Page 103 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

Every ounce of kindness these men showed my little brother made me fall a little harder for them.

Being surrounded by their scents all day didn’t exactly help. They grew even stronger as we spent more time together.

Lachlan slipped in behind me. His arms wrapped gently around my waist, pulling me back against his chest.

Without thinking, I leaned into him. My omega sighed contentedly. Apparently, we’d both decided we liked being constantly touched.

“You still look worried, gorgeous.” His voice rumbled softly beside my ear. The warmth of his breath sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.

The moment he asked, every worry I’d been pushing aside came rushing back.

“I need to make an appointment at the clinic.” The words came out quietly. I swallowed hard. “I want you guys to come with me.”

Lachlan didn’t hesitate. “Of course, we will. We’ll all be there. I can give you a copy of our practice schedule. That way you can book a bit easier.”

Another piece of the weight I’d been carrying quietly lifted. “That would really help.”

He kissed the top of my head. “You don’t have to do scary things alone anymore.”

By the time Conrad, August, and Gavin caught back up with us, we were already moving toward the next stop.

“The nesting store,” August announced dramatically. He flashed me a grin. He was far more excited about this than was strictly necessary.

Even though I was uneasy about it, I was also excited. I’d barely gotten to explore that side of myself. I wanted to know what my omega actually liked. And I wanted to let all three of them discover that with me.

Gavin slowed in front of a gaming store. His eyes were glued to the display window.

“You play video games?” Lachlan asked. His attention immediately shifted to my brother.

Gavin shrugged. “My mom was never going to spend money on something fun.”

Lachlan looked toward the storefront. “We’ve got almost every console at the pack house, heck, half of them are in your room now anyway. Want to go look?” He looked at me. “As long as that’s okay.”

If Gavin wanted something as simple as video games, I wanted him to have that chance. He deserved to be a kid.

“Go for it,” I said. Gavin let out a whoop and gave me a hug.

“Why don’t you two head in there?” Conrad suggested. “Gavin isn’t going to enjoy wandering through a nesting store.”

“I’ll catch up,” Lachlan agreed easily.

I reached up and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Thank you for being so good to him.”

His expression softened. “You both make it ridiculously easy to love you.”

Then he kissed me again before disappearing into the gaming store with Gavin.

August immediately hooked his arm through mine and Conrad moved to my other side. Together they steered me toward the nesting boutique as if they thought I might run.

“Listen, firecracker.” August’s teasing smile faded into something gentler. “I know this is going to be hard. You hate people doing things for you. But this isn’t just for you. It’s for all of us. We need our omega settled. We want a nest that actually feels like yours.”

“I’ll try,” I said. I meant it, too.

He nudged my shoulder. “When your omega tells you she likes something… just try to listen to her.”

As if it were that easy. If I’d known how to simply hand the reins over to my omega, wouldn’t I have done it years ago?

Or at least, the moment I found them.