Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
VAUGHN
I ’m tying my skates up when McKinley and Griffin come jogging into the locker room. Coach looks up from where he is sitting and swears at the pair of them.
It’s pretty clear that he’s had enough of our pack drama to last him a lifetime, but he’s not going to say anything about our two best players starting the game.
Our backup goalie looks upset, knowing that he isn’t going to start. For a moment, I feel bad for him. I can’t really focus on the pity I feel when I’m thinking about what could have happened to make them come to the game.
My heart is beating fast because if they’re here does that mean they got rid of the Omega?
Griffin is ripping off his clothes. Not his usual chatterbox self. My eyes skimmed him up and down to see if there was anything noticeable that changed about him.
My parents always thought that I’d bond with Griffin. That our just friends thing was me not being comfortable with my sexuality. It has never been like that between us. We’ve always been just friends. We did kiss once, when we were teenage Alpha’s with too much pent up sexual frustration, but there wasn’t any spark between us.
That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate how good looking he is.
How his barbed wire tattoo over his collar bones sticks out on his tanned skin. Underneath it is my favorite tattoo of his. A pomegranate in the center with a hand reaching out on one side and on the other a hand of bone reaching out. It has flowers around one side and the other has chains and a dagger in the background. He said he thought it would be a cool idea when he got it this summer. In all honesty, I think he’s afraid to love and worried that he will have to give up half of everything to do so.
His ribs are covered in a tarot card love reading for his future pack. A reading we had done at a Halloween party our Senior year of high school. It’s strange seeing now how all the cards came to represent someone in our pack. How a card could even represent Clover.
The Magician card represented Griffin the most. The way that he had to grow out of the way he blocked intimacy. Sure he was all about touch and sex, but a real connection? He was just starting to really get that.
The High Priestess card represented McKinley. The way he was emotionally invested in our pack, always in tune with everyone in the pack. It made sense that he was the one who had kicked everyone's ass into gear for the Omega.
Apollo was The Emperor. Sure he was a romantic at heart, but he liked the stability and the ability to take care of others. His love language wasn’t touch or words, but actions. Being able to provide was what he thrived in relationships.
Then there was me. The Hermit. The one who was a little lost and who couldn’t quite jump into the relationship. I was the one that wasn’t going to make it easy on everyone. I needed time and it seemed like I wasn’t going to be getting that.
Clover was The Empress. She was so nurturing and caring. It was obvious that she was going through a hard time, but with every other card surrounding her it made sense.
Looking at it now, it made me feel strange. It was as if I was seeing it for the first time all over again.
“I don’t have time to dive into why you’re staring at me like that.” Griffin’s voice drags my eyes from his body to look at his brown eyes. They’re sparkling and filled with amusement. Not that dark deep brown like McKinley’s are. “If you’re having your bi awakening right now it needs to wait until after the game. I’m sure Apollo and Mick will have no problem with me teaching you how to suck their cocks after we win.”
My cheeks flush red and I look away. His laughter is soft, his hand resting on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze so that I know it’s not full of mirth.
“I’m just teasing you, Vaughn. I know you’re a ladies only man. Even if you’re really missing out.” I shrug my shoulders.
Still have no interest in sleeping with him.
I want to ask about Clover. See if they chased her further away, or if more is going on but Coach clears his throat. He likes to pretend that before every game he’s going to make some great speech. It’s what we call his Miracle moment.
“You stupid fucks better make this game quick. It’s snowing and I promised my Omega I’d be home for dinner tonight. If we get trapped in the snow because you take stupid penalties I’ll fucking make you bums bag skate until you all sweat your balls off.”
Inspiring .
Griffin rolls his eyes at me as he pulls his jersey over his pads. His dirty blonde hair goes everywhere before he makes an annoyed sound and pushes it back before slipping his helmet on.
He doesn’t look upset anymore. McKinley looks focused and ready to play the game. It leaves me confused. I don’t understand what is going on and it sets me on edge.
Shoving his shoulder gently into mine, Griff stands next to me.
“Let's go, V.”
I’m on my skates, walking down the tunnel without thinking. My skates hit the ice. The clear, crisp sound of blades dragging through ice. Snow piles left in the wake as we skate in a circle to warm up our legs.
On the third lap, Griffin falls to his knees to start stretching out his body. His eyes lifting up to look in the stands as his hips dip towards the ice. It’s less stretching today and more…thrusting. Slow thrusts down, his pelvis grinding into the ice before he comes back up.
One of his hands shakes off his glove. The pink of his tongue darting out to lick the tip of his thumb before he presses it back to the ice, making small circles with his thumb, and continues his…fucking?
What the hell is going on?
My eyes lift to the crowd, scanning to see what bunny got his attention. Instead I see Apollo with his arms around the Omega. Her body buried against him, with her mitten clad hangs hugging her cheeks.
She’s here.
She didn’t give up on us. She came to a hockey game. She came for us?
Someone leans in and my eyes are razor sharp as I see Marcus, the Omega who is courting two of my teammates leaning in to say something to her.
From the way Apollo glares at him, it couldn’t have been appropriate. Yet, he gets a smile from Clover. Her head coming out from where it’s buried in Apollo.
“That Omega wants her. Friends my ass.” Griffin is standing up. His gloves back on and his eyes narrowed to where I’m standing.
“She didn’t leave?” He shakes his head, nudging me with his shoulder.
“No. She didn’t leave.” The way he says it is wistful. Almost like he is seeing her for the first time again.
I try to see her through his eyes. Pretty cherry girl with those sad blue eyes, like shattered porcelain. Broken and glued back together again. The golden flecks in her eyes prove that she survived bad things and came out stronger.
Clover is girl-next-door attractive. Except, it doesn’t sort of creep up on you. Instead, you’re slapped with how stunning she is right away.
She’s built average.Not some curvaceous pinup gir or an athletic straight build. She’s petite with little curves for hips and small tits that bounce just enough that I can’t think when I see her in the mornings.
A little tiny thing when standing next to an Alpha. When I held her as we slept, it was the right size for me to cuddle. Maybe she could always just be laying down with us like a personal teddy bear.
I needed to not think like that.
I had to get my head in the game. We needed to win. I need to go pro with my pack.
There were steps that we had talked about.
Why were they suddenly so obsessed with an Omega when we had these plans?
Shit .
Griffin was in front of the glass, glaring at the other Omega. It was strange seeing him jealous. Strange that things were changing, after so long of them being the same.
When did our plans stop being the main priority?
Why was I the only one falling behind?
My hair was clinging to my forehead. Beads of sweat, trapped under the visor, making their way down to my eyes to blind me. My breath was labored, in and out in hard puffs from skating my ass off for three periods.
Lifting my eyes up to the board, I saw that there was less than a minute left in the period and we were tied 2-2. I wouldn’t get another shift with the time dwindling down and Griffin was grinding his teeth beside me.
Seemed he did care about hockey after all.
My eyes wanted to shift to look at the Omega who was sitting by us. Right next to the bench with Apollo. I kept my shit together. I had to be the one that kept my shit together.
What if they got drafted without me?
What would I do?
“Fuck,” Griffin curses as the bench collectively sigh out in disappointment. My eyes go to our net where McKinley is smacking his stick against the post.
There are five seconds left in the game.
A game we had just lost.
The Omega’s fault.
“She’s a bad luck charm.” I gasp out and Griffin looks at me like I’ve officially lost my mind.
We. Lost . The. Game.
She was here .
Bad luck charm.
The staring between us comes to an end as he shakes his head, like I’ve officially lost my mind.
“Look, I know that I wasn’t on board with the whole-”
“You call her a weed. You barked at her. You-”
“Had a screwed view on everything.” He interrupts as the buzzer sounds to end the game officially, “You’re starting to spiral, Vaughn. Do you want to talk about it?” His eyes are soft, compassionate.
His broken Alpha friend.
The one who cried so much for weeks in his arms. The Alpha who wasn’t strong enough to handle a little bit of heartbreak. The Alpha who is letting his team down. Letting my pack down.
I’m a failure.
Terry saw I was a failure. That’s why she had wanted to be with a real Alpha.
My eyes close, as I rock back and forth. My head is leaning against the shaft of my stick. Letting it knock into my helmet as I try to not spiral out like Griffin said.
A hand slides around my waist, hoisting me up and leading me away from the stadium sounds. Hands gently tugging off my equipment and leading me to the showers. Hands rubbing my neck as I lay against a shoulder and cry.
Who could love an Alpha like me?
I don’t even like who I am anymore. They’re going to lose the Omega to a pack who deserves her. With real Alpha’s.
“Hey,” Mick’s voice is soft. The towel he wraps around me as Griff leads me from the shower feels just as soft. “We’re with you, Vaughn. You know that, right?” He’s toweling off my hair. Gently taking care of me and trying to ground me.
Most people would be embarrassed about breaking down like this. Unfortunately, this isn’t my first spiral this season.
That had been the first game of the season. The game my dad came to and tried to talk to me. The problem was I saw him and Terry in the crowd before he ever tried to come to talk to me.
It had ended up a lot like this.
“You said you’d leave the pack to go to her.” I whisper out. Griffin wraps his arms around me and I nuzzle into his neck. His scent calms me down.
It reminds me of home with all the spices mixed in. His hand steadies me there as he marks me with the warm scent of him.
“I’m not going to leave the pack because we’re going to keep Clover. You remember Clover, right? The one who tried to comfort you during a rut when she didn’t even know you? The Omega who you jizzed over for days in your room. Clover, the perfect Omega for our pack. You know our pack. Apollo, Griffin, Me, and you. Always us.” He squeezes the back of my neck.
Always us.
There was a lot of comfort in his words.
“We’re not asking you to say yes to her, V. We just want you to keep an open mind to adding an Omega to our pack. We’re not bonding with her or making pups with her yet. We just want to see how she fits.” Griffin is gently rocking me and it makes me realize I’ve stopped crying.
How long has it been since the game ended? It’s quieter in the locker room than usual. Sitting up, I look around and see it’s empty.
“We took a long shower. Apollo went back to the hotel to grab everything and then he is going to drive us home.” McKinley is pulling on a hoodie as he talks. Checking his phone and hitting a few buttons.
I’m guided to stand up and, instead of letting Griffin dress me, I start pulling on my own sweatpants and hoodie. Thankful that we had spare clothes other than our game day suits with us.
We’re all quietly processing everything.
My mind is calmer now. It’s not trying to create a war with my thoughts and more of planning on what to do next. A plan would help everything right now.
“We’re going to go home and then all pile up in the living room and eat junk food until we start to rot. After that we can face whatever is coming our way. Okay, bud?” I nod to Griffin.
“Can we get pepperoni, jalapeno, and pineapple pizza?”
“Yeah, V.” Griffin says with a laugh and I nod, happy with that.
They’re still my pack. I’m still with them. They’re not going to leave me.
Always us.