All Chapters of Slap Shot Heart: The Carrillo Legacy: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

DOMINIC"WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN LURKING SINCE DAWN?"The past several rotations had felt like I was drifting in a distorted reality where my mate wasn’t the same transparent, magnetic, and sincere man I’d been captivated by for the last decade. Aaron—the male who was once always waiting in our Cheshire den when my training at the ice rink concluded—suddenly wasn't. Not only was he absent more frequently than not, but he never bothered to project a mental link or send a ping regarding his destination.Exchanging our coordinates and full digital agendas had never been a formal pack law in our bond, but it was a courtesy we maintained to keep our scents aligned. Aaron had never given me a reason to let my inner wolf snarl in distrust before. Yet, his cryptic movements, muffled phone calls, and vague dismissals of late had begun to tear at the fabric of my faith in my mate. Our marriage was fraying in ways I never imagined possible in a modern pack dynamic.He had vanished again thi

DOMINICI WASN’T SURE WHAT TO ANTICIPATE WHEN I CROSSED THE THRESHOLD of the Carrillo Glass House after a grueling rotation at the arena. One of the players on the roster had been a complete nightmare to manage. They typically are once their jersey sales start to peak. Those once-humble rookies with stars in their eyes almost always transform into ego-driven divas the moment they get a taste of the spotlight. Usually, it’s a fleeting phase until a veteran checks them on the ice.With Harper Keaton, the transition to a prima donna attitude occurred practically overnight. She had one highlight-reel goal, but in her headspace, she was already the face of the league. Since I run the Carrillo Music Group HQ, the hands-on babysitting of talent is normally reserved for the agents, but she had become such a catastrophe that her lead representative refused to spend another second in her presence.“Hey, how did the training session go?” Aara asked, leaning his head around the corner of the kitc

DOMINICMY MATE WAS THE MOST HONORABLE MALE I’D EVER KNOWN. Looking at him made me wish I’d entered our bond completely untouched, a blank slate, so that his scent would be the only one to ever mark my skin. The flickers of uncertainty that prowled through my mind were phantoms from my past—relics of the males I’d known before the moon chose us. My previous partner had been a jagged piece of work, never missing an opportunity to snarl if he thought I was becoming too soft or losing my athletic edge. He used to bark that if I lost my conditioning, he’d find a more 'streamlined' male to satisfy his inner wolf. He wanted a mate who felt like a weapon, not someone with a single ounce of give.After surviving a toxic dynamic like that, even for a short duration, it flooded my chest with a primal heat to hear my husband describe the ways he worshipped my form. Hearing him vow to cherish every shift and change as the seasons passed made my wolf want to howl in relief.There is no more potent

DOMINIC“I’M FULLY AWARE OF THE DRILL,” I heard my assistant snap, her voice vibrating with a sharp, wolfish irritation. She was pinching the bridge of her nose, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Carrillo Music Group HQ, looking like she was seconds away from a full-on snarl. “Take a sedative or something; your scent is spiking so hard it’s giving me a migraine.” I watched her roll her eyes as she turned away from the glass. I hoped to the Moon that wasn't a client she was barking at. Some of our talent could be a nightmare, but professionalism was the foundation of our pack’s business. “Yes, he’ll be on the ice at the scheduled time.” Clara Whitmore didn't even wait for a rebuttal. She ended the call and snapped into a rigid, professional posture the moment she realized I was looming in the doorway.“I’m hoping that wasn't a lead singer you just told to medicate,” I rumbled.“No, sir... of course not.” She tripped over the words, her scent flickering with a rare moment

DOMINIC“Interesting,” Clara murmured, the single word hanging in the air like a scent-mark. “You sound surprised.”“It’s our ninth cycle of the bond,” I growled, the vibration low in my chest. “Ten years since we first scented each other on the very day I was born. It’s a double milestone, and the silence from his side of the bed is deafening.”“I hadn't realized you met on your birthday. Wait—you officially marked him on the same date?”I nodded, a grim smile tugging at my lips as a memory surfaced through the fog of my irritation. “Aara always jokes with the pack that I chose that day specifically so I’d have no excuse to ever forget the lunar anniversary.” As the words left my mouth, the reality sank in like a silver blade. He had forgotten. I never imagined the day would come when my mate—the man who is quite literally the other half of my soul—would let our anniversary pass without so much as a howl.“Let’s crack this open,” Clara said, reaching for the bottle of reserve. I stoo