Page 149 of The Price of Ice

“It passed.” The words had come out of his own mouth, but he still wasn’t sure they were real.

Both before and after the White Cats, he’d built his entire life around the laws that allowed sports teams to treat omegas like sexual slaves. And for all he’d left professional hockey six years ago, for all he was happy and fulfilled... the war hadn’t ended. He’d just switched sides. To the losing side, he’d thought.

He’d done it anyway, because it was right and the only way he could live with himself,forgivehimself.

It'd been a long time now, and hehadforgiven himself, paid his penance by standing up in a courtroom and telling a truth he’d have rather hidden. Putting McKinley away and getting the White Cats penalised for not protecting him had felt like a miracle, more than he could possibly ask for no matter how much everyone told him he deserved it.

Giving their money to Fair Sport had been a relief after that.

His career teaching lure there hadn’t been an escape, but it had been a way to help omegas live betterwithinthe system. And it’d been great, a blessing he gave and received every day—a reason to wake up every morning. A fight he could win. A small one, yes, but only as small as a fellow omega’s life.

It had been more than enough for him. He’d still gone to the marches and talked to people at parties when Analisa told him to.

But he’d never expected...

He turned away from the screen, the newscasters’ voices fading as he did, and met Levy’s eyes. His throat was so tight he was having to keep his mouth open to breathe.

His partner was staring right back at him, frowning a little, and on the verge of what felt like hysterical laughter. These days, any intense emotions would get them in sync almost instantly.

“They did it...” It came out uncertain, and Levy shook his head and repeated it with more force, “They passed it.” And there was his smile, still a little incredulous but lighting up his face in a way Kallen couldn’t help but echo.

It suddenly became imperative to be closer. He was already crawling closer across the sofa and Levy met him halfway, tugging at his clothes until Kallen could either knee him somewhere delicate or sit on his lap.

Levy looked up at him, now grinning like a maniac, but his voice was barely a whisper when he said, “Kallen, we canplay.”

Kallen hadn’t been thinking of that, and the words were so shocking he leaned back a bit, making Levy tug again to keep him upright. When his gaze refocused, Levy’s own had softened. “Wecan, but we don’t have to.”

“No!” Kallen shook his head. “I know, it’s just...” He shrugged a little. “I was thinking of the kids, not me. Us.”

Levy didn’t call him up on that faux pas. They’d both received offers to come out of retirement in the six years since they’d walked away from their professional hockey playing careers. At first Kallen hadn’t understood why, after what they had done. But apparently, the teams had figured that given that they’d both publicly denounced the system, any team they chose to join would enjoy instant public approval.

Kallen had mostly kept his role to speaking about how lure could give omegas enough power to assert their own needs and find balance with alphas in both their personal and professional lives. It was just the facts, and he wanted as many people—omegas in particular, but also any alphas or betas that wanted to help their loved ones—to get it.

But Levy’s job had still been hockey. Most parents were quite happy to have a former professional player teaching their little ones, but they weren’t as keen when said alpha lost it on camera at yet another demand as to whether he could do more good in a team. Levy’s boss had been instrumental in both saving his career and refocusing his indignation towards something more productive, and it’d been enough for the teams to get the message at long last.

After that, the offers had stopped. Kallen had felt nearly as guilty as relieved. He’dseenfirsthand what treating omegas like they were nothing more than warm bodies to fuck had done to Levy, held his hand through therapy and sex that got to be too much and nightmares that came back in force when life got stressful. But he’d also felt the temptation too strongly himself not to want to remove it from Levy’s plate.

“Sorry,” he said now, swallowing his pride. “I wasn’t thinking—”

“Darling,” Levy cut him off. “You have been keeping it in a box for a long time, you can think about yourself first.”

He rubbed his cheek against Levy’s, relishing the stubble he found there and inhaling deeply, his muscles unlocking at once at the scents of sandalwood and apples and Levy.

Levy laughed under him, shifting to hold his weight. “You wanna celebrate?” he whispered, and the low rasp of his voice was enough to get Kallen’s cock twitching in his boxers.

Even after six years together, it wasn’t often he’d turn down an offer like that. But time had taught him some self-control, he straightened to look down at him. “You think we could use the rink tomorrow if we call now?”

Levy’s pout made him laugh again and he leaned in again until his lips were brushing over the sensitive shell of his partner’s ear. “Or you think I’ll be too sore to skate?”

A sharp inhale announced his victory, and a moment later Levy was pinning him to the sofa. “Definitely too sore,” he promised, hazel eyes dark but dancing with amusement. Kallen shivered—this wasn’t a threat, but a promise.

He licked his lips, delighting in the way his alpha couldn’t help but follow the movement, hips hitching against him. “We can’t afford another sofa this month.”

“Huh?” Levy blinked at him, as if he was actually struggling to process the words.

“Take me to bed,” Kallen translated, and even though he’d asked, he still gasped when his partner somehow threw himself backwards and dragged him along to his feet. Kallen might have been working religiously on his mental fitness, but it was Levy who never skipped the gym. He hardly needed to be at the top of his form to keep up with the kids he taught, and Kallen hadn’t questioned why he still worked nearly as hard as when they’d played professionally. It wasn’t unhealthy, and when he did get himself to the gym too, he actually remembered the rush of adrenaline that came after a good workout and regretted not doing it more.

Besides, he was the one who reaped most of the benefits.

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