Chapter 32 - jealousy jealousY

Jude

Early March

The new season had kicked off, all our training paying off as I got ready to head to the rink to release some pent-up tension even though Rosie and I had patched things up after that night, but there was still strain in our relationship, I knew it and she knew it and neither of us talked about it.

My wolf had been going haywire, my control slipping more and more every day and everything was getting on my nerves in a way that wasn’t normal for me. I was always level-headed, always in control, but lately any small thing pissed me off and I hated that I wasn’t myself.

I knew Rosie was respecting the boundaries I’d asked for, giving me time like I’d said I needed, but time wasn’t on my side because the longer I waited the harder it got to hide what I was. Maybe after the season was over I should take her somewhere private and shift in front of her and show her what I’d been hiding, show her the deepest part of myself.

I didn’t like hiding from her, didn’t like that my mate didn’t know everything about me when the wolf was such a fundamental part of who I was.

But humans weren’t welcoming to what they didn’t understand, weren’t accepting of things beyond their normal reality, and being a werewolf was completely unheard of in the human world except for those ridiculous werewolf books and movies that gave our kind huge misconceptions.

I rubbed my face feeling my muscles tense and ready for the game tonight, at least hockey gave me an outlet for all this restless energy.

I’d messaged Rosie about the game and she’d promised to come which calmed me somewhat, at least I’d be able to focus knowing she was there watching, at least I could show off for my mate.

The locker room was filled with the electric energy of my teammates all preparing for the first game of the season, putting on pads and gear. The coach came in and clapped his hands and brought our heads together for our normal pre-game ritual.

When the buzzer sounded the team skated out onto the rink while some teammates sat at the bench, and I as captain led the starting lineup onto the ice as the crowd erupted, fangirls and fanboys hollering excitedly.

I glanced around the arena scanning the crowd and found Rosie immediately sitting in the first row beside Maya, wrapped in a soft sweater with her cheeks pink from the cold arena air. She was smiling and waving when she spotted me and my chest tightened seeing her there, knowing she came to watch me play, and I lifted my hand in a wave before dropping my helmet over my face.

We lined up in formation and the referee dropped the puck and the game started and finally I could let my wolf free skate hard, fast, and aggressively, passing the puck to River on defense before skating forward toward the goal.

The night was charged with tension and energy, the first game of the season always had this electric feeling and our teammates were pumped for this. Our coach was superstitious, believing that if we lost the first game we’d lose throughout the entire season which was why he pushed us so hard in training.

I was playing well, my wolf giving me an edge with speed and strength that my human teammates couldn’t match.

During a mid-game timeout, I was skating back toward the bench when I noticed an opposing forward—Liam Hale, tall and cocky and an infamous flirt that everyone knew—kept glancing up at the stands. I didn’t think much of it at first, figured the guy was looking for someone he knew, until Liam skated right up to the boards during the timeout and grinned up at someone and my eyes followed to see he was talking to Rosie.

Liam was saying something that made Rosie’s face flush with embarrassment and she wasn’t flirting back, I could see that immediately, she was just being polite and awkward and trying not to draw attention but Carter was leaning in closer clearly amused by her discomfort and finding it entertaining.

My vision went white and my wolf surged so violently inside me that my claws almost broke through skin beneath my gloves, the animal roaring with possessive rage at seeing another male approaching our mate.

I abandoned the timeout huddle completely ignoring my teammates shouting after me and skated straight toward the boards, stopping inches from Liam who only smirked at me clearly sensing the tension.

“Back off,” I growled and my voice came out rougher than it should have.

Liam raised an eyebrow looking completely unbothered. “Relax, man. Just saying hi to the pretty girl.”

“I’m his girlfriend,” Rosie said clearly and firmly and Liam’s smirk faltered slightly before he shrugged and pouted dramatically.

“Shame,” Liam said before skating away but not before throwing Rosie a wink that made me want to chase him down and slam him into the boards.

Rosie smiled at me softly through the barrier. “You’re doing really well,” she said and her voice was warm and proud.

I grinned at her, unable to help it before skating back to my position when the buzzer sounded again signaling the timeout was over.

The game restarted and I played like I was possessed, skating faster and hitting harder then scoring two goals before the final buzzer.

My team won by a solid margin and the crowd went wild and my teammates were shouting and celebrating but I didn’t even wait to join them, my eyes immediately scanning the stands looking for Rosie.

She wasn’t there anymore, she probably just went outside to wait for me. I quickly yanked off my helmet and started removing my pads, not even bothering to shower or change properly, just stripping the gear off as fast as possible while my teammates shouted congratulations and the cameras flashed trying to get post-game shots but I ignored all of it.

All that was in my mind was my mate, needing to see her and touch her and have her close after that win.

I ran out of the locker room still in half my gear and spotted Rosie standing outside the arena looking cold and beautiful and so delicious my wolf wanted to devour her. A growl wanted to escape my throat but I pushed it down and walked quickly to her and without warning lifted her up off her feet.

She squeaked in surprise and I buried my face against her stomach breathing in her heavenly scent while she giggled and I twirled her around in the air. The sound of her laughter was like music in my ears.

“We won,” I said into her sweater and then stopped spinning, setting her down but keeping her lifted so her face was level with mine. Her hair fell around us, and I smiled up at her.

Our eyes met and a spark of electricity erupted between us. Rosie’s expression went soft before she dropped her head and pecked my lips quickly.

Her lips were still hovering close to mine when she whispered, “You did it, captain.”

The title from her lips made my wolf preen with pride and I pulled her even closer before properly kissing her, capturing her soft cold lips with my warm ones and pouring everything into the kiss, all the adrenaline from the game and the possessiveness from seeing Liam try to flirt with her.

When we finally pulled apart we were both breathing hard and her cheeks were flushed pink and her lips were red from kissing and she looked beautiful and happy.