Page 34 of Break The Ice

Callan stands up, dropping his phone, and before I can think, he’s got me in his arms and is holding me tight. I’m safe in these arms. I can be safe here.

“Was that supposed to make me want to stay away from you?” he murmurs. “If that was the case, you’ve failed. I just want you more.”

“How old were you?” Raider asks, and his voice is shaky. I startle, and Callan releases me enough to turn and find Raider staring at us.

“Sixteen.”

“But why didn’t you move in with the coach?” Wren asks with narrowed eyes from behind Raider. Kit is watching with a pale face.

“Because I got an offer with my photography, so I left to pursue my career.” The familiar story falls into the room and sounds like a lie.

Callan doesn’t let me go, and it’s doing something to me. I can feel myself leaning into his embrace. Wanting to stay here where it’s warm and safe.

Damn it!

I try to pull away, but he just holds me tighter.

“Just let me hold you for a moment. I can’t even imagine how horrible that must have been for you. How much you would have struggled, grieving and finding your way in the world alone.”

“You aren’t alone now,” Kit says.

This is going in exactly the opposite way of what I had guessed it was going to go.

Why do these alphas have to be so confusing?

“Get dressed!” Wren snaps.

“What?”

“Kit, get dressed. You need to keep her safe.”

“Why?”

“Because we all have a game we need to be at, and she used to play. When was the last time you went to a game?”

Callan lets me go, but I’m too busy staring at Wren to answer that. He holds up the phone showing a write up they did on me the year before my parents died.

“You were one of us. Come to our game.”

I shake my head, but I can’t think of a single reason not to go, and the truth is, I’ve missed hockey so much. Losing it was losing another member of my family.

“I want a wig.”

“I’ll do your makeup, give you contacts. You will look beautiful, and coach will never know you were there.”

My heart flips over. I haven’t allowed myself to go to a game. I have even been on the ice. The scent of it wakes me from my dreams sometimes.

I turn and find Callan smiling at me.

He makes my stomach flip. He makes me nervous and unsure.

I’m always sure.

Raider stands up and moves towards me. He puts a hand on my cheek, so gently, so softly, and stares into my eyes.

“I am so sorry for your loss.”

There is so much compassion and a haunting agony in his voice that tears immediately prickle my eyes. I blink them away and clear my throat, stepping back to break the spell on me.

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