Axel

I’m trying not to show any emotion as I stare at the woman standing in front of me. Her vitriol takes me by surprise. The Evalyn I knew years ago was quieter (at least in most circumstances). I always knew she had an inner strength, but she’d never shown this much of it to me before.

Granted, I only spent one night with her. But I couldn’t forget that night, no matter how hard I tried. From the very first moment I saw her, she stuck with me.

***

Seven Years Ago

The guys and I all file out of the locker room, laughing and joking after practice. On our way out, I hear something—a haunting melody back at the rink. I tell the rest of the team that I’ll catch up with them later. I turn and follow the music, feeling drawn there, like there’s a hook in my chest pulling me in that direction.

As I get closer, my werewolf senses pick up an unfamiliar scent. Violet and sugar and…something both delicate and delectable. When I reach the rink, I see a lone figure on the ice. Her movements are so graceful that it looks for a moment like she’s floating. The music seems to be moving through her body and coming out as emotion as she skates. I move to the edge of the rink.

As a hockey player, I’ve never much liked figure skating. Hockey has clear rules and clear goals. Figure skating is all subjective. Sure, there are points, but you don’t win them by getting a puck into the net. Instead a few judges sit at a table and just decide if you’ve scored high enough, and dish out their numbers based on whether or not you fell when you jumped, but mostly if they liked your routine.

I say all this, but I’m hypnotized by this woman on the ice. Her body is strong and flexible, and curvy in all the right places. I never thought figure skating would give me a boner, but here I am, turned on by this stunning woman dancing in skates. I will myself to calm down and just watch the movement. When the music ends, and she lands in her final pose, I begin clapping. I didn’t mean to do it, but something in me wants to acknowledge the beauty and grace and accomplishment of what I’ve just witnessed.

Her head snaps up. For a moment, I’m afraid she’s going to tell me to get lost, but she skates over.

I speak without thinking. “You’re beautiful,” I say.

Her smile breaks into a musical laugh. It echoes through the room, and I swear it makes the air glitter. As she gets closer, I realize that the scent from earlier, the sweet flowery scent, was her. She gazes at me with soft brown eyes, and in that second, I know.

She is my mate.

I know it’s impossible. This woman is human. But the wolf inside me is going crazy, howling in my head about how she and I are meant to be.

She leans on the edge of the rink. “And you’re a hockey player,” she says. Her voice is a little shy.

I bow my head sheepishly. “That obvious, huh?” When she smiles, I add, “We’re here for a game tomorrow. We were just finishing practice, but I heard the music and came back.”

“I thought hockey players hated figure skating,” she says, still smiling at me.

“I do,” I say. “Or, I did.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Can I take you out to dinner?” I blurt.

The woman blushes and looks down at her skates. “Why?” she says quietly.

Her question throws me. She was so confident on the ice, but now she’s staring uncertainly at her feet. “I, um…” I stutter. And I never stutter. “I’d like to uh, spend…time with you. And learn about figure skating?”

“I don’t really go out with strangers,” she replies.

I stick my hand out. “I’m Axel.”

She smiles. “I’m Evalyn. With an A.”

Evalyn with an A reaches over the barrier to shake my hand. The second we touch, it’s like a bolt of lightning goes through us both. I hear her gasp.

But the electricity between us isn’t frightening. It’s intoxicating. I pull her closer to me.

“Who are you?” she asks quietly.

Slowly, I reach out and run my hand gently down the side of her face. My whole body tingles with sensation. “I’m just a hockey player asking a girl for a date,” I reply.

Evalyn’s eyes brighten. They look almost amber in the light of the arena. She nods at me.

We spend the night exploring the city. I take her to my favorite pizza place, and she takes me to her favorite hot dog stand. When I ask her questions about her life, she answers them openly, trustingly. I can’t reflect the same openness back to her, but when she notices my reluctance to talk about myself, she doesn’t push me.

So many women have pushed me, trying to get me to “express my feelings.” But Evalyn just listens. I talk about my likes and dislikes. I talk about how hockey started as an outlet for some of my teenage wolf aggression, but over time, I came to love the discipline of it, the teamwork.

She tells me about her figure skating. Her voice cracks when she tells me that she was injured last year and can no longer do jumps, so her career is essentially over. I put my arm around her.

“I’m in school now,” she says quietly. “I want to be a doctor, but…I might not be smart enough or tough enough. The classes aren’t easy.”

I cradle her face in my hands. “Anyone would be lucky to be treated by you,” I say. “I can tell that you’re kind and compassionate, and even though I just met you, you already seem smarter than most people I know.”

Evalyn grins up at me, then hugs me tightly. Having her body so close to mine sends fire through my veins. We hold hands as we walk through the city.

The entire night, all I can think about is how I don’t want to ever be without her again. It isn’t just the mate bond. It’s her. She’s beautiful and caring and kind. And so fucking sexy I can barely think straight.

When I finally kiss her, standing on a bridge under the streetlights, her entire body melts into mine. I can’t get her back to my hotel room fast enough. When we’re finally joined, all I can think is how this is where I belong.

As Evalyn sleeps on my chest, my phone chimes. I look down to see a text from my sister, Sera: Dad’s getting worse. But they’re refusing treatment until we get them another payment. What should we do?

The real world comes crashing back down around me. I stare down at Evalyn, my mate. My everything.

But my father is dying. And I cannot ignore my obligations to my family.

I force myself to climb out of bed, to pull on my clothes. Every moment that I spend packing my bag is agony. The wolf inside me is howling again, but this time it’s desperation to stay with Evalyn. I didn’t know the mate bond could be this strong. It’s like we’re two magnets—I’m physically drawn to her so strongly that it takes conscious effort to prepare to leave.

When I’m finally ready to go, I stand by the door, staring at the perfect woman in my bed. I know that the only way I’ll be able to leave is to do the one thing I never want to do. I’ve waited for my mate my entire life. And now I have to separate myself from her. I have no choice. My father needs me.

Evalyn’s eyes open and she takes in my fully dressed figure. I force my emotions down and utter the words I never want to say. As the words leave my mouth, I feel the snap of the mate bond breaking. Her tearstained face is the last thing I see before I walk out the door.

***

Now

The Evalyn of the present—whose face I never expected to see again—is still glaring at me.

“Do you two…know each other?” Blake asks. He steps forward and puts a protective hand on the small of her back.

I feel a snarl in the back of my throat. How is it possible that I’m feeling possessive rage at another man touching her?

“Blake, can you give us a moment?” Evalyn says. Her eyes never leave mine.

“Sure,” Blake says uncertainly. But he turns away and begins chatting with Coach. Evalyn reaches down and picks a towel up from the bench nearby. She tosses it to me, and I wrap it around my waist.

She stares at me with cold eyes. “Let’s draw a clear line right now,” she says. “We don’t talk, we don’t hang out, I am not your friend. Got it?”

I force myself to nod.

She continues to glare at me. “Unless you’re bleeding out, I don’t want to see you.” Then she turns and stomps out of the locker room.