The Ice Alpha’s Mate (Aria and Ryder) novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

ARIA

Cassandra reappears before Ray can say anything else and smiles at us both.

He introduces himself to her and asks her if we’re sisters.

“No,” she laughs, giving me a look I can’t read. “We’re not sisters no. I’m dating her uncle.”

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“Oh, I see.” His eyes return to my face. “Well, it was really nice meeting you, Aria. I hope we can see each other again. Sometime. You know, out in the world.”

I offer one last smile, and then Cassandra and I watch him walk back toward his table. He’s sitting alone.

“Who is he?”

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “He just walked up to me and introduced himself. Told me he was here for the tournament.”

“Barty mentioned that.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s about it.”

Cassandra smiles mischievously and squeezes my upper arm. “A confidence booster, then? I saw you talking to him from a distance, but I was afraid of interrupting, so I decided to leave you two alone for a while.”

“You really didn’t have to do that.”

“Why not?” she asks before winking. “It’s always good to make friends. And he seems like someone who…knows how to say the right thing.”

I arch a brow.” That doesn’t sound like a compliment from your part.”

“It could be.”

“Is it in his case?”

“I guess I don’t know him well enough. You spoke to him. What do you think?”

I shrug and she gives up on me. Cassandra pays for the bill and then we head out. I think of waving at him, just to be polite, but he’s looking down at his phone and doesn’t see me.

So, I guess it’s goodbye.

We get in the car and she comments, “You know what? You’re young and strong, and in the blink of an eye, this situation will be behind you. You’ll see.”

I let out a small sigh and nod in agreement. There’s no point in telling her she’s wrong. Eventually, this will have to pass. There’s no way around it.

Nothing lasts forever. Not good times or bad ones.

We get in the car and Cassandra starts it. She tells me about a patent of hers who went through a breakup so bad that she ended up hospitalized, but I don’t hear it because as soon as she teps on the gas, she hits someone, and we both cry out in alarm.

“By the goddess!” she yells, looking around frantically. “Who was that!?”

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09:57 Mon, Mar 2

Chapter 84

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I see Ray’s face as he peers at us from the ground. I open the door and get out of the car. Cassandra does the same. When she sees him lying on the road before her, she exclaims, “What’re you doing in front of my car!?”

“I’m sorry,” he grunts as he tries to sit up. “I just wanted to return-”

“NO! Don’t try to stand up! If you have a broken bone, you’ll make it worse!”

“I’m sorry. I’m fine, really. I could just-”

Cassandra tries to make him sit back down, but Ray is determined to show her that he’s perfectly fine. “I have a game tomorrow and I can’t afford to be injured. Trust me, I’ve had it worse.”

“I’m a nurse,” she explains. “Aria here is in the healing field, too.”

Ray glances at me. “Oh.”

“Maybe we could just…observe you,” Cassandra suggests before glancing at me. “We could take you to my boyfriend’s place if you don’t live nearby.”

Ray scratches the back of his head. “Oh, I’m nearby, but it’s a pretty small room and I share it with other guys.”

“Aria, do you have a medical kit?”

I nod, and we get going. Ray is in the backseat. Cassandra speeds to Uncle Barty’s house. She constantly asks him how he’s doing, and he assures her that he feels fine, but she wants to be on the safe side.

I haven’t said a word because I don’t know how to react to this entire situation. It’s safe to say that I’m shocked by what happened. I never thought something like this would happen.

We arrive in no time, and Ray limps to the front door. There’s no way that he was hit by a car and didn’t get hurt. He’s just lying about being alright so he can come off as tough.

“Really, I’m fine,” he insists one more time before Cassandra opens the door and lets him in.

Ray sits on the couch. I head straight to my room to grab the medical kit. Cassandra washes her hands in the sink, and then we both head into the living room. Ray has already rolled up his pants to his knee on the injured leg. Apart from a nasty scrape on his calf, he’s fine.

“No broken bones,” Cassandra says in relief. “That’s good. Aria, do you want to take care of this?”

I take it as an opportunity to practice. I disinfect the scrape before cleaning it up. I remove any debris I spot, then bandage

Ray doesn’t make a single sound, even though it looks like it hurts.

“Thanks,” he answers. “Your touch is pretty light. Maybe you should be our medic.”

“I’m already a medic for our team,” I explain.

“So, you’re really involved in ice hockey, then?”

“I guess so.”

Uncle Barty walks through the door just as I’m cleaning up the material I used. He takes one look at Ray and tenses. Cassandra walks up to him, kisses his cheek, and briefly explains what happened.

His facial expression still doesn’t change.

He approaches the couch. Ray looks up at him and offers a charming smile. “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind the fact that

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09:58 Mon, Mar 2

Chapter 84

I’m here. They insisted.”

“Of course, it’s not a problem,” Cassandra says quickly.

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“I know I’m your opponent in the field,” Ray continues, “but it’s just the game, Coach. I’m sure you know that better than

anyone

else.”

My uncle says nothing and heads toward his room. Cassandra smiles awkwardly and follows him. Once we’re alone, Ray comments, “Hell, maybe I should go. The man of the house isn’t happy that I’m here.”

“It’s fine. That’s just how my uncle is.”

“He’s one hell of a coach.”

“He is.”

Cassandra returns moments later and tells Ray he’ll stay the night just to be sure that his injury will heal. “The right thing to do would be to take you to the hospital, but…”

Ray nods. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I really do.”

As I stare back at her, I wonder how the hell she got my uncle to agree to this when he didn’t look happy in the first place.

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