Page 116 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

Dhara

The arena was full of people despite this only being a juniors game. It was the first one I’d been able to actually watch of Gavin’s. The season was just getting started for the juniors, and it was much smaller than the main league.

With my mother forcing me to work nights, and Gavin getting pulled at the same time, I never thought we’d be here.

Even though my guys usually helped for practices, they requested this game off so we could watch it together. All four of us were wearing jerseys with Gavin’s number on the back. My heart was practically bursting with how excited he was. He’d worked hard at practice, even getting extra hours in with the guys after school to break in his gear and get comfortable in it.

Honestly, my brother wasn’t just good. He was thriving. Gavin was making friends with the team and just genuinely happy most days. That was more than I could say before now.

It was surprising how little time it took us to stop thinking about our mother all the time. Maybe forget wasn’t the right word. She simply didn’t get to take over every thought we had anymore. The fear was gone, and we could actually breathe knowing she was locked away in jail right now where she belonged.

The court had pressed charges for assaulting me. I had no choice in it because the police had responded, and the evidence was overwhelming. Harm against omegas, even by other omegas, was taken seriously.

Not that I would have opposed it for even a second. I was happy she was gone and genuinely hoped she got some real justice in that place. That smart mouth of hers would surely get her into trouble.

The petty part of me wished I could witness someone putting her in her place for once. She craved power and always put herself above everyone else. Power plays in prison would definitely hit differently.

But now wasn’t the time for thoughts of her. It was time to focus on being at the arena with my pack, celebrating our boy.

I loved that they treated everything like an official AHA game. The announcers were here introducing each team. The kids skated out onto the ice, hands pumping in the air as their names were called.

I was on the edge of my seat already, bouncing up and down excitedly as I watched. I’d learned so much about hockey from watching practices, especially since I’d known nothing about it before Gavin told me he wanted to play. I’d done everything I could to make sure he made it to this moment.

One difference between the AHA and the juniors was that there was a whole lot less fighting on the ice. The kids played hard, but they played clean.

Pride was practically bursting out of my chest as Gavin glided across the ice, stealing the puck. He worked well with the team, the right and left wings around him trading the puck back and forth before he sank it into the net.

The arena burst into cheers, but no one screamed louder than me and my pack.

When Coach switched out the players, Gavin took off his cage and took a drink. His eyes immediately sought us out. I waved like a freaking lunatic, but the grin on his face was worth it. He was genuinely happy to see us. That was everything to me.

“They’re playing so good tonight,” Conrad said, putting his fingers into his mouth and letting out a loud whistle before clapping hard as the second line scored another goal. “These kids are going places.”

“Did you see Caleb and Ryan out there?” August asked as he eyed the ice. His grin was bright and I was curious to know why.

“Which ones are they?” I asked.

“The two climbing over the boards now,” August explained. “Caleb couldn’t even stay up on his skates. Coach put him through some extra skating sessions, and he put in the work. Look at him out there.”

“No, don’t sell yourself short,” Lachlan argued, pointing at August. “You got through to that kid. He just needed someone to believe in him, and you did.”

August ducked his head, clearly embarrassed but proud.

“That’s because sometimes you just need someone to push you. Someone did that for me,” August said with a shrug like it was no big deal, even though it was clearly life-changing for him and those kids.

I watched them on the ice now since Gavin was still on the bench. One of the kids stumbled a few times, but his face was set and determined, the fight in him strong enough that you could see it. The other was right by his side shouting at the team and rallying them.

They both definitely deserved to be there.

Caleb might not have the skill that Gavin did yet, but in a few years he’d be skating better than most, and hopefully, just like August, he’d be the kind of player to help out the rookies.

These men were exactly the kind of deltas Gavin needed in his life. The ones who would show him what it was like to be a good man.

The world needed more of those.

When Gavin was back on the ice, I was back on the edge of my seat, watching them absolutely kick ass.

I lost my voice by the third period, but it didn’t matter because tonight made all those years of fighting for my brother completely worth it.