Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
Lachlan
Irode the high of my date with Dhara all the way to our away game.
Both Gavin and Dhara had lit up at that arcade. Their smiles and laughter had come so easily, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
We were playing against the Arctic Wolves tonight, a pretty solid team in the league. It would be a close game but those were the best. The kind that pushed us the hardest.
The cold air felt good against my skin as I skated down the ice.
The right winger flung me the puck, and I guided it with my stick just as one of their forwards came at me.
At the last moment, I fired a pass to the right wing, smirking at the forward’s string of curses.
August caught it easily before snapping it past their goalie, sailing it right into the back of the net.
The buzzer sounded, music blaring overhead as that old euphoria washed over me.
It was a feeling I’d missed after switching teams. Here, there weren’t the same expectations. The Narwhals had too much history, and I was right to choose to walk away when I did.
“You’re still the same fuck up with a new team, Evans?” I didn’t even know the alpha’s name other than he was a dick. I ignored him. Apparently, that was enough to put a target on my back.
The next time I was carrying the puck, somebody slammed into my side and sent me flying into the glass. The crowd audibly gasped before the refs were even involved.
By then, my team was ready. Gloves were coming off, and fists were flying.
It was moments like this that did more for team building than Coach could ever recreate. I was officially part of the Renegades. They didn’t take the opposing team’s bullshit lightly and were ready to defend me without hesitation.
That was true sportsmanship.
Somehow, we got through the rest of the period without any more penalties on our side. The Arctic Wolves were out for blood, pulling out all the stops to make sure they won.
With the number of penalties they had, you could hear their coach raging from across the rink.
After the second intermission, Coach leaned in, "They've got penalty minutes stacked against them. We’re up on the scoreboard, so stay disciplined. The juniors are watching tonight, and we’re going to show them exactly what this team is made of and what they have to look forward to.
Show them that men like Evans don’t rise to the challenge. ”
“Yeah, Evans. Way to keep a cool head out there,” Fairgrave said.
I almost felt guilty for not saying anything. It wasn’t about me keeping control. It was the fact that I was still riding the high of bringing my omega and her brother out of their shells that I couldn’t be bothered by the trash talk and egos out there.
Conrad and August looked at me, both barely containing their laughter. They knew exactly what had me in such a good mood.
The Arctic Wolves coach must have ripped them a new one to get them back in line because the third period was downright civil.
The jabs still came, of course. Anytime the asshole thought my team was far enough away not to hear. He seemed to hate that I didn’t react.
All deltas were volatile, right? Stupid bullshit stereotypes.
It wasn’t just him joining in now. His teammates shouted curses about “Narwhal trash” toward me and especially toward Conrad. We were the easiest targets.
With a few blocked hits they wanted someone to blame. That or they wanted to paint us as the problem and not our team.
Never mind that the assholes that ruined the Narwhals reputation had been taken care of and banned from the entire AHA league.
We kept it together the rest of the game, proving with our skills that we were the better team instead of having to prove it with our fists.
It was much more satisfying anyway.
Coach sent the first line back out near the end of the game. It was our time to shine and win this for our team.
Within seconds I stole the puck from the exact asshole who’d been taunting me earlier.
“What the fuck, Evans?” he screamed before racing after me down the ice. I could hear the scrape of his blades behind me, but we were too far ahead at that point.
“Send that thing home!” August yelled.
I reeled back and slammed my stick into the puck, sending it flying toward the net and right past their goalie.
He jumped over and sprawled for it, collapsing onto the ice before slamming his fist down and letting out a feral scream. Anyone who said alphas weren’t dramatic had clearly never watched a hockey game.
It wasn’t the same going back to the unfamiliar locker room to celebrate when our girl was halfway across the country. I was starting to hate away games and it was our first streak of them since finding her.
I took a little longer in the shower, letting the hot water soothe my aching muscles from the game. I’d pushed myself this time.
This was our third away game in a row, and I was more than ready to be back in South Lake tomorrow.
We had an early flight, and then it would just be counting down the minutes until we were back with our omega.
August and Conrad were waiting for me when I finally made it out of the showers, still dripping and wrapped in a towel.
Even if we never said it out loud, it was clear to everyone that we were starting to form a pack. We practiced together, traveled together, lived together, and now we were becoming a pretty tight-knit group.
They both had their phones out, small smiles on their faces.
“Are you texting without me?” I huffed as I tossed my towel into the laundry hamper and pulled on my clothes.
August barely looked up. “Of course, we are.”
“Don’t worry. It’s the group chat,” Conrad said. “You finally ready, diva?”
“The drama in this pack is unmatched,” I muttered as I pulled on my hoodie. I’d hugged Dhara the other night, and her scent still lingered faintly in the fabric.
I hesitated while pulling it over my head, breathing in that brown sugar, cinnamon, and warm spice. Somehow one breath and the world made sense again.
My phone vibrated loudly against the locker. I pulled the hoodie down and dropped onto the bench next to them as I checked it.
There were an insane number of text notifications. I opened the thread and started reading.
Conrad had, apparently, started a game of Twenty Questions with her. It was a smart move. We needed to get to know our girl.
Conrad
Lachlan is here pouting because he wasn’t part of all this.
August
Don’t blame us because you take four hour showers.
Dhara
Hell, I’d shower that long if I could. My mom would lose her mind.
August
You can come over to our place and shower anytime.
Lachlan
That date kept me going this whole game, Omega. I can’t wait to see you again.
“Oh, look who’s getting sappy over here,” August teased. “I bet you’ve got our omega blushing right now.” His smile was downright giddy. We were all completely gone for her.
Dhara
It was a really good date. You guys have a lot to live up to now.
I barked out a laugh and gave the guys a look.
“You just had to rub it in our faces, didn’t you, dickhead?” August complained.
“How are you going to say anything?” I shot back. “You got to taste our omega, and don’t even deny it. I could scent it all over the house.”
His frown turned into a cocky smirk again. Smug bastard was still riding that high whether he wanted to deny it or not.
“Fuck, I’m so far behind,” Conrad muttered.
“You took a whole class to learn how to cook for our omega,” I reminded him. “You even joined that nerdy video call they offered after the game yesterday. I’d say you’re plenty ahead in what matters.”
Conrad relaxed at that. The pressure he was putting on himself was insane.
“She deserves a pack and an alpha who can be a good leader, provider, and protector.”
“We’re on our way. I got a call from the real estate agent.
After all those papers we signed and the offer we made, the owner jumped at the chance to sell.
With the commission she’s making on this one, the agent was more than happy to handle the inspection for us, too. They knew we wanted to move fast.”
I felt like everything was coming together in little pieces.
The team was on a winning streak. Our pack house was secured. Conrad had handled signing an SUV over to her.
Now, we just had to figure out the custody situation.
My brother had been looking into their mother, and I’d been meaning to check in with him.
Now might be the perfect time to do it.
“We alone in here?” I asked carefully.
“Yeah, everybody left,” August said. “You got an update from your brother?”
“He texted me to call him after the game, so he might have something. I’m not sure yet.”
“Call him,” Conrad said. “I’m not above using anything and everything we can to get this situation figured out.”
I dialed Braxton, my stomach twisting with nerves.
“Solid game, bro,” Brax said as he answered.
His voice held that familiar deep gravel that always made me smile.
“Hey. Tell me you have something.”
“Actually, I do,” he admitted.
His voice changed, and he was all business now.
“Are you sure you want to go down this path?”
“Positive,” I promised.
“Looks like she’s been mixed up in a lot of things. I have security footage of her in Vegas for four days. Apparently, she’s been meeting up with some people with not-so-good backgrounds.”
“What kind of not-so-good are we talking about?” Conrad asked.
“Who the fuck is that?”
“That’s Conrad Flynn.”
“No shit,” Brax said, letting out a laugh. “Sometimes it was still hard to wrap my mind around my brother being a famous hockey player and knowing other famous hockey players.”
“Our pack, actually,” I admitted. “August, our other delta, is here, too. He’s our third pack member.”
“Holy shit,” Brax said, practically giddy at the thought.
I rolled my eyes.
“Back to the matter at hand,” I said, reminding him that we had a purpose here.
“Yeah, these are not guys you want to fuck with,” he said. “I don’t want to give in to stereotypes,” he hedged, “but we’re talking loan sharks, the kind of guys who beat you up when you don’t give them their money. Gambling rings, too, and probably way more than I can dig up in a few days.”
“What was she doing there?” August asked.
“She was the entertainment, if I had to guess. It almost looks like she’s in heat, but there’s no shame here. I’ve seen more of her mom than I ever cared to. They fucked her right in front of clients, which was wild. Now, why exactly am I looking into this woman?”
“She’s my omega’s mom. She’s holding custody of her younger brother over her head. The authorities have been involved and failed them, and Dhara’s been stuck there for years, just trying to make sure he’s safe.”
“Oh, fuck,” Braxton said. “Let me write down times and locations. If you’re going to use this in court, you’re going to need the proper surveillance videos, the kind a lawyer can subpoena, not whatever copies I can get my hands on. I don’t want you losing because of something I did.”
“Thank you, Brax. We’ll take everything you’ve got. We already have a lawyer in mind. Or August does, rather.”
“I’ll work on this before I touch anything else,” he vowed.
My brother was a good person, but I knew this was personal for him.
His pack’s omega had been through the system.
She’d been a single mom, and I didn’t have all the details, but from what I understood, she hadn’t gotten pregnant by choice.
She’d had to fight for custody because the father was the kind of man who had too much money and influence and used every bit of it against her.
His pack had fought hard for her, and he was about to fight just as hard for us.
August blew out a breath.
“Your brother means business. I’m glad he’s on our side.”
“We just have to convince Dhara that this is a fight worth having.”
“When it comes to Gavin, she won’t stop at anything to make sure he’s safe. If we lay out everything we have and show her we’ve got a solid case, I feel like she’d be more than willing to move forward with us. But I think she’s going to have to file for emergency custody first.”
“In order to do that, we have to wait for her mom to slip up, right?” August asked. “We can’t just claim emergency custody because she’s hanging around the wrong people.”
“Abandoning her son for days isn’t going to look great, but it probably isn’t enough for an emergency order,” Conrad said. “He isn’t in imminent danger, and technically, he was left with another trusted adult.”
He was thinking logically, but right now his words made me want to punch something.
“This means Dhara has to tell us when things are happening,” I said. “I think it’s time to sit down with our omega and tell her everything we’ve done.”
“That could either go really bad or really well.”
“We need to put some faith in our omega, August. She’s already come a long way, and her mom is still gone for a few days. This is the perfect time.”
“We can go to the diner tomorrow,” I said. “Our flight arrives around the time she’ll be wrapping up her morning shift. We go in, sit her down, have the conversation, and hope for the fucking best.”
We just wanted our omega to be able to thrive and put herself first for once in her life.