Page 19 of Puck Your Neighbor

Maverick:

Thank you, Anya. Your support means a lot, and there will always be future games.

Leo:

We'll show them who's boss, and then we'll chat with you all night after, giving you the highlights.

Something tingles at the back of my mind. She did say her heat would be sometime this week, but not when. Will we be able to know when it happens? If she doesn't want our help, I feel like we should get a hotel because I don't know if we'll be able to stay away if our inner alphas get wind of that fact. The urge to take care of her will be too great since she's scent-matched with us.

I hurry my reply as the music outside in the arena thuds, signaling we'll be heading out soon.

Jenson:

Whether we win or lose, let us know what you would like us to grab on the way back. We'll get you whatever you would like to eat and leave it outside your door.

Feeding her, even if we can't watch her eat it, at least satisfies us a little on primal levels. I wish I could wait to see what she says so I can look forward to that through the game. But we need to get ready for Coach's pep talk before the game. We know what plays he wants us to start out with.

Putting my phone in my locker, I close it and sigh.

Maverick comes up to my side and clamps me on the shoulder. "Let's go out there and make her proud. Beat the shit out of those Vipers and go back to her with a win."

My inner alpha rears up at his words, and my chest puffs out. The last thing I want to do is go back and tell her we lost. If we can win tonight, it will be a great start to the season for the Iron Wolves; we've been going hard to improve and not be the worst hockey team in the league.

The whistle blows, and we're off. The crowd is a roar of noise, a sea of black and gold. We're ready to show them what we're made of. The Vipers think they're hot shit, and they come out swinging, all sneers and hard checks. One of their goons cross-checks Rhys from behind, right into the boards. His mouthguard goes flying, and he hits the ice hard.

"You like that, princess?" He spits down at him, his own mouthpiece creating a lisp.

Rhys spits blood, a feral grin on his face. He must have bitten his cheek on impact. "Is that all you got?"

They're fast, I'll give 'em that. They're also dirty. The ref is letting a lot go, but we're playing it safe, staying out of the penalty box as much as we can. Within minutes, they've got two goals on us. Finn's pissed, slamming his stick against the goalpost after the second one. Blake skates over, clapping him on the shoulder pads. "We got this, Finn. Shake it off. We need to get in their heads more."

Their lead doesn't last long. We start to click. Leo, Maverick, and I - they call us the Gold Trio for a reason. We're a well-oiled machine on the ice. Leo feeds me the puck. I deke around one Viper, then another.

"Go, Marks!" Some people in the crowd call.

Maverick streaks towards the net, a blur of gold and black. I dish it to him. He one-times it. Back of the net! We're on the board.

"That's how it's done, boys!" Maverick yells, skating back to fist-bump me.

The Vipers are rattled. They're used to being undefeated, but they can't handle it when we push back without taking penalties. Asher lays a clean but hard check on their captain, sending him off balance.

The captain gets up. "You're dead meat," he slurs through his mouthguard, trying to sound intimidating.

Asher laughs.

We're relentless now but smart. Leo's got the puck again, weaving through their defense like a damn magician. He drops it back to me. I see an opening. I wind up and unleash a slapshot. It's a rocket, but their goalie makes a lucky save. The puck bounces out. Leo's there for the rebound, but a Viper slashes him across the wrists. The ref calls a penalty.

"About damn time," I shout, earning a glare from the Viper heading to the box.

The crowd goes ballistic. We're feeding off their energy. Marcus wins the power-play face-off, sends it back to Blake on the blue line. Blake fires a cannon, and this time, it finds the back of the net. Tie game!

The second period is a tough battle. We're playing strong, but the Vipers are throwing everything they've got at us. They get another goal, a deflection that Finn never saw coming. But we answer right back. Maverick makes a beautiful saucer pass to Leo, who buries it top shelf.

"Get some, boys!" he yells out.

The Vipers are frustrated and violent, taking more penalties. It is hard to keep my rage intact, but the fewer penalties we take at the beginning of the season, the better.

The captain of their team runs his mouth as he skates past our bench during an intermission, "You're only doing this good because the ref's got your back."

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