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I was pretty sure she could sense that I didn’t like her.
Leith and Artie hadn’t spoken about her since that day, but I could tell that they were still thinking about it.
When we’d driven into the Complex this morning—me for my tour and them for their first day as official SSC athletes—I could feel both of their anticipation like they were waiting for something.
And when I’d seen Ciara twirling on the ice as I dropped Artie off, I knew what that thing was. I didn’t like that Artie was still going to skate even with his worsening eyesight, but the last time we’d fought had been about that and I wasn’t looking to have that experience again.
Having my omega mad at me was like being put through a woodchipper. I could feel every one of his emotions and they grated like glass against my brain, the alpha in me torn in between the strong protective instinct constantly riding me and wanting him to be happy.
But every time I saw him get on the ice I heard his doctor’s warnings about how a potential concussion could cause the swelling behind his eyes to worsen and even prematurely make him lose the rest of his already failing vision.
I wished I could just wrap him up and keep him hidden and safe so nothing could get to him. Or that I could somehow magically cure his eyes. Either or would be fine with my anxious ass at this point.
The best I could do, however, was try to help him maintain whatever vision he had left for as long as possible.
It was the main reason I’d pushed so hard for the move to Seattle—even if it meant putting us in Ciara Callaghan’s orbit again. The specialist we’d finally met in person yesterday was at the top of his field and worked specifically with Artie’s type of glaucoma.
It was worth every sleepless night over the past three months trying to coordinate a move, accepting a new job, and picking up our entire pack and leaving a country that I’d come to think of as my home over the past decade.
“Mr. Santoro?” Hideo’s voice cut through my thoughts and I blinked, looking up at the man with a blank expression.
“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere for a moment, what were you saying?” I straightened my spine and shoved all of my roving thoughts to the back of my brain—they could until later. Right now I needed to focus.
“I was just telling you that, while we’re still in pre-season practice, there are going to be things for you to do air-wise. Are you familiar with the NHL’s past season?”
I’d spent so long keeping up with the UK’s EIHL that finally being back on the NHL side made my head spin a bit.
The memories of being young and watching my dad scream at the TV while my mom shook her head and chided him were some of my favorites from before I moved to Italy to live with my Nonna.
I knew he still watched it, though it was without my mom now that she’d passed. My sister was the one who scolded him now when his shouts woke up one of her seven million children when they came to visit on Saturdays.
“Pretty familiar,” I told Hideo as we left the studio behind. Truthfully, I’d brushed up on it again before we left the UK so I’d be prepared. “I know that the Stallions took home the cup this season after they returned from the Olympics.”
Hideo’s grin was broad. “Yep and Colt hasn’t shut up about it since. It was a win almost a decade in the making. I swear he might love that trophy more than he loves our pack.”
He was joking—at least I hoped he was joking.
Everything I’d been able to dig up about Pack Stone, which admittedly wasn’t a lot, told me that they were a very close knit group that rarely appeared in media outside of sports or charity events.
“Well, it’s looking good again for this upcoming season, especially with the trades that were made.”
Hideo lit up at that. “Yep, snagging Park and Corning was almost sheer dumb luck by the end of the Olympics. They had at least five other teams breathing down their necks, so we were pleased to acquire them.”
Jae-Sun Park the defenseman and Joshua Corning were older players, not as shiny as some of the rookies stepping onto the ice this year, but they had what those rookies couldn’t dream of yet: they had a record and a dazzling performance in Scotland to boost their popularity.
Not to mention Park was easy on the eyes. It felt like every time I opened my TikTok to doom scroll at night I came across some thirst-trap edit of the Korean-American skater.
But he was mean-as-shit on the ice and had garnered the nickname Wiz thanks to his ability to appear out of nowhere to defend the players on his team. I looked forward to watching how he gelled with the team and to see if the ‘dream team’ that other media outlets were touting the Stallions as was actually going to come to fruition.
“Let’s head back up to the head office, Colt’s got some more paperwork for you to sign before we let you go for the day. Your omega and packmate are also starting their first days on the athlete’s side right?” Hideo asked as we stepped onto the elevator that would take us straight up to the office he shared with Colt Stone. I hadn’t been there yet as Hideo had greeted me at the door, but it made me nervous to meet the man in person and not on a Zoom call for the first time.
“Yep, Leith is excited to meet the curling team you’ve paired him with—they’ve been chatting over text so it seems like a good match.” That had been another sore spot about leaving the UK.
Leith’s former curling team and he had been on the brink of separating ever since Artie’s diagnosis. They didn’t understand the time constraints that the constant doctor’s visits would entail and I was pretty sure that it had ended soon after they failed to make it through to the final round of their event three months ago.
I’d never liked Connor and the two others on the team, but they’d been Leith’s friends longer than I knew him, so I’d kept my opinion to myself.
My poor packmate had a heart of gold when it came to others, but had trouble setting boundaries so he could protect himself. It was why I felt so protective over him and pushed for him to speak up for himself when he didn’t like something.
