Page 22 of The Price of Ice

Kallen held back a little, observing their reunion. The way Levy growled and swatted at Will when he tried to ruffle his curls, only to get caught by Matt from the other side.

McKinley had to intervene and tell everyone to finish getting changed, meeting Kallen’s eyes to make it clear he was included in the order. He wanted to argue that he would just walk Levy to the physio’s office, but McKinley had a hand on Levy’s shoulder and was leading him towards the exit, and what was Kallen supposed to say? That he knew the way better than their captain?

So he sucked it up and went to get changed. He knew it was absurd to feel this protective. Levy was a grown-arse man, he didn’t need to get walked to the door. Maybe he’d needed a little help the first couple of days, but really, if he’d wanted, he could have got by on takeaway for however long it took his arm to heal enough for him to go back to cooking. He probably really didn’t need to be supervised in the shower, even at a distance.

Fuck, was Kallen really any better than Levy’s mum?

“Stop moping, Guin,” Hirst told him, tapping him on the shoulder as he went by. “The Ice Cap will bring your puppy back.”

Kallen glared at him, then hastily dropped his eyes. Hirst was alternate captain, not to mention his senior both in antiquity and age in the team. And an alpha, of course. They could tease, but Kallen wasn’t supposed to get angry at him for real.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, and bent over to tie his skates.

He’d feel better once he was on the ice, he was sure.

“COULD USE A LITTLEmore focus, Guin,” Hirst was telling him, and Kallen kept his eyes firmly on the ground. It wasn’t even untrue; on the ice everything else should have ceased to exist. Today he hadn’t managed.

“Leave him alone,” Benny Ariak told Hirst. “He’s an omega, it’s natural he’ll be worried about an injured teammate.”

He was surprisingly soft for an enforcer, completely unlike his uncle the doctor. And his half-sister Cat. Maybe if you were born a White Cat, you either got the hockey talent or the complete lack of empathy. Maybe Benny’s father, from whom he must have inherited his dark skin and curly hair, had been some sort of saint. It seemed unlikely, given Benny’s surname meant he was the child of a team omega.

Hirst snorted. “Oh, yeah, he was super worried about me, I bet.”

“You got your own omega to worry about you,” Benny shot back, and for a moment, without his usual good cheer, he looked like the enforcer he was. Like an alpha, protective and dangerous both. “Pollack doesn’t.”

Kallen’s fists clenched on the shirt he’d just taken from his bag and his teeth weren’t doing much better. It was true he hadn’t been that worried about Hirst, who’d re-injured his weak knee, but he’d been playing for him anyway, hadn’t he? And also, Hirst had never gone out of his way to look after him like Levy had. Maybe both of them were his alphas equally, but...

But only Levy was his friend.

Of course that was the last thing he could say. Management knew he was checking on Levy, and maybe Johnson had even told them that he was staying with him to do that more effectively. He tried to remember if any other unmated teammates had got injured before and could only think of Matt, who of course had Will to look after him. No one had told him he was expected to behave this way with Levy. No one hadneededto tell him, Kallen hadn’t even thought of doing anything else.

Was that instincts or being a good friend? Maybe Hirst was right that he was taking it too far. Like, how did it help Levy to have Kallen thinking of him instead of the puck on the ice? Ifanything, he needed Kallen to play as well as he could, to help the team score while Levy was away.

By the time he made it to the physio rooms, he’d half convinced himself that he’d drop Levy home and head upstairs. Maybe ask the Johnsons to take Levy some dinner, or...

And then Levy came out looking dazed, saw Kallen and took the two extra steps necessary to lay his head on his chest, eyes closed and swaying a little. Kallen instinctively braced himself to keep them both upright, free hand going around his friend’s back. “Hey, you okay?” he asked in a rough whisper.

Levy’s nod came accompanied by a sound very far from affirmative.

Kallen had manoeuvred him, so he was on Levy’s good side and started walking them out. When he risked a glance, he saw Levy’s eyes were actually closed. What had the physio done to him?

He waited until they were in the car to ask and reached over and squeezed Levy’s knee when he got no response. Levy’s eyes opened but he looked no less disorientated. “What?”

“What did she do to you?” he repeated.

“Uh? Nothing, like...” His eyes fell to his arm, back in its sling. “Some tissue got stuck...” He seemed to run out of words, good hand coming up to rub at his face. He hadn’t shaved properly, Kallen noticed. “It’s good, just... tiring.”

Stuck tissue didn’t sound good to Kallen, but he couldn’t argue with the second part and surely the team wouldn’t hire someone who might break one of their players, right?

Kallen had reclined the seat for him, so he was at a reasonable angle for his neck, and Levy had gone out like a light. Both good things and yet, it meant he wasn’t sure if he should wake him up now that they were home. He finally reached out and touched Levy’s face, his fingers catching on the stubble there, very carefully not lingering any longer than he needed to.

It got him a little sigh, but no signs of waking. “Hey, man,” Kallen said, too low, and then louder. “Levy, come on, let’s go up.”

His friend grunted, clearly unhappy.

“Think of your bed,” Kallen encouraged. “Won’t give you a crick in your neck.”

“Bath,” Levy mumbled.

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