Chapter 26
Steven
“Congratulations, buddy,” Tony said as soon as he walked into the kitchen. “Man, you work fast with the ladies.”
Huffing, I barely glanced in his direction. All I could think about was her. Why had she tossed me out?
Her friend had had no idea but wasn’t willing to offer any solutions either.
At least she’d dropped me off to get my car and no asshole reporters had been there.
But they would stay outside at Christine’s house until she finally had to go out.
She had no idea how ruthless the bastards were.
I did. I should be taking the brunt of the shit, not her.
“Meaning what? The game? The motherfuckers lied about me almost shifting then that goddamn referee made shit up.”
I could tell Tony was staring at me. “Yeah, the whole team knows that. I meant about you being engaged.”
In response, I huffed. “Goddamn media.” Why the shift in her attitude? No pun intended. We’d had the best sex in our lives and had been so close. What had changed?
And why had she been desperately throwing words into her brain? Oceans. Chocolate. Vampires? Jesus.
I had a horrible feeling she wasn’t telling me something vital.
“They’re shit, that’s for sure and that reporter was the worst. Although you are definitely trending this morning. I mean wow. So is the whole team. Maybe you being a shifter is the best thing that ever happened to the Gators.” My life was crumbling before my eyes and Tony was excited.
“Jesus Christ! I do have some fucking skills at hockey, you know.”
He whistled. “Yeah, you do. You’re damn good, man. Damn good. What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’.”
He went about making a cup of coffee while I continued staring at the wall. I had no idea what to do at this point, but I couldn’t lose her. I just couldn’t.
“Would you stop moping, for fuck’s sake. Do you have any idea how ecstatic the fans and the coaches are with last night?” Tony stood over me like some fucking mother hen.
“I don’t care.”
“You don’t care. What in the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Nothin’. I already told you.”
He laughed. “Since you walked through that goddamn door, you’ve acted like someone stole your damn puppy.
I mean hell, you won a game last night that people will continue talking about for weeks.
You put the Gators back on the map, man.
On top of that, you’re a social media darling. Every guy wants to be you.”
“So the fuck what?”
“So you got your willy wet last night, didn’t you?”
I lifted my head, narrowing my eyes with a hard glare. I couldn’t understand what the hell had happened from the time she’d fallen asleep in my arms and when she’d been jarred awake. Unless she’d spend the night fuming over how her parents had handled the engagement announcement.
“Geez. Testy. But it’s true. Right? I saw that gorgeous girl on the jumbotron. She’s a hottie. If you don’t want her, I might take her out for a swing.”
My reaction was swift and without thinking, using the kind of anger than I’d been successfully reserving for the ice.
I shoved back my chair until it was slammed against the wall, taking one long stride and driving Tony into the edge of the counter.
I even wrapped my hand around his throat.
“Don’t you talk about my… About her like that. ”
“God! Okay. I’m sorry. I’m fucking sorry.” He threw up his hands, terror lingering in his eyes.
I’d been about to call her my mate. That was the entire problem. I was a furry creature. She couldn’t tolerate that I was a shifter. Suddenly, I hated myself for several reasons.
Including having my teammate in a choke hold. I backed off, turning away and shoving my hands into my pockets. “I’m sorry.”
“Wow, you care about this girl.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Tony coughed and I would think he’d run far away from me or toss me out on my ass, but he remained. “So what the fuck happened last night? The jumbotron caught you racing after something and maybe you don’t know it, but people were cheering you on, hoping you got to the girl. Christine. Right?”
“Yeah.” I could barely speak at this point, I was so damn gutted. It was crazy to feel the way I did about someone. She was totally unlike me yet she fit perfectly.
And she was my mate.
Nowhere in any rule book was there documentation on how to fix a broken… whatever the hell this was. What did an alpha male do when his female mate tossed him to the curb? Maybe I’d write a book after my hockey career was over. Depending on what Ansley had to say, that could be sooner versus later.
I wasn’t certain I gave a shit either. I’d lost her. I’d lost the woman who was not only my mate, but who’d somehow managed to snag my heart.
“You were chasing after her.”
Shrugging, I moved toward the window, staring into space more than anything. “I was. I took her home and spent the night there. Now she doesn’t want to see me. The crap from last night was too much.”
“Wait. Hold on. You’re engaged, but she broke it off. Maybe that was just too fast. You’ve been in town less than two weeks.”
“The whole engagement wasn’t real. It was fake. She blurted it out because her parents were giving her crap. Plus, lying to her about who I was came back to bite me. I can’t blame her.”
“Wow, man. That’s just shit. You do know all about her father and his hatred of shifters.”
Now I laughed bitterly. “Oh, he was gloating about how he’s going to fix the influx of shifters at dinner, glaring at me the entire time. See? Not a match made in heaven, but I kind of thought so.”
He put cream and seven teaspoons of sugar into his mug of coffee all while staring at me. “You really do like this girl.”
“Yeah, more than like.”
“Then you need to keep letting her know.”
“I tried. I planted her entire yard full of flowers since I ran hers over. What else am I supposed to do?”
“Whatever it takes. But I’d give her some time. If there’s anything I’ve learned about women, it’s to give them time. If not, she’ll likely cut your balls off. At least that’s what two former girlfriends tried to do to me.”
With the coffee in his hand, he walked from the kitchen and I resumed sulking.
But maybe he was right. I wasn’t going to take this sitting down. She was my mate and no one else was going to claim her.
Damn it.
* * *
Christine
Eyes watching me.
I’d felt them just after twilight had settled in. Or I’d felt him.
Some would say Steven had resorted to stalking me.
I knew what he was doing. He’d been protecting me from afar.
For almost three hours I’d felt the heavy crackle of electricity and finally when I’d looked outside my back window, I’d witnessed glowing eyes.
Seeing them could terrify most people. The thought of having a wild animal staring at you through your window should scare people, but I was comforted. Even with the reporters hanging around out front, I’d dared open the back door, going out onto the deck.
I’d almost called for him, yet I hadn’t been ready to see him in his natural form. And the way I’d treated him, as if he was a horrible creature and not a human being had nearly destroyed me.
He’d remained. Right there. Doing nothing more than letting me know he’d never allow anything to happen to me.
Only this he couldn’t fix.
Mondays came way too often and too early.
It felt especially early for me today. I’d been out the door before seven, thankful the reporters had finally given up sometime during the night.
I hadn’t left my house all day on Sunday, doing nothing more than sulking behind closed doors.
Plus, writing a scathing email to my father about why I’d never see him again.
I’d tried to offer several crucial points regarding shifters and how important they’d become to society from articles I’d read. As if that would change his mind, but doing so had given me something to do.
Other than feeling sorry for myself.
And wishing I could turn back time.
Wishing that I hadn’t been so rude to Steven or that I’d told him the truth. But this was my cross to bear. Mine alone.
I was a big girl now and I’d fought for my independence.
The last thing I planned on doing was allowing anyone to influence the decisions I made.
That’s why I was all alone sitting in a cold, stark room filled with nothing but books and diplomas, my foot tapping on the floor as the fear edged into every part of me.
Every bone.
Every synapse.
Every blood cell.
Just like some evil creature was eating me alive from the inside out.
Maybe that’s what shifters did. My laugh echoed. I’d purchased a book on Kindle, a shifter book that had been around for years so it didn’t reflect the truths about their existence. Instead, the old myths were in place and boy, they were vicious but sexy beasts.
Then again, so was the man I’d confessed internally I was in love with.
Or had I?
The night was a beautiful blur and in truth, all I could remember was the extreme pleasure. Instead of being sore like I thought I’d be, I felt fantastic. There were no feelings of being lightheaded, no rapid thumping of my heart as there had been.
Well, when he’d fucked me that had been entirely different. Of course, my heart had hammered nearly out of my body, but that was different.
Anyway, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say being his mate looked fabulous on me. My skin was glowing. Or perhaps it was my imagination.
When the door opened, I put on a fake smile.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Christine. It’s been a crazy morning.” She had a file in her hand as she moved behind her desk, sitting down.
“That’s okay. I still have a little time before school starts.”
She nodded, her smile full of empathy. “You look great. New fitness routine?”
No, I’m currently fucking a werewolf and sex is phenomenal. “No, just trying to take care of myself.”
“Good to hear. Anyway, I won’t keep you waiting. Let’s go over your test results.”