Page 94 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHASE
Chase wished he could have kept the mating from his mom, but he knew the media wouldn’t take long to put two and two together regarding his new scent. He and Auston had to put out a statement about their bonding, and they both agreed that they had to tell their families first.
Auston called his without Chase first, something Chase was grateful for—he didn’t want to know if their initial reaction was disappointment at who Auston had chosen. Auston said it’d gone well—they were surprised, but not shocked.
“Yeah, Ariana said that of course this is the kind of thing I’d do, not be with anybody for ages and then mate with someone. I’ve convinced them not to come down here, but they wanna meet you, so. Get ready for a video call, honey.”
Chase hadn’t been able to say no, but had felt sick to his stomach the whole day of the call. He hadn’t even known what to expect—they weren’t going to bemean, surely, but…what ifChase could see through a thin veneer of politeness and right to their disgust?
It turned out nothing like his nightmares. Honestly, they spent half the time chirping Auston and the other asking him questions—did he have siblings? How did he get into hockey? Did they live together? Was Auston treating him right?
“You have to come visit us in summer, of course,” Auston’s mom said, and all Chase could do was nod, overcome.
He was a little shaky when the call ended, but it’d gone…well. Auston’s family seemed happy, honestly.
“See?” Auston said, wrapping him up in his arms. “Nothing to worry about.”
That, of course, could only be applied to Auston’s parents and sister. Chase’s mom was another situation entirely.
In another, earlier version of Chase, he would have called his mom alone. He would have locked himself in the room and let whatever happened wash over him without a fight.
He couldn’t do that this time—not just to his own well-being, but to Auston’s. Most people’s scents were still weird and overwhelming, but he was just starting to parse Auston’s out, and the sting of anxiety was obvious when the topic of Chase calling her alone came up.
“I won’t say anything,” Auston promised. “She won’t even know I’m there. Just…I’ll hold your hand, yeah?”
Chase swallowed and nodded and took a moment to be grateful that this was his Alpha.
The call went very much as expected. They talked about hockey first, like always, and Chase practically had to interrupt her to say, “I have some news.”
“They sending you down?” him mom asked.
Auston, who could hear both sides of the conversation, squeezed his hand, scent burning with an edge of anger. “Uhm, no. No, it’s good news, actually. I, uhm…I got mated.”
A beat of silence. His mom laughed. “Yeah, okay.”
“I’m serious, Mom.”
The laughter trailed away. “What?” The word snapped through the phone line.
Chase twitched. “I got mated. He’s really great. He—”
“You’re joking. You gotmated? After everything we’ve gone through—everything I’ve sacrificed, and you’re just going to throw everything away?”
“What? Mom, no, I’m still gonna play. He’s a player too. He—”
“Oh, Chase, don’t be naïve. You’ll be knocked up by the end of the year—I’m guessing you didn’t get to this point by keeping your legs shut.”
A growl pierced the air for a beat before Auston cut it off abruptly. Chase didn’t dare look at him. “Mom, come on. That’s not true. It’s just, with my condition—”
“Oh, yourcondition. This is the issue with you, Chase, you’re always making excuses. Did I not give you everything you needed to become the best?”
Chase swallowed. He couldn’t quite breathe. “Yeah. But…I promise you I’m still gonna play.”
There was a long, extended sigh. “I just…I can’t talk about this anymore. Just don’t come to me when you’re knocked up and he’s moved onto better things.”
The line went black. Everything was still, and then Auston was picking him up, sliding him onto his lap so that Chase was straddling his thighs.
