Page 22

The VIP lounge was crowded and noisy. Usually that would never bother me. There would be a good chance I’d be the center of the party and having the best time. Tonight too much weighed on my mind.

I’d nabbed a spot standing by one end of the glass so I didn’t have to be squished between the Rampage’s elite fans and their girlfriends or wives who were way too dressed up for a hockey game. They wore cocktail dresses and diamonds. I had on one of Tiergan’s old team jerseys over top of my sweater.

I hadn’t spied my father in the lounge, and I didn’t see him by the team’s bench. He hadn’t texted me at all. I didn’t know whether to be worried or hurt that he didn’t have time to even send me a message.

Kane sped down the ice as Alderic passed him the puck. One of the Flurry’s defensemen body checked Kane and Ewan slipped in to nab the puck. There was some shoving between Kane and the Chicago player, but they split before it turned into a fight and rushed to get the puck which Ewan had shot at the net and was deflected.

Both teams were good, but I was biased. The pack—and I included Casimir in that—had a more intuitive connection. They seemed to know where one another were and could out-pass the Flurry. Chicago, on the other hand, was faster to hit hard, and seemed to be focusing that aggression mostly on Kane.

If they purposely hurt him, I would go out there onto the ice myself and smash them with a stick.

I pursed my lips at the vehemence of the sentiment. I accused the Alphas of being too overprotective, but I was feeling the same way. I hadn’t even been angry with Maddox when he smashed his way into the bathroom. Something had worried him and nothing was going to stand in his way to get to me. It was comforting. He made me feel safe. And I especially needed that after getting those flowers.

A shudder went through me. A stalker. I didn’t know why me, but it was terrifying.

The Flurry had the puck and rushed the net. Tiergan made the save, but one of the Chicago players bulldozed into him and knocked them both back into the net. The ref blew his whistle as one of the Flurry took a shot and raised his arms as if he scored. No way would that count, but the player was arguing with the ref about it, and Tiergan, now on his feet, was shouting too.

“Excuse me, but are you Miss Kienna Birk?”

I jumped, gasping as I flattened my back against the window. I turned to see an older man in a black suit and a woman with her hair done up in a French Twist. She had diamond earrings, but she was more conservatively dressed than the other women in the lounge.

“Oh, we’re sorry to startle you.” The woman smiled kindly. She had a pretty pixie-like face softened by age, and I guessed immediately she was an Omega. Her mate—as was clear by his arm around her waist—looked very familiar. “We wanted to introduce ourselves.”

It was possibly someone my father knew. I didn’t know how many business connections he’d made since coming to town, and I was very easy to pick out in a crowd. I gave them a polite smile. “No need to apologize. I was just absorbed in the game. I am Kienna.” I held out my hand. “And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

The man took my hand and held it gently. “My name is Maxim Velky, and this is my lovely wife, Ivania.” Oh oh. They were certainly Casimir’s parents. The resemblance between father and son was clear now. How did they know who I was? “We have heard wonderful things about you.”

From who? I swallowed hard. “That’s so nice. You have been speaking with my father then? I’m his only child, so he does tend to brag.”

They laughed lightly, and Ivania patted my hand. “Oh no, dear. Casimir speaks fondly of you. We’ve yet to meet Mr. Birk. We were actually hoping he’d be here tonight.”

Casimir had told his parents about me? Oh fuck. “Dad should be here in the arena somewhere.”

Maxim nodded and sipped the beer he held in his free hand. “Good, good.” His slavic accent was as smooth as Casimir’s. “We hope to speak with him. Not only about the team, but about Casimir’s interest in you.” Shit, shit, shit! “Your father is well-respected considering what happened with Julian Birk. It really is a tragedy.”

“Darling,” Ivania gave her husband a tolerant look. “Please, let’s not discuss that. See how the girl has paled.”

Had I gone pale? I was not ready for the stuffy arrangement of courtship for an Alpha and Omega from rich families. It had been painful to watch my cousin go through it and several of my friends from St. Anne’s too. My dad promised me long ago I’d get to pick who I married, and while he’d introduced me to Alphas when he could, I’d never clicked with any of them and he never pushed it.

“My apologies, Miss Birk. I realize it must be a delicate matter for you.” Maxim dipped his head, honestly remorseful about making me upset.

It wasn’t the whole thing with my bastard of an uncle that had me unnerved though. Casimir had told his parents about me and stated his intentions. When? How? Did that even fucking matter? His folks were sizing up my worth right this second.

“Kienna!” Someone else called my name and I stood on my toes to see Dad coming toward us through the lounge. Both relief at seeing he was fine and dread filled me as he neared. He came over and hugged me, kissing me on the head. “Hello, sweetheart. I’m so happy to see you here tonight. It’s like old times when we went to games together. Are you feeling better?”

Had he thought I was sick? I couldn’t even remember telling him any such thing. “I’m good.” The Velkys waited patiently beside us. “Dad, I would like you to meet Casimir Velky’s parents, Maxim and Ivania. Mr. and Mrs. Velky, this is my father, Marcos Birk.”

They greeted one another and shook hands, all very friendly. Dad was a natural charmer, and he was fast winning over the Velkys in the whole minute he was here. They talked about their flight to Winnipeg and the team, particularly how great Casimir was.

My heartbeat didn’t slow. My dad was here. That was good, but not so great they were going to start talking about me and Casimir any time. I wanted to just have five minutes with my dad to get myself booked on a flight out west. It would solve my stalker problem and now this bigger issue of people other than me and my lovers involved in my love life. I was going to strangle Casimir next time I saw him. Whether it be before or after I let him knot me, that was besides the point!

“Kienna and I used to attend games together all the time, and I’m so happy she’s still a hockey fan now that she’s grown into a lovely young lady.” Dad saying my name brought me back to the present conversation. He smiled affectionately at me. “Wait until you see the arena in Chicago, hon. It’s spectacular. I’ve been talking to some of the architects and having them make plans for improvements for this arena.”

“Chicago?” I blinked. Did I miss something?

“Yes, after this game, we head to Chicago for the rest of the semis. I figured you would want to come and see the city. We haven’t been since you were five or six years old.”

Chicago. I could catch a plane to anywhere at any time from there. “How soon are we leaving?”

“We leave with the team in two days to drive down.” The buzzer signaling the end of the first period went off and Dad glanced at his Apple Watch. “I’ve got to get to the locker room and give a speech, but it was great to meet you, Maxim, Ivania.” He shook their hands and they exchanged pleasantries. “We should all have dinner together in Chicago.”

Oh no. The second I was in Chicago, I was heading to the airport and I was out of there.

Dad hugged me once more and took off before I could say anything else.

“I know a few excellent restaurants in Chicago. Do you have any particular preferences, Kienna?” Maxim was an absolute gentleman. Casimir definitely inherited that from him.

“I’m adventurous. I’m good with anything.” I briefly glanced at the door. How was I going to get away without seeming rude?

“Also, dear.” Ivania gave me a motherly smile. “You are welcome to fly with us to Chicago in our private plane rather than ride in the buses with your father and the team. He seems rather…” She paused, searching for a word. “Relaxed in his safeguarding of you. As you are yet unclaimed, you should have an escort. We would be more than happy to do so and get to know you better.”

I bit my tongue and touched the spot on my neck where Kane had marked me. The bite was hidden beneath the high collar of my sweater. While the Velkys were nice, were they the type to frown upon an Omega having several mates? Usually the rich and entitled Alphas felt that way.

“That’s very generous, thank you. I’ll discuss it with my father when he returns to the hotel tonight.” On one hand, flying with them would get me to Chicago faster. On the other hand, I’d be flying with Casimir’s parents, and the more time I spent with them, the more it cemented their son being paired with me. Not that I objected to Casimir himself, but all that formality made me want to scream.

Another man called out in Russian and the Velkys turned. Maxim smiled and waved, saying something back to the other person. He turned back to me and dipped his head. “If you would excuse us, Kienna.”

Maxim went over to the other man and they started talking. Ivania reached out and took one of my hands in both of hers. “It was such a pleasure to meet you. I do hope we can spend some time together and get to know one another very soon. Casimir has never brought up any other Omega to us, and so we know that he’s quite taken by you. He says you are…” She smiled and laughed a little. “There is an old Russian saying he used: he said you are the rainbow in the storm. I don’t know if that translates correctly, but I see the bright light in you, dear. Casimir lives his life very regimented, ordered. You are exactly what he needs.”

My cheeks heated. I could hardly believe Casimir said that to his parents. And was she saying I was wild? Not that I minded, but I guessed they made assumptions because of my hair. Everyone always did. “That’s very sweet.”

“I must join my husband, but I look forward to getting to know you.” Ivania leaned forward and kissed my cheeks. Very European of her.

I kept my smile until she was out of sight and then slipped out of the lounge. The Velkys were nice, but dammit. I didn’t have it in me to deal with anything about that situation right now.

Maddox had told me to stay in the lounge for the whole game until one of them fetched me, but I couldn’t be in there any longer. I went down the hall and waited in line to use the bathroom. Once I did that, I debated where to go.

Every man that stared at me as they walked by made my paranoia spike a little more. If my stalker knew who I was, he’d probably know I was at the arena right now. He could be literally anyone. There were thousands of men here.

I pressed my back against the cement wall and tried to tell myself to stay calm. No one would do anything with all these witnesses. I was safe.

Then why did I feel like I wanted to run?

I needed my Alphas. Fuck.

There was no way I would be let into the locker room, but if I could get somewhere near, one of them could slip out. I texted them, trying not to make it sound like an emergency. Casimir responded almost immediately and mentioned a maintenance corridor.

I spotted an arena worker go through an unmarked door and ran, grabbing the door before it fully closed. The worker didn’t notice and had went down a side hall as I snuck in. I knew the general direction of the locker rooms, but being closed in a plain hallway, I wasn’t quite sure which direction. The locker rooms were to the right, so I took the first right turn.

The hall looked the same. Dimly lit and unmarked.

I walked faster, my heartbeat picking up. The few doors I passed were locked. The hall curved and felt unending. Had I chosen wrong? I was going to get lost in here, wasn’t I?

It was like one of those horror video games. The ones where you were wandering a maze of halls or offices and then soon things started to get weird. Flickering lights, claw marks on the walls, scribbled pleas for help. That’s when the monster would pop out.

I had to get out. I needed to be outside, to be free.

A door opened just ahead of me and I screamed. Casimir darted out and wrapped his arms around me.

“It’s okay. I have you.” His soft crooning and delicious scent had me snuggled in his embrace.

Safe. Here I was protected.

He was still dressed in his equipment and his uniform. He had on shoes instead of his skates. I wanted his pads and jersey off so I could press my cheek against his bare skin, but this would have to do for now.

“What’s wrong?” Casimir kissed the top of my head and caressed my cheek. He lifted a brow and smiled. “Or did you just want to see me?”

I whacked him on the arm. “I was lost and it was crowded. And…” I wasn’t going to tell him I was freaking out about my stalker. I didn’t want him missing the game thinking he had to protect me. My voice raised as I thumped him on the arm again. “And your parents introduced themselves to me.”

The door opened again and Alderic hurried out. He stopped, obviously feeling the tension of the situation.

“My parents?” Casimir gaped at me and then composed himself. “Ah. I see.”

Kane and Maddox pushed by Alderic, followed by Tiergan in his bulky goalie pads.

“What’s going on?” Kane had a rough growl in his tone. It was clear with all of them that their overprotective Alpha mode had been turned on.

“Casimir told his parents about me. They offered to let me fly to Chicago with them in their private plane.” My volume increased as I talked faster. “They’re really nice!”

Every one of them looked baffled.

Casimir hesitantly asked, “Will you fly with them?”

“I don’t know! I might!” I don’t know why it was such a dramatic moment, because saying it over to myself in my head didn’t sound that way.

“Okay.” Casimir always seemed so sure of himself, but he didn’t look like he knew how to handle this moment. To be honest, I didn’t either. My emotions were wonky, and it wasn’t helping at all to be surrounded by these guys.

“Do you need us to escort you back to the lounge?” Alderic motioned back the way I’d come.

“I’m not going back,” I blurted out, bracing myself for their argument. “There’s too many people.”

Kane nodded. “Alright then. If you want some quiet, we can get you a chair to sit by the maintenance door to our locker room. You’ll be close to us if you need anything, and no one should bother you there.”

They didn’t argue. I was a little disappointed they didn’t. I folded my arms and sighed. “That’s fine.”

I almost wished I’d gotten some snacks if I was going to sit alone in a hall, but I wasn’t about to go back out to the concessions. We marched through the door they’d come through and down the hall. Tiergan popped through a door which was noisy with the rest of their teammates and he came back in with a foldout chair.

“Not exactly the comfiest, but it’s better than sitting on the floor.” Tiergan flashed me a smile as he set the chair down.

“It’s good. Thank you.” I rose onto my toes and gave him a kiss. “Good luck out there.”

“With that,” he winked at me. “We’re going to win the game.”

The score had been tied one to one at the end of the first period. I’d heard they had lost last night, and I felt immensely guilty over it. Kane—their star player—had left to come for me, and that had rattled the entire team. Tonight they were playing hard and fast, but if I assured them I was fine and stayed here, they would be able to concentrate on the game.

Maddox came up to me next and laid a hand over his mark on my shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but everything was clear in his intense gaze. I kissed him too before he went through the door behind Tiergan and Alderic wrapped me in a tight hug.

“Everything will be alright. We’re here for you.” Alderic nuzzled my nose with his and softly kissed me. The feelings he gave me weren’t like the primal yanks from the Alphas, but they were just as amazing.

“Go kick Chicago’s ass.” I grinned and laughed as he hooted going back into the locker room.

Casimir and Kane then both stepped toward me at the same time. They stopped and glared at one another. They didn’t move or even blink, but the battle for dominance was vicious. It was like two gladiators fighting it out in the Colosseum. I hated that it kind of turned me on.

“Stop it.” I snapped their attention back to me. “You’re both equally as annoying big possessive Alphas, and you’re also teammates. So start acting like it.”

They didn’t say anything for a moment, but then somehow the tension broke and Casimir slowly smirked. “I think we’re doing a fine job of acting like annoying big possessive Alphas.”

“A top tier job,” Kane agreed.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Go back to your game and take out your aggression on Chicago, not each other.”

“Stay here.” Kane bent forward and kissed me with his command. My legs felt a bit like jelly, and all my Omeganess was eager to do as he ordered.

Casimir waited and hugged me once Kane moved to the door, but the captain didn’t leave me alone with Casimir. “Do you truly think my parents are nice?”

“Yes. Your mom especially said some very sweet things.” Rainbow in the storm. Damn, I loved that so much.

“And you’re not angry that I said something to them?”

I poked him but gave him a kiss anyway. “I didn’t say that. But that’s something we can discuss later. Just know that I’m not a fan of the elitist bullshit that many Omegas from rich families have to go through. This is my life and I get to choose how I live it.”

Casimir smiled broadly at that, blue eyes shining with pride. “My slayer.”

His vampire charm was starting to make me melt. I kissed him once more and pushed him to the door. “Go. Play. Win.”

Kane let Casimir walk by into the locker room and turned his sexy gray gaze back to me. No matter him letting Casimir on equal grounds with me, he was still in charge. And fuck, I knew how absolutely hot it was to have him in charge.

My hand fluttered up to my neck and touched the spot where his bite was. Kane smiled at that and disappeared into the locker room, shutting the door behind him.

I leaned against the wall and exhaled, trying to push the mountain of emotion off of me. It was quiet even next to a full locker room. This would give me time to sort through my thoughts and emotions while being absolutely safe. This was good.

Positioning my chair so I could sit in it and prop my feet up against the opposite wall, I settled down. “Yeah, this is good. Maybe this will all work out.”

The door suddenly opened and had me nearly fall off my chair. Ewan flowed forward and shut the door silently as he glared at me with hard eyes. As I stood, he shoved me hard enough that I stumbled and fell on my butt.

“Take your fucking Omega whore ass out of town and away from my pack.”

I was fast on my feet with fury. Assholes like this didn’t scare me. “Fuck you.”

“No, fuck you.” Ewan spat and lunged at me like he was going to hit me. I raised my chin and held my ground. “You took my pack away from me. All they talk about, all they think about is you . Kane left the game last night and we lost because of you . We have this one shot to win this series, to make a name for ourselves and go where we want in the NHL, and you being here is going to screw us over. Not just the Alphas, but all of us. Everyone on the team.”

My mouth went dry and my anger faded. This was one of the things I’d feared all alone. I didn’t want to break apart the pack or have them fuck up their careers because of me. My presence was stirring shit up, but tonight I thought they were amped up because I was here. Was I wrong?

“We were strong before you showed up. No one could defeat us. Our pack came first before everything. You ruined it all.” Ewan pointed at me with his accusation. My rage flared again and I slapped his hand. With lightning fast reflexes, he caught my wrist and back-handed me across the face. Blood from my split lip trickled into my mouth.

The world spun. He’d hit me. I couldn’t believe it.

“Don’t come near my pack again.” He growled and stalked back to the door. “And do the team a favor and leave. Don’t come back. If you don’t and we lose, it won’t just be me beating you in a back hallway.”

Ewan exited through the door and left me momentarily shocked. My whole body was numb except the throbbing spot on my cheek where his hand had connected.

Someone just hit me and threatened me.

Whatever force was holding me in that suspended state left and I crumbled to my knees. My stomach roiled and I gagged, nearly throwing up. Tears spilled from my eyes and I gasped for air as I let out a jagged wail.

The team had lost last night because Kane left and came for me. The pack dynamics were in chaos because of me. I’d seen how well they worked together, and that included out there on the ice with Casimir. With me here, everything was a mess.

I couldn’t guarantee my presence wouldn’t make it happen again. This championship series wasn’t only important to the pack but to the whole team, their coaches, their fans, and fuck, my dad. If something I did screwed that up, I’d be at the top of everyone in Winnipeg’s hit list.

Ewan was a bastard, but dammit, he was right. I’d known it all along, but I had started to kid myself that things might be okay.

I pushed myself to my feet and, leaning against the wall, hurried down the hall. With no idea where to go, I picked a direction and went with it. I covered my mouth with my hand as I sobbed. My heart screamed the farther away I got from the pack.

Wait. I stopped and nearly fell again.

What if it was Ewan who attacked me in the alley and sent those flowers? He knew exactly where I was, and he wanted me out of the picture.

The man who grabbed me was about his height and had wiry strength, but the voice? I didn’t know. Maybe. I couldn’t say for certain.

But it made sense.

Oh God. Ewan was Alderic’s cousin. Part of the pack. It would destroy them.

Shit. I lurched forward and found a door that opened. Stumbling through it, I found myself in the big garage. The huge cargo doors were open to the cold night and one of the zambonis sat parked, humming with the engine on.

I locked my eyes on the open door. Outside. An escape.

My tears kept flowing as I scurried across the garage. About thirty feet from the door, I hit a frozen puddle of water and slid. I yelped as I attempted to keep my balance and not crash onto the concrete.

Managing to only fall to one knee, I paused to catch my breath. My heart pounded and my vision tunneled.

Almost there. Fresh air and freedom.

I started to stand when I was snatched up from behind. Two strong arms yanked me off my feet and a stinking cloth was pressed hard against my face.

Gasping, I drew in the awful scent of gasoline. Strong and fresh. My world spun and my head felt way too light.

“Give in to it, sweet girl. I’ll make everything alright again.”

No! He’d followed me.

I screamed and sucked in more gas fumes. Blackness enclosed around me.

I had to get away. One push…

My limbs weren’t obeying my commands anymore. My body sagged.

He shushed me like I was a fussing baby.

I frantically tried to keep conscious, but one more putrid inhale and I lost my connection to the world.