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Page 33 of A Twist of Luck (Shifter City Fated Mates #2)

CHAPTER 33

EMME

M y phone chimed multiple times as I got ready for the game.

Back From the Dead: It’s fucking game day, pack. You know what that means. Everyone wears a jersey with 22 on it, and you all must worship me as the hockey god I am for at least twenty-four hours.

Care Bear: Kel. I swear to the hockey gods. Do not fuck with the routine. Don’t do it. I will cut you.

Care Bear: What. The. Fuck. Is. My. Chat. Name? You will change it back or your new name will be Texting from Hell.

Back From the Dead: You know I’m going straight to Eternal Paradise. I’m a good boy after all.

Kellan’s praise kink was turning into a bit of an obsession for me, and I laughed out loud as I read through the message thread. I didn’t have to use voice-to-text as often since Slade had shown me a dyslexia font on my phone that changed the size and shading of the messages. He’d promised more lessons soon, and for once the prospect was exciting.

*Back From the Dead has changed Care Bear’s name*

Fluffy Care Bear: Refer to yourself as a good boy one more time, Golden. One. More. Fucking. Time.

Fluffy Care Bear: KELLAN. That’s it, I’m smashing you into the boards today. Screw the other team. I’m gunning for you.

Back From the Dead: Aw, you wouldn’t do that. You love me, you big old softie. I bet you cried when I was dying.

*Back From the Dead has changed Fluffy Care Bear’s name*

The swirl of anticipation of what Finley’s name would be this time indicated that I was far too into this conversation. I did love these text threads, and today the feeling was stronger than ever because Finley hadn’t left the chat yet.

Big Daddy Alpha: Little Omega, we’ll be ready to leave in about twenty minutes. These two morons are already on their way to the game. The bus is taking the full team since it’s not at our home rink this time. It’s at Golden Dashers’ rink on the other side of Golden Claw.

*Big Daddy Alpha has changed his name*

Pretty Mate: I’m just getting ready. Will be down in ten minutes.

My heart jolted at my new name in the chat, and I wondered if I’d ever get used to being called mate in the way Kellan used it. A claiming. A forever.

Build a Bear: They have home ice advantage, but you know what we have…

Back From the Dead: Emme’s face on your cock to bring you luck?

My face flushed, and I was very happy there was no one in the room with me to see my flustered features. Though, my various stalkers were probably watching anyway.

*Build a Bear has left the chat*

Well, it was nice while it lasted, and honestly, that still felt like huge growth for us as a pack.

Slade: Most of the family will be with us today for Kellan’s first game back. Prepare yourself, Snow.

Aw, Slade was in the chat too, even though he no longer used Scary Shifter .

Fuck, was I sitting here with heart eyes? Were they all watching said heart eyes via invisible security cameras?

Pretty Mate: I’m prepared. Looking forward to meeting them all.

Needing a minute, I threw my phone on the bathroom cabinet and ignored the next chime as I blow-dried my hair and applied minimal makeup. I wore Kellan’s jersey again, but had decided to also add a tiny teal thirty-four to the corner of my cheek. Not that I was particularly fond of Finley, but I felt the need to show pack support and unity today. Especially in the face of everything that had happened lately.

I hadn’t been out of the house or family compound to experience it firsthand, but Cora had told me that the rumor mill was in full force around Golden Claw. Everyone was speculating about what had happened in Silver City, who I really was, and why my mom’s old pack was trying to steal me. Questions I would also like answers to.

When I was ready, I picked up the phone again and let it read me the next few messages.

Slade: Famous last words. The family can be a lot, but I will keep them in line.

Call Me Daddy: Do not kill anyone today, Slade. I don’t have the time or energy to clean up the mess.

Call Me Daddy: Fucking hell, Kellan. How did you change my name again? Listen, you have one more day of leeway because you almost died. But come tomorrow, you better sort your shit out, or I’ll make that witch magic feel like a bubble bath.

I snorted at his newest name for Hunter, and the fact that only Slade was scary enough for Kellan not to mess with during these chats.

Pretty Mate: Why is Slade the only one without a cute nickname?

Where my need to shit-stir dangerous alphas came from, I’d never know. But here we were.

Unrepentant.

Back From the Dead: He has one!! I’ve changed his name so many times… It just never takes.

In my head I pictured Slade’s responding smirk, which reminded me of his stalker wall and the way he manipulated technology.

Slade: *Smirking face* *Skull emoji*

He was scary, but that didn’t mean he was untouchable.

After coming face to face with his wall , whether his intentions were good or not, I’d been finessing the final steps to my plan, which would add a little upheaval to his life. Someone needed to shake up his routine, and that someone was me.

The issue I kept running into was these Reeves Industries cameras that filled the house. After failing to figure out a solution myself, I’d asked Cora if she knew of a way to hide from them, and she messaged back that she had an idea and would chat to Warrick.

She’d also ordered the other supplies I needed, so there was no online Emme trail for Slade to track.

Back From the Dead: We’re at the rink now. Time to head in. I’ll be looking for your faces in the stands. Especially you, pretty mate. I love you. *Red heart emoji* *pink heart emoji* *red heart emoji**pink heart emoji*

My breath caught in my chest as I stared at those three words. In this new font, they were solid and unmoving. A permanent statement, visible to the world.

Sure, Kellan had said them out loud multiple times since we’d bonded, and I’d said them back, but to see his love in writing. It felt… permanent. More than whispers lost in the breeze.

Tears streaked down my cheeks as my fingers flew across the phone, and if spellcheck hadn’t been on its game, I doubted anyone would have understood a word of my blubbering mess.

Pretty Mate: I love you too, Kellan Jackson. I’m so proud to be your mate, and I’m so proud of you. Kick their asses today.

After almost losing him, I’d decided not to hold back my feelings any longer. You never knew when the last moment you had together would be, and I needed to say everything in whatever time we had.

And while I had fairly strong feelings for two other alphas as well, the three of us just weren’t quite there yet . Slade especially, even if he did stalk me like his life depended on it. And with Hunter… I still wasn’t convinced that his actions weren’t products of obligation and a desire to keep his pack mates safe, rather than actually wanting me for me.

After shoving my phone and cash into the pocket of my jeans, I wiped away the remaining moisture on my cheeks, fixed up Finley’s number, and stepped out of my room.

Hunter and Slade stood waiting for me in the hallway, and I ground to a halt, not expecting them. Their giant shoulders filled the hall space, and I tried to look beyond them. “Wh-what’s happening? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine,” Hunter said, brushing back strands of my ponytail that had fallen loose. “You’re just not leaving our sides today. Our enemies are still out there, and you can think of us as your new shadows.”

“We will kill anyone who gets too close,” Slade said, his eyes shining against his neutral expression.

With a shake of my head, I sighed. “How about we make killing anyone who gets too close plan B, and slot scaring them away into plan A.”

Slade tilted his head as he considered my proposal. “Yes, I guess that’s acceptable. It would only take a fraction of a second to kill them anyway if they ignore plan A and decide they are suicidal.”

Don’t smile. Don’t encourage his psycho side . Why was it so adorable though? This had to be some sort of trauma bond after we’d been trapped together. A one-sided bond anyway, since I doubted Slade held any trauma from it.

Hunter ruined my composure when he laughed, one of those rare, genuine laughs that I doubted many had ever heard. “Well, with our plans settled, let’s head for the game.”

Small sparks of excitement danced in my stomach, and I found myself randomly asking, “Can I drive?”

The alphas tended to act like I was a permanent passenger princess, and while I didn’t hate it, I missed being behind the wheel. Or bike. Even if the last time had been a bit of a disaster.

Today felt like a great day to have a little extra fun.

Kellan was alive.

And we were about to watch our top seeded pack destroy the Golden Dashers, who were currently fourth in the league. Not to mention that no one had attempted to kidnap me in well over a week.

Hunter tucked me under his heavy arm as we walked down the stairs. “You know what, Emme…” He sounded cheery, which was fucking weird. “…you can drive today. The only rule is that you have to choose one of our new, reinforced vehicles. We’re taking no chance on anyone blasting you with a fucking rocket again.”

As I would also like to avoid that, I wasn’t about to argue. “What are my options?”

Slade glanced back toward us. “We had four delivered yesterday. There’s a black Gelandewagen, a Range Rover, a Cullinan Rolls, and a Hummer.”

The fizz of excitement from before turned into fireworks. “I don’t want to choose,” I said eagerly. “That’s like choosing between children. How can we drive them all?”

“You didn’t even ask me what a Gelandewagen was,” Slade huffed, like he’d hoped to catch me out on that one.

Crossing my arms, I peered around Hunter’s bulk to shake my head at him. “Always underestimating me. But I know my Mercedes, dragon. The G-Wagen is one of my favorites. Have you seen that baby offroad while still looking like a badass piece of beauty.”

Slade’s answering smile held a hint of pride, and when he nodded, I tried to ignore the surge of warmth in my chest.

“Sounds like you’ve already made your choice, then,” Hunter said. “The Merc is our winner.”

“But the Rolls…” I fake cried.

Hunter laughed again, and at this stage, I wasn’t sure if this was the apocalypse or hell freezing over. Either way, it was cataclysmic.

“You’ll have plenty of occasions to drive them all. For now, let’s get you into your Mercedes.”

I stilled, and if he hadn’t outweighed me by two hundred pounds, I might have dragged Hunter to a halt. As it was, he kept us moving forward, my feet barely on the ground. “My Mercedes?” It took a concerted effort to get out those two strangled words.

Hunter’s grin was slow and languid, and I felt like a rabbit stalked by a wolf once more.

“Yours, baby girl. And you’d better get used to it, because we’re about to buy you the damned world.”

But… but… “I can work and buy stuff,” I spluttered. “I need to earn my own money.” I mean, I didn’t have G-Wagen money, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t try. I’d never expect them to just fund a lavish lifestyle for me; I’d survived on almost nothing my entire life, and it had been fine.

I kept up my protests until we were in the garage standing beside the shiniest, prettiest, most exquisite black G-Wagen I’d ever seen, rendering me completely silent. As I stared and drooled, Slade leaned over and pressed just the tip of his finger to my chin, closing my mouth.

“No more working unless you want to, Snow,” he said. “You’re part of our pack, which means you’re a billionaire now. Hunter has all your bank cards ready to go.”

My throat was dry, and as much as I wanted to stare at the exquisite German masterpiece in front of me, all I could see was my reflection in the shiny black surface, between two even more exquisite alphas.

“What if I can never truly bond with you all?” I murmured, needing to remind everyone about the complexities in our relationship. The fact that I’d bonded with one of them, and we were all still alive and okay, might be leading all of us— mostly me —into a false sense of future happiness.

“We’ll figure it out,” Hunter said, and he didn’t sound angry or upset as he pressed a brief kiss to my forehead. “Us sharing our pack money with you is not contingent on you bonding with us, or obeying us, or making any choices you wouldn’t normally.”

“There are no strings attached to what we’re offering,” Slade added. “It’s freely given, and it makes us happy to provide for you.”

I wanted to do the same for them. The thought of providing for the alphas, even if it was only support and understanding, filled me with happiness and contentment.

Now I just had to figure out how to keep it all from crashing down around us.