Finding the Forward, Part One (HockeyVerse)

Chapter Nine

Verity

W ell, that got dirty fast. Heat flooded my core as I took a moment to finish my cake and compose myself.

Everything I’d felt on the plane was still there. It also made me wonder, was he looking for me? Or was it a coincidence?

Especially since it wasn’t about the sweatshirt.

I sipped my tea. “Sorry, I... I didn’t mean to monopolize the conversation. Please, tell me you won the big game?”

“We did. It was the best game of my career–and the Hurricanes won the championship,” he told me, looking ecstatic.

Relief washed over me. “Oh, good. I was worried that I’d make you lose. But you won and then they traded you?”

“That was why I was so wound up about the seat. Winning meant I could finally get traded to the Knights and be with Dean, Jonas, and AJ,” he confessed. “We’re forming our pack.”

“Your pack. You wanted to get traded so you could start your pack. That makes so much sense,” I breathed, getting it instantly.

The fact that my giant lumberjack had a pack didn’t deter me as long as we weren’t crossing any boundaries.

“We were dumb and didn’t form a pack back before we went pro. Though we hadn’t met AJ yet. We also didn’t think it would take six years for us to all make it to the same city.” He took a sip of coffee.

“Congratulations.” Six years? That seemed impossibly cruel.

“The paperwork is done and ready to be filed. We’re just waiting out the city’s residency requirement. It’s six months here–and you have to have four people to form a pack. It’s different than back in Boston,” Grif added.

“I’m so glad you can form your pack now.” The rules to form a pack were different in different places, though these seemed quite strict.

“We got our pack tattoos over the summer, Dean designed them. AJ picked our name. We’re the Lune Noire pack.” Grif pulled off his sweatshirt and showed me the Celtic hockey tattoo on his bicep that I’d seen peaking out from under his sleeve earlier.

“I love them! Black Moon? You’re werewolves? On the plane, you did have the scruffy werewolf beard. Sorry, I read a lot of paranormal romance this summer.” I couldn’t help it, even if I shouldn’t poke fun at it.

Grif gave a little snarl. “I’m going to eat you up, little girl.”

“Oh no, don’t eat me,” I laughed. Oh, yes, please eat me.

“My beard was bushy for finals. Can’t cut off the luck.” His smile went all the way to his eyes.

“True. I’m guessing it’s not your last name?” The parents had all changed their last name to Thorne, which Dad had picked, and also used it as their pack name.

“We’re all keeping our own last names for now because we’re all established professionally. Not sure AJ’s ever read a paranormal romance. Jonas has probably read werewolf books,” he chuckled.

“Jonas sounds like my sort of guy. You’re all hockey players?” I took another sip. I’d always felt more comfortable with athletes than academics. Another thing that made my parents think less of me.

“AJ’s retired. Let me assure you that this ,” he motioned to the two of us. “Is okay. They know about you. They know I’m here with you. I’m a little surprised Dean hasn’t shown up. He likes to be the center of attention and is so curious about you.”

He told them about me? Hope lit up inside me. Now that I found him it would be difficult to let him go. Part of me already wanted him to be mine even though we barely knew each other.

“I think every pack has one of those,” I laughed, relieved that he wasn’t breaking any pack rules. The last thing I wanted was to be that alpha.

Getting his phone, he showed me a picture of two little red-headed boys in hockey gear. Adorable.

“This is my husband, Dean. We met playing hockey when we were five. This summer, we finally got married. Now we both play for the Knights. He’s a goalie.” Grif switched to one of them in suits.

“Aww. You won for love .” Happy tears pricked my eyes. I’d read that sports romance.

Grif looked good in a suit, as did Dean. While Dean wasn’t the giant Grif was, he was still a big boy–tall and broad-shouldered with a narrow waist, messy strawberry blond hair, and green eyes. Freckles dotted his pale nose and unlike Grif, he was clean-shaven.

Mmmm.

“Was he the other scent on the sweatshirt?” I adored that scent. It was a bit like a snuggly sweater and played well with Grif’s. Like you were wearing your coziest pullover on a rainy day.

Grif turned on the smolder. “Did you like it?”

“Quite a bit.” I bit my lower lip, remembering how I’d sniffed the sweatshirt until it no longer smelled like them.

“That will make him happy. Here, this is Jonas. He’s mated to Dean. We met him while we were at university. He plays for the Knights, too. Defense.” Grif pulled up a photo of another big boy–this one a brooding Asian guy with blue hair and tattoos.

“Jonas is an alpha?” Which made sense, given he’d said Dean and Jonas were mated while he and Dean were married . So Dean wasn’t an alpha. While other designations could mate with alpha or omegas, only those two designations could actually administer a mating bite.

“Yes. Sometimes Jonas and I fuck around, but mostly it’s because Dean wants us to.” He took a sip of coffee.

If I had packmates that looked like that I’d fuck around with them, too. Mmmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

“Um, in case you’re curious, Dean and I are both twenty-seven, Jonas is twenty-eight. AJ’s the old dude and will be thirty in spring.” He grinned at me.

“I’m twenty-five, but I’m okay with older men.” I winked at him.

“Oh, I’m so glad,” he laughed. “Here’s AJ. He’s also an alpha. We used to play hockey together. Now, he’s an investment banker. He means a lot to me.”

Grif scrolled to a picture of a polished man in a fancy suit, who looked exactly like the type of guy my Baba, my alpha dad, wanted me to marry.

“Now you’re all together. That is so sweet. AJ’s your alpha?” They were a nice- looking group of guys.

“AJ and I aren’t mated. Right now, we’re waiting. Once we become a pack, we can negotiate a pack contract, and then I can’t be traded away from my pack.” His look went wistful.

“That makes so much sense. I’m sure you’ll get it. I can’t wait to meet the rest of your pack.” Hopefully, we all got along, given this wouldn’t work if we didn’t.

“Dean can’t wait to meet you.” Grif leaned closer. “He likes to be shared.”

My voice lowered. “ Shared ? Like you fuck him into me?”

The image made me wet as I pictured Dean pounding into me as Grif took him. I’d try that.

“Oh, yes. It would be fun to share you, too. If you meet and there are no sparks, no one will push it. At the very least, I hope you get along. You liking his scent? That has potential.” His fingers caressed my thigh, making me tingle.

“I’m willing to explore that. Though I’ve never been with two guys at once. You and Dean aren’t alphas? Which is fine by me.” I licked my lips at the idea of two guys at the same time.

I’d be the filling in that man-sandwich.

“We’ll fuck you so good, Kitten.” He stroked my thigh, sending shivers up my spine. “I’m beta, and Dean? He’s an omega.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Dean, the hockey goalie, was an omega ?

“I know. I have a giant omega. Heard you like them.” His eyes danced.

“I prefer big boys. Always have. But please know that this doesn’t mean I’d put you aside because he’s an omega–or date you to get to him. I appreciate you telling me about your pack. I’m not here to take you away or break you up or anything alphas sometimes do.” It whooshed out of me as my belly twisted. I needed him to know that my interest in him was genuine and that I wouldn’t cause any trouble with his packmates.

“Breathe, Kitten.” He took my hand in his. They were giant, rough, and pale. Both he and Dean looked like they were allergic to sunshine.

I inhaled deeply. “Sorry. If you want some fierce, dominant, boss lady, who likes to wear power suits, I’m not your woman. I cry too much and read too many romance novels.”

Usually, when guys found out I was a female alpha, they wanted me to dominate them out of novelty, since we made up such a small fraction of the alpha population. As if all female alphas carried whips and handcuffs in their purses.

“I appreciate your honesty–and honesty is why I’m telling you about my guys before we even discuss what this is or where we’re going with it. Understood?” Grif leaned into my space, gaze intense.

Everything in the coffee shop faded away until it was only us.

I rubbed my thighs together to ease the building pressure. “I understand.”

“Good.” He held my gaze in a way that wasn’t very beta-like.

I liked that. A lot. A little growl of pleasure escaped my lips.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting someone else to take charge in bed, Kitten. Dean likes to be told what to do. One night, I’m going to tell him what to do to you .” His voice lowered as he caressed me again.

“Sounds perfect.” My voice got breathy with need. Yes, please.

A beep interrupted the moment as I got a text from Mercy. With a sigh, I checked it.

Mercy

Hope you’re having fun. We’re not done yet.

My cohort group chat filled with pictures of the ice baths and some commentary about where’d Verity go?

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine. I have to stay around until Mercy’s done, but don’t feel you have to hang out until she arrives if you have places to be,” I told him. Really, I should either go to my greenhouse and get some work done or read for class.

He eyed my big mug. “What are you drinking? It’s not fair that you know how I take my coffee, but I don’t know yours.”

“Why? So you can make me breakfast after you fuck me all night long?” I smirked. “Chai latte. Hot, iced, bubble tea, I like them all. The coffee cart at the training center makes a good one. Also, those little lemon muffins.”

“The coffee cart,” he breathed. “Do you ever sit in the stands and watch Mercy practice?”

“I do. Wait, did you smell me?” My heart fluttered at the prospect. It was straight out of a romance novel.

His face fell, and his scent soured. “I don’t have a very good nose. A few too many pucks to the face.”

Oh. I reached out and squeezed his knee, not wanting to see him upset.

“Dean keeps smelling something. Not enough to get an actual scent, but enough to spark his interest. It’s you. That’s it. We’re keeping you.” He grinned. “I will absolutely make you breakfast in my bed. Then cook for you.”

The innuendo set me on fire. Yes, please eat me for breakfast. I turned the cup around in my hands. “As tempting as that sounds, why now? It’s been four months.”

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “There are a lot of reasons I was looking for you. Some are less important than others. Listen to them all before you make a judgment?”

“That sounds ominous.” My belly twisted. “Give it to me. I hate the romance novels where the conflict could’ve been solved with an honest adult conversation.”

Of course there was a catch. Because he had a pack, a cute omega husband, and was a professional athlete. They probably lived in a big, beautiful house and had a ton of money.

I brought nothing.

“Kitten, stop.” He put his hand under my chin, tilting my head up, sending little shivers through me. “After that flight, I thought about you a lot afterwards. I even looked for you and hoped that you’d reach out to me.”

“I didn’t intend to worry you,” I told him as I took another sip. Grif looked for me?

“Why don’t you have social media?” He shot me a puzzled look.

My shoulders slumped. It was a touchy subject.

“You were hiding from your parents. Never mind, I’m an idiot.” Grif squeezed my hand.

“People can be mean sometimes,” I mumbled. Things got bad my last year at university. “This is why I like plants. I have some socials, mostly to keep in touch with my siblings, but they’re not under my actual name.”

“I get that. You know, I called your old university–the one you played fútbol for–and they told me you were at Briar. Briar wouldn’t tell me where you went, only that you left. I was getting ready to book you for a fake photo shoot with your modeling agent,” he added, leaning toward me.

“I’d love to have seen that,” I laughed, imagining the chaos. “Truly, I appreciate that you thought of me.”

“Will you go out on that date with me?” he asked in earnest.

“Absolutely. There’s more, isn’t there?” I tensed, holding my mug tightly as if it could anchor me to the here and now.

“Yes. I found out the Knights’ promise to take me if the Hurricanes won was a joke, and winning meant they had to live up to it. Now I have to prove myself. Since you’re my lucky charm...” His shoulders slumped, but he met my eyes.

Oh. My belly twisted.

“While I don’t want to be traded away from Dean, this is the least important reason for finding you. I promise.” Grif told me about his team captains talking to him after the game, how he’d been changing up his routines for weeks, and his team wanted to keep him so badly they were ready to blast my picture all over the internet.

My fingers ran through his soft beard. “I appreciate your honesty. I’m flattered, and I understand the frustration and pressure. However, I would’ve been pissed if I’d found out about it later from a teammate. When I look at you, I feel things, Grif.”

It would be better to lay it all out. Even now, I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go.

“I do, too. Thank you for understanding. I... I can’t lose Dean again. I’m tired of only being with them in the off-season.” Defeat rang through his voice.

“Grif.” I kept playing with his beard. “You don’t need me to play a good game. You’re incredible. No, really, I looked you up in the bathroom. I’m sure you’ll figure this out. But if you need me to give you a pep talk like you did for me on the plane, I will.”

In my mind, I’d replayed his words over and over the past four months.

His large hand covered mine. “I’d like that, Kitten. Helplessness and desperation are tearing me up inside.”

I wanted to soothe him, make him feel better. “You won a national championship. You have sticks of steel and are a fucking badass. This season, you’ve been playing great, and you’ll continue to go out each game and kill it. After all, you’re Big Daddy Hurricane, and no one will know what hit them.”

“Big Daddy Hurricane?” His red eyebrows waggled.

“Want to be my Big Daddy Hurricane?” Maintaining eye contact, I sipped my drink, imagining what it would be like to go out on an actual date with him.

“Oh, I do, Kitten. I’m so glad we found each other.” Grif’s eyes sparkled.

“Me, too. Your family member, with the emergency, is she okay?” I added, miffed at myself for not asking sooner.

“My sister’s doing great,” he told me. Getting out his phone, he showed me pictures of her and her baby.

As we waited for Mercy, he told me stories about his packmates and hockey, and I told him about the university and adventures with the Maimers.

“Well, this is cute.” Mercy stood there, in jeans and a Maimers’ sweatshirt, a bag over her shoulder. Kaiko and Jack immediately appeared.

“This university is so fancy. The one I went to didn’t have all this.” Jack looked around the coffee shop, which was still full of studying and chatting students.

He was a green-haired, broad nineteen-year-old alpha rookie who had left his university and family’s Christmas tree business up north to go pro. His skate smash name was T-Wrecks, and he had multiple dinosaur tattoos .

“We’re going to dinner and the movies at the fancy theater in the rec complex near the arena with the good popcorn,” Mercy told me.

“Have fun.” I waved. She’d already texted me where they were going. I’d also checked to make sure that she’d logged her school hours for the day.

Jack and Kaiko were nice and fairly responsible. All three were alphas. They’d be fine. I also had her location on her phone–and she had mine.

“I’ll be back by curfew. Smell you later.” Mercy gave me a mock salute, and the three of them scampered off.

“Are you hungry? We could grab some dinner?” he asked, looking bashful. “This isn’t our proper date. We’ll have that later.”

Actually, I wanted him first. But he might be hungry.

“That sounds fantastic. I don’t live far from here. Want to have me for dessert?” I offered, eyebrows waggling. The last action I’d had from something not made of silicone was his hand.

Grif licked his lips. “Kitten, I’d love to.”