Chapter 2
Vin
Aries bounced on his skates as he faced his opponent for the face-off.
Vin could see the captain of the Dallas Hawks eyeing Vin’s boy with disdain.
Making note of the possible threat, Vin bent, preparing for the whistle.
Aries had been flying up and down the ice, making plays and assisting their teammates all night long.
Aries might not have scored but he was playing an amazing game.
Vin was proud of his boy. He was proud of the entire team and organization.
From where Vin had started at the beginning of the season to now was like night and day.
Starting the season, Vin had been stuck in a rut and struggling to find his motivation. Aries had been the breath of fresh air that not only did Vin need but the entire organization.
With the players ready, the ref held the puck above the ice.
Seven minutes to go.
If they could last for seven more minutes, the Iron Cup would be theirs.
Vin gave a quick glance up to the suite where his new family was rooting for them. Some old friends along with the family that Aries had given him. Parents, Nix and Evan, and Gem and Luka.
He’d once convinced himself that he’d liked being by himself. That he didn’t need anyone in his space or to give attention to. Vin hadn’t even wanted to try clubs in search of a little. Now he couldn’t go an hour being away from his boy. And if anyone hurt Aries, Vin would make them pay.
The ref dropped the puck and chaos erupted.
Aries won the face-off, passing the puck to Bane who shot it to Shawn. Vegas was headed back down the ice and Vin had his eyes on protecting his teammates. Luckily Aries, Bane, and Shawn were in rhythm. Vin and Robbs needed to do their damn jobs and give their guys a chance to score.
Shawn aimed for the net.
Dallas’s goalie knocked the puck away but didn’t secure the rebound, leaving Aries open to pick it back up. Aries skated around the back of the net as Dallas’s defense went after him.
Robbs knocked one player onto the ice before shouldering the other into the glass. Aries ducked under another player as he swiped at him before shooting the puck. Straight to Vin’s stick.
Vin lifted his stick, just trying to get the puck back in front of the net so one of his teammates could score.
The puck sailed across the ice before hitting against the back skate of a Dallas player and knocked between the goalie’s legs and into the net.
Holy shit!
Vin lifted his arms as the goal light behind Dallas’s net lit up.
“Yes!” Aries screamed, skating toward him.
Bane reached Vin first and smacked his back, nearly distracting Vin as Aries launched himself at Vin.
Between sticks, helmets, pads, and all the other gear they wore, Vin was lucky that he’d managed to catch his little one. He lifted Aries into the air while the rest of the team congratulated Vin on a very lucky shot.
“Alright,” Vin said. “Back to the bench.” He let Aries down as the boy was talking a mile a minute to the point that Vin couldn’t even keep up.
He had to direct Aries to the team bench since didn’t appear that Aries was ready to head in.
They still had a lot of game left to play.
Another six minutes could turn something quickly.
Vin needed to get his boy focused again. Two goals up didn’t guarantee a win. Not when they were playing a team like Dallas. One mistake could steal the championship away.
Grabbing the back of Aries’s neck, Vin squeezed hard bending down to talk to his boy. “Focus,” Vin said. “We haven’t won anything yet.”
Aries nodded as he gripped his own knees, which hadn’t stopped bouncing. “K. I know your right. I’ll calm down.”
“You are playing amazing,” Vin told him, wanting Aries to know how proud he was.
“I haven’t scored,” Aries said and scowled.
Vin squeezed again. “It’s not always about scoring. You are assisting your teammates and playing a great game. Keep it up.”
Aries looked up at him. “Can we have ice cream tonight?”
Robbs’s face was suddenly between theirs. “I want ice cream too.”
“Fucker!” Vin laughed and shoved Robbs away. Why the hellhound, who Vin knew was a dominant in his private time, often acted like a damn teenager was beyond him.
“That wasn’t a no!” Aries said, clapping.
It wasn’t a no. In six more minutes, Vin would give his boy whatever he wanted even if it meant the biggest chocolate sundae that Vin had ever seen in his life. Because Aries had been right earlier. They were going to win the Iron Cup tonight!
Ice cream followed by a bath before Vin gave Aries another surprise. The special gift that was wrapped and waiting on the coffee table would be Aries’s reward for a fantastic season. Win or lose. But they were going to fucking win.
Evan
“Yes!” Nix screamed at the top of his lungs. Like he thought that Aries would hear him from all the way up in their suite.
Hell, for all Evan knew, Aries might just be able to hear him. Nix was that damn loud.
Gem wasn’t much better as he grabbed hold of Nix, lifting the middle triplet off the ground, yelling as well. It amused Evan to see the normally quiet and stoic triplet losing his mind as Aries scored the third and quite possibly winning goal.
Luka joined Evan on the quiet side of the suite and passed him a beer.
“Thanks.” Evan lifted in beer in a toast. “Looks like Vegas got it.”
Luka nodded as he sipped his own beer. “I’d probably feel worse about where we ended up if it wasn’t so amazing to watch Vin and Aries have one hell of a season.”
“That they have,” Evan agreed.
“Besides, now that I’m with Boston for a full season, next year it’s going to be ours,” Luka stated with a smirk.
“Oh no!” Evan nudged him. “Next year is Florida’s year.”
“Bet!” Luka replied.
That intrigued him. “Bet?” Evan asked. He had been friends with Luka for a long time. They’d started their careers together when they’d both been drafted into the NHL back before anyone knew about the paranormal world. They couldn’t bet on games legally so they’d always had fun terms.
Luka nodded. “Like the good old days. A friendly wager, no money exchanged, of whose team goes farther next season.”
“It’s so fucking on!” Evan declared. This was nice. Seeing how Luka thrived since being with Gem. Mainly Evan loved seeing the darkness that started to take over Luka was now gone. Gem had helped Luka find his purpose. Renew his zest for life.
“What’s on?” Nix jumped on Evan’s back seconds after speaking.
Evan grunted and swung an arm around to hold Nix up, since he hadn’t been prepared and didn’t want to drop his boy.
Luka laughed as he walked off to join his partner. “We’ll discuss terms later.”
“Whatcha talking about?” Nix asked while nearly strangled Evan.
“Why are you climbing me?” Evan questioned instead of answering.
“I missed you!” Nix placed a sloppy kiss on Evan’s cheek.
“I’ve literally been by your side the entire time,” Evan reminded him.
“I still missed you.”
“Okay, brat, how about we watch the last minute together?”
“I can’t believe that Aries is going to win the Iron Cup his rookie year,” Nix complained. “He’s going to be impossible to live with.”
Evan snorted, knowing that if it was their team, Nix would be just as much of a pain in the ass.
“One more minute,” Cherry, the triplet’s mom, said clutching her husband’s hand.
Seeing the triplets’ parents there to support their son made Evan’s heart ache for what he’d long been missing from his own life.
At least he’d been reconnecting with his cousin.
Family. Evan had missed having that. Nix had given him so much more than Evan could have imagined.
Not only was Nix his partner, teammate, and boyfriend but also shared his love for life and family.
Everything that Evan had convinced himself that he hadn’t wanted. Yet was exactly what he’d needed.
Having Nix join his team this season had changed Evan’s entire life.
Evan wouldn’t have it any other way.
With Nix’s arms and legs around Evan, where he was basically wearing him like a backpack, they all gathered close for the final puck drop. By this point Dallas knew that they had lost and the pushing and shoving on ice was taking center stage.
“Come on,” Gem murmured. “Get the game started before another fight breaks out.”
Evan agreed as Aries smiled so wide that happiness radiated from him to the point that even up in the suite they could clearly see the pure joy he was feeling. And that was pissing the Dallas players off.
The Dallas captain bumped into Aries as they faced each other.
Aries said something while shaking his head. At least he appeared to be keeping his cool. Aries wasn’t a fighter, yet there had been times during the season that he’d had to fight back. Which always led to Vin and the rest of the guys on the team going ballistic on their opponents.
The ref dropped the puck.
Aries went for it but before Evan could see what had happened, Aries was on his back with the Dallas captain over him.
Vin roared knocking the captain off Aries then jumped on top of the Dallas player.
The crowd went fucking wild.
Evan had to grab Nix’s waist when his boy nearly threw himself over the railing of their suite. Shit! Nix was actually trying to get down to the ice while he cursed and fumed.
Luka was holding Gem from behind as Gem gripped the railing with white knuckles and yelled.
“Stop! Stop!” Evan shouted in Nix’s ear as his boy fought against his hold.
“Why isn’t he getting up?” Nix screamed.
Evan knew what was happening. While the bigger teammates were fighting with Dallas, Aries was still on the ice protecting his head in case the fighting got closer to him. It was smart of the little shifter and probably something that Vin had demanded of the boy.
Once the players on the ice were separated and penalties assessed, it left Vin in the sin bin for Vegas and two players for Dallas, including the captain who’d targeted Aries.
The teams were once again facing off on center ice.