Page 32 of In Too Deep

“Wait, what?” Tori blurts, straightening in her chair.

Logan shrugs. “I’ve been thinking about how we could be together for a long time, baby girl.” Out of the corner of my eye, Oli and Spencer wince, clearly not comfortable with the way he’s speaking to Tori, though they don’t stop him. “I’ll admit that I didn’t see a poly situation coming, but it doesn’t make me want to be with you any less. We just have to be smart about how we handle things going forward.”

It does warm my heart to see how quickly Logan is getting on board with everything, but Oli and Spencer don’t seem to be as convinced. And that he’s already thinking about the five of us as a unit bodes well.

“How do you plan on registering?” he asks, settling into a wider stance.

Tori looks around to the rest of us, eyes wide with uncertainty. Oli and Spencer aren’t as obvious with their confusion, and I let out a chuckle.

“We haven’t had a chance to talk about pack dynamics yet, let alone look into the legalities of it all. I come from a big pack back home, but things are always different in the states,” I reply when no one else speaks up.

Logan nods approvingly. “Good. It’ll help to have someone who knows about this shit.”

“Are you looking to join?” I ask the question before I can think better of it.

Tori lets out a concerned squeak, but I keep eye contact with Logan, waiting for his response. He sucks his teeth and looks down for a moment, head bobbing as he goes through some sort of internal debate. Eventually, he looks up at Tori again,his mouth curling into a little frown to see her pale, stricken expression.

“Eventually, I think I might be. For the moment, though, it’s probably safer if I didn’t,” he says at last, turning back to look at me.

“Why? You scared of being with Tori publicly?” Oli snipes, though there’s not a whole lot of heat behind it.

Logan doesn’t take the bait. “Absolutely not, but I’m trying to be a team player here and get you guys straightened out before one of you ends up being packaged up and traded out.”

“Because management can’t trade one of us away without the approval of our pack mates?” Oli interjects.

Logan nods. “More than that. If you’ve got a pack omega you’re courting, the team can’t make any moves that would interfere with your designation rights. No trades. No waivers. No buyouts. Hell, I’m pretty sure they can’t make you travel or play if your omega goes into heat.”

I sit back as the weight of that information settles over me. Oli and I have been researching our options, but I’ll admit that we stopped looking at the details once we figured out that we would be able to play together once we formed a pack. Partly because we found the answer, and maybe partly because we didn’t know if we could find an omega who would agree to our harebrained scheme, let alone one who would care about us enough to actually want to court formally.

“But I could still get fired. Players have way more protections than staff,” Tori interjects.

Logan nods. “So could I, if management thought I had any sort of inappropriate relationship with my players.”

“That’s... Is that—”

Logan cuts Spencer’s stuttered questions off with a bark of laughter. “Don’t worry, boys. While you’re a bunch of good-looking chuckleheads, you aren’t exactly my type. I’m not goingto move in on whatever you three have going on. I fully support it if it makes you happy. As long as I get to spend time with Tori, and your on-ice performance isn’t impacted, then that’s fine with me.”

Oli openly gawks at Logan, and I can’t quite read the thoughts behind his amber eyes. Maybe it’s his past coloring his present, but I don’t know if he thought anyone in the professional hockey world support him. Hearing someone like Logan, a legendary player in his own right and the best coach we’ve ever had, say that might have shorted out his brain.

Logan takes in the absence of any objections and continues. “We can and absolutely should have a longer discussion about how these relationships are going to work on a personal level. But for now, you guys need to get a lawyer and get the ball rolling. You’ll be lucky if you can get a court date to have a judge sign off on the paperwork before the trade deadline. One of my old teammates might know someone local who can keep their mouth shut.”

“Wait, you’re serious? You’re going to help us? Just like that? What’s the catch?” Oli demands, finding his voice again.

Logan gives him a curious glance before answering. “For now, the catch is we have to keep acting like nothing’s going on. That means seriously scrubbing with scent blockers before games and practices, because I’ve been smelling Tori on you for months.”

Logan glances at each of us sharply, and I can feel the tips of my ears warming. Yeah, I guess we haven’t been as careful as we thought.

“No more wandering off to do whatever the fuck you do on Tuesdays during lunch break…” Logan adds to Tori and Oli specifically.

“Would you believe me if I told you we’re literally just getting lunch?” Tori asks.

“No, not in the slightest. And neither will the upper brass,” Logan retorts, not missing a beat.

Tori and Oli share a sullen look. It sucks, but Logan has a point. I know they love their little po’ boy shop, but I was able to follow them without breaking a sweat. It just takes one dedicated, nosy office worker, and then this whole thing blows up in our faces.

“And I think you should try to get your boss on board,” Logan says to Tori with a serious set to his brow.

Tori bolts upright, her scent souring with her panic. “What? Why? I thought we were trying to avoid getting fired?” she blurts, words tumbling out in a jumbled mess.

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