10. Adler
TEN
Adler
“Mmm.” I roll over, groaning as I inhale the delicious cherry scent that’s baked into my sheets and skin. Then I remember what happened last night.
It hits me harder than a puck to the face.
I jolt upright, eyes snapping open. Shit! My initial bliss morphs into rising panic. Next to me, the bed is surprisingly vacant. All that remains is an imprint in the mattress from where her body was curled up against mine.
“Sabs?” I jump up and head to the bathroom. Also empty. I scan the room for any trace of her, but there are no scattered clothes either. “Sabrina!”
I’m met with a lung-compressing silence.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I stumble, pulling on a pair of gray track pants before racing into the hall. “Sabrina?!”
My hoarse voice echoes back to me like a cruel taunt. Where is she? My heart thuds against my ribs like an angry drum, limbs driven by my desperate need to find her. My bonded mate is missing!
I race downstairs just as the front door opens. I inhale the familiar punch of sweet pineapple that mellows out to a deep, woodsy scent.
“I’m home!” Luca shouts as he steps inside, wearing a bright smile.
He’s carrying a huge backpack, flipping his chin-length, wavy, tawny-colored hair out of his face.
He’s been growing it out, and it suits him.
He frowns when he sees me, instantly picking up on my mood.
“What’s up? I thought you’d be pleased I’m home early. ”
“I don’t care about your camping expedition,” I snap. Untamed worry claws at my throat like I’m being choked. “Did you see her? Was she outside when you came in?”
“See who? There’s no one else around.” He takes off his backpack, eyebrows lowering. “You know, Coach will kill you if you get caught using psychedelics again.”
“That was only one time.” A total accident and a not-so-funny prank by an ex-teammate. “Did you or did you not see an omega outside?”
“Oh… I see…” His lips curl into a mischievous grin. “A girl snuck out, huh? That’s unusual. Normally, you’re the one who throws them out after breakfast if they stick around.”
I clench my fists. “This isn’t funny, Luca!”
“Okay, now you’re officially weirding me out.” He must sense my seriousness. “What’s going on?”
“Move.” I shove past him to head outside. There’s no time to explain myself.
In the front yard, I call out into the wind, like I’m hoping she’ll miraculously fall from the sky like the angel she is. “Sabs?”
But I know she isn’t close. I can feel it.
I fall to my knees in the driveway, overcome by sheer helplessness.
From this angle, I spot a scuff mark on the top of the gate, likely from a muddy sneaker.
My heart plummets. Did she really climb over our gate?
I’m not sure whether I’m more impressed by my omega’s show of strength or devastated that she wanted to get away from me so badly that she snuck out of here like it’s fucking Alcatraz.
I thought I said the right things to reassure her last night. I told her that I’d stand by her, that I’d do whatever it takes to make things work. Am I really that terrible of an alpha to make her run? Granted, I have a reputation, but I’m not a bad guy. Am I?
After spending the night with her, I know she’s the one for me. No other omega will compare. She’s funny, beautiful, ambitious… everything I could ever want. And now she’s gone.
“It’s okay, brother.” Luca’s firm, steady hand grips my shoulder. “Come back inside.”
“This is not okay!” Despite my angry outburst, my voice wavers.
His scent wraps around me like a comforting blanket, allowing me to voice my fears.
“Nothing about this situation is okay. I need to see her. I…” I rasp, struggling to keep my emotions in check.
“I bonded with her, Luca.” The words hang heavy in the air between us, even the birds seem to stop chirping for a moment.
“She’s mine, and if she feels as bad as I do, she’s alone and terrified. ”
Luca helps me up. If he’s shocked or angry—all valid feelings when learning that your asshole packmate bonded without them—he doesn’t show it.
He’s a good guy. Too fucking good. He’s always been able to bring calm to my chaos, but I don’t know if even he will be able to pull me back from the brink this time.
“Shouting out here isn’t going to change anything.
” Luca’s always been great at staying level-headed under pressure.
It’s one reason why he was such a great hockey player.
It’s easy to get swept away in the adrenaline and desire to win, but Luca has always remained unshakable on the rink, often taking opportunities that other players missed because they were too busy trying to impress the crowd or settle old scores. “We’ll work it out. We always do.”
“But she’s gone. I bonded her, then she left!” My arm feels like it weighs ten tons as I point. “She must have climbed the gate, Luca.”
I believed we had a connection and shared something special. At the bare minimum, I thought we at least had an agreement that we were going to get through this together. Obviously, I completely misread the situation.
All my energy has been zapped as I let him lead me back inside. Every movement is sluggish and takes ten times more effort than usual. He squeezes my bicep. “If she climbed the gate, she must be a fighter. Just like you. Now let’s take a seat and plan our next move, okay?”
I cast one final longing look outside, expecting to see her materialize in front of us, but no such luck.
“You should eat something,” Luca suggests, taking me into the kitchen and pushing me into a chair.
“Eat?” A wave of nausea rolls over me. “No! My omega is all alone right now! I need to be with her!”
“Eat, Adler.” He pushes a protein bar into my hand then plonks a cold bottle of water in front of me. “It’ll help with the bonding sickness. You have to stay replenished. Your body has gone into overdrive, your cells fighting themselves.”
Obviously, he’s right. As usual. Luca’s great at taking care of people.
Even though we were equally matched in skill, he was always chosen as captain of our teams because of his kind-hearted nature.
He sees when people are struggling and lifts them up.
If Sabs bonded with him, I doubt she’d have fled.
He’d have been able to say the right thing to make her want to stay.
A sip of ice water shocking my throat jolts me back to reality, giving me a renewed sense of purpose. “Happy now?” I slam the bottle down. “Let’s go.”
“Slow down, Addy.” Luca’s tone remains measured. “First, why don’t you tell me what happened, and we’ll go from there? You don’t know where she is right now, and you’re not in any state to be going anywhere alone.”
“There was this party…” I rake my hands through my hair, my knees jumping up and down. “At the beach…”
“And you met her there?”
I nod. “She’s amazing, man.” My skin still tingles with the phantom warmth from holding her all night.
“She’s unlike any omega I’ve ever met. She’s funny, a real balls-to-the-wall type.
She’s fierce, you know? She wasn’t afraid to put me in my place and didn’t kiss my ass like all the other girls do. ”
“So not a puck bunny.” I swear, I see his shoulders sag an inch in relief. He’s never really approved of me sleeping with fans or anyone on the SVU ice cheering squad, but I’m an alpha with needs. If they’re happy to oblige, what’s a guy to do? “At least that’s something.”
“One thing led to another…” I have to adjust myself, remembering how incredible her slick felt coating me. “And then when we were… It was…” I sigh deeply, my cock straining. “It was an accident. While we were fucking, she asked me to claim her, and…”
His eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. “She asked you to?”
I know what he’s thinking—that maybe this was some kind of way to entrap me. It wouldn’t be the first time an omega has floated the idea of courting our pack. However, we’ve never taken any of them seriously, all agreeing to focus on our careers right now.
“Not like that.” I narrow my eyes. I don’t want him thinking Sabs is just another fame-hungry omega who wants to be on the arm of a hockey player on the cusp of signing a major deal.
“We both got carried away in the moment. She’s…
” I exhale a long puff of air. “She’s fucking amazing, okay?
Our connection was electric, and then… I bit her. ”
Coldness sweeps over me, an itch under my skin demanding attention and the touch of my omega. Something only she can quell.
“How did she react after it happened?” Luca studies me closely. “How did you react?”
“After the mind-blowing orgasm? We both freaked the fuck out.” I crush the now empty bottle of water with my hand.
“But I wasn’t a dick about it. I told her I’d stand by her and that we’d make it work.
I thought I told her everything she’d want to hear.
” A devastating emptiness makes my chest feel tight as I hurl the crumpled water bottle across the room in frustration. “And when I woke up, she was gone.”
I put my head in my hands, overcome by yet another wave of misery that feels like it’s swallowing me whole.
“Okay, so we know she’s an omega who studies here, which means she probably lives in Omega Village,” Luca summarizes. “Do you know her full name?”
“It’s—”
Before I can finish my sentence, the front door slamming makes Luca jump.
Faint voices float through from the hall.
Along with Orin, there’s a deep voice I don’t recognize, and the scent of an unfamiliar alpha in our space immediately puts me on edge.
My jaw sets. Orin never brings guests home, and despite not knowing who this alpha is, I already want him out.
“You need to stay calm, Adler,” Luca warns as if he can read my mind. “Bonding is an emotional time. Your pheromones will be going crazy.”