Page 14 of Knot Your Pucking Mate
He’s faded away, leaving only an unhealed wound behind. The past is the past though, and I need to leave the hurt behind and try not to let it affect my relationship with Axel.
He could very well be the person who stitches the pieces of my heart back together.
Chapter Eight
Chase
The crowd roars as I fly across the ice, checking a member of the opposing team just as he’s about to pass the puck. The side of my body collides with his, shoulder to shoulder, and the force of impact sends him crashing to the ice with a satisfying thwack.
Carrying the puck into the neutral zone, I see Katz is open. I pass to him, but he’s intercepted, losing control of the puck.
For fuck's sake, I mutter under my breath. This team just cannot get its fucking shit together. I can’t remember a season that’s ever started as badly as this one.
I circle around, chasing the puck, but I can’t get close enough. The player shoots for our goal. There're just seconds on the clock. It’s up to our goalie, Milton, now. Either way, we’ve lost. But this might be the difference between losing and being completely annihilated.
The puck sails right by him, and the buzzer signals the end of the game.
Beaten again.
Is there any hope for this team?
Glancing up at the crowd, my eyes search for the VIP box. Mandy is here tonight. Marilyn and Axel set her up with a ticket so she can watch her first game in luxury. Pity we didn’t perform better for her.
A flash of pink catches my eye as she tosses her head, laughing at something someone says. Then her face comes into view, and my heart pounds in my chest so ferociously that the beat drowns out the sound of the crowd as they celebrate their team's win or mourn our team's loss.
She’s exactly as I remember her—apart from the color of her hair. She was a pale blonde when we were together in high school. I like the pink better. It complements her rosy cheeks and pixie nose. She’s glowing.
A lump settles in my stomach, and my mood sours even further as I turn away and follow the rest of the team. We file out through the player’s bench and make our way to the locker room, shoulders slumped in defeat.
We’re all feeling it. The pressure. It’s weighing on us. Marilyn made it clear we need to step it up or the team may end up being disbanded. No one wants that. No matter how much we’re clashing and fighting off the ice, we don’t want our team to fall apart.
Marilyn has a plan. But I’m not sure it’s working. It might seem to be for Axel—Mandy’s his fucking scent match. There’s still so much toxic alpha energy on the team. The few sneaky pairings she’s made have made little difference. In fact, some of these assholes are grumpier than they were before.
Something's got to give.
I sit through Coach’s dress-down quietly. He gives us a verbal whipping and then leaves us to it. I just want to get the fuck out of here. It won’t be easy, though. Axel has this grand idea that Mandy and I need to meet tonight.
I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing he truly wants to happen. He has no idea what’s about to blow up in front of him. And I haven’t got a clue how to tell him. I’m a fucking pussy, but I can’t bring myself to ruin this for him. I’m trying my hardest to hold on to a thread of hope that maybe, just maybe, Mandy doesn’t hate me.
But I stood her up for prom. And never spoke to her again.
I didn’t mean to. The limo was booked. I was going to pick her up at eight o’clock, and we were going to have the night of our lives. I had a corsage picked out and everything.
But fate had other plans.
I pile into the car with my uncle Joseph, pumped from the introductory training session I’d just had with ex-player Hamilton Keeys.
“That was the best,” I say as I buckle my seat belt. Joseph grins at me as he turns the keys in the ignition, the engine revving to life.
“You did amazingly out there, Austin. It looked like skating was as natural to you as walking. What do you think? Reckon you’d want to be a part of their program?”
The answer is yes. Fuck yes. But they’d have to offer me a spot in the program, which are lucrative. I’m beyond lucky to have even been invited to attend today.
“Let’s just wait and see if they even think I’m good enough,” I mumble, not wanting to get my hopes up. Joseph tuts and puts the car into gear, heading down the long drive and out onto the main road.
“So, prom tonight? Taking anyone special?”
“Yep,” I say, knowing it drives him nuts when I answer him in one syllable words. I glance his way and catch him rolling his eyes, and I chuckle. “My girlfriend. Mandy Paine. She’s pretty damn special.”
