Page 114 of Choosing Their Omega

“Is that so?” Coach grins. “I wondered about this Omega of yours. You had to take a heat vacation to take care of her.”

“We did, sir. And we’ll continue to take good care of her, I promise.”

“I know that you wouldn’t do anything less, Ashford. You’ve always been the type to take care of your own, whether that’s the team or your family. And she noticed the shoulder?”

“Yeah. I was carrying laundry, and I winced and… she pounced right on it. She wouldn’t let me just brush it off and she made me tell you and the doctor.”

“I’m glad she did. Don’t let that one go. A good Omega is the best thing that could ever happen to an Alpha pack.”

I nod. Coach’s voice is serious in a way that it rarely gets, and he’s looking me in the eye as if he would impress this information onto my brain if he could. “I will, I promise.”

“Good.” Coach smiles. “Now go on home to her with the rest of your pack. And take care of yourself, Ashford. This is the only body you’ve got.”

I nod and he finally lets me go.

The others are waiting for me patiently in the locker room, and my heart feels like it’s three sizes bigger than usual. I can remember Lily telling me that I was loved by the people in my life and that I didn’t have to do anything to earn that love, or make their commitment to me ‘worthwhile.’ I don’t owe anyone anything.

I think that I might finally be starting to believe that.

“What’s up with coach?” Lawson asks when I get out of the shower and we head out to the parking lot.

“I need to sit out the next game,” I admit. “My shoulder’s acting up and it’s better safe than sorry.”

Knox takes my bag without a word, even though I have the strap on my other shoulder. I want to protest and snatch the bag back, and tell him that I’m fine, but I let it be. It’s just his way of taking care of me, I know. We all look out for each other in our pack and I’d do the same if our roles were reversed.

When we get home, we’re greeted immediately by one very enthusiastic dog and a just as happy Ben. Lily emerges, giving us all a warm hug and a kiss hello.

When she gets to me, she kisses me like the others, but her forehead puckers as she pulls away. “What is it? Did practice go poorly?”

I tuck some of her wayward hair behind her ear. She’s clearly lost a hairclip again. It’s adorable. Out of the corner of my eye I see Miles grabbing the dog to take on a walk while Knox and Lawson distract Ben, leaving Lily and me alone in the foyer.

“No, practice went fine.” I might as well just bite the bullet. “But I’m sitting out the next game. My shoulder’s acting up.”

Just saying it to her hurts. Before I can poke at the rawness of the feeling, Lily’s arms are around me, and she’s hugging me tightly. I bury my nose in her hair, drinking in her sweet scent.

She smells like home to me. She’s always smelled good, of course, ever since I met her, but now her scent means so much more. It doesn’t just smell like the literal things it smells like. It smells like home and comfort.

I wrap my arms around her and hug her back just as tightly. Coach was right. I shouldn’t let her go, and I don’t want to. She’s everything to me.

“I’m so proud of you,” Lily whispers. “I know this was hard for you, Cruz. And I’m really proud of you.”

I feel like I’ve been hit right in the chest, and for the first time, I think the words clearly.

I love her.

I’m so in love with her, I can’t stand it.

Chapter 35

Lawson

Our next game is against the Grizzlies, and Cruz is on the bench.

We run drills on the ice during our pre-game warm up, just Knox and Lawson and me with the rest of the team. I know it’s got to be killing Cruz to sit this one out. It would kill him to sit out any of our games, but it’s so much worse when it’s against our rivals like this.

Cruz is waiting in the locker room to help give us his usual pep talk along with Coach before the game. I know that it’s killing him to be here, so close and yet so far, but just because he’s not on the ice doesn’t mean he’s no longer our team captain.

What Cruz doesn’t say, what none of us say, is that we’re going to be weaker on the ice without him. Cruz wasn’t made captain because he’s our star player, but it sure didn’t hurt that he’s one of our best.

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