Fangs On Ice

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE: The Truth

I made it to the parking garage before he caught me.

One second I was sprinting toward my car, keys clutched in my shaking hand, and the next he was in front of me. Not behind me. In front. Like he had taken a shortcut through the air itself.

"Please." He held up both hands, palms out, like he was trying to calm a wild animal. The irony was not lost on me. "I am not going to hurt you."

"Stay away from me."

"I can't do that." He took a step closer and I took one back, my shoulders hitting the cold concrete pillar behind me. "You heard too much. I need to explain."

"Explain what? That your teammate just said something about turning into a wolf?" My voice cracked on the last word. "I don't... that's not... people don't just..."

"Maren." He was close enough now that I could feel the heat coming off his body. That was when I realised he ran hot. I had written it off as good circulation… but now, everything was making sense.

"Breathe. You are going to pass out."

He was right. Black spots were dancing at the edge of my vision. I forced myself to take a breath, then another, and the garage slowly stopped spinning.

"What are you?" I whispered.

He was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "I think you already know."

Werewolf.

It was the only word that came to my head.

That was impossible. Those stories belong to horror movies and fairy tales.

And yet his eyes are telling a different story. And he had just moved faster than any human could.

"This isn't real," I said.

"It's real."

"Werewolves aren't real."

"We are real. We have always been real." He leaned against the pillar opposite me, giving me space. "We just got better at hiding."

My legs gave out finally. I slid down the pillar until I was sitting on the cold concrete floor, and Dominic slid down too, mirroring me. We sat there in the dim light of the parking garage, two feet apart, and he told me everything.

The pack. His pack. Fifteen wolves who had followed him to Northgate seven years ago when he was recruited by the Reapers. They used the team as cover because professional hockey was the perfect hiding place. They traveled constantly, so no one noticed when they disappeared on full moons. Their aggression was covered up as part of the game, so no one questioned their tempers.

"Viktor Soren," I said when he paused. "He's one too."

He nodded.

“f*****g hell”

"Alpha of the Ashford pack. We have been enemies for a long time. Before hockey. Before I was even born."

"And the playoffs?"

Dominic's jaw tightened. "Territory challenge. The losing pack has to leave the region."

"So every game is..."

"A battle. Yes. The ice is sacred ground. No weapons, no outside interference. Just strength against strength." His mouth twisted. "That's the theory anyway. Viktor doesn't play fair."

I thought about the hits that were too hard, the injuries that seemed personal, the way Viktor smiled whenever he hurt someone. "He's trying to kill your players."

"He's trying to weaken us before the final challenge. When the series ends, win or lose, he'll call for a formal fight. Alpha to Alpha."

"And if you lose that fight?"

"Then my pack belongs to him. Or they die." His voice was flat, but I saw the terror behind it. "He murdered my father ten years ago and made it look like a rogue attack. He's been planning this for a decade."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "Dominic..."

"I shouldn't be telling you any of this." He laughed, harsh and humorless. "Pack law says humans who discover us have to be dealt with. That can mean memory wipes. Relocation. Or..." He did not finish the sentence.

"Or you kill them."

"I would never hurt you." The words came fast and fierce, and when I looked up, his eyes were gold again. Not threatening. Desperate. "I don't know why, I can't explain it, but my wolf... I have been trying to keep you out of this. But you just had to be so damn good at your job."

I almost laughed. Almost. "Are you seriously blaming me for noticing that my players heal like Wolverine?"

"I'm blaming you for being observant and stubborn and impossible to lie to." He ran a hand through his hair. "My options right now are limited. I could wipe your memory, but that requires a pack elder and mine is... compromised. I could relocate you, but Viktor is watching everyone connected to the team. The second you ran, he had known something was wrong."

"You said compromised…” I shook my head, “you know what, forget about it. S…so what do I do?"

He met my eyes. "You stay. You keep working with the team. And you help us."

The parking garage was silent except for the distant hum of ventilation. Somewhere above us, normal people were living normal lives, completely unaware that monsters were real and walking among them.

"Help you how?" I heard myself ask.

"You know our bodies better than we do. You notice things. You spotted me when no one else ever has." He leaned forward. "There are other packs sending wolves into the league. Not just Viktor's. I need someone who can identify them before they identify us."

"You want me to be a werewolf spotter."

"I want you to be pack." The word hung between us. "You would be protected. Anyone who touches you answers to me."

"And if I say no?"

He looked at me for a long time, and I saw the war happening behind his eyes.

He wanted to say something but his teammates…or rather his pack members came out from the lobby door, with glowing eyes they were not even pretending to hide anymore.

“That will not end very well,”