Chapter 2
Rowan
Oh, fuck.
Thank goodness no one could see the shaking of my hands through my costume, since I was covered head to toe in white-and-black fur.
My face was cycling through a mix of emotions—fear, apprehension, desire—but on the outside, all everyone saw was the smiling face of Benny the Badger, the Port City mascot.
My handlers hadn’t noticed anything was off with me throughout the photoshoot or the practice time afterward. They’d been with me since last season, so we knew each other well. Kier was one of my closest friends. Jason was an “all work and no play” type and an alpha, so I wasn’t as close with him.
Eventually our practice was cut short when a few of the team members skated out to take to the ice. The team was all on site for their first meeting with the new coach.
I walked into the locker room and sat down at the empty locker that was mine.
The players graciously let me use one of the extras.
It wasn’t typical of a mascot to be this close to the team, but it worked well for us.
I pulled at the laces of my skates, all the while trying to figure out how the fuck I was going to navigate this situation.
I’d known the team was getting a new coach.
I should have paid closer attention to who that coach was, but for the last two weeks, I had been busy with exams and trying to make sure I passed all my courses.
It wasn’t like I was privy to that information anyway.
Evan, my closest friend on the team, wouldn’t have thought to tell me.
It wasn’t like I’d shared my mortifying experience with Reid Garrison with anyone.
My hands shook. I couldn’t get my laces undone.
“Hey, Ro.” Evan Price, nudged me. “I think you might have better luck if you at least take your gloves off. Maybe even that goofy-ass head of yours.” He laughed and nudged me again until I almost toppled over.
Evan was the left-winger for the team, also the captain and one of my closest friends. Currently, he was also my landlord.
“Right. Of course. I’m sorry. Don’t know where my head’s at.”
“It’s right here,” he said. And he lifted my mask off.
“Hey, give that back,” I said. I reached for it, but of course he moved too fast for me.
“Make me.”
He laughed and tossed it around to the other guys.
They were all just arriving for their team meeting they would have with the new coach.
Now that the media spectacle was done, all of the guys on the team were in various states of undress since they had just finished their workout—a room full of alphas and just me, Phoenix, and Elliot as the only omegas.
Phoenix and Elliot were both players, whereas I was more like the annoying little brother who stuck around.
The team had always been kind to me. They weren’t dicks, like I’d heard some of the other players were to their mascots. If they bothered to talk to them at all. Most mascots didn’t actually get to be in the team’s locker room. Evan had insisted on it.
I let the guys toss around my head for a while.
I took my skates off, putting them carefully into my locker.
The cool air felt good on my hands once I had my paws off and set on the shelf.
I kept the rest of the uniform on. I didn’t really want to be halfway dressed in here when coach walked in.
I needed to leave, get out of here before I had to face the coach.
What the hell was I going to say? Was I going to be fired now that Reid Garrison was here?
And how did he still look so damn good? I had aged at least ten years in the last five.
Meanwhile, he somehow looked the exact same—a few more gray hairs around his temple, but still as sexy as ever.
His eyes were as fierce as they’d ever been.
I even got a smile and a laugh out of him. I never got that five years ago.
That day in his office felt like a lifetime ago. I’d been a different person then. I thought I was more irresistible than I was. Turned out I was incredibly resistible, and if I wanted anything out of life, I would have to work for it just like everyone else. And work I did.
Fuck. The last few years had been hard, and I finally had a job I enjoyed, that I was good at.
And now I was going to get fired. There was no way he would keep me around, not after what I did all those years ago.
I didn’t stick around college long enough to find out if he’d filed a complaint about me.
I’d withdrawn from my classes and moved out of the dorm back to my home.
Since then, I’d love to say that life had been a cakewalk, but that simply was not the case.
Reid Garrison was an alpha that haunted my dreams. On the loneliest days I’d conjure up his face while I touched myself.
Now Reid Garrison was my boss, or at least close to it, and if it was up to him, he probably wouldn’t want me around.
Maybe by some luck, he wouldn’t even recognize me.
I was forgettable, right? He had basically said so himself that day in his office.
Since then, he had probably coached hundreds of players. He wouldn’t remember me.
“Hey, seriously, man. Are you all right?” Evan asked. He put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in close as he talked to me. The rest of the guys continued to toss my head around. I didn’t care if they played with it, as long as they didn’t do any damage. They knew to be careful with it.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just, you know, exams.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “You’ll do great. I quizzed you on that math test, right?”
“That was last semester,” I said.
“Right, you’re not taking math this semester?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m finally able to take things in my major. All my general degree stuff is done.”
“Cool. Well, if you need any help, just say the word. We’re going to be traveling soon. We can study on plane rides.”
I nodded. During the off season, the marketing team put together a ton of activities for me to do with the team while they traveled. It was an awesome opportunity for me to see our marketing campaigns work in real time. If I had a job this year.
I’d been the mascot last year, but I was only secondary. After the office people saw how good I did at home, they wanted to take the show on the road.
Evan had put in a good word for me, over a year ago, when the team needed a new mascot who could actually skate on the ice.
He and I had met while volunteering at a local rink while we helped with a youth camp.
He was teaching hockey to kids, while I was more like their babysitter.
Somehow, we’d become quick friends. Some might think it was weird for an alpha and an omega to be friends, but it came naturally for us.
Phoenix tossed the head to Evan, and he caught it, hanging it up in my locker where it belonged.
“It’s pretty cool that you’ll be traveling with us this year,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m excited.” Last year I only worked the home games, but this year, the organization felt that having me around for all the games was beneficial.
So in addition to my mascot duties, I was also assigned a few smaller things that a marketing intern might do.
It worked out well, since it gave me good experience for my actual degree which I planned to get in marketing.
And I loved the game. I loved being able to participate, hype up the crowd.
I dare say I loved being the mascot even more than I loved when I was playing.
I still enjoyed the amateur league play that I participated in, but Coach Garrison had been right to cut me from the college team. I wasn’t cut out for anything besides the fun leagues. Competitive play was not for me.
“Coach is coming!” one of the team members shouted, and everybody stood at attention as if we were welcoming a celebrity.
I didn’t have time to run or hide, so as soon as Coach walked in the room, I froze, staring straight at him.
His eyes roved around the room, individually assessing each of his guys, then they landed on me.
I hoped he would just move on to the next person and not recognize me at all, but he didn’t.
His gaze zeroed in on me, and I knew right then that he recognized me.
Those intense eyes of his narrowed. His nostrils flared as if he remembered the scent of me without my blockers.
I licked my lips, shuffled my feet, and looked away.
Fuck.
I was so fired.