Page 108 of Pucking the Enemy

Sebastian was officially part of Avalon University.

“We’re going to be late!” I whined as Cormac lumbered down the hall toward me. His hair was wild, as always, and he was already wearing his jersey, having come straight from practice to grab me before the game while the others remained there.

“Relax, getting worked up isn’t good for the baby.” He grinned, gently pushing me out of the door.

“Do you know what also isn’t good for the baby? Waiting around!”

“Get in the car, woman.” Cormac’s voice was tinged with laughter.

“How did Seb do at practice?” I asked as I huffed my way into the car. Climbing into cars was getting increasingly difficult, thanks to my growing bump.

“Really good,” he said, turning on the ignition and waiting until I was comfortable and buckled in to start driving. “He’ll be wearing a blood jersey tonight.”

“Blood jersey?! What the hell does that mean?” I cried, gaping at Cormac, who was chuckling. The irrational urge to slap his smug face washed over me, but I resisted. The prospect of Seb wearing something called a blood jersey didn’t sit well with me.

“Relax, sweetness. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Blood jerseys are blank jerseys with no names and a random number. They offer them to players if they get injured or if they ruin their jersey somehow, for instance by getting blood on it.”

I frowned at him. “That makes sense, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!”

“No, you don’t,” Cormac agreed with a grinning nod.

“Can we get some fried food at the game? I don’t know if they have deep-fried pickles, but if they do, that’s my number one choice. But fries are also a good contender.

“Let me guess, you’re using the game to indulge in your salty cravings because Phillip will be on the ice and unable to tell you off?”

“I know he cares about me, but I just really want deep-fried salty food,” I pouted. On the one hand, knowing that he cared so much about my health and the well-being of me and Peanut made me feel so loved and cherished.

On the other hand, it also made me slightly murderous.

The drive from the pack house to the rink was stupidly short, less than five minutes. The guys had told me that, when they purchased the house, they’d purposely picked somewhere close to the rink.

“I’m going to take you to the family section, then I’ve got to rush to the locker room. Are you sure you’ll be okay? We’ll grab you some fries along the way. How does that sound?” Cormac asked as we pulled up at the rink. There wasn’t much parking,

“I have my e-reader on me, so I can kill time while you guys aren’t on the ice.” I nodded. “And fries sound heavenly, Mr. Presley.”

Cormac grabbed my hand and led me into the building via a back door, so we missed most of the crowds. It was a small gesture, but one that I appreciated greatly because, thanks to my growing size, I found crowded situations far more difficult than I had before. Too many people touching the bump, however accidentally, made me anxious.

As we went down one of the gray corridors lined with jerseys, a slightly heavyset, older man came through a set of double doors and looked at Cormac.

“Presley! About time you got here. The others are already on ice for warm-up!”

“Sorry, Coach. I had to run home and grab Hazel here,” Cormac said, cocking his head in my direction, never letting go of my hand.

“Ah, so this is the famous Hazel! I’m Coach Hicks.” He held out his hand for me to shake. The faint scent of tobacco and wood clung to him. It wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t revolting, either.

“Famous?” I asked, looking between the two men.

“Roman told me all about you,” the coach said.

“All lies!” I declared in a rush, making both of them laugh.

“Much as I would love to get to know you a bit better, Hazel, I’ve got to get back to the team and get this idiot onto the ice.” He jerked his head toward Cormac. “I’m assuming you’ll be sitting in the family section? Everyone there is great and will take good care of you.”

“Can you get one of the assistants to bring her an order of fries and fried pickles?” Cormac asked. “She’s been craving fried, salty food, and I don’t want to fail.”

“Oh no, I’ll be fine,” I started to say, waving my hand in front of me in a no need gesture.

The coach snorted, giving me an oddly affectionate look. “You won’t be fine if you’re craving salty, fried food. If there’s one lesson an alpha needs to learn, it’s to never mess with a pregnant omega’s food.”

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