Page 110 of Pucking the Enemy

Sunny waved off my concern. “I’ll go grab them. It’s the least I can do to make the newest member of the Avalon Knights family feel welcome.” She jumped off her chair and dashed toward the stairs, returning a moment later with each hand full of fried goods.

“You are a saint,” I moaned gleefully, taking the paper trays of food off her.

“I try.” She beamed. “Now, enjoy the game, and I’ll try to catch you on the break. If not, I’ll come find you at the end and show you where the guys come out of the locker room.”

Thanking her profusely, I shoved one of the fries in my mouth and grumbled in pleasure at the salty taste. As Sunny went back to find her friend, I turned to the ice, where all the guys were filtering out for the start of the game. They had their helmets off for the national anthem, so it was easy to see who was where.

When Phillip glanced my way, I couldn’t resist being a little bit bratty and holding up my fried goods with a triumphant smile. His only response was an exasperated look before he returned to focusing on his teammates.

The whistle blew, and they all returned to the bench for the start of the game.

Out of the twenty-two-player team, only six members could be on the ice at one time, otherwise they would receive a penalty. As the first period went on, I noticed that, every time Sebastian went out, two or three of the Kingswood pack were also on the ice.

The coaches were obviously trying to see how they worked together. And judging by the fact the Avalon Knights were dominating, they were doing well. Cormac was out most of the time, seeing as he was the goalie. Besides his position, he was easy to identify because his bright red curls kept escaping his helmet.

The atmosphere of the rink itself was amazing. The crowd screamed so loudly, I made a mental note to bring ear plugs next time. By the end of the third period, the Avalon Knights had won, six–two. As the final buzzer rang, and their win was officially declared, the team gathered on the ice, hugging one another. My four guys in particular stood with their arms around each other, huddled together, heads bowed, talking.

With their helmets off and celebrating their win, there was something so incredibly right about the picture.

That was my family.

The fathers of my baby.

Chapter 38

Roman

Packs that formed when the members were young were some of the strongest. There was something about childhood friendships that just stuck when it came to packs.

For that reason, I had been somewhat apprehensive when it came to Sebastian joining our little ragtag bunch. We were all grown-ass men now, with fully formed personalities, and I was concerned that we wouldn’t mesh together, but I had rolled with it for Duchess, and Seb seemed like a decent guy.

It turned out my worries were completely unfounded. Being on the ice with Seb was fun. It was easy, just like our time off the ice.

It was hard to believe that was the same guy from the Hawks I used to brawl with.

And if that wasn’t amazing enough, my omega had been sitting rink-side, cheering us on.

I had been on cloud nine until the next morning, when Phillip gave me a harsh reality check.

“Who the fuck did this?” I asked, frowning at his phone screen. I was sitting up in my bed, which felt rather lonely now that I was used to being around Hazel. Phillip was perched on the edge, still in sleep shorts himself.

He had woken me up and immediately shoved his phone in my face.

There were a lot of posts about Hazel. And they weren’t polite.

“Hazel found them while she was scrolling on her phone this morning. Apparently, some of the puck bunnies were unhappy with her being in the family section. It seems like they decided to vocalize their displeasure online.”

There was post after post, picking apart Hazel, from her looks to how she dressed.

“This is complete bullshit. They get no say on who my family is!”

“I agree. They’ll quiet down in a week or two, but I wanted to let you know. Stephanie is one of the more vocal ones… and she’s your issue to deal with.”

I groaned. Stephanie was a puck bunny who was fun for the odd night here or there. As a single alpha, I had indulged on occasion.

“I’ll take care of her. How’s Hazel holding up?” I asked.

“I’m fine. Annoyed more than anything,” a soft voice said from the doorway.

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