Page 29 of The Price of Ice

But his dad had told him that he was safe, that he could play and that was all that mattered.

“God,” his dad spat, and it sounded like a swear word. “You’re—” He cut himself off, and reached for Kallen’s shoulder, squeezing hard. That was familiar enough that Kallen looked at him. His face was distorted with anger. “That kid was a twat, Kallen, nothing to do with you. You can’t listen to that bullshit. Can’t let it distract you from the game.”

“But...”

“No buts,” his dad had insisted, eyes bright and mouth hard. “You are the best player in your team, and anyone who needs to call you names is because he can’t play worth shit. What matters more, words or goals?”

He hesitated, but he said what his dad wanted him to, “Goals.”

“Exactly!” His dad clapped him on the shoulder, a little too hard, and stood up. “Come up, wash your face, your mum made ribs for dinner.”

NEXT TIME.

The words were like an amulet he was carrying around under his clothes along with the marks of Levy’s fingernails and mouth. He’d seen them in the mirror of Levy’s bathroom that morning when he’d dragged himself out of the shower, sleep deprived and loopy and not giving a fuck about any of it. He knew the teeth marks would fade and yet... They felt like proof. That he hadn’timagined the sex, or Levy leading him to bed afterwards, or lying there in the dark with Levy’s fingers in his hair.

They hadn’t spoken about the trip, or what would happen while Kallen was away. Levy hadn’t even brought up the lure thing, which had taken a distinctly unreal air in the light of day.

Kallen didn’t care. Maybe he’d used some sort of secret omega power, or maybe Levy just wanted to kiss him and he’d taken the chance. He’d done it anyway and he’d done it again and again afterwards when Kallen had been too distracted to speak, let alone become a metaphorical oasis. And he’d held him close afterwards, whispering about how it felt to touch and be touched, not letting the outside world intrude upon those few hours.

So today Kallen could show up at the airport for his work trip in the full knowledge that he was going to let other alphas fuck him in a few days and not feel empty. It wasn’t like he was looking forward to the febrile desire of heat, but he could put it off for now, just recline on his seat and revisit the sweetness of his memories.

Benny dropped on the seat next to him halfway through the trip, and Kallen opened his eyes. “You resting?”

He wasn’t about to share that he’d been picturing the way it’d felt to roll out of bed that morning, away from the warmth of Levy’s body and yet close to bursting with joy when the alpha had groaned and complained he couldn’t go yet.

“Yeah,” he lied. “What’s up?”

They’d talked hockey, and then the goalie had shared a funny commercial on his tablet. Kallen had gone along with it, too relaxed to think to question the friendliness. It wasn’t that weird, really, team dynamics were ever-shifting. Maybe Benny had argued with whoever he usually spent time with? Kallen realised he had no idea who that was, which wasn't great. It was part ofhis job as team omega to make sure everyone else was getting along, after all.

Everyone expected him to just know how to do all that social stuff, and no one had ever bothered to explainhow. Maybe there was something in him that didn't quite work. Or maybe it was like the lure thing, and he just needed a bit of guidance.

He thought about it for a moment, then relaxed his shoulders and tried to find the oasis. It didn't quite click, but it must have done something because Benny was looking at him, screen forgotten.

"Is everything alright, with Vandy and the guys?" Kallen asked.

Benny nodded, looking a little dazed.Was he coming on too strong?

"So you're just keeping me company?" he tried to tease. It felt a little odd, he didn't really know the other man that well.

"Yeah, um, well..." The alpha's eyes fell and if his skin hadn't been too dark for it, Kallen thought he might have been blushing. "Can I...?" His gaze flickered to the side as if checking if anyone was listening in, and then his voice fell to a whisper. "Can I talk to you about... heat?"

Kallen's stomach fell. Screw him, of course this was about heat. The oasis rushed out of him like someone had dropped a bomb on it. He should have fucking looked at the heat rota, he thought viciously.

Benny must have sensed it because he straightened, eyes widening. "It's not—" He bit his lip. "It's not anything bad, I promise." Kallen didn't speak or look at him. He had way too much experience with alphas to take him at his word, but he was also stuck in the window seat. "I've never done it, I've never... been with an omega."

That information was enough to make him look. Benny was hunched over, as if he thought he could hide his massive frame.As if he felt heneededto hide. "Really?" Kallen blurted out. "I mean..."

"Yeah," Benny muttered, so low it was barely audible.

"Okay, it's... it's okay," Kallen told him. It was actually very strange. Even if apparently, they hadn't slept together before, he'd have expected Benny to have slept with an omega at his age. Some people still made a big deal about virginity, but most omegas found ways around it. "Um, do you mean you haven't during heat, or at all?"

Benny shook his head, which wasn't strictly speaking an answer, but Kallen got the picture anyway. It was still some surrealist landscape he couldn't parse, but he got it. "Well, it's not... I think you just let it happen?"

It was probably terrible advice for an alpha, but it was all he could think of. Instinct was meant to take over and make it all happen, wasn't it? Only of course that often had seemed to translate into alphas doing whatever they wanted. "Or, well, not really, you— you have to take your cue from me." Even saying that much sent his heart racing. It wasn’t a lie, in fact, it was exactly what wassupposed tohappen, but... Alphas didn’t do it. Maybe they were too overcome by their instincts, except for how Levy had just spent a heat with him and not touched him sexually at all and now Kallen knew for a fact that hewantedto.

In some way, it must have been the right thing to say, because Benny was meeting his eyes again. "Like, ask what you need?"

"Yeah!" Kallen said, a little too loud, glancing around nervously. But no one seemed to notice his outburst.

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