Page 81 of Ice Rebel

Nodding, I moved to the stairs of the bus, slowly making my way inside.

With every team member staring at me, Hudson barely able to keep from laughing, I did my best to ignore what soon led to me being the butt of jokes. But I didn’t get very far before Jagger stood up, moving toward me at lightning speed.

And he punched me in the face.

With the guys all jerking to a standing position, the coach ready to blow a gasket, I grabbed my jaw, the force knocking my head to the side.

“You fucking asshole. That’s my sister.”

“I guess I deserved that.” I took a deep breath. The entire busload of people was holding theirs.

“Gentlemen,” Coach Stryker warned.

Jagger was all puffed up, glancing from side to side. “She’s special.” I was shocked he cared so much.

“Yes, she is. You know what, Jagger? She’s very special.”

“You’re not good enough for her.”

If you’d wanted to hear a pin drop inside the bus, you would have. Even the engine already running seemed quiet, anticipatory. However, the coaches were already on their feet, prepared to stop a brutal fight before it began. You better believe a huge part of me was ready, even eager to react just like the primal beast inside normally would.

By allowing my anger a free ranging moment. But what good would that do? She didn’t want me in her life and Jagger was her blood. Still, it was apparent from what she’d said and his actions how little the two knew about each other.

“Maybe I’m not, Jagger. My guess is you’re going to use whatever the fuck excuse that’s right in front of you and I doubt anyone will argue. I’m a damn arrogant, playboy hockey player and she was hurt by some asshole. Maybe a buddy of yours. Maybe not. Maybe I don’t come from a good enough family likes yours, but I tell you what, my parents raised four kids to respect a relationship, including nurturing one another’s passion. Or you can go ahead and use the elephant on this bus. I’m a goddamn shifter. An animal. That’s it, isn’t it? I’m just not good enough because I become a wolf at the full moon and chase small creatures in the woods, chomping down on their bones. And hey, if I’m really hungry, I go after children and pets. Right?”

Jagger and everyone else on the bus were taken aback, so much so Jagger didn’t have an immediate comeback and I was on a roll.

“Let me ask you a question, Jag Man. Have you ever watched Chelsea dance? I mean even once. I get your father is some bigwig who believes in arranged marriages for corporate takeovers, but that’s your sister and you’re not your father. So have you?” I folded my arms, glaring at him without blinking.

“Nah,” he finally said. “I haven’t.” At least he had the decency to appear sheepish.

“Well, you’re missing something as incredibly special as the beautiful woman. She has a performance on Sunday. Maybe some big scouts will be there checking on the dancers. And maybe she might get an offer to whatever big dance troupe. I don’t know how that works, but I do know how important it is to her.”

There wasn’t a player who wasn’t sitting up on the edge of their seat.

I looked away, taking several deep breaths. In telling him how special she was, maybe for the first time I realized it.

“There’s something else that you likely don’t know. She has the voice of an angel. You certainly didn’t seem proud of her when she sang the anthem the other night.”

“That was her?” Anthony asked, a couple of guys groaning in agreement.

“Yeah,” I answered. “It was.” The moment a lightning bolt had hit me. Or a freight train. Maybe because she was my mate. Wasn’t that a hard kick to the gut?

“Wow,” Zane muttered.

“Her appearance caught me off guard. I didn’t know she was going to do that.” Jagger was at least admitting he sucked at being a brother.

“Yeah, well. Maybe one day you can tell her that her performance was amazing. Now, you can condemn me all you want for wanting to spend time with her, which she doesn’t want to do because of the complications, but we need to win this series. We can do it. But it’s going to take all of us. Together. As a damn team. Afterward, we can continue this discussion, but first, if we’re lucky enough to get the hell out of Reno early enough, then maybe I can slink into the back of the theater and at least be a part of the magic in seeing her dance. If only for one last time.”

You bet I was daring him to fuck with me or try to keep me from going. How little he knew about me or the fact I was doing everything in my power to keep my wolf from reacting. And trust me, he was eager and ready to extend his claws.

The heavy breathing on the damn bus was ridiculous. Did no one use breath mints any longer?

Jagger stood taller as if he was the final voice. “All I’m going to say is if you fucking hurt her, I will kick your ass. She doesn’t need another goddamn hockey player reminding her what assholes we are. Understood?”

A few snickers could be heard.

“Yeah, I got it, Jag. Don’t worry. I don’t plan on doing anything to hurt her.”