A Curse of Fate (Shifter City Fated Mates #1)

Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

FINLEY

W hen I slammed the door of my locker closed, voices filtered through the outer hallway and into the room. My team was finally showing up.

I was always the first to practice. I liked to get out on the ice while it was smooth and fresh, leaving the others to fuck around and talk shit while I glided. Throwing on skates and racing across that silky surface was the best form of therapy; it had been saving me since I could walk. And I’d never needed a reprieve from my thoughts more than I did today. The omega was moving into our pack house.

The omega who had rejected our pack before she even gave us a chance.

I hadn’t officially met her, but I’d caught a glimpse the day she’d wandered into our company offices, all long legs and strawberry hair. She was gorgeous but fucking toxic, and as badly as I’d wanted a complete quintet, a completed family, now I mostly wished she’d go away.

She smelled like sweet chocolate, and for a moment as I’d watched her I almost lost control of my bear. He’d wanted to drag her out by her hair into our cave and hibernate the hell out of her all winter.

I’d barely managed to pull myself away, and now I was determined to avoid her at all costs. The ice had always been my escape from my family, and it would be again for this bitch of a shifter who believed she was too good for us.

I got fifteen glorious minutes alone, the chilled air soothing as I moved with mindless intent. Power skating up and down the rink didn’t tire me out, instead I found it invigorating.

“Fin!”

Kellan’s shout had my back teeth clenching, but despite his annoying ways I loved my pack brother. He didn’t deserve to get his head ripped off because I was in a foul mood.

“Finley Thornton!” he called again, flashing a grin as he skated closer. “Are you ignoring me, brother?”

He slid to a stop, blocking me unless I plowed or dodged him. I debated both, and almost decided on the former, knowing the big bastard could take it.

“Not ignoring. Practicing,” I gritted out, hoping he’d take the fucking hint that I wanted to be left alone.

Kellan, being a cheery sort of asshole, didn’t remotely take the hint. “She’s in the house, bro.” He was bouncing on his skates, ripping up my perfect ice. “Her scent is everywhere and it’s glorious. I barely stopped myself from getting naked and rolling on all the surfaces she touched.”

Yep, that was fucking it… he was getting pummeled.

I slammed my hands against his chest, but he was too athletic to go down from a shove. It did at least move him out of my way. His laughter followed me as I took off again, skating faster to outrun my demons.

By the time the rest of our teammates made it onto the ice, I was calmer. Coach demanded a lot from us, and he was a huge part of the reason we won the Shifter Cup last year. None of us had any plans to relinquish the title, and I was ready for the season to start. We were training almost every day, and next week was the pre-season Summit game.

I couldn’t fucking wait.

“Alright, assholes. Let’s get this practice going.” Coach Manuel Gerrado played for our team, the Celtic Wolves, for two decades before he’d hung up his skates and took on the coaching role. He was a tough old bastard, and like me, not even a wolf.

But we both bled in teal, gold and white on the ice.

“Prepare to puke your fucking guts up,” Coach roared as his lion peeked out. “We’re at the pointy end of the skate before the season starts, and there’s to be no more screwing around. If I see any of you fuck around, I’ll rip your balls off and use them as pucks.”

“Fucking hell,” moaned Kenz, who’d just slid to a stop beside me. It took a lot for his brown skin to pale, but the visual of our balls as a bloody mess under hockey sticks did the job.

Kenzo Yamamoto and I went through the juniors together, and outside of my pack he was the only shifter I considered family. His parents were a godsend when mine were a nightmare, and for that I’d always owe him. “Just don’t fuck around,” I said with a smirk, smacking him on the shoulder.

He moaned lightly again, and I took a step to the side in case he yacked. He was infamous for his tender stomach—everyone knew to never sit in front of him during a slasher flick. He could handle a little blood, but when a bone had embedded in the face of a murder victim, he’d power-chucked everywhere.

The next couple of hours were spent in drills, scrimmage, and skating until half the team were sprawled on the ice, heaving and trying to keep the contents of their guts inside their bodies.

Kellan, of course, had the stamina of ten wolves, cheerily gliding around everyone. He played center and was the most agile player on the ice. At six foot four, he stood a little smaller than me and the other defensemen, and we were never more aware of it than when he skated rings around us.

I was a right defenseman, and I enjoyed my position immensely. The crowd called me The Eliminator , because I never left anyone standing when I was on a warpath.

After Coach gave up on torturing us for the day, we limped and groaned our way into the locker room. There was a beat of silence as half the team collapsed onto the benches, and the rest looked like they’d just come from battle. All except Kellan. Our captain strode in with a fucking pep in his step and stupid grin on his face. “Great training today, boys.”

“Shut the fuck up, Kel,” groaned Christian, who was his closest friend on the team after me. “I don’t have the energy to murder you right now, but if you give me ten or fifteen minutes to refractory myself, I’m going to rip your throat out.” Christian’s family immigrated here from Australia ten years ago, and he was the black cat to Kellan’s golden retriever. He called him on his shit whenever possible, but would take a bullet for him. He was a solid wolf.

Kellan wagged his finger at him, his lips curling into a satisfied smirk. “I don’t think you can use refractory like that. Take it from a wolf with zero refractory period.”

Someone threw a sweaty old towel at him, but Kellan batted it away, whistling as he walked toward the showers. “I can’t wait for this season to start,” he called back.

A ton more towels and curses headed in his direction, and the happy fucker just laughed in response. Kenz dropped his head back against the wall and grunted. “He’s even cheerier than usual. What’s going on? Did he get laid?”

His question brought the omega’s face to mind, and I decided then and there that I hated freckles. They were as annoying as she was, and I didn’t need that shit in my life.

“He moved the omega in this morning.” I lowered my voice in an attempt to keep this between us. It wouldn’t take long for the rest of the shifter city to hear the news though, and then I’d never escape their scrutiny.

Kenz snapped his gaze to mine, eyes wide and concerned. “Are you doing okay, man? I don’t even have to guess that this might be somewhat triggering for you.”

The fact that I wanted to remove my skin along with my training gear to wash the irritation away told me he was right on the mark. “Makes no difference to me,” I scoffed, desperate to believe the lie. “It’s a big house, and I plan on ignoring her until she runs away again. We know it’s inevitable.”

She was weak and pathetic, and I’d had enough of that in my life to hope that this time the trash would take itself out.

After I was showered and dressed, I found Kellan sprawled in front of my locker. His bag was at his feet, and he held a small package. “No!” I growled, pointing my finger at him. “Don’t even start.”

His lips twitched as he peered up from under his blond locks. This pretty asshole used his looks far too often to get his own way, but it didn’t work on me. “I mean it, Kel. I will release spiders through your entire room while you’re asleep.”

His eyes grew super wide, turning the blue even darker against all the surrounding white. “You wouldn’t dare?”

“Try me,” I snapped back.

He slapped a hand against his chest, a feigned look of hurt on his face. “How could you use my greatest fear against me? I thought we were brothers.”

I covered up a laugh with a cough, rubbing my hand over my face. He looked so indignant that I couldn’t even stay mad. “We are brothers. You know that.”

A scent-bonded pack was the strongest bond outside of blood relations. It was everything. I’d die for this fucker in a heartbeat.

I knew he’d do the same for me.

Kellan, sensing my weakening, held out the package. “For the new season,” he told me, like we weren’t both aware of what was inside. He did this every season, and while it had never let me down before, I remained suspicious of his surprises. He’d used my superstitions against me far too often.

With a resigned sigh, I opened the package and pulled out the expected pair of socks. They were the teal, gold, and white of our team logo, but instead of the snarling wolf’s head with crossed sticks, there were tiny bears printed across them and The Eliminator stitched around the top elastic. “You can’t start the season without your lucky socks,” Kellan crowed, looking pleased with himself.

Grateful that his gift had nothing to do with the omega, I slapped a hand on his shoulder. “I love them, asshole. Want to grab some drinks and a bite to eat before we head home?”

His expression softened. “I know you promised you wouldn’t go out of your way to torment her, but I didn’t expect you’d do that by never seeing her at all. You can’t avoid her forever.”

I could and I would. “You’re going home to make sure she’s okay, aren’t you?”

She’d only been in our house for half a day and was already stealing my pack. “Come with me,” he said, begging with his eyes.

I shook my head. “You know that shit won’t work on me when it comes to her.”

Turning toward the showers, I called out to Kenzo to see if he could make dinner. He was bonded to two betas, but he always had time for a quick meal and a few drinks.

“Fuck yeah, bro,” he called back, rubbing a towel over his short dark curls as he emerged from the showers.

Kellan landed his meaty hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll see you later,” he said. “Don’t get too fucked up tonight. Coach might be giving us a day off tomorrow, but we’ll be right back into it the next day.”

“You got it, Dad.”

Kellan smirked as he flipped me off, then strolled out of the locker room like the golden child he was. No one would ever challenge him for that title.

Kenzo got dressed fast, and when he was ready I hauled my bag over my shoulder and led the way to my black RAM 1500 TRX. My brother lived in the compound too, so we usually drove in together.

“Where do you want to eat?” he asked as we jumped into the truck.

The supercharged V8 roared to life and I enjoyed the calming sound. If skating was my first escape, working on cars was my second. I loved the way this beast of a truck fit my height and muscles comfortably, but tonight I almost wished I’d brought my custom Ferrari SF90. A little speed went a long way to easing stress… it was science.

And if I couldn’t have the speed, there was only one other solution.

“Marty’s.”

Kenzo let out a choked hoot. “Oh man. It’s that sort of night, is it? Well… I haven’t had good makeup sex for a while. Might as well start a fight with my girls.”

His mate, Luce, was a fiery beta wolf who did not take any of my friend’s shit. Vanessa was the peaceful center between them, and I shouldn’t be screwing up his day just because mine had gone to hell.

“Fuck,” I groaned, dropping my forehead against the wheel. “This is a bad idea, isn’t it?”

Kenzo remained silent until I lifted my head and met his dark gaze. He was good at letting me mull my life choices over, while only offering advice after I’d sorted my thoughts out. “I’ll never ask you to be in a situation that hurts you. If you need cheap booze and my company tonight, that’s what you’re getting. My girls will understand. We’re blood brothers. Now and fucking always.”

My chest grew tight, but I was nothing if not an expert at compartmentalizing my emotions. “I hated fate for a long time for not making us a scent match, but I think the universe already knew our bond was strong enough. In return, we got my brothers and your girls. A real family who’ll have our backs no matter what.”

“For life,” he agreed, and for a fraction of a second his demons—which he hid better than me—spilled into his features, before a loose grin replaced his darkness. I wasn’t the only one able to compartmentalize like a champ. “Now, let’s go and get you proper fucked up.”

Shifting into drive, I released all thoughts of the toxic omega from my mind.

I already had an amazing family and pack, and enough puck shifters to keep me satisfied when I needed a release. There was nothing this omega could offer me except heartache, and I was full up on that to last a fucking lifetime.