6. Mathan
Mathan
“Holy shit,” Tanner murmurs in front of us.
I nearly say the same. Because I absolutely agree: she’s drop-dead gorgeous. As a former NHL star, our owner doesn’t know his own strength, and she freezes under him as he pats her shoulder, but Dr. Tully still looks at us all like we’re beneath her. It’s really doing it for me.
“Why the hell is an unmated omega coming to work for us?” Tanner says to me from my right.
“She might not be an omega,” I reply.
“Look at her, dude. She’s a fucking omega. There’s no way an alpha would ever be as hot as that,” Tanner replied.
Even though we can’t scent her, her slight build, deep golden hair tied up in a ponytail, sharp blue eyes that match her crisp sky-blue pantsuit, along with her fierce but delicate movements, all scream omega.
It’s only that she can go toe-to-toe with all the alphas around her for height that’s throwing people off.
And the fact that she looks like she’s going to eat us raw if we say the wrong thing.
Artie, my mate and the youngest of our pack, vibrates as he watches her. I slip my hand into his, hopefully calming him down.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” Artie whispers, and I can taste his excitement in his cut-grass scent.
“We don’t know for sure,” I say cautiously. Orso told us he bit and rejected a female omega with golden hair after his accident, and for weeks there was a strange tang in our pack bond that left us all unsettled.
Orso said he hit his head too hard to remember what actually happened except for golden locks and the scent of honey, but Artie and I saw the woman standing next to Aspen as the ambulance carried Orso away.
Normally, it’s just Artie who gets giddy whenever he’s around a new omega, whether we’re out at a bar, during a game, or even like this. He’s been dreaming of a fairy tale romance his whole life, and Orso and I are only part of his happily ever after. He’s still waiting for his princess to appear.
Orso and I’ve been together since we met during the drafts ten years ago when I was eighteen and he was twenty-two. Orso is Aurum born and bred, I came over from Scotland after an invite from the Bears’ coach at the time, whereas Artie found his way to us from California.
As soon as Orso and I met, we were sure that we were enough for each other. Orso was built for monogamy, so it was a shock to us when Artie joined the Golden Bears five years ago, and we grew to love him, admittedly at very different speeds.
Artie’s not shy to tell us if he’s found someone who could be our omega, no matter how much the idea of bringing in another person into our pack hurts Orso.
Getting him to accept Artie was difficult enough.
Orso refuses to meet any omegas Artie proposes unless I’ve vetted them, and Artie rarely chooses omegas Orso will like.
I can’t deny that I wouldn’t mind someone else to take care of and love. Though I believed they would appear in our lives naturally, instead of hunting them down like Artie does.
But everything’s changed since Orso bit a honey omega that he refuses to admit he’s obsessed with.
“How long do you think it will take her?” Tanner purrs.
“What? What do you mean?” I ask.
“If I strip in front of her, how long do you think it’ll take for her to give in? No one can resist The Tanner’s abs.”
“You know you sound like an asshole when you speak like that?” Artie glares.
Tanner rubs his thumb over the ridges of his abs through his too-tight shirt as he grins, never taking his eyes off Dr. Tully. He always wears shirts that are stretched to the max for exactly this reason.
“Just because you can hold a stick doesn’t mean she’ll want you,” I say as I glance down at myself. As the main goalie for the Bears, it’s beneficial for me to be a big guy. At 220 pounds, and most of that being fat, I’m definitely noticeable, but I like that the fans call me Mama Bear.
“That’s not the only stick I can hold.” Tanner grins.
“Ew, gross,” Artie says, sticking his tongue out, his nose crinkling at Tanner as I frown. We let Tanner run his mouth because he usually doesn’t take it too far, but the way he leers at her makes me want to kick his ass out of the room so he can’t touch her.
The Bears pride themselves on being a friendly and welcoming team, so if seriously misogynistic guys join, they’re gone by the next draft. We don’t put up with that shit, and Tanner is good at riding the line.
Fierce protectiveness flares up in me, and I suddenly want to snarl at Tanner to get back. It’s so strong it nearly knocks me over, and Orso’s gaze snaps to mine from the stage.
He arches a brow, silently asking if I’m okay as he feels it through our bond, and I nod my head at Dr. Tully. I’m signaling to him that he needs to help her out, but he just keeps staring at me. I love him to bits, but he’s terrible at picking up on these things.
Until I tap Artie’s shoulder, he glances at Dr. Tully, and his eyes widen as he finally understands.
“I could have helped her,” Artie pouts as Orso steps in.
“You would have only made things worse,” I reply.
There’s a whoosh through the bond, shuddering down my spine as Orso’s desire spikes, and Artie trembles. My mate sucks in a breath, and our hands tighten as our bodies go ramrod straight, because there’s no way Orso can hide that one.
Orso’s presence grows darker the longer he stands next to her, and the twisted feelings that he hides so well wind their way to the surface.
Aspen pulls Dr. Tully away, but his desire doesn’t dampen, and my attention sweeps back to her.
“What do you think?” Artie whispers as he leans into my side.
He’s just tall enough to press his ear into my bicep as he nuzzles me.
Fans call him Baby Bear because he’s the shortest on the team by a long shot.
And because he’s cute, of course. With his sandy-blond hair, tan freckles that hug his nose, and a clean-shaven heart-shaped face that goes for miles, he can steal the heart of any omega he puts his sight on.
‘Bunny pretty’, he likes to say. And, at 5ft 4 with the cheekiest smile that lights up any conversation, people don’t know he’s always looking for his next target.
“I think we’re about to have a really interesting season,” I murmur.
“You’re not bothered how she’s making eyes at Orso?”
“I wouldn’t say that’s ‘making eyes’.” Considering her gaze is narrowed at him as if she’s waiting for him to attack.
I also like that she hasn’t smiled once since she arrived, especially because it’s setting the other guys on edge.
We’re a sociable bunch, and they already don’t know what to do with someone who’s so blunt.
“I’m more bothered that she hasn’t even looked at us yet,” Artie says, even though it feels like she’s doing everything she can to not look at us.
“She literally walked into the room ten minutes ago. Don’t start that again.”
“It won’t be the same as last time,” he says.
“You say this whenever you see a new omega. What about the other twenty times you thought you’d found our omega only for you to get your heart broken?”
He avoids me as I look at him pointedly. He wants to find love so badly that he’s willing to take a risk on any omega he feels even a spark of attraction to.
Alphas can scent match individually, even after we’ve packed up. So there’s a chance the golden-haired woman Orso told us about might only be his, and won’t match with us. I’m pretty sure Artie will lose his mind if that happens.
“It’s different, I swear. She’s special. You can feel it too,” he says softly. “Orso’s going mental, as well. Well, his version of mental.”
Dr. Tully is about to give a speech, and I shush Artie before he can ask any more questions.
“I pray I never have to see any of your faces soon,” she says so coldly that I shiver.
The room goes still, and my heart stops as Artie covers his mouth, his shoulders heaving as he stifles his laughter.
She doesn’t break her gaze, looking at us like she’ll murder us if we even get a bruise before the season begins. Lust flares through me at the sharp tone in her voice and the thud of her shoes as she walks out of the room to silence.
Images hit me one after the other, building with my desperate need to hold her.
I suddenly want to run my lips over her skin, scent mark her, and thrust into her to discover every inch of her beautiful body.
I can already see golden locks flowing around her shoulders as her head rocks back and she cries out for me as she comes.
I pinch my thigh, trying to pull myself together, because it’s too fast and too soon to feel like this. We haven’t even had a conversation, and I imagine her pressing a bare heel against my chest, pinning me with that look of contempt before she lowers herself onto me and takes me as I am.
“Oh my God, I love her,” Artie gapes as he watches her leave. His need surges even more strongly than mine, and he’s only making my fantasies worse.
“You say that about every omega you meet.”
“Bee is a seriously cute name, isn’t it?” Artie murmurs. “You know why they call her that, right?”
“Artie, don’t,” I growl a warning, even though my body is pulsing.
“I can’t wait to taste her honey,” he whispers excitedly.
“It doesn’t suit her,” Tanner says loudly, his grin turning to a frown after her heartfelt speech.
But Tanner doesn’t know a thing about her scent, and hopefully he never will.
Artie tugs my hand, and I let him lead me toward the door. Even if it’s clear she doesn’t want to be followed, my alpha side is telling me we can comfort her with or without Orso’s slip up with her wrist.
“Why did we have to stand at the back of the room?” he grumbles as he tries to push past our teammates, who are already muttering to each other.
“Let’s see Orso first,” I say as I swap positions, leading him instead.
It’s easier for me to slice through the mass of bodies to get to the door.
Artie tries to pull out of my grasp, but I squeeze his hand, sending him a wash of love as I pull him behind me.
He begrudgingly follows me instead of trying to go after her.
“We can’t let her get away,” Artie says, as if she doesn’t work here and will probably be spending the rest of the day at The Woods, so there’s no need to chase her.
I glance at Orso, who watches us with a hard jaw. He shakes his head, telling us he won’t follow.
After everything he’s been through since he was a kid, I get it, but I still want him to be with us when we introduce ourselves, even if it’s difficult.
“Orso! Is that her?” Artie asks with stars in his eyes as we reach our mate.
“I can’t tell. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her,” he replies. We can feel how disturbed he is, and it doesn’t dim Artie’s light.
Orso’s gaze is fixed on the door, his scowl etched deep.
“Are you okay?” I ask Orso softly, pressing my body against his, kissing his cheek to give him a boost of my scent.
I run my hand over the short patch of hair at the back of his head.
They had to shave it to reach the cut when he was injured, so they could quickly operate on him.
Thankfully, it was only internal bleeding, and there was no permanent damage.
He didn’t want to cut the rest of his hair, so it’s just a stiff arch of stubble, and I like how it springs under my fingers when I stroke it.
“I don’t want to fucking do this,” he says as I lean back. Understanding passes between us, and I go to pull him into a proper hug, but Artie’s energy is bubbling over.
“Oh my God, you didn’t ask her if you’d met before, did you?” Artie asks.
“Is that a problem?” He finally looks at us.
“She’s going to think you were hitting on her! Straight out of the bat as well. I’m kind of proud of you.”
If it is her, then it feels like a reasonable question, but Artie also likes dramatics. He shifts between childlike and flirty depending on the situation.
“Should I apologize?” Orso asks me.
“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be right now. We need to talk to her at least, without all of this distraction,” I say, waving at the room.
“We should go after her to say sorry for you!” Artie chirps before he suddenly rips his hand free of mine. I should have had a better hold on him.
Orso tries to grab him, but he’s too fast, and he races off without a backward glance. His focus on his target is one of the reasons he’s a good goalie, even though he’s the back-up.
“For fuck’s sake,” Orso snaps as Artie tears away.
“If she’s that unnerved by the owner, how do you think she’ll feel if she’s hit with the full Artie experience?” I ask.
“Oh shit,” he swears, and I hide my small smile as he sprints off after them.