Page 3 of Pucking With My Head

“I wouldn’t expect any less,” he said, gazing down lovingly at his daughter.

Joey was the daughter of a pack, so one of the three men in the pack was her biological father, but packs tended to never check to see who was the one who contributed DNA.

My family had been much the same growing up, though I only had two fathers. Both alphas. My mother, an omega, had passed away when I was young. So that left me, my fathers, and my gaggle of alpha brothers.

Safe to say, it had been an extremely testosterone-filled house growing up.

That was probably part of the reason I had become so attached to Joey—she was the only girl in a house full of alpha males. I didn’t know the details, but early into her lessons I had asked a question about her mother. I think I had asked one of her fathers if Mom was going to pick her up any day.

They swiftly informed me that there was no mother in the picture and there hadn’t been for many years.

Since then, I hadn’t brought it up with Joey, but every now and again, she mentioned missing having a mom.

As Gideon came down the stairs and I said my goodbyes to Joey and Jensen until next week, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I knew who it was, and I immediately didn’t want to answer it. It had been a long day, and I was already exhausted. I didn't have the energy to deal with my family.

With a sigh, I looked at the phone screen as a text came through from one of my dads.

Pa:

Hey, Bethy, are you able to make the chocolate fudge cake when you visit next?

Pa:

Your brothers mentioned they’ve been craving it.

There was a chocolate cake that our mother used to make that my fathers and brothers were obsessed with, and instead of learning to make the cake themselves, it was simply one of the many jobs they pushed onto me.

I didn’t answer. I simply stowed my phone in my pocket and looked up to where Joey was leaving the rink, turning back and waving goodbye at me. Waving back, I pasted a grin on my face.

My family could wait until later.

I had a date with a steaming bowl of mac and cheese and a good book.

Chapter 2

Jensen

“Dad, can I come with you next time you go to a team practice?” Joey asked as she nibbled on the edge of her bagel. Was she done with them? Usually, she devoured bagels like a rabid animal, especially the morning after a skating lesson.

I nodded as I pulled some cream cheese out of the fridge for my own breakfast. “I don’t see why not. You want a bit more ice time?”

Joey nodded. “I also want to see how the players practice. I know how figure skaters do…”

That seemed logical enough. Hockey was a family sport, and half of the team was bonded with children. There was one pack on the team that were young and unbonded, but I had seen them around the team children. They may have been manwhores, but they behaved perfectly around their Chargers family.

“You wanting to see what Daddy J used to do, kiddo?” Cullen asked as he ruffled Joey’s hair playfully.

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “When is Daddy G coming home?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“In a few days. He’s back Tuesday.” Our pack mate had left this morning on a short work trip—he had a deposition in Montana, so he was camping out in a hotel for a few days while he worked.

Joey nodded. “Good. I want him to watch me skate. Bethany says I’m getting so fast, maybe one day I’ll be as fast as her!” she declared excitedly.

I smiled at the mention of her ice-skating instructor.

The day before, when I had picked Joey up, I had been undoubtedly excited to see Bethany again. She’d clearly been exhausted, and I had resisted the urge to grill her on her diet and sleeping habits.

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