Page 25 of Puck of My Life

He looked at me. “No, why would you say that? I’m loving our date, even though you now have enough evidence to blackmail me about my shitty skating skills.”

“Okay.” We didn’t know one another well enough for me to nudge him and say he was fibbing, so I let it go. Maybe he was working on a big story at work, though he usually shared what happened at the office.

“It’s been a long week. I’m just tired.”

His behavior wasn’t what I’d expect from someone who was exhausted. We could have stayed home instead of coming here. Perhaps he was still coming to terms with the shifter world and his mate having the ability to get furry.

“And you’re leaving soon.” He took my hand. “You’ll be gone for two weeks and play six games and be so far away.”

He’d brought up something I hadn’t wanted to think about. Now that we’d found one another, being apart even for a few hours was hard. And leaving him now when Garrick was still out there and the issue of us mating was unresolved, worried me.

What if I bumped into a pack member and they scented Walter on me? Alpha would search for Walter, and he wouldn’t be hard to find. He was on the company’s website and he had social media. And I was more prominent. If he checked out the gala photos, he’d find my mate in some of them.

“I hate that I have to leave.” I’d told my captain—he’d sussed out that I had someone in my life—and he just said “Welcome to the club,” because most of the team had families, and many had kids. “My captain wasn’t sympathetic when I whined about leaving you.”

That got a laugh out of my mate.

“I’m going to miss you. That’s all. It hit me as we’re sitting here. Fourteen days is a long time when I only just got you.”

I could sense his sincerity as he clung to me and his eyes were blurry because it matched mine, but I couldn’t shake the feeling there was something else going on. I didn’t want to push and come across as an overbearing so-and-so who needed to know who, what, why, and when about his life.

His hand was in mine and he was leaning against me. That was enough, and if he was holding something back, he’d tell me if I needed to know.

“I’ll call you every day.” I was going to be insufferable. “You’ll get sick of my face.”

“That’s never going to happen.” He grinned. “And I’m hoping for texts and emojis and more. Once a day isn’t enough. I’m greedy for you.” He kissed me. “Teach me one more thing before you go far away, and hopefully neither of us breaks anything on the ice.”

He’d spoken of his fear of how “violent” hockey was, and I’d reassured him I’d be fine. I wasn’t as prone to injury as my human teammates were. My wolf puffed out his chest at the compliment.

We went back on the ice, and I taught him to glide. He had to get a little speed and bring both skates under him and ride it. He had to let the ice carry him. Walter wanted to move his feet, but I told him to stop working and to trust what he was doing.

“That’s terrible life advice.”

“Not on the ice.” I skated backward in front of him. “I’m going to let go.”

“Don’t you dare.”

I gave him a gentle pull, and he glided on the ice on his own. Then he held out his arms, and I caught him.

“See. You got it.” I held him close.

“Maybe I should consider a change of career.”

16

WALTER

Archie was off for the first leg of his trip. It was the longest we were going to be apart. If I hadn’t already taken time off to go deal with his pack, I’d probably be sitting at home, being miserable, missing him terribly, and dreaming of being at his side. Aside from the sitting-at-home part, the rest still applied. I was so ready for this to be over and for him to have his pack back.

It surprised me how easily I was able to get the time off. I hadn’t been at my position very long, but I had worked a lot of comp time in the first few weeks and was cashing them all in. Truman didn’t love me taking off, but I let him assume I was going with Archie, and if anyone understood the need to be with one’s mate, it would be him.

I told myself that I wasn’t really sneaking around and lying. I was problem-solving. That didn’t stop the guilt from riding me hard. But I couldn’t change that Archie needed to be gone, and I couldn’t change the past with Archie’s pack. The only thing I had any control over was our future, and what kind of a mate would I be if I ignored that?

If I’d told Archie about my plans ahead of time, he’d have worried about me more than he did already. He’d have told me not to do it, that things were fine the way they were, that he’d made his choice and he was happy with it. But how could he be? Leaving everyone he knew and loved behind to protect me was a sacrifice no alpha should have to make.

I planned to be in and out. Go to his pack, meet with Garrick, show the Alpha that I wasn’t a danger to anyone, have him accept me, go back home, and when Archie came home, surprise him with the amazing news. From there, we’d have our happy ever after. Easy peasy. But if it were so simple, why was my stomach in knots?

Getting there proved to be a pain in the ass. Between the flight and the rental car, the crappy dinners, and the shitty motel, I was so ready to be there already. The last stretch of the drive felt like it took for-freaking-ever. On top of that, it had sucked up most of my savings, but if it gave my mate back his family, it’d be worth it.