Epilogue #2
I was so glad it was so easy, as if no time between us had passed at all.
He had immediately apologized to me when we first met up at a nearby pizza place, telling me that he regrets not reaching out to me but that he’d been so affected by all the toxic bullshit that happened in our family that he ended up just wanting to avoid it all.
He agreed it wasn’t the healthiest course of action (especially according to his therapist) but it’s how he dealt with things.
He alluded to some more chaos in his life but didn’t really delve too deeply into it and I didn’t want to pry.
There would be plenty of time now to reconnect and unpack all the bullshit that had happened in both our lives over the past years of being apart.
Today was about celebrating, and not just me.
“Well, what happened?” I asked, excited at how wide Benji was beaming.
He looked just like his younger self, his youthfulness not seeming to be touched by the passing of time and stressors of life.
He had that same cheek-to-cheek smile and the smooth skin and the bushy brows and the kind eyes, sharpened by the icy blue color.
His vitiligo—which was something that had bothered him when we were younger—didn’t appear to bug him at all anymore.
He used to hate wearing sleeveless shirts and shorts because it showed off the patchwork of symmetrical white and tan skin on both his arms and legs, but today he wore a black sleeveless shirt and shorts that ended pretty high above the knee, putting his frankly beautiful skin out on full display.
I was proud of him for owning something that made him so unique.
“I got traded,” he said with a wide grin.
“Oh shit, no way?” I was pleasantly shocked. “What team?”
“The Savannah Sharks.”
And my pleasant shock and surprise turned to a brittle tense sensation that stiffened my shoulders. “Really?”
“Yeah, I got the call from my agent this morning. I’m excited—what’s with that face?
” How could I tell the cousin I’d been dying to reunite with that he just signed with our rival team who also had a shifter pack of their own, one that had taken me hostage and threatened to destroy all of us because of a rogue hunter who had manipulated them into thinking we were the evil ones?
“Nothing, nothing,” I said, deciding there’ll be time for that later. For now I just wanted to be happy with the fact that Benji was in my life again after so many years of being gone. “We play against them a lot, so I’m sure I’ll see you on the ice during the next season.”
“Don’t go easy on me just cuz we’re blood,” he said with a chuckle.
“I won’t. I’ve got a Calder Cup winning rep to hold up now.”
“That you do, Dyl.” He lifted his coffee mug in a cheers.
I clinked mine against his. Across the lobby, I spotted Chris coming in with a cup of coffee in his hands.
He wore a slick black leather jacket with faux fur around the collar, steam rising up from his coffee as he drank it.
He spotted me and gave a friendly wave before he froze in place.
His nostrils flared. His eyes opened wide.
Did he just shit himself? I told him not to get extra espresso shots in his coffee. He always said that made his stomach hurt.
Benji swiveled in his chair, looking for whoever got my attention. I waved Chris over. He’d be happy to meet my cousin… unless he really had shit himself. Then maybe now wasn’t the best time.
Chris shook his head, as if he were brushing off an annoying thought, and came over to our table.
He carried himself a little differently ever since becoming alpha to our pack.
We were all still getting used to it, but Chris especially.
He’d gone from being one of the guys to someone the rest of the pack instinctively looked toward whenever shit hit the fan.
He complained about it, seemed anxious by it, but I could tell there was a part of him that liked taking care of everyone.
I was proud of him. We all had hopes that Emmy would be back soon, his doctors and the druids around him working overtime to try and figure out how to wake him up.
Our pack worked together too, meeting weekly to try and brainstorm new ways on what we could do to help.
Chris led us through every meeting, hopeful and confident and in control.
Right now, though, he didn’t look particularly capable of taking care of anyone.
He looked like he’d forgotten how to breathe.
“You good?” I asked.
Chris ignored me.
His eyes were locked on Benji. Benji slowly lowered his coffee. The easy smile disappeared from his face as he stared back at Chris with an intensity that made the hairs rise along my arms. I thought the two were about to start fighting… did they know each other?
Then Chris’ nostrils flared once again.
Oh.
Oh, fuck.
I knew that look.
I knew it because I’d worn it myself the first time Miles walked into my life.
Chris took another step toward the table.
“Dyl,” he said, his voice strangely tight. “Who is that?”
Benji’s brows pulled together. “I’m sitting right here, man.”
“This is my cousin, Benji.” I looked between the two of them, fighting a smile that was already threatening to break loose. “Benji, this is Chris. My best friend.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Chris whispered under his breath so only I could hear. He let out a disbelieving laugh as he reached to shake Benji’s hand.
And then I really did start smiling.
Because apparently fate had a sense of humor.
My newly reunited cousin had just been traded to our biggest rival. And judging by the way he and Chris were staring at each other, he’d also just found his fated mate on the wrong side of the ice.
Huh.
Next season was going to be fucking interesting.
Thank you for reading ICED OUT MATE!