Page 5 of Knot Sharing the Ice

"We promised to share the ice," I remind them, lowering my voice. "Let's not give her a reason to complain to management."

Jayce snorts. "Please. She's been ignoring us completely. I doubt she even remembers we're here."

As if on cue, Ember looks up, her brow furrowed in annoyance. She doesn't say anything, just gathers her things and heads for the locker room.

The moment she's out of sight, Jayce turns to us, eyes wide as he gestures to where Ember was skating a minute ago. "Can we finally talk about the fact that our scent match is right fucking here?"

Mason nods, his voice low and reverent. "I've never smelled anything like her. That sweet, sugary scent, just like?—"

"Cotton candy," Carter finishes. It's the first thing he's said all practice, which isn't unusual for him, but the intensity in his dark eyes speaks volumes.

I take a deep breath, trying to clear my head. "I thought the same thing."

"You all felt it too, right?" Jayce asks, looking around at each of us. "Even through the suppressors?"

We all nod. There's no mistaking that pull, that instant connection.

But Ember...

"She clearly doesn't know," I say, voicing what we're all thinking.

Mason frowns. "How is that possible? It was so strong."

I shrug, trying to appear more casual than I feel. "Some omegas don't recognize their matches until they're in heat. Or maybe she's just really good at hiding it."

"So what do we do?" Jayce asks, practically vibrating with energy. "We can't just ignore this."

"We can't rush her either," Carter says quietly. "She seemed... skittish."

"Skittish?" Jayce raises an incredulous eyebrow. "More like prickly. Girl's practically a damned cactus."

"Yeah, a cactus you've made it plenty obvious you wanna stick your dick in," Mason shoots back. "You probably scared her off."

"Enough," I bark. "Carter's right. We need to play this carefully."

Jayce scoffs. "Carefully? Are you kidding me? Our mate is right here, and you want to what, pretend nothing's happening?"

"I'm with Jayce on this," Mason says, surprising me. He's usually the most cautious of us all. "We should at least talk to her and explain what's going on."

I shake my head. "And risk scaring her off completely? No. We've got all week. Let's take it slow. Feel her out."

"I agree with Adder," Carter says. "We don't want to overwhelm her."

Jayce throws up his hands. "Fine. But if she figures it out on her own and gets pissed we didn't say anything, I'm blaming you two."

I'm about to respond when movement catches my eye. Ember emerges from the locker room, bundled up in a winter coat and jeans. Her long, dark hair cascades around her shoulders, no longer confined to the bun. She's even more breathtaking like this, soft and relaxed.

She doesn't look our way as she leaves, but I can't tear my eyes from her retreating form. This trip to Carter's hometown just got a lot more interesting than any of us imagined.

"Alright," I say, turning back to the team once Ember's gone. "Let's run some drills. We've wasted enough time today."

And we all have plenty of energy to burn up if I'm going to keep this pack of wild horses in line.

As we set up, my mind races with possibilities. How do we approach this? How do we make Ember see us as more than just the annoying hockey players who interrupted her practice?

I shake my head, trying to focus. One step at a time. For now, we need to get our heads back in the game. But later... later, we'll figure out how to win over our mate.

"Carter, you're with me," I call out. "Jayce, you and Mason work on your passes. And try not to kill each other, alright?"

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