Page 161 of Puck & Her Blades

I’m going to continue fighting on my blog for people in every sport.

Cygnus gives his dad a final glance, before he turns back to me. He takes me by the hand and pulls me closer to the boards.

Our attention is fixed on the men we love, who have skated to the center of the rink.

There’s a tension in the air like everyone knows that something else is about to happen.

Another moment of hockey history.

The two teams circle Jackson, Zev, and Asher.

They’re smiling.

It makes my heart swell to see their support.

Then these three men do something that we planned together, laying in front of the fire on Christmas Day.

It’s something that we knew would not only be a risk but close to taboo still in Traditional circles with how Companions are viewed.

We wanted to send a message about that too. We were never going to have as large a platform as the night of the Alpha Cup to send it.

Still, these men of mine are so fucking brave.

Asher looks more serious than I’ve ever seen him.

His gaze meets mine across the rink, however, and the simple awe in his expression almost breaks me.

It’s like he can’t believe that this moment is real.

I know how he feels.

I squeeze Cygnus’ hand. When I glance at him, I realize that his cheeks are as wet as my own.

Jackson skates to one side of Asher, and Zev skates to his other side just like they often do during a game.

Then Jackson asks, “Ash, will you accept the bond of the Blade pack?”

An even deeper hush settles over the arena.

I bite my lip.

“Yes.” Asher brushes his hair away from his neck, baring it. “Please, my Alphas.”

Then before both grinning teams, a strangely quiet audience of thousands (and an audience at home of millions), Jackson and Zev finally bite our Beta.

When Asher’s knees buckle, Jackson and Zev gently wrap their arms around him.

It’s incredible.

I can feel Asher already through the bond.

He’s like a swirling ball of sunshine.

He shines so brightly and with so much warmth that I don’t know how I was even alive without feeling his light inside me.

Beside me, Cygnus draws in his breath, and I know that he feels it as well. “He’s beautiful.”

He’s not talking about how Asher looks, although held now in Zev’s strong arms, as the Alpha strokes Asher’s hair and whispers lovingly in his ear, as Jackson licks over his bond bite, he looks like a golden god.

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