Page 7 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

“Well, then maybe I’ll just have to put a stop to this little hockey charade.”

I let my eyes fall closed, knowing I couldn’t risk her doing that to Gavin.

He was good. Even Conrad had seen his potential. He knew there was more to Gavin than determination.

He had raw talent, and I wasn’t going to let her steal that from him.

“I’ll pay the bills I usually pay. You’ll even get your cut.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue.

“You better put an extra cut in there for your smart fucking mouth,” she growled. “Oh, and make sure you guys are not home tomorrow.”

“It’s my one morning off,” I said. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

“No, you won’t,” she said, sharper this time. “And I suggest you get your ass out of here early. I don’t need an alpha-snatching unmated omega bitch in my house.”

I swear my mother always thought we were in competition. If only she knew the alpha that was truly my scent-match. Unlike the alphas she found to warm her bed and line her pockets, rich alphas who thought they were sweeping the omega off her feet, he was genuine.

The ones she found weren’t here for a family, just a good time. I’d seen the relief in their eyes when they realized Gavin and I were old enough to be self-sufficient.

The hunger in their eyes when they looked at me and realized I was an omega, too, was what set her off.

If my mom hadn’t kept such a tight grip on them out of her own jealousy, there would’ve been a whole lot more reason for me to run away from this hellhole.

“I’ll be gone after he goes to school,” I said, finally pushing past her, done with this fucking conversation.

I pushed open the door to the tiny bedroom I had to myself and almost cried when I saw that it had been tossed.

I kept my things clean, but anytime my mother thought I might be hiding something, she tore through it.

Half the time I didn’t even think she was looking for money.

She just wanted to ruin my day. This was her way of proving her point that I was helpless here and she had all the control.

Even though my body was bone-achingly tired and my mind was foggy from lack of sleep, I cleaned it back up as I always did, biting my tongue yet again and counting down the days until I could escape.

I just prayed that some alpha came along, swept her off her feet, and she signed over her parental rights to me.

A girl could dream.

Chapter

Three

Dhara

My head throbbed as I walked into South Lake Diner. Thanks to a late night of getting my room back into livable condition and the few slaps Mom had gotten in last night, I was aching, to say the least.

I couldn’t keep going like this, but there was no alternative at the moment.

This was my life for now. Even my omega instincts and heats had been stunted in the past few years thanks to all the stress. Something that definitely didn’t help matters.

“Grab your usual booth,” I told Gavin.

They gave me one free meal here and had thankfully agreed to let me feed Gavin breakfast here every morning, instead. He sat there quietly and did what was left of his homework or gamed a bit on the used console I’d managed to get him for Christmas last year.

“Hey there, hockey boy!” Lydia said as she walked around the counter with a tray loaded down with coffees and stacks of pancakes.

“Hey, Lydia,” he called out, not even looking up as she started distributing the food to the table next to his.