Page 18 of One Pucked Up Pack
“Promise?”
I nod my head. Eli reaches out to touch me again but pulls back. I almost whine again, but I keep it trapped in my throat. I don’t want to confuse him any further.
“Text me, so I have your number. I promise to reach out.”
“Can I walk you to your door?” I nod, and he immediately gets out to let me out of the truck, holding onto my elbow as we walk to the door. The feeling is bittersweet. I know that by saying goodnight my Alpha, I mean, my scent match, will be walking away from me. But on the other side of things, I need a moment to collect my thoughts.
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.” I squeeze his arm before I open the front door and walk in. I thought I could escape them, but their scents are embedded in my clothes. They’re the comforting scents of my home.
Hank follows me into my room. I strip naked and crawl into my bed, wondering what the fuck I’m supposed to do and wishing I didn’t run away.
Chapter nine
Myfuckingscentmatch.
She had to be beautiful, and sweet, and drop in my lap at the worst fucking possible moment. I can’t afford to be distracted right now. Not to mention that if I don’t go pro, I have literally nothing to offer an Omega. Hockey is what I’m good at. I don’t have backup money like Eli or a family to go home to like Anders. I need this career more than I need to be thinking about starting a pack right now.
Not only do I need it financially, I need to prove to myself that I’m nothing likethem. Nothing like the family who does what they need to scrape by, nothing like the family that throws fists instead of using words. I need to be better, and I’m not good enough to be someone’s fucking Alpha right now. I wouldn’t even know where to start. It’s not like I’ve even been someone’s boyfriend before. Now I’m supposed to, what? Just be mated to someone for the rest of my life?
What the fuck?
If I could go back in time, I would drown that little kid that hit Charlotte with the puck. Maybe then Charlotte wouldn’t have gotten hurt, and the tiny little thing wouldn’t have ended up in our cabin.
As soon as I scented her, I knew.Mon sucre d’érable.
Fucking embarrassing.I’m just thankful that no one speaks French, and I got out of there as soon as I could. I came up to my room, attempted to meditate, to read, to get my mind off of the girl downstairs.
I wound up jerking off three times. My knot has never been as swollen as it was when I jerked off to the memory of her scent. It’s fucking pathetic.
I’m pathetic. I don’t deserve to be an Omega’s Alpha, especially not with who I am now. I was supposed to grow over the next few years. Prove myself in the NHL, and then maybe settle down with a Beta. This was unexpected and unwanted.
How am I supposed to tell Anders and Eli, the two Alphas who were actually decent to her, that out of all of us, I’m the one she’s predestined to be with? When she came in here looking frantic and finally smelling my scent, I wanted to hold her, fuck her, make her mine. At least that’s what the primal part of me wanted, the part that I push so deep down it’s just like a background noise in my mind. She needs to stay the fuck away from me, with her sweet scent, big doe eyes, and long blonde hair that would be perfect for wrapping around my fist.
I hate her for interrupting my progress. I know it’s not her fault, but why did she have to bulldoze her fucking way into this cabin and change everything?
She looked so dejected as I shut the door on her. She needs to keep feeling that way. Charlotte needs to understand that I’m not the Alpha for her. Scent match or not, this isn’t fucking happening. It can’t happen, right? How am I supposed to manage finishing school, somehow managing to go pro, and being someone’s Alpha? There’s no fucking way.
My temper is flared, and all I want to do is punch something as I dress, pulling on sweatpants and a Henley before I make my way downstairs to face everyone. To see if Charlotte is still here, not because I want to see her, but to see if now is a good time to talk with the guys and tell them what’s happening. Eli seemed really interested in her, and I feel bad for impeding his winter time fuck. But it’s not happening. She can’t come back here again.
My bare feet pad across the wooden floor to find Anders’ hands in his hair, elbows on the table, and a half playedCatanboard in front of him.
“You all played without me?” I try to make light of the moment, and Anders looks up at me with an irritated gaze. He is the most even keel of all of us, but right now he looks about ready to fly off the handle.
“You weren’t exactly making your presence known.” His tone is dark and unexpected.
“Where’s Eli?”
“He’s driving Charlotte home.”
I nod, probably because I scared the fuck out of her.Good.
“About that. She can’t come back here.”
Anders stands up and crosses his arms across his chest. “The fuck she can’t. She’ll be back tomorrow.”
“She can’t come back here, Anders. Trust me.” I’ve never seen Anders like this before. He doesn’t lose his temper. I don’t understand why he’s being this way, but he doesn’t fucking get it. She might seem like a fun winter time fuck to him, but I can’t have my scent match prodding around this cabin, shoving her scent in my face. The fact that I know my scent match is out there is already fucked up enough. Having her rubbed in my face when I can’t have her would only make it worse.
