Page 74 of Ice Rebel

This was a fucking nightmare.

“Did you talk with Clementine? I mean Chelsea? Does she know?”

“Oh, she knows. We were out having drinks when a bunch of girls treated her like shit. She held her own, but that’s not the worst of it.”

“Then what is?”

“She didn’t know either one of us were shifters. Plus, I heard you had a little run-in with her brother, the new guy on the team you can’t stand?”

“Ah, fuck.” I put the phone on speaker so I could struggle into some clothes.

“Fuck is right. I take it from what she told me that Jagger has no idea you two hooked up?”

“We didn’t hook up, but nah. Are you kidding me?”

When she laughed, it was her way of calling me a stupid asshole without the words. I yanked on a clean shirt, raking my fingers through my hair. What the fuck was I supposed to do with this? Jagger would be pissed if he knew.

“Then I think you need to figure out a little damage control. Maybe you should call your big brothers for some advice.”

“Fuck that. I can handle this. I’ll call Clementine.”

“Chelsea, and I didn’t think she had to work today but she left early. Without her phone. She didn’t act upset last night but honestly, I think she was in shock after learning about where Jagger had moved and that you’re my brother. Then the shifter part. And evidently her dad is a real jerk. I haven’t bothered to try and find anything about him. Anyway, I don’t know where she went, but obviously you need to try and find her.”

“I don’t know enough about her, Sam. We didn’t tell each other anything personal.”

“Yeah, I know. She told me that too.”

“Then you need to help me. If I can’t find her at the gym, then where would she go?”

Samantha groaned. “I have an idea. She’s a dancer. Did she tell you that?”

“Well, I caught her practicing in a studio at the gym, but she didn’t really tell me much.”

“She wants to be a dancer, as in accepted into a dance company. She’s involved with a local dance studio and they have a performance this Sunday. She might be there practicing. Dancing grounds her. If she’s not there, then I don’t know.”

“Where?” I was incensed, furious. Upset. Worried. I could only imagine what Clementine was going through.

“They use the Lincoln Theater on Second Street.”

“Okay. How didn’t she know I was a shifter? It’s all over the news.”

“Some hockey player was an asshole, and I’m not talking about her brother. She can’t stand hockey players, but that’s the least of your worries.”

I threw my head back, furious that I hadn’t told her I was a shifter myself. Maybe I’d been under the belief everyone knew at this point. How was I supposed to overcome not telling her something so important?

“Let me go. I’ll see if I can find her. If you see her first, just tell her that… That I really enjoyed spending time with her.”

“You need to tell her that yourself.”

With the call ended, I held the phone to my head, cursing under my breath. What a fucking mess. The worst part, more than the unwanted social media bullshit, the fact her brother would fucking lose his shit or even that there was a chance I’d created a rift between Clementine and my sister was that I really liked the girl. A hell of a lot. And not just because I enjoyed the passion we’d shared. She was different. She was… Fucking perfect.

I quickly glanced at the team’s Instagram account until a swell of anger rolled into my system. Fans or not, who the fuck did they think they were, saying such horrible things about her? What the fuck?

Without thinking, I fisted my hand, smashing it into the wall near the bathroom door. A gaping hole appeared, my hand immediately aching, but that would fade. Of course it would fade because I was a goddamn wolf capable of healing quickly. And no one on the internet wanted to let me forget.

Or anyone else for that matter.

I grabbed my duffle, tossing in what I’d need for the trip. I certainly wasn’t coming back to the house. I’d hunt her down, no matter what I had to do. I snatched my keys, fighting another violent urge.