Page 61 of Iced Out Mate

It was something I’d been wanting to bring up to him. Just because Emmy was my best friend and was the alpha didn’t mean it would be a guaranteed invite into the pack. He’d have to think I would fit in well with the rest of the group. I’d already hung out with them all a couple times now and I found myself growing closer and closer to them. I had inside jokes with Yuni and would talk flowers with Raquel and would tease Soren at his terrible plays in Monopoly. When it wasn’t game night, it would be night runs through the woods in our wolf forms, howling and playing and darting through the trees. It was the type of thing I had never experienced before. This familial sense of belonging with people who weren’t blood-related to me.

Becoming part of a pack hadn’t been on my radar until arriving in Burlington. I’d been fine living on my own—at least, I thought I’d been fine. Only after meeting the pack, getting to know them, having them get to know me, did I realize that I just couldn’t want something I didn’t know existed.

Now I did. And I had been thinking more and more about it. “I’d like that. I’d love it.”

“Good.” Emmy smiled wide, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Now you just have to fix things with Dylan.”

“There you guys are!” I looked to my left toward the familiar voice. Macie bounced on the balls of her feet and waved, a hard seltzer in her other hand. “Congratulations on the win.” She didn’t even bother asking about joining her brother and me. She squeezed onto the sliver of booth next to me. I moved over so that my shoulder pressed up against the wall so I could give her some space. She wiggled toward me.

“I’m back in love with hockey.” She had the same eyes as Emmy’s. Bright green and slightly broody, but would always light up whenever they were super happy. “Speaking of loveee, are you and Dylan okay?”

My face cracked with surprise. “You know too?”

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious. I’ve seen you guys all flirty at Emmy’s house. And I notice how he always sits next to you during a game when he’s on the bench.” She shrugged and took a sip of her watermelon seltzer. “Plus, I just overheard Emmy. Your voice carries.”

Emmy didn’t typically blush but his cheeks reddened. He winced and said, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. You’re both like family to me. It’s okay.”

Macie put a hand to her chest before moving it to my leg. “That’s so sweet.” She quickly moved her hand off, grabbing her drink. “We match,” I said, noting her bracelet and holding mine out. It was fine if she knew about Dylan and me, but that didn’t mean I wanted to dive back into it all for her. She really was like a little sister to me. I’d seen her grow up, was at her house when she and her friends were together for their high school prom, took a couple family vacations with them to a cabin in North Carolina. She was younger and more innocent than Emmy—even though she was a full-grown twenty-three-year-old woman—so I didn’t want to talk about my problematic love life with her right now.

“Oh this?” She gave the golden bracelet a twirl before moving her hand under the table, blocking it from view. “It’s from a jeweler friend of mine. When I picked up the one Emmy ordered for you, I liked it so much that I got one for myself.”

“Nice,” I said, smiling. “If it’s got your stamp of approval then I know for sure it’s stylish.”

“It is. I see it on a ton of influencers now. I think we started the trend.” She bumped me with a shoulder. She was close enough that I could not only smell her strawberry perfume but also the spearmint gum she chewed on mixed with the watermelon seltzer she sipped on. She played with her car keys on the table. I was going to comment on how it was a Toyota—which she had relentlessly teased her brother for getting as his first car instead of a Mercedes—but she cut me off with another question.

“Back to you and Dyl, are things okay? Rocky?”

Damn. She wasn’t going to let it go. She was just as hard-headed about things as her older brother. Emmy gave his sister a look but she shrugged it off.

“We just need to have a talk. That’s all.”

Her smile flickered for a brief moment. Eli and Gabe stood nearby at the bar, joined by Chris. I heard him order three Fireball shots. My entire body shook. I wasn’t sure how the hockey guys drank so much and still kept their bodies in perfect shape. And it wasn’t just the shifters either, so it couldn’t be pinned solely on our genetics.

Also, Dylan was usually Chris’ shadow if the two were in the same room. If he wasn’t at the bar then he likely headed directly home after the game.

“Relationships are hard.” Macie tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. She had cut her hair short since the last time I’d seen her. The shortest I’d ever seen it, actually, stopping a couple of inches above her shoulders. “Like me and my ex. I dated him for a year, and I was obsessed with him. I thought he was the same with me. And then I find out he’s been on three different dating apps and going out on secret dates. It made me—ooh, I wanted to strangle him when I found out. Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes it’s not meant to work out, and maybe it’s better when that’s figured out before you’re like me and wasted a year of your life on a deadbeat asshole.” Her nostrils flared and I could tell there was still a raw, simmering anger there.

“I’m sorry. You deserve a great guy,” I said. Macie always had a terrible taste in guys. I’d hear the horror stories from Emmy. About men stealing her money for drugs, about loud fighting, about having five kids they didn’t pay child support on. Not a good bunch.

“I do…” She pursed her lips before offering me a weak smile. She held a stare for a little longer than I felt comfortable with.

I glanced at my watch. It was only ten o’clock. If Dylan was in fact home, then maybe he’d be open to having me over. I could talk to him, tell him everything I truly felt and why this was all a huge mistake. It would beat stewing in my own worries and sadness here in a packed bar. The cheering and chirping all around me was a stark contrast to the rain clouds in my head, the same dark clouds that were mirrored through the window. In the distance, a flash of lightning flickered.

“You know what,” I said, finding my perfect excuse. “I think I’m going to go home and call it a night before the storm comes. It’s been a long day.”

Macie appeared disappointed at that with how she pouted her lips. “You don’t want to stay and celebrate the win? I’ll buy you a drink. You can get me the round after?”

I shook my head. I’d already made up my mind. I was going to try and fix this one way or another.

“I really should get going.”

“Call me if you need me, Miles.” Emmy reached a closed fist across the table. I bumped it with mine. Reminded me of when we’d have our secret handshakes back in high school.

“Thanks. I will.”

Macie leaned in and wrapped me in a tight hug. “It’s all going to be okay,” she said directly into my ear. I felt a little awkward by how close she was. I smiled, hugged her back, and excused myself once again. She exited the booth so I could hop out. I made my way through the crowd made up of mostly hockey guys and some fans, all of them wearing the black, light blue, and white of the Bobcats. I avoided getting sucked into further conversation and went outside, my car not parked far at all.