Page 97 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

And the war begins.

Chapter 18

Plague

Ipivot with the puck on my stick, already three moves ahead. The Demons' left winger commits too early and his momentum carries him past me.

My pass goes to Whiskey, who's already crashing the net. He one-times it past the Demons' goalie before the poor bastard can even set his stance.

Horn blares.

Three-nothing, Ghosts.

Still in the first period.

Whiskey drops to his knees, slides across the ice with his arms spread wide, screaming, then pops back up and skates backward while pointing at me with both hands.

"THAT'S MY FUCKIN' ICE PRINCE!" he bellows.

I raise my hand in brief acknowledgment before skating off because anything less would invite hours of his wounded-puppy routine.

The bench welcomes me with unwanted back slaps and helmet taps. I settle into position, grabbing a water bottle and squirting it into my mouth.

Whiskey drops onto the bench beside me.

Great.

He's panting and his hair's soaked, but he's still grinning like an idiot. His shoulder brushes mine, on purpose I'm sure.

"Did you see Wade's stupid fuckin' face?" Whiskey asks.

"I was focused on the play."

"Sure you were." He bumps my shoulder again. "Sure you weren't watching me skate?"

"No. There's nothing to watch," I mutter. "You skate like a circus bear."

"Agree to disagree." He throws an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side. "You know what we should do after we win? Matching tattoos. Pack bonding. Wait, can you get tattoos?"

"I'm an atheist."

"Speaking of bears, I'm thinking you could get a bear eating Wade's face off and I could get a plague doctor shoving a bonesaw up Wade's⁠—"

"WHISKEY."

"See, that's the passion I'm talking about! Channel that energy, babe."

I shove him off. He slides away, laughing.

But I notice something as the play continues without us.

Wade is more aggressive when Whiskey isn't on the ice. Less guarded. The public narrative is that Wade fears Wraith, but I know better.

The public narrative is bullshit.

It was Whiskey who slammed Wade face-first into the boards from behind. Whiskey who skated victory laps while dry-humping the air and barking.

And not because Whiskey's an idiot.