Page 54 of Ice Wolf
But not when a member of his family was hurt or challenged. Pops usually went into protective mode to keep our mother safe. When their sanctity was challenged, he turned into a true beast, only remaining in human form. I couldn’t remember the last time the man had shifted. Our mother either. They were quite content with playing the affluent neighbors who threw lavish barbeques and block parties.
“I was busy. I wasn’t trying to ghost him. Or you.” With the coffee spitting the last of the brew, I moved to the refrigerator to grab the cream. “I’m sorry, bro. I really am. How bad is it for you?”
He shifted screens again. “Take a look.”
An Instagram post from his rival team exclaiming Steven was washed up.
“Fuck,” I hissed and slammed my fist against the counter. “I don’t what to say other than you’re right, I wasn’t thinking about you and your career. I wasn’t trying to jam you up. The shit at the bar wasn’t supposed to get that out of hand.”
“Then why the fuck did you shift? We’ve been trained to keep our heritage out of the public eye. I just don’t get you.”
I stared at the tan liquid in my cup, suddenly disgusted at the thought of drinking it. Sighing, I set the mug aside and rubbed my eyes. Even they ached. At least my body was consistent. “I was angry. The woman didn’t deserve some asshole picking on her.”
Steven slumped against the other counter, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I get that. What if they toss me off the team?”
“For what? For being my brother?”
He shrugged and sauntered closer, eyeing me cautiously. “This shit isn’t just going to go away, man.”
“No, it’s not.”
Suddenly, my brother took a deep whiff. “Well, shit.”
“What?”
“I don’t know why I didn’t catch the scent the moment I walked in. Maybe because I was too goddamn angry. You found your mate. Right? How is that even possible? I was beginning to think it was a myth.”
“There’s not a chance I found a mate. I still sometimes think those were just stories Dad liked to tell us.” Yet my words were clipped and not full of my typical jest.
Inching closer, he took another exaggerated whiff. “Holy crap. I’m not wrong. Wow. I never thought you’d find the right girl.”
“Don’t do that shit. I haven’t found anything because I haven’t been looking.”
“Maybe not, but what did Pops always tell us?” Steven puffed out his chest as we’d seen our father do a hundred times. He also lowered his voice to match the gravelly tone of the illustrious pack leader. “‘When you find your mate there is nothing on this planet that will stop you from protecting and knotting her. Enjoy the ride, boys, as that’s the moment the world will open up in the palm of your hand.’ Remember, he also mentioned the potential for excessive anger.”
Excessive anger. I’d felt that in spades.
Yet I had to laugh as my brother and I had done two dozen times before when Pops had spouted it off. “Well, I’m not mating with anyone.”
We stared at each other. We knew better than to deny when nature called. There were reports alpha males who’d done so in the past had gone completely insane.
The stale awkwardness shared between us was something I hated, but after being drafted into the NHL, our tight relationship had soured. The tension was already driving me crazy.
“I think she was in heat, man,” I said with quiet reverence.
“The she-wolf you fucked?”
My laugh was as tense as I felt. “Not a wolf. A human.”
Steven snorted. “That’s not possible. Maybe you’re just getting old and can’t tell when a woman is wet with need.”
His grin made me roll my eyes. “I can smell a woman’s desire from a mile away.” Which I could. “This is different.” I could see her face in my mind’s eye as she moaned, her nails digging into my skin. I wore the scratches with pride even though in mere hours the indentations were nothing but a memory.
The hard-on I was experiencing was painful.
“How so?”
The words didn’t automatically come to my mind. “She’s impractical as hell, a girl determined to bring me to my knees and not in the way you’re thinking. She’s opinionated, hardheaded, a pain in my ass with her constant testing and drilling me over the dos and don’ts of social media. As if I have no clue how to act around fans.”
