Page 44

THIRTY-EIGHT

Atlas leaves immediately, carrying Stacia out of the building and all the way to the parking lot to meet up with Ciro. I head towards the locker room, preparing like hell to be ripped a new one by Coach and the rest of the team once they return from the last quarter.

“Fuck,” I whisper to myself, wishing I had hit him instead of Atlas. I have no plans to ever play hockey again after graduation. This sport is his life . If I just let him tank his future career all because I let that spineless fucker bait me, I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself.

Waiting for the team feels like torture.

Being alone in this locker room for the first time in years is surreal.

I’m never here when I don’t have to be, and I’ve certainly never been forced to sit out the rest of the game.

I’m realizing that Derek’s wrath at losing his control is a bit more dangerous than we all thought.

He’s sinking, and he’s going to try like hell to pull us down with him.

After changing and taking a quick shower, I hear the final buzzer of the game. I breathe out with relief, thankful that I won’t have to sit in this hellhole much longer.

In a way, I’m okay with taking on these worries.

Atlas is taking care of Stacia, putting his focus towards her as she regulates from becoming almost feral over the exchange.

That’s the prime’s prerogative, and I have no doubt he’s doing a wonderful job at being there for her.

I can take this on with my head held high because I know my prime was just following his instincts tonight.

His alpha indicated Derek was a threat, and his actions reflected that.

Atlas and his alpha aren’t prone to losing control. I’ve never seen him lose his cool like he did tonight, not once in our past two years of being pack mates. That feels significant to me, and my alpha…

It makes him feel proud.

A few moments later, the team starts to pile into the locker room. A few guys look at me with sympathetic eyes. A few avoid eye contact altogether. Then Dax and Everett encompass me, sitting on each side as they pant and wipe their foreheads.

“That ending was brutal,” Everett confirms my suspicions. “They definitely took advantage of what happened. I’ve never had to stop so many pucks in my entire life.”

“ You ? I’ve never had to stop so many in my entire life. And I stopped them so you wouldn’t have to.” Dax starts to undress, looking especially ready to get the fuck out of here. He turns to me. “Is At okay?”

I shrug. “He left with Stacia, went to find Ci.” They both nod in understanding. “Where’s Kirkpatrick?”

“He got sent home.” I whip my head upwards. Kendall makes his way in front of me, also covered in sweat. “Coach told him to meet him in his office first thing Monday morning. He didn’t want you two in the same room.”

“Probably for the best,” Dax adds. “You look like you could still pound him.”

I look to the ground. He’s right, I totally could. His words are replaying over and over in my head, like an incantation of fury. The first words he uttered to me, baited me with, are trying to take up residence in my mind. Continuously on a loop.

The crudeness makes my fists clench, my teeth gritting once again.

“He said some fucked up shit,” I tell them, but refuse to repeat the words. “I’m surprised I didn’t hit him, to be honest.”

Thatcher marches up to his locker and grunts as he takes his helmet off. His minty scent is soured in pain.

Dax gasps. “Holy shit, Thatch, your eye.”

He turns toward us and my stomach curdles. His eye is swollen, blood seeping out of it from the side. His expression doesn’t give away how much pain he’s in.

“Fucker elbowed me when I tried to pull him away from Atlas.” He starts to pull off his pads.

“Has anyone looked at it?” Kendall asks.

Thatcher shakes his head. “I knew at least three of us would be out. Couldn’t risk getting benched, too. I’ll have McConnell look at it later.”

“Wolfe.” A bark flies towards me, and I stand up quickly, my gaze meeting Coach as he enters the room full of ire. “And Ellwick. My office, now .”

Everett sucks in some air. “Good luck, guys.”

Kendall doesn’t even have time to take his pads off.

We head over, the door shutting roughly behind us.

Coach Zane stands behind his desk, his arms crossed.

There’s a strange tension in the air, one that neither Kendall nor I are ever used to, as we continue to stand awkwardly in front of the desk.

He points his finger down, forcing us to sit, our nerves at an all-time high.

“I’m guessing Atlas left,” he states rhetorically, nodding his head at the realization. “He wanted to tend to your omega?”

I give him an affirmative nod, but don’t speak.

There’s a few moments of awkward silence before Kendall sits taller in his chair. “Coach. We’re really sorry for the way this disrupted the match. I know it doesn’t make it any better, but we are sorry.”

Of course. Leave it to Kendall, who didn’t even do anything, to be the first to apologize. It makes me feel even worse.

“There was a scout here tonight.” He hums. “A really important one. Here to specifically see Atlas play his best.”

Despite it seeming impossibly, my stomach drops lower.

“Luckily, he is a good friend of mine, and is waiting for me so we can discuss what happened privately. But you’re going to have to give me something.

It’s not common for teammates on the same team to interact the way you three did, and it’s even more uncommon for a captain, a prime no less, to beat up his own defenseman. ”

I swallowed the bile in my throat, before clearing it. “It’s complicated?—”

“Fuck all with that shit, Wolfe. It’s complicated . Obviously it’s fucking complicated.” He goes to rub his eyes in frustration. “This game was televised. People are going to talk, they’re going to know. I’d like to be the first, fucking thank you.”

Kendall speaks up, helping me like he always does. “The omega who stormed the ice, her name is Stacia. She’s our scent match.” Coach’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “It’s been a whirlwind since we met. She used to date Derek, but their relationship was…”

I cut in. “Derek was a terrible boyfriend, Coach. He’s done nothing but prove that more and more since we’ve gotten involved in the situation.” That doesn’t surprise him as much, his eyes narrowing as he puts the pieces together.

Kendall scratches his head, continuing, “We met her the night before she broke up with him. He cheated on her, so I may have broken his nose.”

“ That’s why he had a broken nose?” Coach asks. “He told me he ran into a plexiglass door.”

I struggle not to let the snicker fly free, but I’m caught anyway. He gives me a hardened look, silently communicating that I’m not in the clear yet.

“Yes, sir,” Kendall answers after hiding his own smile. “I hadn’t officially met her yet, but I reacted to the thought of this stranger being cheated on. It was one of the clues that alluded to the idea that she may be our mate.”

“And he started the fight tonight, sir,” I add, finally finding some confidence in this conversation. “He was baiting me into fighting him. Atlas was only trying to prevent me from doing so. I let it happen. Then, he baited Atlas. Something he said struck a chord, and Atlas lost his cool.”

Coach looks to be in serious thought before finally sitting down in his chair. He sighs deeply, letting some of his tension go. “Okay.”

I quirked a brow at him. “Okay?”

He nods. “Yes, okay. There’s loopholes for scent matches, fellas.

The bond overrides common sense in many cases.

I mean, excluding extremes like murder , but even that is debated.

” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’ll tell my friend this, and I can make sure a neutral statement goes out to the press. ”

I nod at him. “And Derek?”

“I’ll be having a long talk with him on Monday morning. I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you again. I won’t tolerate this type of nonsense on my team.”

Kendall and I agree, feeling simultaneous relief.

“Now, go get changed. Let Atlas know what I said, and that everything’s fine. I’ll make sure to schedule a time to talk to him, too.”

“Thank you, Coach,” I convey, feeling emotional all of a sudden. I blink back the sensation, getting to my feet.

“I’ll see you both at practice on Monday.”

We head out to the locker room. It’s empty once again, but I’m feeling significantly better than I did earlier.

“Let’s go home, Uri.” Kendall wraps his arm around me, offering himself as an anchor. I relish in it, letting him help me in the way he’s helped me many times before.

“Yeah,” I breathe, feeling lighter. It’s time to go home, see our omega, make sure she’s okay. Make sure Atlas is okay. “Let’s go home.”