Don't Puck With My Heart (Pucked Up Omegaverse, #2)

by Sarah Blue

It’s not that I think Alexi is out of my league, I think that if I let myself indulge in that tall, big, future silver fox that I wouldn’t be able to walk away. Not many Alpha males want an Alpha female in their pack… but Alexi, he seems different.

“See anything you like?” she says, taking another heavy sip. “I don’t know, like a very tall man with a Russian accent who looks at you like he wants to eat you out from behind.”

“I want you so fucking bad,” he says, kissing my jaw and down my neck. His teeth graze along the column of my throat. “I’d make you feel so good,” he says, and damn if I don’t know that’s the fucking truth. “You should be mine.”

He’s the kind of man you settle down with, who consumes your whole life. I have to stay focused. My life has always been planned out for me, and I can’t let a man get between that.

I might be busy, but there’s no fucking way I’m going to fall behind on my best friend or aunt duties.

I’m a patient man, but I think I’ve lost the battle of wills when it comes to Piper.

She basically couldn’t get away from me fast enough as soon as she saw me walk into the party. But I know she’s not running because she’s not interested.

Piper Blake wants me but refuses to act on it.

Charlotte told me that Piper said I was attractive. Maybe she just needs more time to get to know me. All I know is I’m willing to do whatever it takes.

I knew it would take a lot to prove myself to this team. I’m twenty-four and just now getting picked up from a feeder team. It’s not common, but there are reasons for it. Reasons I don’t plan on disclosing unless they’re absolutely necessary.

I refuse to be what biology made me.

“You’re a Beta?” he says with his head tilted to the side. “Yeah,”

I take a second shower when I get home, removing all the deodorizers and letting my own scent flourish. It’s already subdued because of the amount of medication I’m taking, but sometimes it’s nice to just be myself. Even if I might hate this part of me with every fiber of my being. It’s a part of who I am, and I know that if I don’t give into some of its facets, it will haunt me.

She’s clearly an Alpha, smelling like oranges and cinnamon; it’s an extremely pleasant scent. Possibly on the verge of too appealing, but I shove it down.

I feel guilty. The fact is it’s on both of us. I hate Max because he has everything I want, and Max hates me for hogging all of our parents’ attention.

Alexi smells like clove and ginger.

I shake off the feeling and compartmentalize everything, just as I always do. Daddy issues are in their very own large box. The need to please is in another. My career box has been the most daunting box lately, but I keep it locked up tight. I’m already on this course. There’s no way to… fuck. I mentally wrap a chain around the career box and seal it tight. I take a breath and walk out of the locker room to the front door.

When I spot a wet haired Alexi smiling broadly at the front entrance, I can feel the relationship box rattling in my head. I smile back at him and wonder how I’m supposed to stop Alexi Bandnin from ripping that box wide open.

I swallow thickly, thankful as fuck that I can’t perfume. Not only because it would be incredibly fucking embarrassing, but it would also ruin everything.

When I say that Alexi Bandnin is the most intimidating person I’ve ever met, I might mean it. It’s not because he’s mean or scary, it’s because he’s so fucking nice while being so goddamn big. Like, who gave him the right?

Rule number one of hockey: don’t fuck with the goalie. And it’s nice to know this new team has my back. I’m back on my skates when Alexi palms the back of my helmet with his gloved hand.

Rule number two of hockey: keep your head in the game, and don’t think about how fucking hot the team captain is.

The new goalie has been an anomaly since we met, and something doesn’t sit right with me. While I think he’s proven himself at tonight’s game, something still feels off. Like he’s trying to not draw attention to himself, or he’s hiding something.

I want to crack his shell. Just like I want to crack a very tall, beautiful brunette who I need to stalk at some point this week.

Right now, I know for sure Piper is going to be in my pack. I don’t care what the good doctor says, she’s going to be mine. I’d be lying if I said the Beta next to me didn’t stir something up as well. But I’m not really sure who is going to be the hardest to convince. The good thing is, I love a fucking challenge.

“What, malyshka?” “Oh, don’t you malyshka me,” she says, pointing at my chest. Her Russian is shit, and it makes me smile. “I looked that up. I’m not your baby girl. I’m an Alpha, and I’m no one’s baby girl.” My grin spreads even further. “You could be.”

I’m not proud of the line of thinking, but I’ll take whatever she gives, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think I could eventually convince her that we belong together.

She’s not turned on because of her baser instincts or her hormones driving the show. Piper Blake wants me, and maybe it’s not at the capacity in which I want her, but I’ll take what I can get.

If I’m going to get Piper Blake to fall in love with me, I’m going to need her to keep coming back for more.

“Vy khotite priyti na moyu ruku, malyshka?” “What?” she says, opening her eyes and blinking. I realize I must have said it in Russian. “Do you want to come on my hand, malyshka?” “Please,” she says sweetly. I can’t help but to smile at the way I’ve made this Alpha putty in my hands.

What does it hurt to have a little fun? But the question is: is there a way to just be physical with no emotions attached when it comes to Alexi Bandnin?

I’m not sure when this urge hits me, but I can’t help the overwhelming feeling of wanting Owen and Piper to both be mine.

The night at the hotel is lonely, and all I wish is that it was filled with two people who don’t know each other and have no idea the lengths I’ll go to in order to make them both mine. I am a patient Alpha, after all.

No more drinking tonight or I might say something stupid to a handsome Beta or let an Alpha rail me in my bestie’s pantry.

Charlotte Hodges is about to get her best friend card revoked as I look down at the box in front of me. This man bought a vibrator in the hopes that I would be the one to pick it at this Christmas party.

Owen stays put, and I’m about to get up when Alexi says, “Didn’t want you suffering while I’m away for games, malyshka.”

Tonight did not go how I planned, not by a long shot.

there’s information I don’t want him knowing, and there's a deep-seated feeling that it wouldn’t take Alexi much to crack all my secrets wide open.

One simple slipup could ruin everything I’ve worked so fucking hard for.

I don’t need Alphas to take care of me, I can take care of myself. What I need is to not lose focus and accomplish what I need to. If I don’t, I feel like there will always be this gaping hole in my chest, the one where I store my self-worth.

“Is that your shampoo?” “What?” I ask, blinking up at him. “Smells like strawberry… strawberry lemonade?”

If I’m not careful, Alexi Bandnin could easily know all my secrets.

Owen Connery is a fucking Omega, and he’s hiding it. He’s doing it well enough that no one else has caught on. But having shared a space with him, it’s evident. Beta my fucking ass.

I’m going to keep the broody Omega’s secret, for now. I’m not even going to tell him that I know.

God, I have my hands fucking full. An Omega hiding their designation and a female Alpha who doesn’t seem keen on ever asking for help. But if anyone is going to bring these two together, it’s gonna be me.

“Life’s too short to live for other people. You don’t want to spend more time doing something that doesn’t make you happy. If your dad wasn’t a factor, if money wasn’t an issue and it was only you that you had to think about, what would you do?”

Her mouth gapes open, and I leave the diner, feeling like my situation just got even more complicated than before. But at the same time, I can’t help thinking I’m just one step closer to building this pack, and fuck it feels good.

Now, I just need Piper to put aside this front that she doesn’t need anyone and for Owen to realize he’s attracted to me and I can keep his secret. I have my work cut out for me, but I know they are worth waiting for.

I’ve got to figure my shit out. Because something tells me if I let Owen and Alexi go, it will be a bigger regret than any career decision I ever make.

“I don’t want to get into it here, but I’m working on it.” “Which part, that you hate being a surgeon or that you’re in love with two guys.”