Page 4 of Fresh Ice
Mark didn’t look impressed with Levy’s enthusiastic reaction but didn’t say anything about it. “We know you’ve both been staying in a hotel, so you can move out now. We have some veterans that have offered rooms in their houses.”
That finally pierced the fog of incredulity around Alonso. “We have to live with a veteran?” Most of the veterans were married to Omegas, and Alonso was terrified of one of them sniffing Alonso’s secret out.
He knew some coaching staff were more involved in the player’s personal lives than others, but surely they couldn’t force Alonso to move in with one of the older guys.
Mark seemed taken aback. “Well…no, you don’thaveto. It’s a bit of a tradition, though. But if you two want to live together, that’s fine. We understand the urge to have some independence. Don’t overdo it though, huh?”
Alonso’s throat closed up. That wasn’t what he’d meant, but asking to live alone was impossible now, especially after Mark had already pointed out how poorly Alonso was fitting in with the team.
This was his chance to make it to the NHL. Maybe they’d get over how distant he was…or maybe he’d be gone at the next mistake.
The thought of that—of how his dad would react if that happened—horrified him.
Alonso swallowed roughly. “Living with Levy is good with me.”
Beside him, Levy snorted, and Alonso realised he’d been talking for him, but all Levy did was shrug amicably.
“Sounds good to me,” Levy said.
Mark, his assistant, and the GM nodded and smiled. “Good. You boys will have fun, you’ll see. We’ll get the contracts ready for tomorrow, so contact your agents and we’ll all get together.”
Alonso and Levy filed out of the room, walking down the hallway silently until Levy snapped the tension between them. “So…guess we have to find an apartment.”
“Yeah,” Alonso agreed, dread filling him up.
Keeping a certain distance from teammates had been necessary for his survival. Alonso trusted his suppressants, but the closer someone got to him, the more risks there were.
Levy stopped walking abruptly, startling Alonso to a halt. “Do you even wanna live together? Because you clearly have a problem with me?”
Alonso blinked at him, surprised. They had barely spent any time together and, sure, Alonso was avoiding him, but it wasn’t like he was buddying up to anybody else on the Hounds. “I don’t have a problem with you.”
Levy sighed loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
“I don’t. I just…wanted to live by myself.”
Levy eyed him sceptically.
Alonso tamped down on his anger. There was no point in arguing about this. “I’ll get some recommendations from Gabby.”
Levy pursed his lips. “Fine.”
Alonso didn’t know why Levy was so annoyed—he had plenty of friends on the team already, and it wasn’t like he had anything real to worry about. Alonso was the one with more at stake than anybody else on the team, and living with somebody else wasn’t going to help that.
Alonso had been keeping this secret for a long time now, though. He just had to make sure to keep it from Levy too.
**********
Alonso had presented as an Omega on Christmas Day when he was thirteen, like the most fucked-up present ever.
Everybody had always assumed he’d be an Alpha because of the stereotypical assumptions that someone as stubborn and wilful as Alonso simply couldn’t present as an Omega.
They’d all been wrong.
He’d had no idea what was happening at first—how could he, when nobody had thought to prepare him for the possibility? He’d felt feverish the day before but hadn’t made a big deal out of it. Even that young, his dad had taught him that physical pain was just a price to pay for the things he wanted.
Alonso had freaked out when he’d started producing slick, though.
It was his mom who had finally realised what was happening. “Baby, you’re going into heat.”
