Page 28 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

“First things first, I need to know you’re both in this. Because if you’re not, walk the fuck away now,” August said, eyeing us both.

“We are not walking away,” Lachlan spit out, offended he’d even question our loyalty.

“She’s my omega. I would never walk away from her.” It was the truth.

“Good,” August said, his delta calming slightly. “Good. That means we start by finding a pack house somewhere big enough for Gavin, and somewhere she can start establishing residency. If we try to take that bitch to court, we need to make sure that she looks as stable as possible.”

“That’s a great start,” Lachlan said. I was just relieved we had a jumping-off point. It was a hard pill to swallow that this delta was a better leader than I was, but when it came to her, he was familiar territory. It made sense.

“Okay, so let’s think of what she needs to prove. Reputable pack. A house. Stable work. She’s got two jobs. If they try to say something about getting him to and from school, we’re covered because we’re around and he takes a bus.”

“She doesn’t have a car,” Lachlan pointed out. “They walked home last time. I kept my distance, but made sure they got there safe.”

“I’ve got an extra SUV. I’ll put her name on the title tomorrow,” I said without hesitating. Hell, if she’d let me I’d hand her the keys, too.

“Not to sound like a dick, but we’ve got money,” August said. “We can get the resources like an amazing lawyer to fight for us. Between now and then, we just have to prove to her that we’ll catch her if she falls.”

“So… this is probably not exactly on the up and up,” Lachlan started, looking around nervously.

He had our full attention now.

“Out with it, Evans. We’re desperate here,” August said.

“I’ve got a brother who’s pretty damn good with tech. I could have him look into her.”

“Blackmail?” August said, not bothering to beat around the bush. “Hell, yeah. Get him on it. We’re going to need every angle of defense we can.”

“I’m on it,” Lachlan said as he texted someone on his phone. He saw us watching and reassured us quickly. “Don’t worry, just setting up a call. We don’t do things like this where there’s a paper trail.”

“In the meantime, you two are going to have to go slow with her. Give her a chance to realize that she doesn’t have to be on her own anymore.”

“Wait,” I said. “Why did we meet here instead of just going home?”

August snorted. “I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly in my right headspace. This felt like neutral ground. I guess we could go home now.”

“Tomorrow, we contact a real estate agent and swing by the bank,” I supplied. “I need to add her to my accounts. Maybe open up a pack one we all have access to.”

“You know we don’t have to bond to make this pack official,” Lachlan said. “We can put ourselves down as a pack on paperwork. It would be legally binding. It’s not like we can’t dissolve it if something happens. That paper would add another layer of protection.”

“Good thinking,” August agreed. “We can head home tonight and start preparing. The house was supposed to be temporary anyway, right?”

“It feels wrong picking out a house without our omega,” I admitted. “We’re taking away her choice and preferences.”

“We’re picking one out with her in mind,” August countered. “For now, that’s going to have to be enough. It’s not like we can’t get a different house in the future sometime.”

He had me there.

“Come on,” Lachlan said, climbing out of the truck. We were at the third location in South Lake, but the first two had been a bust. Too small or didn’t feel right.

We all followed him out. Our real estate agent, Tiffany, was waiting by the sidewalk already.

“I have a really good feeling about this one,” she reassured us. “I’m usually pretty good at reading people. Now that we’ve seen a few, I’ve pivoted a bit.”

“What are we looking at here?” August asked as we looked up at the house. The lake backdrop behind it was gorgeous. The house itself was an old farmhouse style with a wraparound, white painted porch, white siding, and light wood shutters and accents.

The flowerbeds out front were well kept and the lawn cut with precision. Whoever had it before kept it in pristine condition.

“I know you guys said money wasn’t an object, and I’ve tried to show you a few different places that could honestly go either way, but this one is honestly a steal. It has more bedrooms than it looks like, plus, it’s on the lake. You should see the outdoor entertaining area around back. It’s what dreams are made of, especially for a young pack like yourselves.”