Page 67

Tenzin

T he puck struck Dean’s mask, shooting back onto the ice, and he slumped to the ground. My belly clenched. This had been a rough game. At least we were in the last period. My ribs smarted. Clark had a black eye. Griff’s face was cut.

Jonas and the linesmen helped Dean off the ice. Dean was out.

Which meant…

The screens flashed and music played as they announced Gwen. Everyone cheered for her and pride filled me. Here was my little Firecracker, playing in a Knights’ game.

Like she’d always dreamed of.

She looked as beautiful in that Knights’ jersey as she had in the blue dress at the wedding. More. If anything, the pink pads and mask suited her.

Anger flashed through me as I was called in for a line change. The possessive alpha wanted to be there to protect her from Austin.

While the hockey player part of me knew that Gwen could handle herself, the alpha part worried about her getting injured. I was absolutely certain that her ex wasn’t going to go easy on her–nor were his brothers.

“I’ve got her,” Dimitri murmured as he took my place.

I knew he did. Dimitri cared for her like a sister. Clark was out there, too. Still, I itched to protect her, and I huffed in annoyance as I took my seat.

Coach Atkins gave me a look. “You’ll get your chance.”

My hands fisted in my gloves and my belly tightened, as Austin immediately jetted across the ice. Get it, get it. She deflected the shot with ease. He said something to her and skated off.

“Asshole,” I fumed. How dare he?

A few seconds later, number 17 was back at her and she caught it.

“Get back in there.” Coach sent me in with Vickers, since Jonas was still with Dean, given they were mates.

I skated out and went right into play, protecting the net and chasing those assholes around. When the ref blew his whistle and play halted I skated over to her.

“Hey, Firecracker, looking good,” I told her.

“Hi, Big Guy. Hey, Vickers.” She waved.

“We’ve got you,” Vickers told her.

Play restarted and eventually we were called back out, but we were back in soon enough. As the minutes on the clock ticked down, it was evident that the Gears’ forwards had orders to score. Number 17 came at her fast and hard. Back on the ice, I swatted the puck away from him toward Nia.

“Not today, fucknugget,” I muttered.

Nia took it in their end, scoring another goal, bringing us 4-0.

I chased her ex around the goal, Vickers coming around the other side. Gwen was ready at the side of the goal, tripping him ever-so-subtly as he skated by, sending him sprawling.

The ref blew the whistle, but no penalty was called.

“Whoops. I didn’t see you.” Gwen’s voice dripped with innocence as she patted the goalpost.

I was called back off. Nakey and Dimitri went in. Her ex came at her again, and I could tell what he was doing. Back when I first met her, she was struggling a little glove-side, and we’d worked on that.

Something he didn’t know.

With the grace of a dancer and speed of an ultra-bullet, she deflected it. Her ex caught it on the rebound, and she sent it right back. There was no doubt he was pissed as he went right for her again, smacking it hard.

She dove, catching it, and everyone cheered. He got pissed and Dimitri threw him down. He got up and moved toward her. She poked him with her stick as Clark shoved him.

“Look at her go.” Jonas sat down with me. “She could be as good as Dean in a few years. Better even. I love it when she gets feisty.”

She was sparkling tonight.

“Is Dean okay?” I asked.

Jonas nodded. “He should be–and Verity’s with him, so he sent me out here to help protect Ladybug.”

“How do you do it? Sit on the bench, while Dean and Grif are in, without you out there to protect them?” I wanted to climb over the boards and stand in front of her, rules be damned. Also, Dean and Grif were both omegas.

“Time, patience, and trusting in them. I’ve also played with them since we were together at BosTec. Gwen knows what she’s doing, knows the risk. It’s part of supporting them. But yeah, it is hard, especially when they get hurt,” he admitted. “You three had a fight? I’ve been curious. It’s clear she and Clark are a couple, but you all seemed on well enough terms.”

“I don’t know. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it. I don’t want her to hurt.” The fact that she thought this was her fault, that I didn’t want to be with her because of what she endured, broke my heart.

This was on me. I thought I was communicating, that everything was fine.

It wasn’t.

Yes, I’d fix it before it was too late. Before it ended like everything with me and Morgan. I’d thought I’d been doing fine there, too.

The ice crew came back out. The coaches went over a couple things and we went back out.

“Is Dean okay?” Gwen asked as Jonas and I took the ice.

“He’ll be okay. How many tacos are you up to?” Jonas asked.

“Nine.” She grinned. Then she frowned. “Ty gets tacos too, right? It’s only fair.”

Jonas nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll make sure.”

Tacos? Didn’t goalies who didn’t let in any goals not pay for drinks after the game?

“Dean’s buying her a taco for every puck she stops,” Jonas explained.

Ah, it was a Double D thing. He had a soft spot for the EBUGs. Bribing the university students with food to play well made absolute sense. My collegiate coach had bought us noodles after winning many times.

The ice crew left and the game resumed. Number 16 came back with a vengeance, determined to score on her. He stopped fast, spraying her with snow.

She caught the puck and snarled, “mine.” Gwen poked him with her stick again. Not enough to be a penalty, but she was definitely issuing a warning. “That wasn’t nice, Deloitte.”

“Hockey’s not nice, Di Rossi, ” he sneered. “What little girl did you steal your gear from?”

“Leave her alone,” I growled, shoving him as he got closer to her than I’d like.

“It’s a game, you giant moron.” He shoved me back. “My literal job is to score. It’s not personal. We don’t go easy on the EBUGs. You’re not going easy on ours.”

I wanted to punch him, but her being in the net changed things. If I was sitting out a penalty, I couldn’t protect her.

“It’s okay, Big Guy,” she whispered as he skated off, Jonas going after him. “That’s how he is on the ice, a massive trash-talking, alphahole who likes to fight. I’m not afraid of him. But I’m glad you’re here with me.”

“Me, too,” I told her, going back into the fray.

Jonas and I were called back in. It was clear the Gears were desperate to score and that the forwards were unhappy that an EBUG in pink gear was keeping all the goals out.

It was also clear that someone told them her weaknesses, as they kept going glove-side and shooting hard. Good thing we’d worked together over the off-season.

Finally, Coach had Jonas and I rejoin the game. Gwen took a puck to the chest and went down, but not before keeping the puck out.

“What’s up your gooch, Deloitte?” Gwen swore at number 16 as she got up, the ref blowing his whistle.

“Not you,” Austin laughed.

How dare he? I shoved him. “Stay away from her.”

“You want a piece of me, Yeti? You fucking her, too? If anything, it makes me feel good that she needs two alphas to replace me.” He took off his gloves and helmet.

My gloves and helmet hit the ice. He had a skull gaiter covering his face, but it didn’t stop my fist from making contact with his nose.

“She deserves better than you,” I retorted.

“While she tries her best, she’ll never deserve better than me. Clark maybe, given he’s practically trailer trash. He’s been after her for so long. It’s pathetic.” He swung for me and I dodged.

“They’re not trash ,” I growled, tackling him to the ice and pounding his face. While I’d slammed him a few times, I’d been wanting to do this the entire game.

How dare he insult them? The Deloittes might be rich, but they had trashy values. They gave factory owners a bad name, with the way they tried to exploit their workers.

The ref blew the whistle again as Jonas pulled me off him, and I got sent to the penalty box for fighting.

Shit. I couldn’t protect her from here. However, there was less than a minute left. She’d be okay. I made a heart with my hands, when she looked at me, and she made one back.

It was the longest fifty-seven seconds of my life as I sat there in the box, watching the game, helpless.

At least her asshole ex was in the box, too. And he was bleeding.

Grif went in for his third goal of the night, and Ty stopped it, surprise evident.

Number 17 took the puck and barreled down toward Gwen as the seconds ticked down on the screen above. They wouldn’t win, but honor was on the line. Clark stole it and went back for the Gears’ goal.

Standing, I cheered for him, wanting him to get another goal. Number 18 stole it back and swept it across the ice. They kept going back and forth as the seconds ticked down.

Number 18 got close, but instead of going in for the shot, he feinted and passed it to Number 17, who was on the backside. He took the shot and Gwen dove for it. I held my breath as she stopped the goal.

“She caught it. Yet another amazing save from Di Rossi as she steals the goal from Deloitte. Nothing gets past her. Is it the pink gear?” the announcer said.

The buzzer sounded. “Dare I say it? It’s a shutout for the Knights as they win against the Gears. What a game!”

The crowd roared as I tumbled out of the box, desperate to get to Gwen. She patted the goal posts.

The announcer continued to talk about how historic the game was and the last shutout with an EBUG was when Maria Barilla herself made her debut with the Knights. Huh, I hadn’t known that.

The team rushed over and tapped their helmets to hers. Clark picked her up and spun her around on the ice and they laughed and danced. My heart squeezed. Yes, we’d have a good talk. I missed them so much.

Maybe I didn’t need space. Perhaps I needed them.

I joined them and swept her up. “I’m so incredibly proud of you.”

A shutout. Sure, she only played one period, but she still kept every puck out.

“Thanks. All the tacos belong to me,” she laughed, her minty scent pungent and laced with sweat, anxiousness, and happiness.

“You got a goal. That is amazing,” I told Clark.

He ducked his head. “I don’t know if it really counts. Maybe I won’t buy a figure.”

“It totally counts, and you were going to buy an Aquatica one. I’d say scoring a goal in the home opener was better than a blowjob from a dinosaur.” Gwen smirked at me.

I growled a little. “Don’t be bratty.”

“What are you going to do about it?” While her tone was teasing, that was pure challenge.

The ice crew came out and dumped plushies on the ice.

“Goalie hugs.” Dean came onto the ice and stole her from us before I could answer, hugging her tight. While her skates and gear added a lot of bulk, and he wasn’t wearing his pads, she still looked so small in comparison.

“Should you be out here?” Worry coated her scent.

“I’ll be okay. They’re just being cautious. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.” He put an arm around her.

Clark stood next to me, eyes on her. “She’s the most beautiful girl in the world.”

She was.

Tonight, I needed to let her know that.