8. Maverick
Chapter 8
I watch the white blinds sway as we stand outside her patio. I fight the urge to jump the wall and crash through the door to make sure no other alphas are in her apartment, hurting her. The rage rolling through me is like none I've ever had before, and I play hockey for a living and have gotten into heated fights on the ice.
Leo growls. "We shouldn't leave her alone."
I glance over at Leo. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, his hands flexing into fists as he stares at the spot where she was. He turns his head to look at me. "Right?"
I swallow hard, my mind still trying to catch up with what just happened. My inner alpha wants to take over, and right now, I'm trying to keep him down. "We don't have the right to bother her."
His blue eyes narrow. "She's our omega, I'm certain of it! Even through the balm, I can smell her. That's never happened with an omega before. She's been in my head since I met her the other night."
Well, that confirms it. I did smell her, and it wasn't something sweet on the air. But her scent had also been tinged with the sourness of fear, and I hate that. All I want to do is scoop her up, build her a nest, and hide her away from the world so that she never has to be afraid again.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out to find Jenson's name on the screen. I answer. "I know we're late. Something came up."
"Like what? An accident? Because the coach isn't happy, and it's only getting worse by the second. He's threatening conditioning drills before and after practice."
I snap my fingers and motion for Leo to go get his phone. I don't want to leave. It's going to take all of my willpower to do it. There's nothing we can do right now. She clearly wants to be left alone, and even if she's our omega, the sad fact is we can't force her to accept us.
We need to figure out some way to earn her trust because right now we're strangers. Judging by the angry bite marks on her neck, she's been through something.
At the very least, I can tell there are no other alphas here right now. If there were, I think I would've lost all control to my inner alpha. There would have been no stopping me from going in there and trying to kill them for hurting her.
Leo hesitates before he darts inside the building to get his phone. My legs feel planted to this spot, but I turn and stride away, back to my truck.
"We'll be there in ten minutes."
As I get in, Leo comes back out. He glances toward her patio but forces himself to my truck. She's our omega. I just know it. But it's clear we weren't the first alphas to encounter her, and we need to take that into account. Compatibility doesn't mean trust is guaranteed, and that's the most important part of any bond or relationship. At least, in my book, it is. It's obvious not everyone feels that way.
I peel out of the parking lot, and it pains me. It feels so wrong to be leaving her.
Something pokes at the back of my mind as I think about the scars on her neck and those purple eyes of hers. I'm certain we've never met, but perhaps we have, because it feels like I've seen her before. I feel like I would've had a feeling if I met our omega, though. Even through the balm, I can tell that she's ours. So why do I feel like I know her?
"Dude, I really want to jump out of the car right now and run back. Even if she doesn't want me around, I just want to sit outside her place and make sure no one shows up to hurt her. I've heard about meeting your compatible omega being the end-all-be-all, but seeing her upset has me twisted in all sorts of ways."
I swallow hard as I fight my own hands to turn the wheel around and do what he's saying. "I know. Me, too. But she doesn't want us to help her, at least not right now. We need to give her space and show her we're safe." The words leave my mouth as if something else is speaking through me because my alpha instincts are roaring at me to protect my omega. But we can't provide for her if we lose our contracts for being unprofessional players.
Leo sighs. "She seemed so scared when she saw us, as if we were going to kill her, but at the same time, it was like she wanted us to be there. It's hard to read her."
I shake my head. "Probably fighting her instincts like we're fighting ours. She has to know we're scent-matched."
He pulls his phone from his pocket. "She still hasn't texted me. Maybe she doesn't care that we're compatible, she just wants to be left alone. But the idea of leaving our omega alone until the end of time sounds impossible."
Then it hits me where I know her from. "Look up the Salama serial killer pack trial on your phone."
Leo frowns. "What? They put a horrible name on alphas."
I growl. "Just do it. And find out who was the only omega to survive and get away from them."
He taps away at his phone as I pull my truck into the parking lot of the rink where we practice. Tomorrow we'll start going to the arena, and then more of the fans will be out to see us.
"It's been recently updated, the pack leader has been scheduled for execution after being on death row for ten years."
We get out and jog into the building. The team is already on the ice, doing drills, and it hurts me they're being punished because we were late. The guys aren't going to let us live this down.
"Gregor, Capello gear up and get the fuck out there!" Coach's voice cuts across the ice.
As we enter the locker room, Leo growls. I look at him as he stares at his phone. My heart sinks into my stomach.
"What is it? Is it her?"
He turns his phone toward me, showing a younger Anya sitting in the witness stand. In front of her is a tablet that looks like she's using it to speak. The scars on her throat are fresh and pink, and she looks on the brink of having a panic attack.
"She was the omega that survived their last attack and was able to put them away. They were known for luring in omegas and then killing them, usually by slitting their throats. They had nine victims, and she was their tenth."
Goosebumps spread all over my body as my mind's eye pictures her being their victim and fighting for her life. If I had been there, I would've ripped their throats out. It hurts me to know that she had to go through that alone, and now she lives in that apartment. Does she have anyone in her life who cares about her?
"We need to go out and talk about this after practice with Jenson. She's our omega, but we have to take things slow. After going through that, I don't blame her for being scared of us."
He nods, still staring at his phone and opening his locker.
Soon, we're ready and heading out to the ice. Despite being here, I'm still uneasy and my alpha wants to beat the crap out of someone. I can't do that to my teammates, so I need to redirect it into this morning.
"Again!" Coach Miller's voice echoes across the rink. My lungs burn, my legs are heavy, but I push off the ice for another suicide sprint. Beside me, Leo's face looks like a stop sign.
Conditioning drills before practice are always rough, and we're only halfway through the first round. Coach already said we'll be doing them again after practice, too. My inner alpha growls, wanting to be anywhere but here.
She needs us. Go to her.
I shove my inner alpha down, trying to ignore the way my chest aches.
We hit the blue line, then back to the goal line. Then the red line, then back. Each sprint is harder.
She's scared. Alone. And it's our fault.
Leo pants beside me, his breath coming in ragged puffs, his hand on his side as if to ease a stitch. "He's loving this, isn't he?"
I grit my teeth, pushing off the ice with more force. "Probably gets off on it."
We should be with her, wrapped around her in a nest and making sure no one but our pack can touch her.
Jenson snorts as he skates past, shaking his head.
Another whistle. Another sprint. Down the ice and back. My legs are really on fire now.
I mutter under my breath, the words a low growl, my gaze fixed on the far wall. "This is brutal."
Leo, overhearing me, nods in agreement, his gaze fixed on the far end of the rink. "She's worth it, man." He knows. We both do. My alpha paces restlessly in my mind.
Finally, Coach calls an end to the drills. For now. I stumble over to the bench, my legs like jelly. I gulp down some water, feeling it cool my throat. Leo collapses beside me, his chest heaving, sweat dripping from his brow.
He wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. "Think he'll actually make us do this again after?"
Asher laughs as he skates over to the bench and shakes his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "You kidding? He'll probably add more."
More time away from her. Myalpha growls, and I have to agree. For once, I don't want to be here longer than necessary, even though I also know that we won't be spending time with her if we got back early.
I groan and tip my head back against the boards, closing my eyes for a moment. "Don't even say that."
Practice starts, and I try to focus on the game. I score. Then score again.
We need to be strong for our omega.
Rhys grins, tapping his stick on the ice. "Someone's got his game face on."
I nod, my focus on the puck, my inner alpha pacing.
It's not enough.
Then, a third time, I send the puck sailing past Finn. A hat trick.
She'll be impressed.
I logically know she won't care if I can do a hat trick. But it satisfies the part of me that wants to go hunt and bring her food and provide her with a cave and nest.
Jenson skates over, giving me a fist bump. "Damn, Mav! Save some for the Vipers, will ya?"
I manage a weak grin, shrugging a shoulder. "Just warming up."
Need to be faster. Stronger.
Finn, still on his feet after my last shot, calls out from the ice, his voice muffled by his goalie mask. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one getting pelted with pucks!"
After a couple more plays the afternoon ends.
The whistle blows, ending practice. Coach has us skate over and looks almost pleased. He claps me on the shoulder. "Gregor, you do that again against the Vipers in a few days, and we might just win this thing."
I grin but I feel antsy, hoping he won't have us do conditioning drills again. "Yes, Coach."
He sighs and glances around at us all. "You've all done well today. I'll go easy on you, but don't be late again this week or to the game against the Vipers. I won't be soft on you again."
We all stand straighter. "Yes, Coach," we say in unison.
"To the showers with you!"
As we head off the ice, Jenson skates up beside me, his brow furrowed with concern. He opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again. "You alright, man? You seem a little...off. Both of you do. What happened that made you late?"
Leo and I glance at each other. He needs to know that we found our omega, but he also needs to know her history, so that he doesn't go to her right away. "We need to talk after getting ready."
We need to come up with a game plan to court her while also keeping our careers in mind.Perhaps, if we're lucky, she'll want us in the end, too. We can only hope and take things slow.