Page 4 of Nix
Evan and the backup goalie, Sergie, sat side by side without speaking. Goalies were known to be superstitious and a little weird. Not that Evan cared what anyone thought about him. He was way too fucking old to play games. Unless it was hockey. Evan loved hockey.
As a solitary being, Evan didn’t have the same need to connect with his teammates. There had been a time, back when he’d played for the NHL, that Evan had allowed himself to be close to the men that he’d played with. They spent so much time together that it was hard not to get caught up in their antics.
It had all fallen apart when the paranormal community had outed themselves.
The paranormals that were among the government and species leaders had made the ultimate decision to allow humans to know the truth. Since Evan was one of the last of his kind, he’d had no idea that it was even happening until he’d watched the news and learned along with everyone else in the world.
It hadn’t taken long for the human teammates he’d thought were his friends to start looking at him and the other paranormal players differently. They’d started to see them differently. Since it was mandatory for every paranormal to register, there had been no hiding.
His partner had known. Even as they kept their relationship secret from most of the world, some of their teammates had known. Until Ken had walked away like the rest of them.
A group of humans against paranormals had formed and they’d gotten hold of the registry. Evan and every other NHL player’s name was released in one massive swoop on the same day and they were suspended from the league.
Men he’d believed were his friends turned their backs on him. Stopped answering his calls. And Ken…he blamed Evan for all the bad press they’d gotten. Evan had been discarded like he’d never even mattered.
After already losing his entire clan, his family, his people, Evan had been devastated by the loss of his friends and the boy he’d loved.
It had been a bad few years after that.
Evan hated the paranormal government that had helped strip away his life. Taken everything from him. When he’d first heard about a new paranormal hockey league being formed, he hadn’t been interested. The betrayal ran too deep.
A few of his old paranormal friends, ones he’d played hockey with and who had also been disregarded, had tracked Evan down to his private home up in the Colorado mountains. Vin, Laney, and Luka Kotov had refused to let Evan hide himself away from the world. It had been four years since he’d been thrown out of the NHL for being paranormal.
Eventually Evan gave in and signed with the new PAHL.
This was his sixth season in Florida playing for the Paranormal American Hockey League. There was no question that Evan had missed the ice, the game, the adrenaline dumps from being in front of the net. He was still wary that it could all be taken away. He wasn’t a fool. Evan trusted no one and nothing.
The little rookie was testing Evan’s resolve.
Nix was everything that Evan wished he could be. Fun, interesting, and liked by everyone. Even though their team was solid, many of them playing together for years since they’d first joined the league, there had been a few positions that had opened up. Nix might be young, but he already fit in with the team. And he was drawing Evan in with each little smile and invitation to join the team.
The rest of his teammates had stopped inviting him after years of rejection.
Had it been Nix’s idea to start the invitation again?
Watching the young shifter, Evan was sure it was all Nix.
For some reason Nix was determined to be friends with him.
There was a commotion, and Evan yanked the AirPods from his ears.
Nix stared up at one of the defensemen, Cody Marlin, who hovered over him. His ever-present bag of roasted pumpkin seeds had spilled over the floor. That annoyed Evan. Nix loved those seeds and offered them to anyone who would want some. Slowly, Evan rose to his feet.
“You need to watch where you’re going, rookie.” Cody sneered down at Nix.
“I was watching where I was going!” Nix exclaimed. “You ran into me!”
Marlin crouched down. “Oh, did the little batty get hurt? And did all your little snacks spill? So sad.”
What was this bullshit? Evan stalked forward as pure fury consumed him and their captain, Laney, entered the locker room.
“What the hell is going on?” Laney yelled.
Marlin straightened. “Nothing, Cap!”
Evan pushed Marlin away from Nix. Marlin grumbled and walked away, luckily for him. Evan wasn’t messing around when it came to Nix. He offered the rookie his hand.
Nix’s frown immediately dropped as he stared up at Evan with those unique orange eyes. “Bestie!”
