Page 8 of Aries (PAHL #1)

Vin

His little one was going to drive Vin crazy. He was skating up and down the rink, passing the puck to his line mates while talking all kinds of smack. If this wasn’t a practice, Vin would put Aries over his knee. The boy was not taking this seriously at all.

“Watch this!” Aries called to Shawn. He did a fancy spin before shooting the puck and missing.

Vin powered down the ice, coming up behind the little shifter. Being careful to not use his full strength, he bumped into Aries’s back, sending the bat shifter sprawling onto the ice.

Aries blinked up at him. “You knocked me down!”

“Stop being cocky.”

“But…I’m always cocky.”

“You need to practice. New York is not a team to play around with. They’re a bunch of thugs and they’ll beat you into the boards.”

Aries hadn’t made a move to get up. “You’ll be there to protect me.”

Vin shook his head. “I won’t always be on the ice to protect you. Get up and take this practice seriously.”

“You didn’t have to knock me down.” Aries huffed.

“Up!” Vin ordered.

Aries climbed onto his skates. He held his stick in front of him while grinning at Vin. “You wanna play?”

The little shit. “Bring it on.”

Aries laughed then whistled. Shawn slammed the puck to him and Aries caught it easily with the end of his stick. He pushed off with his left foot before barreling toward Vin.

“Bad boyfriend!” Aries said as he moved the puck back and forth in front of him. “You knocked me down. You’ll be paying for that later.”

Vin tried to steal the puck, but Aries was too fast. “Someone will be paying but it won’t be me.”

“It will if I make a goal,” Aries challenged.

“Let’s go then.” Vin chased after Aries.

Shawn and their center, Bane, fell into line with Aries. Aries passed to Bane who passed to Shawn and back again. Vin’s defensive partner Robbs grinned at Vin skating up beside him.

“Two against three,” Robbs said. “Let’s take these guys down.”

Vin threw his head back and laughed. “You better run, little shifter,” he taunted.

“Hey!” Shawn groused. “Who you calling little?”

That was right, a fruit bat shifter, jaguar shifter, and wolf shifter against a vampire and hellhound. This was going to be a fun practice.

* * * * *

Aries

Holding an ice pack to his hip, Aries glared at Vin from the couch. Not that Vin could see from where he was making lunch in Aries’s kitchen. Oh, Vin could see Aries pouting on the couch, but he just wasn’t paying attention.

Mean boyfriend!

Not only had Vin stopped his line from scoring a goal in practice, because he cheated and recruited Zany onto his side, but he’d kept knocking Aries down!

Okay, maybe that wasn’t completely true. Aries might have fallen when he’d been showing off trying to score. But Vin could have caught him. He even laughed when Aries was peering up at him from the ice.

“Stop pouting,” Vin ordered as he strolled into the living room, drying his hands on a towel.

Aries batted his eyelashes up at Vin. “I’m not pouting.”

Vin walked over to lean close. Aries lifted his chin, hoping for a kiss. He liked Vin’s kisses. Not that he had gotten more than a handful. Still, kisses were nice. Vin smiled right before he snatched the ice pack from Aries.

“You don’t even need this,” Vin told him. “You’ve already healed.”

“I was injured!” Aries pretended offense.

“I warned you to take practice seriously,” Vin scolded. “You were showing off.”

“It would have worked too if you hadn’t knocked me down.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to knock you down if you’d been taking practice seriously.”

Aries huffed. He would not admit to anything.

“Are you almost ready to eat?”

“I’m hungry. You only let me have two apples this morning.”

Vin snorted. “And the one that Shawn brought to practice.”

Aries gasped. “You saw that?”

“I see everything,” Vin told him.

“Cheater,” he groused.

“Do you want to be put over my knee?”

Aries widened his eyes. “No.”

“Then behave. We’re taking it easy today to rest for the game tomorrow.”

“But that’s boring!”

“Boy!” Vin sauntered back to the kitchen.

Wow! That growl. Aries loved that growl. His entire body perked up at the sound.

“Ten minutes until the food will be ready,” Vin said. Warned? Aries wasn’t sure. Not that it mattered. The food smelt good.

“Are there vegetables?”

“I can always add more.”

Aries gulped and closed his mouth. That was a definite warning.

His phone rang from the coffee table and Aries dove for it. Gem’s name appeared on the screen.

“Heyyy,” Aries drawled. “What’s up, biggest bro.”

Gem snorted. “Really?”

Aries laughed. “Well, if Nix is my big bro then you’d be my biggest bro.”

“Nix is an idiot,” Gem replied.

“Did you see the game last night? He totally went mental on that guy that crashed into his goalie.”

Gem sighed. “Yes, I already spoke to him. I warned him to be careful.”

“Why does he need to be careful. It was just a fight.”

“They’re gunning for us,” Gem told him. “The other teams. My game against New York was brutal.”

“I saw that,” Aries admitted. “I thought they were just assholes.”

“A couple of the predators have decided that fruit bat shifters shouldn’t be in the league. They’re on a mission to get rid of us.”

Aries lifted his eyes to watch as Vin plated their lunch. “I have protection.”

Vin’s head snapped up.

“The vampire?”

Aries grinned. “He is very protective over me.”

Gem laughed. “I noticed.”

Aries tilted his head to Vin, asking without words if he could tell his brother. It would be really hard for Aries to ever keep anything from his family. His feelings were just always so obvious.

The smile he received was blinding as Vin nodded. A little fang even poked out from under Vin’s top lip. A real smile. Ones that he was lucky enough to be rewarded with often. “I’m not hiding you.”

Yes! Aries was so lucky! He had the best boyfriend.

“Who was that? Is there someone in your apartment with you.”

“My boyfriend,” Aries replied.

Gem laughed. “Sure. Your boyfriend.”

When Aries didn’t join him in laughing, Gem stopped. “Wait! Are you serious?”

“Yep!”

Vin cleared his throat.

Oh! Dang it. “Yes, I’m serious. He’s making us lunch.”

“He’s cooking for you?” Gem’s voice rose.

“Yes?”

“Who? When? How?” Gem demanded.

“Well, it’s my vampire protector, yesterday, and I’m not really sure.”

“Let me talk to him!” Gem shouted.

“Why?”

There were fingers snapping in front of his face. Aries glanced up to see Vin holding out his hand.

Aries frantically shook his head.

Vin made gimme hands.

“No!” Aries hissed. “He’s crazy!”

“Who’s crazy?” Gem demanded.

“You! And you are not scaring my boyfriend away!”

“Let. Me. Talk to him,” Gem said slowly.

“No!” Aries whined.

Vin snatched the phone from his hand.

“Hey!” Aries tried to grab the phone back.

Vin pointed his finger at Aries, mouthing the word stay , before he strolled off toward the kitchen. “Hello?”

Aries started to push off the couch, but Vin turned his back toward him. He froze. That was not a look that he wanted directed toward him.

Vin grunted into the phone.

“What’s he saying?” Aries called. “Don’t let him scare you!”

Vin rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to be scared off, little one.”

Gem shouted something on the other end of the phone. Aries was too far to hear it clearly.

Vin turned his back to Aries. “Stop!”

Aries shuddered. That was hot. His vampire was so bossy. Even to his bossy brother.

“He’s mine now,” Vin stated. “You don’t need to worry about him.”

There was a response. Dang! Aries wished he knew what Gem was saying.

Vin snorted. “I get it.”

He got what?

Vin grunted several times in response to the conversation that Aries couldn’t hear. Vin hadn’t been loud in the kitchen before, but he was totally doing it on purpose now. Aries just knew it. He draped himself dramatically on the couch in protest.

“I promise,” Vin said.

He promised what? This was totally unfair!

“Tell me about New York,” Vin said.

Aries sighed. That was it? Now they were friends? Gem was going to get Vin all riled up and Aries was never going to have any fun ever again. Why couldn’t it have been Nix that called? Oh! He totally had to call Nix! He had a boyfriend to rub in his brother’s face.

The game that he and Vin had watched last night had been entertaining. Nix’s team had been playing LA and Crowly had been an asshole the entire game. Even purposely crashing into the net, nearly injuring Evan Mueller. Nix had gone nuts, almost taking off Crowly’s head. He’d been thrown out of the game. Impressive, seeing none of them were big fighters to begin with.

“I’ll ask around. Yes. I don’t need a lecture.”

He huffed again. Aries hated not knowing what was being said.

“No. Now I’m going to feed him lunch before we relax for the afternoon. I’ll have him call you later. Fine. Bye.” Vin disconnected the call and pocketing Aries’s phone.

“What did he say?” Aries asked. “Did he threaten you? He’s really good at that. It’s made a few guys scared of him.”

“He is quite inventive,” Vin retorted. “He’s not going to scare me away, baby. Nothing could.”

“Nothing?”

“I promise,” Vin said.

“Sorry he’s such a dick.”

“At least he’s smart enough to know there’s a danger to you all.”

Aries rolled his eyes. “He’s a worrywart.”

“I think he might be on to something,” Vin said. “I want you to be extra-careful tomorrow.”

“I will be! Can we eat now?” He was hungry. Also, Aries was tired of talking about this. He was fast. The New York players were going to have to catch him first.

“We can eat. Nix’s game will start in about a half hour. Go ahead and put the pregame on.”

Aries grabbed the remote and turned it on. Of course, his TV was already set to the station that played all the PAHL games. Nix’s team was playing Seattle. Aries totally expected his brother to kick butt.

“Here we go.” Vin set a plate on the coffee table in front of him.

Sliding off the couch, Aries looked down at his plate. “Is this salmon?”

“Salmon, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a roll.”

“Very healthy,” he complained. There weren’t even any apples.

“If you eat every bite, there might be dessert after.” Vin sat in the same chair as the day before.

That perked him up. “What kind?”

Vin lifted a brow.

“Fine.” Aries picked up his fork. He wasn’t really upset about the meal that Vin provided. In fact, not only did it smell fantastic, but the first bite was full of flavor. So good.

He hummed, stuffing more food into his mouth.

“Good?” Vin asked with a chuckle.

“So good,” Aries said with his mouth full.

“Boy!” Vin barked.

Aries swallowed hard. “Sorry.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Thank you for cooking for me.” Aries remembered his manners.

“You are very welcome. I enjoy cooking and I love that you like to eat.”

“I looove to eat,” Aries corrected.

“I know.”

The commercial break was over. Vin turned the volume up. There was a picture of Nix on the screen. They were talking about the fight in the last game. They were calling Aries’s brother a hothead.

“He’s not a hothead!” Aries yelled at the TV. “Crowly is a jerk.”

“More than a jerk,” Vin said.

“Yes but my mama taught me manners,” Aries teased.

“I’m glad she did,” Vin replied.

Aries finished his food. It had been that good. He finished off the water that Vin had poured for him when he’d still been pouting on the couch. He felt a little silly. Aries knew better than to mess around at practice. He played professionally now. It was important that he took his job seriously. And as much as he loved hockey, he was also paid a boatload of money to play it.

Vin ate slower than him.

He listened to the announcers as he waited until Vin finished.

It was hard to wait.

Aries was impatient though.

“Is everything okay?”

Aries hadn’t realized that he’d been rocking back and forth with his arms around his middle. He stopped and looked up at Vin. “Fine.”

Vin frowned at him.

“I have a question,” Aries said.

“What, baby?”

Baby. Aries liked that. He liked hearing little one too. Even if he heard anyone else call him that, it would have totally pissed him off.

“Aries?”

“Are you done eating?”

“I am.”

Good. That’s good. “Can I sit in your lap again? Like I did last time?”

Vin smiled. Did that mean that he liked it too?

Aries had hugged Vin until his knees had started to ache. Then Vin had pulled Aries into his lap as they watched the game. It had been wonderful. Until Vin had insisted that Aries go to bed. Alone. With just a little kiss to get Aries through the night. It had been a good kiss.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Vin asked. “Come here.”

Aries scrambled to his feet and rushed over. Vin opened his arms, allowing Aries to climb right on up.

He fit perfectly in Vin’s arms. Aries didn’t even mind that Vin had limited his number of apples for the day. Resting his head on Vin’s shoulder, Aries cuddled in. “I ate all my food.”

“I’ll put the apple turnovers in the oven at the first intermission,” Vin promised.

“Cool!”

“It’s starting,” Vin told him.

“Phoenix better win or I’m going tease him forever. He totally wanted to be drafted to Seattle.”

“Why Seattle?” Vin rubbed a hand down Aries’s back.

“His favorite player growing up is the captain.”

“Luka Kotov,” Vin said.

“He’s the person that made Phoenix admit he was gay. Nix had the biggest crush ever.”

Vin hummed. “He’s a beast of a player.”

“Right!”

“And who was your favorite?”

Aries laughed. “I’ll never tell.”

“No?” Vin dug his fingers into Aries’s ribs.

He giggled and squirmed. “Okay! Okay!”

Laughing, Vin pulled him tight. “Who was your favorite.”

“Hightower,” Aries said.

“The forward from New Jersey,” Vin said.

“He was so fast! And he played with his brother on his team.”

“And he was also a cocky little shit.”

Aries grinned. “Yep.”

Vin tucked Aries’s head under his chin. “Good choice.”

“He was my favorite even when you boarded him and broke his nose.”

Vin chuckled. “I should have hit him harder. He’s a human though. Had to watch my strength,”

“True. It was a pretty face.”

He received a pinch to his side.

“Yours was too.”

“You knew who I was?” Vin asked.

Of course he had. “You beat up my favorite player!”

“More than once.”

That was jealousy in his voice. “I never thought he was attractive. Just that he was a good hockey player.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’d hate to have to track him down and give him another beating.”

Aries gasped. “No!”

Vin grabbed his chin, forcing Aries’s eyes to him. “Then you’d better keep your eyes on me.”

He batted those eyelashes. “I don’t want to look at anyone else.”