it. I swear, the alpha is earning himself the sloppiest fucking blow job I can manage after this goddamned game.
Smirking at my thoughts, I join my team in fighting for the puck against the Warriors.
Elbows are thrown, I kick out to trip people, and Richards chirps loudly into the faces of our opponents.
I don’t care if they leave Minnesota saying the Cougars are rabid and insane, as long as they leave with their tails tucked between their legs.
This is our turf, and nothing less than victory under difficult circumstances is allowed.
A Warrior knocks O’Neil off his skates in the third period, and I shove him as two other people on our team reinforce why that was a bad choice. Continuing to move forward, I skate hard with the puck, avoiding anyone else as I cross the rink.
I can hear people behind me, and the entire outdoor stadium is screaming. Everything feels as if it is vibrating with the level of excitement in the air, and I become laser focused on the goal posts standing between me and our team points.
Someone shoves me, but they’re checked by Skylar, making me smirk as I continue to skate.
I can feel the displacement of air as someone slides up to me, and the color of their jersey is the only reason I notice they’re not from my team.
Swallowing hard, I pass the goalie, skating around it with a Warrior on my tail.
I slap the puck with my stick hard enough to make it travel, unable to see where it goes when the Warrior knocks my ass down. The only reason I know I made the goal is because of the howl of the siren screaming our point.
Skylar hauls me onto my feet before dusting me off. His hard eyes move over me before he taps my helmet.
“You good?” he asks, nodding as I grunt that I am.
There’s not much time left on the clock, and we’re up by two points. This game is being hard fought, and we’re all getting tired.
I’m pulled out for a break, and I watch from the bench as my team attacks the Warriors, beating them back at every opportunity.
The Warriors want this next point badly, but between the penalties being thrown and my team playing as if this is the last one they’ll ever play, it doesn’t happen for them.
“Yeah!” I yell as the buzzer goes off signaling the game is over.
Jumping over the wall, I join my team with hugs and celebration. The Warriors are good sports as we congratulate them on a good game, and then we move inside quickly as the snow begins to fall harder.
“That was fun,” Skylar chuckles.
“We don’t get to do that often enough,” Olsson admits.
“The logistics of it are a nightmare,” O’Neil mutters. “I fucking loved it though.”
Coach Weightman speaks to us as we shower and change, discussing how proud he is of us for sticking together.
“Skylar and Rhodes got a taste of how things can be here in Minnesota,” he says with a grin.
“Playing in the snow isn’t for the weak,” Rhodes agrees. “I kept waiting for someone to spray me with snow.”
“Were you looking for a fight?” Richards asks. “I swear, you enjoy punching people out more than any other goalie I’ve met.”
“I’m just special,” Rhodes shrugs as he gets dressed.
“Jeffries!” Edna yells, opening the door a crack. “I need you and O’Neil, please.”
“On it,” I tell her, fixing my tie before heading out. “Press?”
“Always,” she replies.
“Hi, Princess,” I coo as I drop to my knees in front of my puppy. “Are you being a good girl for Edna?”
“She’s the best,” Edna says. “We’re practicing walking on the leash because she’s a little restless.”
Since it’s a rare afternoon game, I’m not surprised Princess Sunny is a little confused.
“We’re going home soon,” I promise her.
O’Neil walks out of the locker room behind me and I smoothly get off the ground.
“Let’s see the press so you can take this sweet girl home,” Edna says, smiling.
She’s wearing heels today, and Princess is careful to walk beside the click clack noises of Edna’s shoes. She’s doing much better than before at walking on the leash, and I’m amazed by how much she’s grown already.
The media room is buzzing with post game excitement and it’s difficult not to smile as we walk up to the podium. Princess Sunny lays down beside Edna as she speaks to them. Princess is completely bored by the media, and I have to say that I often feel the same way.
I’m not someone who enjoys that kind of spotlight, but as the Captain, I tend to be up here often answering questions.
“With the snow, how does that change the game?” a reporter asks.
It’s a standard question, so I reply easily to it, discussing how we as players have to change how we play.
The conversation lasts twenty minutes before Edna cuts things short.
“Sorry to do this, but the snow is getting worse, and we want to get everyone home safely,” she explains. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some of us are snowed in for a few days.”
We don’t have a game tomorrow at least, so it’ll give the city some time to dig us out of the snow before our next one. My parents will be here next week for a game, which is something I’m looking forward to.
I have a few away games planned before that, but they’re an easy drive. We won’t even stay the night, and our pet sitter will be able to watch Princess in our home.
“Get home safely, everyone,” Edna says, ending the press conference.
Everyone stays seated as we make our exit, and Edna hands me the leash.
“I’m going to make sure everyone knows not to dawdle,” she says. “I don’t trust this storm, which is saying something since I grew up here.”
Nodding in understanding, I thank her as I begin walking through the facility toward the lockers. My pack and I drove together, so the plan is to leave the same way. Rhodes mentioned something about s’mores, but I really want to coat his dick in chocolate and suck it off.
Biting my lip as I perfume, I try not to let myself get too embarrassed about it as I look for my alphas.
They’re not in the locker room, but I find them in one of the outermost rooms talking to a man with silver hair.
It’s a place to chat with guests or family.
I’m not sure who he is, but then I don’t know everyone they're friends with.
It reminds me our relationship is very new, and how little I know about them. I just figured I’d find things out organically.
Their backs are to me, and Princess hasn’t noticed we’re near Rhodes.
If she did, she’d bark for his attention.
Instead, she lays down to take a break after all the walking she’s been doing.
Something tells me to hang back as they’re having an intense conversation, and I kind of want to know what it's about.
“I think my knot is frozen,” the silver haired alpha complains. “Why didn’t I fucking know this was an outdoor game?”
“That’s what you get for weaseling a free ticket out of me in the form of payment,” Skylar snorts. “I’m calling this karma.”
“We shouldn’t talk about karma and the shit I have on you,” the alpha laughs.
I stopped using my alpha pheromone blocking cream ever since I had my heat. The alpha’s woodsy scent turns my stomach, but I think this has more to do with his words than anything else.
“We’ve known each other for far too long for friendly blackmail,” Skylar mutters. “You’re well paid, and would be very bored without us.”
“How is hunting down bond skippers going for you?” Rhodes asks in a bored tone. “Please don’t piss me off, Fishman. I’m tired and I haven’t been able to punch anyone today.”
“I would prefer not to be punched, thank you,” Fishman sighs. “Am I going to meet your omega? Is he settling in well after I flooded his apartment?”
Inhaling sharply at his blase tone, I inadvertently call attention to my presence. Turning so fast he almost twists his ankle, Rhodes eyes grow wide.
“Koen,” he says softly.
“Oh. There he is,” Fishman says. I must be in some kind of alternate universe, because he acts as if he didn’t just blow up my entire life.
“Is that true?” I ask, my hand clenching around the leash as Princess attempts to launch herself at Rhodes.
“It sounds much worse than it is,” Skylar says, his blue eyes on me.
I have three alphas staring at me, and for the first time since my heat, I feel like prey.
“Has this all been a game to see how far you can push the omega before you break him?” I breathe, releasing Princess’ leash so Rhodes can pick her up. “We’re scent matches. Doesn’t any of this hurt you?”
“This was for you,” Rhodes grunts. “Koen, you ignored us and played hard to get. What else were we supposed to do?”
“Not be fucking psychopaths?” I ask, my voice getting louder. “Did you ever plan to tell me? Did you just gaslight my coach and teammates to convince me you’re good people?”
“We’re not good people,” Skylar says. “And no. We weren’t ever going to tell you so we could avoid a melt down.”
“I’m not a child, and I think I fucking deserve this so-called meltdown,” I growl.
“The growl is cute,” Fishman says. “Is he going to make this a whole thing?”
I think I’m losing my mind. I can feel my body flushing in anger. My tie is too tight, my shoes feel as if they’re pinching, and I don’t think I can do this.
“Can’t do what? Have a conversation about how your alphas are psychopaths?” Rhodes asks. Princess Sunny is on her back in his arms, showing off her belly and fast asleep. She has no idea her daddy is a goddamned monster.
I’m also beginning to allow my thoughts to escape into the ether, so it’s time to be done. I allow the anger, frustration, and heartbreak I’m feeling to flow through my bond with Rhodes, and he physically flinches.
“Wait, Koen.”
“I am no one’s fool,” I hiss.
The room has emptied out in the last few minutes. While I’m grateful for the lack of audience, I also wish I was able to go back in time when I didn’t have this information.
Yet, is ignorance really bliss? I’ll have to figure that out when tears aren’t threatening to spill over my lashes. I was falling for alphas who don’t deserve me.
“This is the only way we could—”
“No!” I scream at Skylar. “I may be stuck with Rhodes as my bonded mate, but I reject you. I want nothing to do with you. Maybe I’ll call Rhodes up for a booty call in a couple of months when I have my heat, but I am fucking done.
There will be no more fishing me out of fights you think I’m too small for or stalking me. You are fucking dead to me.”
The blood rages in my ears as I turn and begin to mindlessly walk away from them. I don’t care that there’s a freak snowstorm, or that I don’t have a way home. My mind can’t process that I’m once again left with nothing because I refuse to return to Skylar and Rhodes’ home.
I’ll be goddamned if I go back for anything they bought me.
My mind is spiraling with all the things I need to get and it’s full of pain, but I still hear Rhodes whisper, “Peanuts.”