Chapter 22
Ryder
Getting through lunch without saying something I’d regret took more restraint than the entire third period.
And considering the third period had involved a six-foot-six defenseman attempting to remove my head from my shoulders along the boards, that was saying something.
I respected Coach Scott. Everyone on the Wolves did.
The man ran a tight system. Called plays that actually made sense.
Knew the game so well that arguing with him usually ended with you realizing halfway through that you were the idiot in the conversation.
Half the reason this team worked as well as it did was because Coach demanded discipline and then backed it up with actual hockey knowledge.
But when he asked Scotty why she didn’t stick around to hear her ex out, I almost lost it. How could he possibly be that chill after finding out the prick cheated on her? Even worse, give Ken a chance to manipulate her into staying. Fuck. That.
The way I saw it, this was all black and white. No gray area to be found. Ken cheated on her. End of story.
But Coach sounded like he thought Ken deserved a chance to explain himself.
That thought alone had me grinding my teeth.
It was all fucked.
If Scotty wasn’t so worried about how Coach would react to the scent match between us, I would’ve said a hell of a lot more than I did.
I would have leaned and made it perfectly clear that Scotty didn’t need to hear a damn thing from the cheating Beta.
She had two Alphas sitting right here who would happily spend the rest of their lives making sure no one ever treated her like that again.
But life, apparently, had a cruel sense of humor.
Because my mother had gone and fallen in love with the one man on the planet who complicated the situation beyond reason.
At least in my Omega’s eyes.
And that meant the smartest move right now—the only move—was letting Scotty decide how she wanted to handle it.
Pushing her before she was ready would only scare her off.
And that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
I couldn’t lose her.
Which was a ridiculous thought considering I’d known the woman for less than a week, but logic had very little influence over Alpha instincts.
In the short amount of time I’ve known Scotty, she’d worked her way under my skin.
She’s become an obsession. I was halfway in love with her already, and judging by the way Hunter kept looking at her when she wasn’t paying attention, my mate was already there.
Keeping myself together was starting to grate on instincts that were normally very well behaved.
And by well behaved, I meant barely contained on a good day.
I exhaled slowly and forced my grip on my fork to loosen.
Hunter leaned slightly toward Scotty a moment later, saying something low enough that only she could hear. Whatever it was made her smile, and just like that, the tight knot in my chest eased a little.
Fans drifted over to our table throughout lunch to congratulate us on the win.
I didn’t mind that part. It came with the territory when you played in a hockey town like Evercrescent.
People here cared about the Wolves. You got used to strangers stopping by your table to shake your hand, or ask if you’d sign whatever random object they happened to have within reach.
A couple of blondes wandered over halfway through dessert, asking for autographs, and it was painfully obvious they didn’t give a single shit about hockey.
One of them leaned halfway across the table and pushed her boobs into Hunter’s face while asking him to sign a napkin. Hunter leaned back, looking very uncomfortable.
I told them to fuck off as politely as possible.
They wandered away, looking offended that we hadn’t immediately fallen over ourselves to hook up with them. Apparently, rejection from professional athletes wounded the ego more than basic social awareness ever could.
Across the table, Scotty watched the entire exchange with a look that could only be described as feral.
Her eyes tracked the blondes all the way across the restaurant like she was mentally calculating several different ways to dispose of their bodies and avoid prosecution.
It was cute as hell.
More importantly, it made me extremely happy.
Because, for all the ways Scotty kept trying to convince herself this thing between us was a terrible idea, moments like these made it pretty damn clear her Omega had already chosen for her.
She just needed to give in.
Done sitting around and pretending Scotty wasn’t my everything, I stood and offered the table a polite smile.
“Thank you for the food.” I shrugged on my coat and grabbed Hunter’s hand. “We’ve had a long day, and I’m exhausted.” I turned to Scotty and gave her a meaningful look, arching a brow slightly. “Do you need a ride home?”
“She can ride with us,” Coach said gruffly.
Scotty straightened in her chair. “Actually, I have plans with Ella and Millie tonight, Dad. I might crash at Millie’s.”
Her eyes flicked toward me for half a second.
Please let that be code.
“Sorry. I know we’re monopolizing her. We just haven’t seen her in forever.” Millie added, batting her lashes at Coach.
Coach frowned slightly but didn’t say anything.
Honestly, the man had been in such a pissy mood since we got here, you’d think we’d lost the game.
Hopefully, Mom managed to cheer him up later.
I immediately regretted that thought.
We said our goodbyes in the restaurant lobby a few minutes later. I told Ella and Millie it had been nice meeting them, and pulled Scotty in for a hug.
A big, polite, entirely appropriate hug.
The kind an almost-stepbrother would give.
Then, when I was absolutely certain no one else was looking, I squeezed her ass.
She jolted against me and muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a threat involving bodily harm, and I let her go like nothing had happened.
I shook Coach’s hand next, gripping it a little more firmly than necessary, then leaned down to kiss Mom’s cheek.
Hunter and I headed out to the parking lot, and the second we reached the truck, I pulled out my phone and started typing.
Ryder: Please tell me you’re coming over, Sweetheart.
Then I stood there staring at my phone, waiting like a lovestruck idiot.