Page 16

Gwen

T he sweet-tartness of sun-ripened blackberries exploded over my tongue, and my eyes closed as I savored the taste of summer. My head lolled back. “Mmmm.”

Tenzin had driven me to a farm to go berry picking . It was so delightfully wholesome. His friend’s sister’s pack owned this place, and we were meeting up with said friend.

Tenzin gave me some tan Cowboy boots, which I was wearing right now with the blue denim sundress I’d picked up at a vintage store after camp one day with Bonnie.

Around us, children ran and played.

Picking another off the vine, I turned. “Taste.” Before he could do anything, I shoved the berry into his mouth. “So good, right?”

“Delicious.” Tenzin smiled as he methodically put berries in the basket, getting the ones too high for me to reach.

After we finished, we explored the farm; him carrying the basket. There was a beautiful grove of apple trees, and I immediately scrambled up into the branches.

Everything looked better from a tree.

His phone rang, and he sighed. “I have to take it. It’s my realtor.”

“Okay. I’m going to hit the restroom.” I climbed down, found the bathroom and re-fixed my hair. It was awkward, the roots and my undercut growing out, and it was damaged. I’d get it fixed when I went to the salon and shopping with Valya.

I had no idea where I’d put everything, and my coach at NYIT wanted me to get my hockey gear and new laptop. Would Clark let me keep stuff at his place? He hadn’t mentioned me staying there since I’d been homeless.

It was hard to ask. Also, I didn’t know when I’d be able to get everything. My financial prognosis wasn’t looking good.

Realistically, I could work my ass off, and after I paid off tuition, I could move in with a bunch of my teammates. I’d have to live in the closet at the rink until tuition was paid off–and continue to work hard all school year to make rent. There’d be little left over to replace anything I lost or for fun.

Or I could live in a closet at the rink until graduation, work enough for essentials after I paid off tuition, and focus on hockey and classwork.

Realistically, that would be the best plan. The closet had no rent or utilities, warm showers, access to snacks, and free laundry.

Sure, when the season started, it might get a little harder to hide. But I had months to find a better spot. No fancy alumni donor had come through, and I got discouraged trying to call the student loan place and work through things.

So that’s what I’d do, even if I really didn’t enjoy living there. It’s not like I could ask Clark to keep my ass for free for the entire school year.

And I still wasn’t desperate enough to ask my family for help. Nope, nope.

When I came out of the bathroom, I didn’t see Tens. I hopped on some hay bales, both because it was fun, and to see if I could spy a giant alpha in Cowboy boots and jeans.

“Gwenifer!” someone bellowed.

I turned and saw Mercy Thorne running toward me.

“You’re back!” I couldn’t help but grin.

“Briefly. My sister’s pack is dragging me to their cabin and I have to go to Rockland and see my other sister and then I’m going to alpha camp. I thought the off-season was going to be restful. But I miss my family.”

Mercy’s long brown hair was loose, under a straw Cowboy hat. She had on shorts, a tank-top, and canvas slip-ons.

“You should see your family,” I told her. Also, alpha camp was exactly as it sounded, a place where young alphas went to learn shit and network. My brothers had all gone to very fancy alpha camps.

I could see the skate smash skate tattoo on her ankle. She’d gotten it when she’d awakened as an alpha. We’d gone together, and she’d gotten me a little ladybug tattoo on my ankle, which had been one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for me.

She’d also had a tattoo artist at her excellent eighteenth party and I’d gotten a tattoo of a hockey stick on my other ankle.

“How the fuck are you doing?” Mercy eyed me.

“I’m okay.”

“I’ll kick his ass if you want me to.” She slung an arm around me. “Have you seen the mini cows? Who are you here with?”

“Mini cows?” I perked. “Oooh, I want to see. I’m here with my friend Tens. But I lost him. Why are you here?”

“This is AJ’s sister’s farm.” Mercy kicked a rock, and it skittered across the dirt path.

I’d met him several times. He was in finance and interesting to talk to. Mercy lived with her older sister Verity and her pack–several of which played for the Knights.

We entered the petting zoo. Mercy waved at someone, and before I knew it, I was on a hay bale, with a rabbit on my lap, while petting a mini cow, wearing a bro-tank. Ahhh, much better. I snapped a picture of me and the cow and sent it to Tenzin so he knew where I was.

The fur of the rabbit was so soft. “Hey, so Tens and I made this video for my new fancy professional social media channel. Can you tell me if it’s any good?”

I was second guessing myself, mostly because of the raw emotion in my skating. It was like I was doing the routine naked and posting it would be akin to laying myself bare for all the world to see.

“Um, fuck yeah.” Her eyes sparkled. She was great at going viral. She looked at it. “Shitballs, this is fucking cool. While I knew you could skate, I had no idea you could skate like that ,” Mercy breathed as she watched the video of me skating.

I looked at Mercy. “So you like? I should post?”

“Yes. You should do more. You could totally take skate smash dances and do them with a hockey stick.” Mercy nodded, still petting Clara the mini cow.

“Absolutely,” I replied. “Thanks.”

“Of course, that’s what friends do. I’ll be gone more, but I’m here if you need me. Also, I know how to get rid of bodies,” Mercy added.

I laughed, because I could see that. Southern girls were built differently.

“What do you need?” she added, as we took pictures of us with Clara, the mini cow. “Are you waitressing somewhere else? You know I’m a good tipper.”

That she was.

“I’m worried about tuition. I’m just working at the rink right now, but maybe I should get another waitressing job.” I told her what Austin did. “I didn’t even know you could reverse bank charges like that.”

Her spiced plum scent grew spicier with anger. “That asshole. Maybe your department has ideas? Do you have any research Compass BioTek would want? I have an in and they pay people for that.”

“Not that sort of mathematician,” I laughed. Three of her siblings did stuff for them.

A shadow fell over us.

“Ladybug!” Dean grinned, green eyes sparkling. He was well over six feet and positively giant for an omega. His strawberry-blond hair had grown long in the off-season, and he had a scruffy goatee instead of being clean-shaven. He was a goalie for the Knights.

“Hey, Double D. Hi, Team Mom.” I grinned back.

Verity, also known as Team Mom by the skate smashers, was with him. She was around the rink a lot, because she had to be Mercy’s responsible adult before Mercy had turned eighteen.

She was striking, with long, thick dark hair, golden skin, and blue-green eyes, and leaned on her pink forearm crutch. Verity was tall, even for an alpha female, and willowy.

“I’m excited to be included in the goalie dance for JP’s wedding,” I added to Dean. I’d been learning it from the videos.

“It’s going to be so much fun,” Dean agreed.

“Are you and JP recovered enough to do that choreography?” I frowned. Both of them had been nursing injuries during the playoffs. A couple of times they had to bring up a goalie from their farm team to help.

Dean nodded. “We’ll be good to go.”

“How are you going to get your hair done at spa day with Valya? New status, new hair.” Mercy was friends with Dimitri’s sister, too.

“I was thinking of cutting it shorter since it’s so damaged. Maybe dark purple? I never did a breakup post. Maybe I’ll just post an after of my single girl glow-up and leave it like that.” I’d been deleting the more couple-y pics of us off of my social media.

Five years was a lot.

“Great idea. I might join you for shopping. Nothing fits right,” Mercy told me.

In these past few months Mercy had gotten tall and broad , hitting that last growth spurt now that she’d come fully into her designation as an alpha.

“Oh, hey, Ladybug.” Jonas appeared. “Dark purple would be nice. So would a dark blue. Like ink. Sorry about the breakup.” The alpha’s eyes fell on my forehead. “That asshole didn’t deserve you. Are you here alone?”

He was a little taller than Dean, and broader. The Asian defender had lots of piercings and tattoos, also blue hair. Jonas was in a pack with Dean and Verity.

I shook my head, seeing the text that Tenzin had found his friend and was on his way. “I’m here with my friend, Tens.”

Jonas smirked, absently petting Clara the cow. “Oh, right. Your new racoon in a bucket.”

“Who has a racoon in a bucket?” Griffin ‘Grif Graf’ McGraff joined them. He had red hair and a bushy beard. The star forward was bigger and taller than everyone else, standing six-foot-six.

He’d also pretended to be a beta until last year, when he’d been outed as an omega. While there were a couple of omega goalies, there hadn’t been omega forwards in the PHL–especially an enforcer like Grif. Technically, Anders was the enforcer now.

“Ladybug,” Jonas replied.

“Congrats on the wedding. The pictures were beautiful,” I told Grif and Verity.

Grif and Verity had met on an airplane like they were in a rom-com. Verity had married Grif in a field of omega lilies on a Greek island this summer, so she could have the fantasy wedding of her dreams, followed by a huge-ass bonding party to celebrate their pack.

My phone buzzed with a message.

Unknown

You found my lizard? I saw your posters.

Me

I did! I couldn’t take care of him any longer, so I brought him to the reptile house at the zoo at the park. Call them and they’ll give him back.

Unknown

Thank you. He’s a slippery one.

Oh good, the owner had seen my signs.

“Grif, do you know Carlos has had Lucky since the wedding?” I asked. Grif had come to the Knights with his imaginary cat, but Carlos stole him an awful lot–and liked to blame things on him. Like farts.

Grif chucked. “Absolutely. I get pictures and videos.”

Nothing like getting a picture of an imaginary cat riding a mechanical bull–or getting a lap dance.

“Should we get some ice cream? It’s so hot.” Verity fanned herself with a manicured hand.

“Sounds good to me.” Ice cream made everything better.