Chapter Two
Gem
Dressed in a pair of tight shorts with his headphones blaring old nineties classic rock music, Gem started a cool down lap on the treadmill, not wanting to push himself too hard before the game.
He grabbed the water bottle from the holder by his right hand, squirted three mouthfuls in, and swallowed.
Any minute now the rest of the team would start showing up and Gem needed to get back to the locker room.
He was always the first one there on game day, especially when he was starting.
Gem took his position with the team seriously and knew he had to work doubly hard as any other member of the team.
Not only being so much smaller and a rookie but Gem had taken the starting goalie position from a teammate that had been there for six years since the team had been formed.
Lexie didn’t hold it against him and Gem considered the other goalie, Jamie Lex, a friend who’d had a terrible few years of constant injury, but a few of the other guys on his team had given Gem hell.
It wasn’t anything that Gem couldn’t handle or hadn’t been through before.
When the PAHL had first been formed, most predator shifters and strong magic users that played at least a little hockey had been drafted into the new league.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that some of the teams started to draft based on talent, which resulted in Gem and his brothers joining the league.
There were still a few assholes around that made it known that fruit bat shifters like them didn’t belong in the league.
Aries and Nix had been targeted on ice and Gem was constantly getting slurs thrown in his direction while in goal.
It was harder to target a goalie without the entire team coming down on them.
Gem’s teammates stuck up for him. Most of them, anyway, and in fact two of the biggest dicks on his team had been traded to Seattle for Luka Kotov. Hopefully, the newest member of their team didn’t have the same prejudice against him as his now ex-teammates. Only time would tell.
The treadmill beeped before slowly coming to a stop.
Holding on to the bar, Gem stepped off and allowed his body the chance to adjust to the change of movement or lack of walking. Once his legs stopped shaking, he grabbed the towel off the bar and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck and face.
The door opened and the goalie coach, Hartley, stuck his head into the room. Gem yanked his headphones out of his ears and nodded in greeting.
“I thought I’d find you in here. All done with your warmup?” Hartley asked.
“Just finished,” Gem replied before downing half of his remaining water.
Hartley waved him closer. “Come say hello to your newest defenseman.”
Kotov must have arrived. Gem nodded before tossing the towel over one shoulder and stalking forward. Hartley held the door open for him as Gem stepped into the locker room.
Two men stood with their backs to him. Gem knew them both.
Head coach of the Boston Beans was an old hockey player that Gem respected and feared just a little.
Ethan Grimes, formerly called the Grim Reaper when he played for the NHL, was a force to be reckon with.
The other man Gem knew from the poster that Nix had on his wall most of their teenage years and the two times that Gem faced him on ice.
Almost against his will, Gem dropped his eyes to the pert ass showcased by the perfect fit of a suit.
And it wasn’t Gem’s coach that he was checking out.
Gem was an ass guy, so sue him! He appreciated a nice ass over most other physical attributes on a man or woman.
There was nothing better than a male sub in a jock strap with his hands tied behind his back.
Gem forced his gaze up as both men in front of him turned.
Coach Grimes nodded at Gem, not surprised to see him there already, while Kotov’s eyes widened for a brief moment before he quickly looked away, then back at Gem.
Kotov’s tongue peeked out as he licked his lower lip.
And that was when Gem realized that he was literally in nothing more than tight shorts and all sweaty.
No shirt so his muscular chest was on full display.
It wasn’t the first time one of his teammates had checked him out.
Gem was used to other people being surprised with the muscles he’d spent his time building.
He worked damn hard to look this damn good.
“Gem,” Coach Grimes greeted. “I’m sure you heard about the trade today. And know Luka Kotov.”
Sauntering forward, allowing his hips to roll, Gem nodded.
“Yes, coach.” He was teasing his new teammate.
Gem didn’t know Kotov’s sexual orientation.
In fact, he couldn’t remember any gossip revolving around Kotov at all.
And Gem made sure that he stayed informed on everyone that would be in close contact with him or his brothers.
He glanced over at Kotov, still seeing the heat in his gaze. That was something that Gem would normally be all over as Gem really did like his boys bigger than him. That was before Gem had given his heart away to a man behind a mask and screen. “Welcome to the Boston Beans,” he told Kotov.
Kotov cleared his throat before wiping his palm on the leg of his pants and offering Gem his hand. “Nice to meet you. Officially.”
Gem nearly dropped his water bottle. The softly spoken greeting with a light Russian accent was too close to the voice that he wanted to hear.
He shook off his reaction and took Kotov’s hand.
He forced himself not to pull away too soon.
He did let go as soon as it would have been polite.
He’d known that Kotov was Russian but he didn’t need the reminder of his boy.
There were a few other Russian players on the team but none had sounded so much like Ty.
He had to push down the sudden urge to check his phone. Gem really hoped Ty would reach out again soon. The ball was in the boy’s court.
“Kotov is here to watch your ass,” Coach Grimes said.
Lifting a brow, Gem met his coach’s eye with a hard look. “I can take care of myself.”
Coach Grimes waved off Gem’s words. He came from the old days when defensemen actually took care of their teammates.
Fought for them. “You’ve more than proven yourself.
Your job is to stop goals. We need a solid defense team to help you do that.
Defense that will do their fucking job in front of the net and not leave everything to you.
We’re a team, boy. You need teammates that will have your back. ”
So, the coach had seen how Hunger and Jibbs had been skirting their responsibilities. Interesting. The coach hadn’t said a word to Gem as he’d apparently been working to get Gem the help that he really did need.
The coach turned toward Kotov. “Get settled in. Everything is in your cubie. Just go out there and play your game, kid. We’re glad to have you.”
“Will do, coach. Thank you,” Kotov said just as quietly as before.
Gem had to wonder if Kotov was always this soft-spoken or if he was nervous. Hell, Kotov belonged in the locker room more than Gem did. Kotov had been in the start of an amazing career in the NHL before his shifter status had been leaked. A lot like Vin and Evan.
The locker room door banged open as teammates started to arrive. Gem backtracked to his own space in the corner as everyone seemed to know and want to greet Kotov. It made sense that most of these guys had been playing with Kotov for years. Gem was the only rookie on his team.
Sitting on the bench in front of his cubie, Gem popped his headphones back in. The guys could get rambunctious before games and Gem needed to get into the right headspace. It was an unspoken rule in a hockey locker room to never bother the starting goalie before a game.
Gem wasn’t as superstitious as some of the other goalies in the league.
He did like his time to get mentally prepared before a game.
And he wasn’t interested in the joking and pranks that ensued in the locker room.
They were professional hockey players, grown-ass men, but they still acted like teenagers on occasion.
Dropping his chin to his chest, Gem started breathing to clear his mind.
All he needed to be thinking about was what he would accomplish that night.
A shutout. Not one fucking puck was going to go in from the LA Grinders.
Alan Crowly would be out on the ice. The man that had made it known that he didn’t think fruit bat shifters belonged in the league.
The asshole that would learn that this fruit bat shifter wasn’t one to be messed with.
Gem was quite proud of his shifter animal.
One, he was fucking adorable when shifted.
And second, with a league full of predators, it felt good to stop a puck flying at him and holding it up to show them that they were not better than him.
He might be known as the levelheaded triplet but Gem still had the cockiness that came from playing a full-contact sport like a maniac.
Yeah, he hid that side of himself mostly. Unless Gem was on the ice. Or had a sub begging for more.
Not that he would allow that little secret out.
As far as Gem knew, only one teammate had picked up on Gem’s dominant side.
Tomas was the one that had given Gem the card for a BDSM organization that protected member privacy above everything except consent.
Because of that organization, Gem had found Ty at that masquerade event.
And now Gem was back thinking about his boy.
Reaching back, Gem grabbed the phone he’d placed on the shelf of his cubie before starting his warmup. There was no notification from the app but there was a text from Nix.
‘Are you best friends yet?’ Nix had sent that twenty minutes ago.
‘Yes. He is totally in love with me,’ Gem sent back.
‘I know you’re lying. He’d have to get past your boring ass and he must have better taste than that.’ Nix’s response was instant.