Page 30 of Knot Dead Yet

We needed a goal.

Flurry’s right winger matched my pace. Both our gazes locked on the puck. My heart thundered.

Five seconds.

All sound became deafening static.

Ewan was checked and made a sloppy pass in my direction. I reached out my stick and the other player smacked his stick against mine. Casimir suddenly plowed into the guy and knocked him to his knees.

Three seconds.

I looked for Kane. He was fighting with one of the Flurry near the left corner of their net. His gaze briefly met mine. This was our chance.

Two seconds.

Kane had the highest points per game in the league this season. He wasn’t only the captain of our team, he was the star. The Flurry’s goalie, anticipating who I was going to pass the puck to, moved to that corner of the net.

One second.

I took my shot. The puck flew off the ice and slammed into the net just as the buzzer went off.

The crowd went insane. We’d won our first game against Chicago.

I was engulfed in a bear hug from Maddox, and Ewan hooted as he jumped on us.

Holy fuck. I scored the winning goal. The frantic adrenaline which drove me through the game turned into serotonin victory high. I cheered and kissed the top of Maddox’s helmet before I hugged my cousin and then Kane.

“Great job!” Kane grabbed either side of my helmet and bumped ours together. “That was fucking perfect.”

The whole team and coaching staff were on the ice. Everyone was hugging everyone. Tiergan had thrown off his mask and gloves and picked me up with his hug and swung me around. “You’re the man!”

Even Casimir bumped his helmet to mine. “Excellent play, Fournier.”

I couldn’t hear my own thoughts in the thunderous applause, and I couldn’t stop grinning. We eventually paused our celebration to shake hands—or rather, bump fists—with the Flurry before they retreated to their locker room. A few players on their team congratulated me on the goal.

We eventually went back to our locker room where the team sang ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ in French for me. I’d had good games this season, but this one topped them all.

The energy among the team was electric, but within our pack, it was like the blazing sun above the crackling storm below. There was only one person missing. Every time I was on the bench, I looked for Kienna. Even though we knew she was planning on leaving Winnipeg, part of me didn’t believe she would. She was meant to be with our pack. Perhaps I put toomuch stock in fate, but she couldn’t just disappear from our lives forever. Something gnawed at my insides taking me down from my victory high.

Mr. Birk was in the VIP lounge for the entire game. Not once today did he mention his daughter. He didn’t seem concerned. His attention was completely focused on the team.

Kane had told us what went on outside of the restaurant last night. That had been over twenty-four hours ago. I’d found Kienna’sSnapGramaccount online, but there’d been no recent pictures. There were tons of images of her and her friends which she frequently posted, but nothing since the day she arrived in Winnipeg. It seemed like if she had made it to her friend’s place, she would have celebrated it by posting a photo.

Just to be certain, I stopped dressing with just my jeans on and checked her social media from my phone. Nothing.

“Hey Kane,” I nodded to him at the opposite end of the bench where he was putting on his boots. “Did Kienna say what time she was catching a flight out of here?”

“No, just that she was leaving today. Why?” Kane tied his boots and furrowed his brows as he regarded me.

“I was just hoping she’d be here tonight,” I sighed. Everyone was in such a good mood. I didn’t want to kill it by expressing my worry over a gut feeling. She’d seemed so unhappy at the restaurant, and all I wanted to do was make sure she was okay. Kane stated she didn’t want to see us again, but I didn’t believe it. Or maybe I didn’t want to believe it.

“Who needs that chick, cuz, when there are tons of girls waiting for you at the bar tonight! Smile!” Ewan was fully dressed and slapped his arm around my shoulders, taking a picture of us. I blinked at the flash, barely smiling in time. “Sweet. A shirtless Alderic Fournier is going to get me thousands of likes!”

I opened his mouth to tell him not to post it, but he already had.

“I’m going out to the hall and make nice with the press. See you all there!” Ewan loved the attention and was always first out of the locker room to get the most media coverage possible.

I didn’t want other women. Kienna’s beauty was burned into my mind. I’d never been affected by a girl this way, and it didn’t matter that I wasn’t an Alpha or biologically compatible with her. There was a connection I couldn’t ignore.

---