Page 8 of Knot Sharing the Ice

He jumps slightly, then offers me a wan smile. "Oh, Carter. Didn't hear you come in." He gestures to the window, where fat snowflakes are falling in a thick curtain. "It's coming down pretty hard out there. I'm worried about the roads. The wife wants me home for her family dinner, but..."

An idea forms in my mind. "I could close up for you," I offer, surprising myself with how eager I sound. "Doubt anyone else will be coming in this weather anyway."

Frank's face lights up. "You'd do that? You're a lifesaver, son." He fumbles in his pocket, pulling out a ring of keys. "Here's how to work the backup generator if the power goes out..."

I listen carefully as he explains the closing procedures, wondering if I've bitten off a little more than I can chew. When he's done, Frank claps me on the shoulder and hurries out, leaving me alone with the keys.

Back on the ice, I break the news to the guys. Jayce groans dramatically. "Great, now we have to stick around until close, and Ember's clearly not coming."

I bite back a retort, but Adder beats me to it. "We'll give it a bit longer, make sure she's not on her way. If not, we can lock up early. The roads are looking pretty bad."

We return to our drills, but there's a new energy in the air. Every creak of the building, every gust of wind outside has us looking toward the door. An hour passes, then another. Just as we're about to call it quits, the door bursts open.

Ember stumbles in, a flurry of snow following her. She's bundled up in a thick coat, her cheeks flushed from the cold. For a moment, we all freeze, staring at her like she's some kind of apparition.

"What?" she snaps, shaking snow from her hair. "You act like you've never seen a person before."

There's no doubting from her tone she was hoping we'd be gone by now. Unfortunately for her, all our plans have taken a backseat to being her satellites.

Jayce recovers first, flashing her that cocky grin. "Just surprised to see anyone crazy enough to brave this weather for some ice time."

Ember rolls her eyes, shrugging off her coat. "Some of us take our training seriously."

As she steps onto the ice, I can't help but notice her outfit. Gone is the vibrant pink and blue from yesterday. Instead, she's wearing a plain gray leotard and tights combo that seems almost intentionally devoid of color. My stomach twists as I wonder if it's because of Jayce's "Cotton Candy" comment.

Does she think we were making fun of her? There's no way she doesn't know her own omega scent, right?

But it's a hell of a lot more noticeable to us. Like a siren's song that makes it impossible to think about anything else when she's around.

Or when she's not, given the nature of the dreams I had last night.

I want to say something, to reassure her that we meant no offense, but the words stick in my throat. Instead, I watch as she glides to the far end of the rink, pointedly ignoring us as she begins her warm-up routine.

"Well," Adder says quietly, "looks like we're in for an interesting afternoon."

We try to focus on our own practice, but it's impossible not to be aware of Ember's presence. Every graceful spin, every perfectly executed jump draws my eye. She's poetry in motion, her body telling a story that I'm desperate to understand.

An hour passes, then two. The storm outside intensifies, wind howling against the building's walls. I'm just about to suggest we call it a day and try to convince Ember to do thesame—even though I'm pretty sure she'd insist on staying just to spite us—when a loud crack echoes through the rink, followed by darkness.

"Shit," Jayce mutters. "Power's out."

I hear Ember's sharp intake of breath from across the ice. "Hello?" she calls out, her voice small and uncertain. "What's going on?"

"It's okay," I say, surprised by how steady my voice sounds. "Just a power outage. I know where the backup generator is."

I make my way carefully to the edge of the rink and shed my skates, fishing the keys from my pocket. "Adder, there are some flashlights in the office. Can you grab them?"

As Adder moves to comply, I turn to Mason. "You should probably make sure there's a wedge in the door so it doesn't get frozen shut."

"On it," he calls, skating over to the other exit.

I'm halfway to the utility room when I realize Ember is following me. I can hear her soft footsteps, smell the faint sweetness of her scent even through the suppressants in the vents.

"You work here part-time or something?" she asks, her voice closer than I expected.

I shake my head, then remember she probably can't see me in the dark. Omegas' senses aren't usually quite as sharp as an alpha's. At least, not when they aren't in heat. "No, the owner had to leave early. Asked me to close up."

"Oh." There's a pause, and I can almost feel the tension radiating off her. "I should probably go, then."

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