Ice Cold Alpha

Thomas

I stare out the window at the huge domed stadium ahead. Flags flutter in the breeze. An image of a wolfs head emblazoned on them and the words;

Ridgewood Howlers

Who the fuck thought of a name like that?

I glance over at my beta who is sitting next to me.

“Tell me again, Nathan. Why am I doing this?”

His lips curve upwards in the vaguest hint of a smile. This whole charade is amusing him. I wish I could say the same.

“Because you’ll be the first shifter to own a mixed-species hockey team. Besides, it's good business sense. Do you know how much they charge for a season ticket for these games?”

I sigh.

“No, Nathan and I don’t really care. It's not like the pack is short of money with our current business portfolio.”

Nathan shakes his head and smiles.

“It’ll be good for the pack, too. What better way to forge alliances than to have different pack members in one team?”

I raise an eyebrow.

“I’m not going to be the first hockey team owner to witness a bloodbath on the ice, am I?”

Nathan chuckles.

“No. That’s the whole point. While the shifters are on the ice, and wearing the headgear, it suppresses their wolf, so they’re on an even footing with the human players. All the helmets are lined with silver, which doesn’t affect the humans, just the shifters. Of course, if they get injured, they just need to remove the headgear, and their wolf will heal them and they’ll be back on the ice in five. The humans, on the other hand, will probably take a few weeks to recover.”

I nod, and the car comes to a halt.

My driver, Ethan, gets out and opens the door, bowing as he does.

I doubt that the human players will be quite so formal, but I only intend to come here a few times during the season. Just to show my face.

Today I’ll be paraded in front of the team, so they know who the new owner is. Then I’ll have to sit through an hour and a half of hockey.

I step out of the car and wait for Nathan to follow. When he doesn’t, I look back inside the car.

He’s sitting there smirking.

“You little shit, you’re not coming, are you?”

He chuckles. It’s a good job he’s my best friend as well as my beta. No one else would get away with taking the piss out of their alpha.

“Someone has to hold the fort back at the pack. I think they’ve organised a hotel for you here as well. I sent some of our warriors over, just to be on the safe side.”

I roll my eyes.

This is pretty much neutral territory, but you can never be too careful. Not that I’m not capable of looking after myself, but it’s frowned upon if shifters actually shift in the middle of a human city. That doesn’t stop the rogues though, but then not even they would be foolish enough to go head to head with an alpha.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nathan. I’m going to make you pay for this.”

I hear him laugh as Ethan closes the door.

“I expect to see you here after the game,” I remind him.

Ethan bows.

“Of course Alpha.”

Ethan gets in the car. He’ll be driving Nathan back to the airport. The flight is only a couple of hours. Nathan will be sleeping in his own bed tonight, while I stay in some grotty hotel.

I walk across the concourse towards the large stadium. A man is heading towards me. I sniff the air; Human. When he gets a little closer, I recognise him. The head coach of the team I just bought.

“Mr Shadowborne, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I sigh.

“That’s Alpha Shadowborne, and you are?”

He forces a smile.

“Of course, my apologies, Alpha Shadowborne, I’m Gerry Watson, head coach of the Howlers.”

He gestures towards the monstrosity of a building in front of us.

“Let me show you around and introduce you to the players.”

I’ve barely taken a couple of steps when I hear a commotion near the side entrance of the building.

I sniff the air. Two shifters, a female and a male.

The female is in tears, and the male doesn’t seem to be that bothered.

“Please, Wyatt. I don’t understand why?”

He backhands her across the face with enough force that she falls to the ground, and then he walks away, heading inside the building.

My wolf growls in my chest. He doesn’t like that.

The coach just shrugs his shoulders, like seeing one of his players hit a girl is a common occurrence.

“Ignore that, Alpha. It happens all the time. Girls throwing themselves at the hockey players. Especially Young Wyatt Trueman. He’s our star player. Sometimes they don’t know when to back off.”

The coach doesn’t appear in the slightest bit concerned about what just happened. That irks me more than a little. Perhaps I need to be looking around for a new coach.

I ignore him and walk over to the girl. As I approach, I can scent that she isn’t wholly a shifter.

She glances up, but as soon as she sees who I am, she lowers her head.

“Sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean…”

I put my fingers under her chin and slowly tilt her head up so I can get a better look at her face. Blood trickles from a split in her lip and I gently wipe it away with the pad of my thumb.

A pretty little face like that shouldn’t be sporting a split lip, and no man, werewolf or human should be the cause of it.

I know who she is immediately. Any ranking shifter would. She takes after her father. Black hair and sapphire blue eyes. Just like Alpha Miles Stormwood. What the hell is his daughter doing here? The Stormwood pack is miles away. Then I realise exactly why she’s here. Out of sight, out of mind. Anything to keep his dirty little secret away from his mate and Luna. Except what Miles Stormwood did is no secret, and Raven Stormwood is the living proof.

“Raven, isn’t? Raven Stormwood?”

“Y... Yes Alpha,” she stutters.

I take her hands and pull her to her feet.

“You’re a long way from home, sweetheart. What happened?” I glance towards the stadium.

“What happened with Wyatt?”

I know who Wyatt is. He’s the son of the beta from the Stormwood pack. He shares a house with the other shifters in the Howlers team during the season, here in Ridgewood. I can smell his scent all over her.

Did she throw herself at the Beta’s son? I very much doubt it, but I intend to find out.

A tear trickles down her cheek.

“He…” she begins, then she shakes her head, “it doesn’t matter. I should get home.”

I don’t let go of her hand when she tries to pull away.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on and don’t try to lie to be Raven. I’m an alpha. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

The sound of Gerry Watson clearing his throat makes me scowl.

“Alpha Shadowborne. We should really make a move if you're going to meet the team before the game.”

I turn around and glare at him.

“Then I guess I won’t be meeting the team until afterwards. You can show me to the owner's box instead.”

I turn back to Raven, my expression softening.

“We’ll discuss this further inside.”

A panicked look masks her face.

“I… I can’t afford...”

I smile softly as I interrupt her.

“You don’t need to pay for anything. You’re my guest.”

I place my hand on the small of her back as I guide her inside the stadium entrance. I can tell by the look on her face and the scent of fear coming from her that she wants to bolt.

Considering her circumstances, it’s no real surprise.

Most packs want nothing to do with humans or hybrids, Stormwood included. Awkward for the Alpha that his daughter is one, especially as Raven Stormwood’s mother wasn’t his mate and she was also human.

From all accounts, his fated mate wasn’t very pleased when she found out, which is probably why Raven is so far away from home. No doubt it was that vicious little harpy who insisted that Raven be shipped away. I’m surprised she didn’t insist that Raven was banished, but I doubt even her father could be that cruel.

That must be why she doesn’t smell like a rogue. She must still be linked to the pack. She’s too far away to use the mind link, that’s even if she can. Hybrids are very few and far between. Some have wolves, some don’t.

It’s very rare for a shifter to have a human mate. It happens, but most of the time the shifter will reject them. Sometimes it’s because they are unlikely to survive the birth of a shifter pup, or they can’t bear the thought that a human lifespan is so short in comparison to a shifter’s. Usually, though, it's because they consider them to be weak, which is ridiculous.

I never felt that way with my mate. Even though our time together was short, I never regretted a single day until she died from a human illness.

We never had any pups, because I wasn’t prepared to risk her life. Little did I know that her time was going to be short, anyway. Even knowing what I know now, if I could go back, I would still make the same decision. I would still choose Elana to be my mate.

Gerry calls one of the stewards over to direct us to the owner’s box. As he leaves, he gives Raven a filthy look.

He’s definitely going to be out of a job once I find a replacement.

Once we get to the owner’s box, I’ll find out exactly what happened with Wyatt Trueman. Nothing good, I’ll warrant. If I have my way the coach and his star player will be leaving at the same time.

The young steward bows.

“Alpha. This way.”

I scent the air. He’s not a shifter. I guess some of the staff have been briefed as to who I am.

He smiles at Raven, and a growl rumbles in my chest. He quickly looks away, and I feel her tremble.

I don’t mean to scare her, but after what I saw outside, my wolf seems to be in full protective mode. Or is it something more? Since losing our mate, he has never looked at another female, so why now?

The owner’s box is plush. A few leather seats stand next to a glass panel, so you can sit and watch the game. Speakers are mounted on the walls at the sides. I assume that’s so whoever is in here can hear the match commentary.

In the centre is a large leather sofa, and a few matching chairs. Towards the back is a bar.

“If you need anything, Alpha, just pick up the phone.”

He gestures towards a phone on the wall.

If this place wasn’t so far away from my pack, I would arrange for some of my own wolves to act as stewards. That way, if I needed anything, I could mind-link them. Then I wouldn’t have to rely on some accursed phone.

I nod, trying to hide my displeasure, and the steward disappears.

I glance through the window at the ice rink and stadium. Seats are slowly beginning to fill, although it’ll be awhile until the game starts.

Good. Plenty of time for me to find out what that little arsehole did to Raven, and why he thought it was ok to hit her.

I walk over to the bar. Raven stands at one end of the room, her arms wrapped around her like she is holding herself together.

“Drink?” I offer.

She shakes her head, but she doesn’t look at me.

I pour myself a large glass of whisky and take a sip.

“You know who I am, Raven?”

She nods, but this time she raises her eyes, but only so that she’s looking at my chest. This little wolf is still avoiding eye contact.

“You’re Alpha Shadowborne. Owner of the hockey team and the stadium.”

She hesitates.

“And Wyatt Trueman is your star player.”

She lowers her gaze. She thinks I’m going to take his side. Nothing could be further from the truth. I saw him strike her in an unprovoked attack. He’s twice her size and, if I’m not mistaken, a bully, just like his father.

I walk over to the sofa and sit down.

“Star quality has nothing to do with how well you can hit a puck or make a tackle, Raven. It’s more to do with how you treat the people around you and from what I’ve seen, Wyatt Trueman has barely any quality at all, let alone star quality.”

She risks a glance upwards, so I beckon her over.

As she approaches, I place the half-finished whisky on a small coffee table to the side.

Raven stands in front of me, her eyes lowered.

“Now, Raven, tell me, what’s going on with you and Wyatt?”

I clench my jaw when the speaker crackles to life.

“The Howlers are now exiting the tunnel. Preparing for a warmup before the match begins.”

I block out the noise and focus on Raven.

She lets out a shaky breath.

“He told me not to tell anyone.”

I widen my legs and grab her hands, pulling her forward so she’s standing in between my legs, our chests almost touching.

I place my thumb under her chin and tilt it up.

“And I’m asking you to tell me what happened. The last time I checked, an alpha outranked a beta’s son. Don’t make me use my alpha command on you, Raven.”

A tear trickles down her cheek.

“He’s my mate. He rejected me.”

Her voice cracks and I know there’s more.

My wolf growls in my head. He wants to rip Wyatt Truman’s throat out, but the last thing we need right now is a pack war. Stormwood and Shadowborne have never been on the best of terms, and it would only take a small spark to ignite the fires of war.

“Did you accept the rejection, Raven?”

She shakes her head.

“I thought he would change his mind. But I’m not good enough. I’ve never been good enough.”

I cup her face in my hands, and my wolf purrs at the contact.

There are so many reasons that what I’m about to do is wrong, but neither I nor my wolf cares about that right now.

“Do you want to make him suffer, Raven? Do you want to make him suffer the way you’re suffering right now?”

Another tear trickles down her cheek.

“He mated with me, then afterwards he rejected me. He laughed and told me I was dumber than I looked if I thought for one minute he would accept me as his mate. I feel so dirty. So worthless.”

I cup her face in my hands.

“Look at me, Raven.”

Her eyes glisten with tears as she looks into mine.

“You’re none of those things. Wyatt Trueman is the worthless one and a fool, but I’m not.”

My lips crash into hers, and she gasps.

I take the opportunity as her lips part, to taste her fully. She tastes as good as she looks, and my wolf howls with contentment as I dominate the kiss.

He’s barely let me look at another woman since we lost our mate, let alone wanted to let me kiss one.

There’s no such thing as a second chance mate, but if a wolf’s mate dies, or if they get rejected, then very occasionally, the wolf will choose another wolf as a mate.

It seems like my wolf has chosen Raven.

My fingers glide up the back of Raven’s t-shirt as they caress her delicate skin. She arches her back and moans into my mouth. She’s perfect.

My wolf growls in my head;

“Mine.”

The speaker crackles again.

“Wyatt Truman is down. It seems he’s slipped on the ice. This doesn’t bode well for the Howlers.”

I break the kiss, and Raven’s eyes are as wide as saucers. Her face flushes and her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of pink.

“Wyatt Trueman is back on his feet. We’re not sure what happened there, but it looks like he’s still going to be able to start the game.”

Raven tries to turn her head to look towards the speakers, but I cup her cheek and turn her face back to me.

“Don’t look at that. Look at me.”

I stroke her cheek, and a small gasp escapes her lips.

“My wolf has decided he wants you, Raven Stormwood, and so have I.”

I pull her into my lap.

“And what my wolf wants, my wolf gets.”