Page 115 of Choosing Their Omega

But he has faith in us, as he reminds us at the end of his speech. I’m determined for us to be worthy of that faith. I don’t want to let my pack mate down.

We go out onto the ice, and I skate around until I see Lily with Ben in the stands. She’s wearing my jersey tonight, and Ben is in a miniature Knox jersey. They wave, and Lily blows me a kiss. I jokingly catch it and press it to my lips, then wave back.

“Good luck!” she yells.

It makes my heart flip to know that she’s got my name emblazoned on her back. I like seeing her in Cruz’s, Miles’s, and Knox’s jerseys too. Seeing Lily wearing my pack mates’ jerseys fills me with joy and pride. But there’s something a little special about the days when she wears mine. I’m not sure I can even put it into words, how much it means.

“You’re wearing my name, baby, that’s all the luck I need!” I call back.

Lily rolls her eyes like she’s trying to act unaffected, but the blush gives her away.

I’ve got to skate away then to take up position for the ref to drop the puck, but knowing Lily is here is like a buzz in the back of my brain, fueling me.

Unfortunately, the Grizzlies are pretty jazzed up as well. I think they’re energized because they know Cruz is off the ice, damn them. Well, I’m not about to let them think they can easily skate their way to victory without him. We’re all going to get in their way.

It’s a tough battle, and we make it through the entire first period without either team scoring a goal. Davis fires a blistering shot that rings off the crossbar, inches away from beating their goalie, while Knox stands tall, turning away shot after shot on goal. But no one is able to find the back of the net, leaving the score unchanged.

We’ve just got to slip one puck past their damn goalie. That’s all. I grit my teeth as we start the second period, determined to secure us a victory.

A guy from the Grizzlies skates up next to me as we take our positions for the puck drop. “Saw your Omega in the stands. Where’d you get a whale like her? Did you fish her out of the ocean?”

The puck drops, and the others move, but I don’t even care.

I see red.

Launching myself forward, I deck the guy in the face.

Before he can recover, I’m checking him hard with my shoulder, sending him flying back into the boards. Once he’s pinned there, I don’t let up, smashing his stick out of his hands and dropping my gloves so that I can go at him bare-knuckled.

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I snarl. “Or I’ll knock out so many of your goddamn teeth that you won’t be able to talk about anything, including talking shit about my Omega, you fuckin’ hear me?”

“Hey, hey!” The ref and someone else grab me and yank me back. It takes a second for the scent to hit me, and I realize it’s Knox.

Given his size, he’s probably the only guy who could successfully pull me back right now, anyway. He gets his arms around me and pins my arms down so that I can’t lunge at the guy again.

“He insulted Lily!” I snap.

“Yeah, I get it, man,” Knox growls. “But—”

He’s interrupted by the blowing of the whistle and the ref yelling for me to get into the penalty box.

“Yeah, yeah, into the sin bin. I get it,” I mutter.

Knox escorts me. “What was I supposed to do?” I demand. “Just take it?”

“No,” Knox admits. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t have punched the guy. I’m glad you did. I just meant that I think he got the message, man. That’s all.”

I look over and see the guy sporting a bloody nose and a rapidly bruising eye. I grin. “Yeah, he did.”

Knox shakes his head at me, but it’s fond, not disapproving. “I just didn’t want you to get into more trouble than you already are.”

“Thanks, but it looks like I’m screwed either way. Get back in the damn net.”

Knox knows what I mean, and I know what he means. I appreciate it. And if this hadn’t been on the ice, I’ve got the feeling he would’ve let me keep wailing on the guy until the cows came home.

I sit back in the penalty box, fold my arms, and hope that we’re able to finally score a goal.

We are. But the Grizzlies snag two.

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