Page 1 of Aries (PAHL #1)

Aries

Hockey was life. The chill in the air. The sounds of blades on ice. The cheer of a crowd during a rivalry game. Nothing compared to the adrenaline of being out there and putting all he was worth on the line for his team.

There was nothing better than hockey.

Well, maybe one thing.

A quick glance over his shoulder, just to make sure it was still there, before Aries forced his gaze back to the front. Their captain was speaking and Aries needed to pay attention. This was his first game. The game! Focus!

Matty Zimmerman frowned in his direction but didn’t call Aries out for not being able to sit still. To stop checking that his stash was still there. But Aries needed! Just a little.

Shouts, hollers, and cheers broke out around him.

Aries jumped. Matty was done talking then? Did that mean that Aries could sneak one little bite? A little nibble?

“Hey, kid, how’re you holding up?”

Aries snapped his head back around while scowling. He was not a kid! He was just a little guy! Clearing his expression took more effort than it should have. “I’m fine.”

Matty shook his head as he crouched in front of Aries. “It’s okay to be nervous for your first professional game. We’ve all been there.”

“I know.” Aries wasn’t nervous. He was hungry. Okay, that wasn’t true. He was jittery but a snack would totally help with that. He liked snacks and they always made him feel better.

“They’ll be gunning for you out there. The new hotshot rookie.” Matty winked. “Vin’s got your back though.” Matty motioned toward the huge defenseman behind him. The very big, tattooed, scary-looking guy. Not that Aries was afraid…not exactly. He was just a little guy, and Vin was humongous, and he frowned a lot.

“I can take care of myself,” Aries insisted. He’d always been the smallest on the team. Well, him and his two brothers. The triplets. They’d learned a long time ago that they had to be tough. Especially once it had been determined that paranormals couldn’t play against humans any longer. Being the smallest of paranormal creatures had put a target on their backs.

“I know you can.” Matty patted his knee again. “The thing is that you don’t have too. We’ve got your back.”

Aries should be more grateful. This was his new team. Family. “Appreciate it, Cap!” He couldn’t help but check his stash, again. Just one bite!

Matty followed his gaze. “What do you have back there?” He reached for the net bag hanging on a hook.

Crap! Aries slunk down. Now the teasing would begin.

Matty pulled his snack bag from the hook before peering inside. He grinned while offering the bag to Aries. “Don’t be embarrassed. We all have our…superstitions.” He rose and ruffled Aries’s hair then strolled away. “Vin!”

It wasn’t a superstition. Aries just really liked fruit. Apples in particular. He was a freaking fruit bat shifter. It just made sense. Turning his back to the rest of the team, Aries pulled out a shiny red apple.

So pretty!

His mouth was already watering.

One little bite wouldn’t hurt.

Aries brought the pretty apple to his mouth and took a big bite out of it. His teeth sunk in, juices flowing down his chin, as he crunched.

“Hey, shortie!”

No! Yelping, Aries spun around but that put him staring directly at the bigger man’s…groin and that was not where Aries should be looking. He scrambled up to his feet but even with his skates on, Aries barely reached Vin’s shoulder.

The apple he’d tried to swallow got caught in his throat.

Aries attempted to cough the obstacle trying to kill him.

Vin frowned at him. Had Aries mentioned how much Vin frowned? It was almost unbelievable that the big guy didn’t seem to even know how to smile. He must, even if Aries had never seen it. At least Aries wasn’t the only one that was on the receiving end of the vampire’s annoyed scowls. He hadn’t been with the team long, but Aries was certain the big guy was always grumpy. Maybe he needed an apple too.

That was, if this apple didn’t kill Aries. He coughed harder.

Aries pounded on his chest. This was it! He was going to die in the middle of the locker room, right before his first professional game, and in front of the most intimidating man ever.

“Hey! Are you okay?” Vin smacked Aries’s back.

Luckily, the apple bite dislodged. Sadly, Aries spit it out and it landed right on Vin’s chest. Crap! Aries wanted the ground to open and swallow him right there.

Vin stared as the poorly chewed apple slid down his shirt.

“Sorry!” Aries squeaked.

Vin growled and there was some fang showing. Yep, fangs! Big shiny white fangs.

He wanted to step back but the bench was already digging into the backs of his knees.

“Did…you didn’t just…how…” Vin spluttered.

Unfortunately, this was not a reaction that Aries was unfamiliar with. He hastily wiped at the front of Vin’s shirt. Vin wasn’t in full gear yet. That had to count for something, right? “So sorry! My bad.”

Vin caught Aries’s wrist with his long strong fingers. “Stop touching me!” he growled.

Yep! Aries had messed up. Why did these things always happen to him? “Sorry!” he repeated. Aries tried to pull away, but Vin’s fingers were still wrapped around his wrist. “Ugh.” Aries tugged. He looked up. Way, way, up. Aries was only five foot two and Vin was at least six four. Way bigger than him. “You have to let me go.”

There was a flash of red in Vin’s eyes as he finally released Aries’s wrist.

Aries offered Vin his best and most innocent smile. It usually got him out of trouble. With his mama mostly. Other hockey players could be a bit temperamental.

“Maybe you shouldn’t eat in the locker room if you can’t remember to chew and swallow,” Vin advised.

Well now, that wasn’t fair. Vin was the one that snuck up on Aries. He opened his mouth to share that thought but immediately closed it again. Yeah, Vin didn’t seem to be in a listening mood. Aries nodded instead.

Vin sighed. “Just tell me if you have any problems out there tonight.”

He wanted to roll his eyes. Probably shouldn’t do that with the massive vampire towering over him. Heck! What did Aries care? He rolled his eyes. “I can take care of myself. I already told Matty that.”

“No.” Vin leaned forward, his spicy and wonderfully scented cologne surprising Aries. It was almost applely. Weren’t apples the best ever?

Fingers snapped in front of his face. Oops! Got distracted again.

“Are you always like this?” Vin demanded.

“Like what?” Aries questioned. Awesome? Yes, yes he was. Everyone knew that though. That was why he was the number-one draft pick after all.

“So…scatterbrained,” Vin provided.

“Hey!” That wasn’t nice at all. Aries didn’t care if his teammate did smell good. Vin was mean!

“Just—” Vin rubbed the back of his neck. “This isn’t the lower leagues. Where you’ve been playing. With humans. In this league, it’s all paranormal and you are—” He looked Aries up and down. “Small.”

Huffing probably wasn’t the correct response to that. “Yeah, I got it.” These guys were acting like Aries hadn’t been playing hockey since he was four. And with his two brothers, who might be just as small but were always going after Aries because he was faster. Aries had even gotten into a few fights in his time playing. He might not have won the fights, and his mama had made him promise not to fight in this league, but he wasn’t a coward.

Vin was already walking away as he shook his head.

“So…that happened.”

Groaning, Aries dropped back down on the bench next to his best friend. He and Shawn had come up together since juniors and were thick as thieves. Aries was so lucky that Shawn had been drafted with him. On the same team! Not like his brothers who were several states away.

The triplets, as they were called, had all been drafted for the same rookie year but they were across the country from one another. Aries had landed in Vegas, Phoenix in Florida, and Gemini in Boston. At least they were in the same country at least. There had been a strong chance that Aries could have been drafted by one of the Canadian teams. Which meant snow. Aries hated the cold. Which might not make sense since he played ice hockey. But on the ice Aries didn’t feel anything but excitement and anticipation.

“I thought he was going to eat you!” Shawn whispered.

Aries snorted. “I’m pretty sure that’s frowned upon.” Wouldn’t it be? How did vampires deal with blood on the ice? There weren’t that many vampires that played. At least not at the higher levels. Hockey was mostly dominated by shifters. It took stamina to play. Now Aries was wondering about Vin’s stamina. That was totally a bad idea.

“I can’t believe we’re here!” Shawn bounced beside him.

Focus, Aries! Leaning his shoulder against his best friend’s, Aries nodded. “I wish we were playing one of my brothers though.” He missed Phoenix and Gemini. They’d always been together, even if it was on different teams. The last four years when they were playing in college had been one of the rare times they’d worn the same uniform. It had been amazing and they’d won a championship together.

Shawn held up Aries’s forgotten apple.

Aries snatched his fruit. “Thanks, buddy!”

“Remember to chew and swallow,” Shawn said while smirking at him.

Aries flipped his best friend off then took a big bite. Just not as big at last time. And he might have chewed for longer than was necessary, but he could see Vin watching him from across the room. Aries did not want to embarrass himself all over again. Or choke to death. His brothers would never forgive him. Heck, they’d probably bring him back to life just to kill him again.

Dang! He really did miss them.

Being an adult sucked! Sure, he was doing what he loved. Hockey was great! His new fancy apartment was nice. A little too nice. Aries was pretty sure that he was going to break something expensive that his decorator had insisted he needed. He’d never lived on his own and it was lonely. Plus, he couldn’t cook! Apples couldn’t be the only thing he ate. Aries had tried that I his childhood to disastrous results.

The doors opened and in walked the coaches.

The coaches for the Las Vegas Vikings were all right but Aries didn’t have the same connection to them as he had his college staff or even the coaches in juniors. These men had all played professionally, the best of the best, and Aries was a little in awe of them. He often found himself tongue-tied around them.

Aries stuffed the apple core back into the bag while sitting up straight.

It was time.

He was totally going to go out there on the ice and score in his first professional hockey game.

* * * * *

Vin

The little shit was fast. Vin watched as Aries practically flew down the ice with the puck at the end of his stick. Their opponents were becoming frustrated by the hotshot rookie, which spelled trouble. Vin could sense that the tide was about to change. They were already up two to nothing.

Aries passed the puck to his left wing, Shawn, and Shawn passed it back. Aries reeled back his stick, swing, and scored.

The arena erupted in cheers, but Vin didn’t take his gaze from Aries as he was hug-crushed by Shawn and then more of their team.

He saw it. The moment that the opposing defenseman decided to take out his frustration. Aries was skating back to the bench when Alan Crowly shoved Aries from behind. Hard. Too hard. The little shifter went flying face-first into the boards.

Several teammates turned but Vin was already there. He threw his stick to the side and dropped his gloves aiming right at Crowly’s face. Helmet be damned.

“Fuck with someone your own size!” Vin challenged.

“Fuck you!” Crowly tittered, grabbing the front of Vin’s jersey. They scuffled but Crowly couldn’t really keep up with Vin and went down easily enough.

Since the move to the paranormal league from the human, a few rules had been changed. The fans wanted more fights. Blood. And Vin was more than happy to provide. The refs finally broke them apart, Crowly’s face a bleeding mess as he glared at Vin. Just to fuck with the other man, Vin lifted his hand and licked the blood from his fingers. He flashed Crowly some fang just to be an ass.

Crowly lunged at him again, but the ref had a hold on the collar of his jersey.

Even though fighting wasn’t as frowned upon in this league, they both received penalties for their actions. Worth it. No one was going to mess with one of Vin’s teammates. Especially not one that was so little he barely came to Vin’s shoulder.

He huffed while removing his helmet. Across the ice, Vin could see one of the trainers holding an ice pack to Aries’s nose as Aries shook his head.

Vin could just imagine the little one arguing that he was fine.

He wasn’t fine! It had been a cheap shot that shouldn’t have happened. It was Vin’s job to watch out for Aries while on the ice. He’d been moved from third line to second just to protect Aries.

Vin took his job seriously. Aries was his to protect. He’d check on the little shifter as soon as this period was over. He just had to wait for time to run out in this period. Vin was antsy watching the game. Aries was back on the ice. Vin wasn’t there to protect him. And the other team was gunning hard for the little fruit bat shifter.

Vin snorted. Fruit bats. Most of the shifters involved in the Paranormal American Hockey League were predators. Hockey called to the power, strength, dominance of the predators of their kind.

The only reason that there weren’t more vampires was that bloodied faces happened often. Vin was old enough that a little blood never bothered him, but few could say that.

But fruit bats. Three of them. Triplets. That was unique. When Vin first heard about the triplets, they’d barely started college. He watched that first game and was impressed. More than impressed. He’d known that all three would be playing in the highest league sooner rather than later. Vin had paid attention, but it had always been Aries that he’d been drawn too.

The pure joy that Aries felt on the ice was evident in his quick smiles and playfulness. The boy was…intriguing. That was the word. He made Vin remember what it had been like when Vin had first begun playing.

He rose from the bench in the penalty box as Aries was thrown against the glass behind the opposing goalie. Aries stayed on his feet, but the puck had been stripped away. Their opponents double and triple teaming Aries anytime he was near the puck. Aries snarled and yelled something that Vin couldn’t hear over the booing of the crowd and his own blood pumping.

Vin thrummed, wanting back on the ice. He lifted his gaze to the scoreboard where it showed his remaining penalty time. Vin wouldn’t be back on during this period, but he was taking note of every player that slammed into Aries. Every single one.

By the time the buzzer finally sounded, signaling the end of the second period, the fans were on their feet, celebrating the three to zero lead while Vin was fuming. He slammed the penalty box door open, causing those closest to him to jump. Vin marched-skated across the ice, noting every opposing player he owed a hit too. It was going to be a fun third period, but he had a boy to check on first. Teammate! He had a teammate that he needed to check on.

* * * * *

Aries

“I’m fine!” Aries tossed his gloves into his cubby. His face hurt but he really was fine. Stupid Crowly had gotten in a cheap shot, but that wasn’t why his body was throbbing. After the penalties had been imposed, the opposing players had made it their personal mission to slam Aries around. The hidden punches, kicks, and slashes weren’t unexpected but that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt. The padding under his uniform only helped so much.

“Are you sure?” Shawn hovered at his side.

“Yes!” Aries hissed quietly. He didn’t need everyone worrying about him. It had been hard enough fighting to even get in this league. Aries was there to stay. The assholes that went after him would learn that Aries would not quit.

The locker room door banged open and Vin stormed through, his face showing pure fury. The vampire was practically vibrating, and his red eyes were locked on Aries.

Crap! This was not good.

Matty tried to step between Vin and Aries, but Aries knew that wouldn’t work. He could taste the protectiveness radiating from Vin. Aries was used to the behavior. That didn’t even surprise him. He was shocked at how much he wanted to crawl into Vin’s lap and hold on. When his brothers got overprotective, Aries was just annoyed. There was something different about Vin doing it. Something intimate. The unusual feelings that the vampire brought up inside Aries were confusing.

He shook his head, breaking the connection to Vin’s red eyes. Aries couldn’t think about a teammate like that. He’d watched what a mess dating a teammate could be with his brother Phoenix. Phoenix’s exploits were notorious. Aries didn’t want any part of that. Plus, it had to be because he was lonely. Missed his brothers. Aries needed to concentrate on hockey, not a teammate. He didn’t date. That was not where he was in his current life plan.

“Move,” Vin demanded, low and mean.

Aries shook, wanting to respond to the tone.

“Vin!” Matty, their brave captain tried.

“Now!” Vin snarled.

Matty sighed but moved to allow Vin past.

Shawn winced at Aries before abandoning him. Some best friend that was! Aries was going to get him for that later. Aries would not be sneaking any catnip to his best buddy ever again!

Aries waited warily as Vin strode forward. He kept walking straight to Aries until Aries was craning his head back. The vampire was tall! And he had on skates.

“I saw that last shot to your ribs,” Vin said quietly. “Okay?”

“I…” Aries blinked in surprise. He expected Vin’s anger. The demand that he be more careful. Not this soft, caring, questioning. “I’m fine.” He didn’t know what else to say.

Vin narrowed his eyes.

Aries smiled, hoping to calm the vampire down some. The red eyes and fangs. Yep! That would be scary on the ice. Aries was reacting completely out of character for himself. What was going on with him? He shouldn’t find the angry vampire hot. And he didn’t need to get a chubby in the middle of the locker room! How embarrassing!

“All right, guys!” The coach clapped his hands. “Let’s break this down.”

Dropping down on the bench, Aries sighed, needing the short time between periods to get his focus back. He needed to find a way through the double and triple teaming that was happening.

He nearly yelped when Vin sat next to him. Very close. Their thighs pressing together close.

What was this? Was the vampire trying to mess with his head? No, Aries was still picking up the protectiveness and determination from the vampire. This would go away.

Aries tried to listen to his coach. Blah, blah, keep it up, blah, blah, gunning for Aries, blah, blah.

Before he knew it, Vin was guiding Aries out of the locker room. Aries somehow had his stick and gloves in his hands. Shawn was in front of him and kept glancing over his shoulder. Even through all the pads and uniform, Aries would swear he could feel the heat from Vin’s hand on his shoulder. That was impossible though.

Head in the game! Score a goal! First game of the season and they needed to win decisively. Aries hadn’t gotten to play in preseason as he was nursing an old leg injury, but he was back and healthy. Aries would show everyone that he had been the number one draft pick because he was that good!

They were still in the tunnel when Vin turned toward him. “Go score goals. I have your back.”

Aries nodded as he was shoved forward.

The third period was pure mayhem.

There was no other word for it. Their team was getting so many penalties, giving their opponents the much-dreaded power plays, that they scored twice. Matty scored a minute after the second goal. They were still winning.

Aries was back on the ice with only two minutes left to play. Even Shawn, his best friend, and normally calm line mate, was getting into the chaos. Shawn slammed an opposing player against the glass before slapping the puck toward Aries.

And he was off.

He knew that he was going to score even before the light behind the goal turned green. Aries threw his arms up in the air and shouted. Yes! They had done it. The first game of the season and they were winners! And he’d gotten a freaking hat trick. Three goals in the same game. His brothers were going to be so jealous!

His teammates tapped his helmet then they all crossed the ice to give props to their goalie. Zany had done a good job and Aries liked the goalie. When it was his turn to congratulate Zany on a good game, they grinned at each other.

“Nice job, kid!” Zany shouted.

Aries didn’t even care about being called a kid again. Zany wasn’t that much older than Aries. He tapped his helmet against Zany’s. “Good game!”

He was so happy that he practically floated off the ice.

Vin waited at the entrance to the tunnel that led back to their home team locker room. Guess Aries really did have his own personal shadow now. Could he get Vin to start carrying apples for him?

Aries peered up at his defenseman. He’d work on the grumpy vampire.