Page 19

Grif

“ T he étoiles have a little feast set up. Get changed and join us,” Kylee, our PR person, told us when we returned to the visitor’s locker room after our win.

The Canadian teams often organized a meal or a night out for the opposing team. It was a nice little tradition with the understanding that everyone would be civil, even if it was a rough game. What happens on the ice stays on the ice.

At least in Canada.

Coach Atkins talked to us, then we hit the bikes and ice baths. Being away from AJ ached. I’d sleep with Dean and Jonas tonight. Which was fine because most everyone assumed the bite on my neck was from Jonas.

Jonas, Dean, and I showered and got dressed. My phone was full of texts. I hadn’t had time to see more than Verity and AJ telling me I’d played a great game. Later.

As we walked into the room in the arena where the food was set out, we found the team leaving, a few with boxes in hand.

Well, in the corner of the room, Coach yelled at Dimitri for having an off night. Dimitri’s broad shoulders sunk as his head bowed in remorse, dark hair falling in his face.

“We’re leaving already?” My stomach growled at the smells as I spied a buffet.

“The storm’s coming early and fast . Toronto wants to postpone tomorrow’s game. Storm’s already hitting New York hard. If we leave right now, we might make it back to New York before they close the airport,” Elias told me. “If we wait any longer, we might get stuck. Might get turned away as it is. Grab a box. Food’s good.”

“Oh, thanks.” I’d rather not get snowed in and be kept away from AJ and Verity.

We grabbed our food, thanked our hosts who wished us safe travels, and piled onto the bus. I shoved food in my face, watching the snow come down, finishing my food right as we got to the plane. We rushed onto the plane and took off faster than we ever had, as the pilot apologized for what could be a rough flight.

I texted AJ that we were coming home early as I sat in my usual seat, giving Lucky a pat. Carlos passed out pink under-eye masks.

“Does Lucky want some?” Carlos asked.

I shook my head. “They make his fur sticky.”

“Fair.” Carlos threw the package to Sarah who was making grabby hands. Catching it, she shared with Nia then passed it back.

Dean cuddled into Jonas in the seats across the aisle. Yeah, I’d like to spend the night in bed with AJ.

A loud fart echoed through the plane.

“Ugh, Lucky,” Carlos yelled. “Who fed Lucky cheese?"

Yeah, not me. It wasn’t Lucky who farted, either.

Dean scowled at his phone and leaned across the aisle to me as he sat with Jonas. “Verity thanked me for her room, which means AJ showed it to her when she was over. He wasn’t supposed to do that.”

“I hope she’s safe. She’s not responding to my texts.” I frowned, worry settling in the pit of my belly.

Jonas gave me a pointed look. “Obviously, you didn’t read the group chat. She’s fine.”

Oh, she must have come over to watch the game. Between the stress of the day, the game, and the food, I dozed off on the quick flight and woke up to a very bumpy landing.

Coach Atkins stood to address us. “The streets are fucked. It’s probably better to take the metro than driving or calling a car. Please be safe. Obviously, there’s no game or practice tomorrow.”

Our car wasn’t parked here, anyway. The metro it was.

“You okay?” I asked Dimitri as we got off the plane. He was scrolling on his phone and frowning.

Dimitri shook his head. “Family emergency. Sorry, I shouldn’t let it affect game play.”

“It’s fine. It happens. I hope everything’s okay,” I told him. He was raising his teenage siblings. His sister lived with him and attended a fancy omega academy here in the city. His brother was at an exclusive boarding school on the West Coast.

“Me, too. Here, you left Lucky on the plane.” Dimitri pretended to hand me my imaginary cat and walked off in another direction.

We got our things and got on the empty metro. AJ had texted me back, but Verity hadn’t. The location app wasn’t working.

“I can’t get ahold of Verity,” I whispered to Jonas, worried. She had gotten back from Hawai’i. When we’d called AJ before the game, like always, I’d talked to her.

“She’s okay, promise,” Jonas replied. “Check the group chat.”

“Oh, okay.” I’d do that later. Right now, I just wanted to get home before my balls froze off.

The short walk to our place was brutal. Snow soaked my shoes and pants. Shivering, we took the elevator up to our floor. A wall of warmth hit me as we walked in. At least the heat worked. Only the fairy lights were on. A fútbol game played on the TV. The fire flickered in the background, making it feel cozy and inviting. It smelled like chocolate and popcorn.

AJ lay on the couch, his arms around Verity. She slept in his lap, a blanket over them. He looked over at us and waved, a smug look on his face.

“You asshole.” I made a face at Jonas as I took off my coat. “You knew she was still here.” It made perfect sense with the storm for her to stay over, rather than risk going back to her place.

“You should have read the group chat. Verity and Mercy’s place flooded. For the time being, both of them are staying with us. That’s why AJ showed her the room.” Jonas put his shoes on the rack by the door and hung his coat up.

I dropped my bag on the floor and rushed over, my heart bursting at seeing both of them. They looked adorable together. An empty bowl of popcorn and two mugs sat on the table.

“She was tired and couldn’t stay awake,” AJ whispered as he pulled me in for a kiss.

Desire and want pulsed through our bond. Mmmm. Sure, I’d seen him this morning, but I’d missed him even more than usual.

“Princess, they’re home. Their game tomorrow is canceled because of the storm.” AJ nuzzled her with his nose.

Her eyes blinked open. “Grif.”

“Hi, Kitten.” The look on her face warmed me right up as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me until my toes curled. I was taking her to bed tonight. It didn’t matter how many blowjobs Dean earned while she was gone.

If AJ climbed in with us at some point…

Though Verity and I needed to have that talk. If not tonight, tomorrow. I had to tell Coach Atkins the truth. Soon. I’d felt a little weird while playing tonight, despite scoring three goals. The last thing I needed was to collapse during a game.

Her hand raked through my wet hair, and she frowned. “You’re wet.”

“And I’m hard. I got two shutouts while you were gone.” Dean pulled her from me, spun her around, and kissed her.

“You’re wet, too. Wet and cold.” Verity’s frown deepened as she cupped his face with her hand. “Why are you all wet?”

“We walked through a snowstorm, Little Alpha.” Jonas snapped a kiss.

“You all need to shower and change before you get sick. What if you get sick and we can’t get you to the doctor because of the storm?” Verity scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

“Wanna put me in the shower and warm me up?” Dean wrapped his arms around her.

“We’ll do that right now. No one’s going to get sick. I’ll take care of Dean, you take care of Grif,” Jonas told her.

She nodded as she climbed off Dean. His face grew stricken, but I wasn’t about to relent, and I sent Jonas a silent look of thanks.

“I promise to spend time with you later.” She kissed Dean, then came over to me. “I’ll make us a bath, Tiger. Thank you, all of you, for the thoughtful rooms for me and my sister. It means everything.” Verity kissed me on the cheek and padded off toward the bedrooms.

I sat down on the couch and took off my wet shoes and socks. “What happened?”

AJ motioned for us to come closer, and they sat down and started removing their soaked footwear.

“The heat’s been off in their place and the pipes burst. It’s flooded. Most of their shit’s ruined. We tried to save what we could, which is why there’s plants everywhere, mountains of laundry, and a game system in a bowl of rice,” AJ replied.

“As you should.” Jonas nodded.

“Oh, and don’t throw away the weird baggie on the counter. It’s apparently special.” AJ shrugged. “Starter?”

I nodded. “It’s for sourdough bread.”

“The rooms aren’t finished.” Distress wafted off Dean and Jonas put an arm around him.

“Is that why the table is full of junk food?” My eyes flickered over to the table, which was piled high with tempting treats.

While Dr. Arya’s nutrition plan made me feel better than the Knight’s one, it wasn’t any more fun.

AJ nodded. “Mercy’s idea of emergency supplies. We’re apparently snacking our way through the snowstorm. We’re fine supply-wise, even with them. But I wanted them to be comfortable. Be gentle. That was their home. Theirs. They made the rules and no one’s going to yell at them for not doing something good enough, for not being enough.”

“Oh shit. That makes sense. I knew they were proud of their place, but I didn’t think about the other implications.” I stripped off my wet socks, the warm air putting feeling back into my toes.

“Anyhow, just be conscious of things. We’ll need to show them that they’re safe with us.” He turned to me. “I wonder, if on some subconscious level, Verity wanting to wait also had to do with being wary of being in someone else’s house again.”

Jonas put his bare feet up by the fire. “Coming from a shitty home, I feel that. Thanks for the heads up.”

Shit. She’d lost everything, including her sense of safety. That tugged on that deeply buried part of me that liked to be secure. We’d love her, show her she belonged here, too.

AJ grabbed the empty bowl and cups off the table. “There’s leftover food if anyone’s hungry.”

“I’m good.” I kissed him. “Thanks for taking care of them.”

“Absolutely. Go spend some time with her. I’ll check on you two in a bit?” His hand stroked my damp hair. “Obviously, you can have your privacy, but if you need reinforcements, I’m here.”

“Sounds perfect. I’d like that later.” I gave Dean a kiss and left to find Verity.

Her door was open. The bed had been made using the stuff Jonas had bought her. Personally, I wouldn’t have chosen all the gold accents, but Dean had done a good job.

In the bathroom, Verity filled two wine glasses. “I hope you like white wine. I can’t believe Dean put a wine fridge in my bathroom.” She giggled. “It’s ridiculous, I love it.”

“If there’s anything you don’t love, you can change it.” Coming behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist as I buried my face in the crook of her neck, getting a good hit of her alpha scent and drinking it in.

Drinking her in.

“I love the pink and peach color scheme. However, the chandelier above the bed weirds me out. It was sweet of him. You should take your wet clothes off.” She set the wine glasses down on the counter and turned to face me, still in my arms.

Verity tugged my pants off, and I stepped out of them, taking off my jacket and tie so I was only wearing a button-down and boxers, which weren’t as wet.

I pulled her to me again. The fact that AJ’s scent covered her made me hard. “I missed you.”

She kissed me and entwined her fingers in my beard. “I missed you so much it hurt. But I’m here now. What do you need?”

You, naked, with my face in your pussy.

“To know you still love me, still want to be with me, even though I hurt you back on the bleachers—and that I’ve been keeping secrets.” I cupped her face with my hand, my insides twisting with worry. As much as I burned for her, I needed to know things were okay between us. That I hadn’t fucked things up too much.

“Why am I so nervous? You already said you’d love me if I were one. How did you even guess?” I added.

“This is where you tell me you’re a gamma. I’ll still love you. It was the way you reacted that morning in the bleachers and something AJ said the night before. However, don’t feel like you need to tell me your story,” she told me.

Something AJ said? What? He hadn’t known I was a gamma, either.

“I need to tell you my story. I had no idea I was a gamma until a couple days ago. You guessed before I knew. I… I thought I was an omega. I awakened my last year at university–after Dean had. It scared the shit out of me. Before you get upset, I’d been planning on telling you soon. But can you understand why I’d hide it? Why the pack wanted to wait before we let you in on our secret?” Anxiousness twisted in my belly.

“I absolutely understand. Could you walk me through this? How did you not know you were a gamma?” Her eyebrows knitted.

She understood. Something settled deep inside me.

As the bath filled, we drank our wine, and I told her everything. Tears fell from her eyes when I told her about overdosing.

“I’m so sorry you went through that.” She sniffed. “How scared you must have been. I completely understand not feeling comfortable with your designation.”

The bath got full and the water had stopped automatically.

“I know, Kitten.” I kissed her forehead. “My whole life I’d been this big guy who’s great at scoring goals and hitting people. So many people thought I’d end up an alpha. When I awakened as an omega, it felt like someone yanked my entire existence from me–and when I saw what happened to Dean after that knothead outed him…”

Verity held me tight, soothing me with her touch and pheromones.

“I didn’t know it worked. That I’d actually wrecked myself so badly that I came up as a gamma on tests,” I added. “I continued taking shit for years to keep everything locked down tight. Then…”

“I woke you up, didn’t I?” She flinched as if slapped.

“Maybe. I also live full-time with my omega.” I stroked her hair. “According to my doctor, I’m at that point where I’m in danger of a heart attack or kidney failure if I don’t stop taking my heavy-duty blockers. Though I should be able to stay on heat suppressants, maybe take a light scent blocker.”

Understanding and concern shot through her face because she couldn’t take anything now.

“I’m going to have to come out at some point. But I wanted to tell you first,” I added, clinging to her like a lifeline.

“It’s okay, Grif. I love you. Please, don’t harm yourself by continuing to take things they told you not to,” she told me.

“It’ll be hard, but okay.” It scared the shit out of me.

She pulled my head down and kissed my forehead. “It will be hard. But you have us.”

“There’s a very good chance I’ll push back over to being an omega, which happens sometimes. Also, Dean and I were careless.” I told her what happened that morning after leaving her on the bleachers.

“I saw his bite and wondered,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry for hiding everything. Before you say it, it wasn’t you admitting that you like big omegas that made me hide it. If anything, that told me you were the one and when I was ready, you’d accept me, given I’m not very omega-like.”

“Oh, Grif. I love you. All of you. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the alphiest of alphas.” She tipped her forehead to mine.

“That’s probably why we work so well together.” I gave her a kiss.

“I want to be with you. Gamma. Omega. It doesn’t matter. I just want to know if this changes anything between us? What parts of you did you hide from me, and will I be enough for them?” Nerves tinged her scent.

“My sweet kitten, you’re enough for me.” The fact she stood here and said that she still loved me, still wanted to be with me, set me at ease.

She brushed my hair out of my eyes. My arms tightened around her because I knew how much she worried about not being a good alpha.

“I don’t foresee anything changing between us. What I get from you and AJ and Dean are all very different and believe me, I need you so much.” My voice lowered as I nibbled on her jaw, one of my hands cupping her ass.

Her arousal hit me as a little moan escaped her lips. “Please, Tiger.”

I kicked the bathroom door closed, pulling her pajama pants and panties off. Next went her shirt. Oh, I missed those golden breasts. Picking her up, I placed her on the counter. Spreading her legs, I buried my face in her inner heat.

“You’re so wet for me, Kitten, just the way I like it,” I told her as I knelt on the rug. I licked and sucked her, as her hands tangled in my hair, letting her know how much I missed her, how much I needed her.

Her back arched and her eyes closed as I explored her silken folds, reacquainting myself with her pussy.

“I’m going to come.” Verity trembled.

“Show me how much my sweet alpha missed me,” I murmured into her pussy as my fingers stroked her.

Her body exploded as she gushed all over my face. I licked it up, consuming every drop like it was precious. Standing, I kissed her so she could taste herself all over my lips, my face, my beard.

I seated myself inside her, wrapping her arms and legs around me, our lips still locked. She squeezed me just right as I pumped inside her. It was difficult not to come immediately. Picking her up off the bathroom counter, I pressed her against the closed door.

“Does my alpha need to be fucked hard against the wall? Do you need me to slam myself over and over into you until I cum inside your pussy?” I started thrusting hard as she gripped me tight.

“Yes, yes, fuck me hard, Tiger,” she moaned.

“I love being inside you.” Taking her hands, I pinned them above her head with one hand, the way she liked, and I felt her pussy squeeze me in delight.

I kissed her again, so happy she accepted me so readily. Because I needed her. I needed her to love me as I was. All of me.

“I know there’s a lot to work through, but we can do this. Together. We can be good. Together.” My other hand tightened around her throat as my eyes gazed into her.

“Being gone for so long, not being here for you, tore me up,” she gasped, her pussy continuing to squeeze me just right.

“Come for me again, Kitten. Lock me tight so I can fill you up.” I ground against her, giving her a few more hard thrusts.

“Grif.” Her head tilted back as she called my name. An orgasm rippled through her taut body. Verity’s warm cunt squeezed me like a vice, locking me inside her.

Lips trailed along my neck, licking and sucking all the right places that made my groin clench.

“Oh, that’s it, Alpha.” Letting go of her hands, I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her pressed to the wall, as I came inside her, our bodies trembling. For a long moment, I held her to me, peppering her face, jaw, and neck with little kisses, our bodies still joined.

Finally, her pussy unclenched, releasing me. She leaned against me, head on my shoulder, arms still around me, body trembling.

“That was so good. Just what I needed,” she told me.

“Me, too. You’re what I need. Always and forever. I’ll say it over and over until you understand right here.” I put my hand over her heart, my giant, pale hand contrasting with her golden skin. “And here.” I kissed her temple.

She looked up into my eyes. “I’ll try my best to live up to that.”

Verity lit some candles, refilled our wine, and moved the glasses to the ledge of the tub. She turned off the lights. Her hands fumbled with the buttons of my shirt as she took it off me.

We got in and I pulled her onto my lap. She started the tub’s jets and curled into me. Her eyes lingered on the bond mark on my neck from AJ.

“You can touch it if you want. Touch, lick, kiss. When you’re ready, feel free to add your own bite. You don’t even have to ask. You have my permission to mark me whenever you’re ready.” I wanted it so much, especially now that I had AJ’s and Dean’s.

“Thank you. I’ll have to examine you and see where I’d like to put my mark when it’s time.” Her fingers trailed along my collarbone.

“This one’s AJ’s.” I took her hand in mine and put it over it. “You can’t see Dean’s given he’s an omega.”

Her eyes roamed my body, which wasn’t very visible in the deep tub and long enough for me to stretch out comfortably, even with her in it. It might get a little cozy with three, but for the two of us, it was perfect .

“Here.” I took her hand, pulled it under the water, and wrapped it around my dick. “No, he actually bit me there,” I added at her incredulous look. It was surprising she hadn’t noticed the night we’d fucked during the Maimers game.

She snorted. “That’s very Dean. Where will you mark me?”

“Maybe here?” My hand caressed the underside of her breast. “Or here.” My fingers brushed over her inner thigh, near her tattoo.

“Those sound wonderful, and I look forward to it when we’re ready,” she breathed, lips exploring my neck. “You can choose.”

“Good, because I want to feel you right here.” I put her hand on my heart. That’s what I needed. Then I’d be complete.