Page 6 of Alpha Varsity (Wolf Ridge High #5)

Chapter Six

A sher

“Three-day suspension from school, but I still get to play in Saturday’s game,” I report to Abe when he stops by the bakery after practice. I’m pretty sure me playing is against District policy, but football is king in Wolf Ridge. The fact that I’m the star of our defense is probably the only reason I didn’t get a harsher punishment.

“Good. Is that all?”

We’re in the back warehouse where my mom sent me to clean and organize Mrs. Angelson’s supplies. It’s my punishment for being suspended from school.

Not that helping Mrs. Angelson is ever a punishment. The old she-wolf is like a grandmother to me. She’s been my mom’s employer since I was a pup, so Wolf Ridge Sweet Treats is my second home. I’ve been working weekends for her since I was fifteen.

Before I hit puberty and got on the football team, I used to come here every day after school until closing time. Mrs. Angelson would have a warm peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk waiting for me to take to the corner table where I’d do my homework.

That same table where Carlotta tutored me in math, driving me insane with her jasmine and honey scent. The way she’d tug and twist on that golden moon pendant while she watched me work out a problem.

“No. Alpha Green said one more strike and I’m out.” That’s the part I’m trying not to think about.

I could be thrown out of the pack before I finish high school. Any hope I had–slim though it is–of getting a college scholarship for football would be demolished.

“Fuck.” Abe starts picking up fifty pound bags of flour and tossing them to me, so I can stack them neatly in large plastic tubs with lids. The warehouse sits behind the quaint main-street bakery. In the early 1900’s, it was a small flour mill until competition with the larger Hayden Mill in Tempe shut it down. Now, it’s a large, empty brick building that Mrs. Angelson uses to store extra supplies.

“So what happened? Seb and Markley said you lost it.”

I shrug. “Damonella pissed me off.”

“I heard he had Carlotta James’ panties.”

My upper lip curls, but I manage to keep my growl choked down.

“So you taught him a lesson in manners?”

I throw the bag of flour so hard it splits when it hits the wall, sending a giant cloud of whole wheat flour into the air. Dammit. A ripped bag was the whole reason Mrs. Angelson had me in here cleaning to begin with. She wants everything spic and span, so rodents can’t get to anything.

“Dammit,” I mutter. Now I’ll owe her the cost of the flour.

“So you were defending the honor of a female teacher. That’s a legit defense. I don’t see what the problem is. ”

I grunt in reply. “The problem is everyone in this town thinks I’m destined to be trouble like my dad.”

“What is it with you and Ms. James?” Abe tosses me another bag.

I catch it but throw it back. “Hold up. I have to move all these to sweep up the mess again.” I shove the bins in his direction to empty the stack against the wall.

“You dodging that question?” Abe leans against the wall, arms folded over his chest.

I consider telling him the truth. I mean, Abe just marked a human. And he’s been dealing with some kind of seizure thing that he hid from us for who knows how long. It’s not like Dr. Oakley’s perfect son is actually perfect.

“You had the hots for her when we were in middle school. I mean, we all did. She’s cute as fuck. But I know her mom was responsible for getting your dad kicked out of the pack.”

I shake my head. “ She was. Lotta–” I cut myself off, the bitter taste of betrayal making my tongue thick. I hate this story so much. I’ve never told anyone–not even my mom, and I don’t want to start now.

Abe watches me with curiosity.

Fuck it. I’m going to tell him. “Can you keep a secret?”

He steps closer, dropping that habitual smirk of his. “You know I can, man.”

“She was directly responsible.”

“Yeah?”

I nod. “Yeah. I told her–I don’t fucking know why–that my dad was stealing from the brewery. I told her in confidence. She swore to me she wouldn’t tell.”

“But she did?”

I nod. “She sure as hell did. It was her mom who got him kicked out. ”

“Shit.” Abe shoves his fingers through his hair. “It’s not your fault, man.”

I suddenly feel like the wind got knocked out of me. To have Abe understand the level of guilt I feel for being responsible opens a wound I haven’t even examined myself. I locked that shit up tight at the time. Too ashamed to tell my mom what I’d done. To admit it’s my fault she became a single mom five years ago.

“There’s more.” I got that off my chest, I might as well tell him everything.

“What?”

“Fate fucked me.” I lift my brows and leave that dangling in the air, waiting for Abe to understand.

It takes a moment, and then his eyes widen. “Are you saying–”

I nod.

“She’s your mate? Fuck. That’s harsh. So harsh, man. I’m sorry. Does she… I mean, have you guys–”

“She doesn’t know.” I leave out the part about us hooking up last night. I’m not a kiss and tell kind of guy. Plus my wolf is insanely protective of Lotta despite my hatred for her.

I see sympathy in Abe’s gaze, which pisses me off. It’s the same sympathy I got from my friends after Alpha Green threw my dad out of the pack and the rest of the town shunned me and my mom.

I grab the last sack of flour, my upper lip curling in a snarl, but before I can front, Abe surprises me. “Can you keep a secret for me?”

My brows pop. “Course.” I shovel the lost flour from the floor with the dustpan, dumping it into the trash.

“Lauren’s not all human.”

I stop and stare at him. “What? ”

He tosses me the broom. “She’s part bear. We think her grandfather might be that old bear that was hanging out on pack land last month.”

I whistle. “No shit. So that’s why fate put you with her.” I start to sweep up the remaining flour.

Abe nods. “So maybe there’s a reason, you know?” He shrugs. “I tried to resist her, but it just drove my wolf nuts.”

I work the corner with the broom, trying to get it all up. “You think there’s a reason Fate chose Carlotta for me?” I shake my head. “No way. I mean, she’s hot as fuck, so in theory, we’d make cute pups, but that won’t happen.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

“Nope.” I won’t let it happen. “I’d choose moon madness if it came to that over marking that female.”

Abe leans against the back wall and folds his arms over his chest. “That could be your defense. For the council, I mean. The fact that she’s your mate. No one is going to fault you for defending your fated mate’s reputation.”

I sit on the stack of flour sacks. “I know. But I’m not going to tell the whole fucking town before–”

I stop. Before what? Before I tell Lotta?

Is that what I plan to do?

I haven’t even figured out my next move beyond hunting her down again at the next full moon run.

Somehow, I doubt I’ll make it that long, though.

The need to get my hands on her grows every minute of the day.

“Before you mark her?”

“I’m not going to mark her,” I snarl. But I know it’s a lie.

I’m going to sink my teeth into that delectable flesh of hers and leave my scent, so no other male ever touches her.

That doesn’t mean I’ll keep her.

It will be a catch and release situation .

Except I know that’s a lie, too.

I’m going to mark Lotta, and then I’m going to tie her to my bed and punish her in every delicious way possible for the misery she’s caused me.

I just have to graduate high school first, so I don’t create a scandal even bigger than the one that got my dad thrown out of town.

Lotta

“You’re an asshole for not coming back, even for a visit,” my high school friend, Olive declares, narrowing her long, fake lashes at me.

“Seriously,” Brianna agrees. We’re at the New Moon Diner where the two arranged to meet me, so we could catch up.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just…it was hard to live with humans, so I kind of needed to cut off my old life, so I could adapt.”

There are two paths for Wolf Ridge pack members after high school–death or rebirth. That’s my take on it, anyway. Death is staying. You’ll work at the brewery or some other local business, get knocked up by another pack member, and dig in to die here the way everyone in your lineage has. Or, if you’re lucky and work hard enough, you can get out. But it will mean living away from the pack amongst humans, which has its stressors. In order to survive, you’ll have to be reborn as a human.

“It’s good to see you. I didn’t even realize how much I missed your faces.”

I’m lucky they aren’t more pissed at me, considering I didn’t even attempt to call anyone even after I arrived here two weeks ago. I bumped into Olive at the grocery store last week and guiltily asked who else from our circle was around. She called Brianna, and here we are.

They both were cheerleaders for Wolf Ridge–incredible gymnasts who built sky-high pyramids and tossed each other twenty feet in the air. Now, they are stuck in Wolf Ridge. Brianna works in the nail salon. Olive has a job at an upscale clothing boutique down the mountain in the wealthy human community, Cave Hills.

“Yeah. I heard Wilde Woodward is struggling playing football at Duke. He purposely got into some kind of trouble to get kicked off the team, but he’s back there now to finish out the season, at least.”

“Duke, wow. That’s impressive.” I’m out of the loop on all the news. Sure, my mom still called me while I was at school and talked my ear off about the pack news, but I think I missed hearing someone made it out of here to Duke.

I wonder, briefly, if Asher is good enough to get a scholarship somewhere. But he hates school, so I doubt he’d want to go on. From what I can tell, the work I put into raising his math and writing literacy when I tutored him went down the tubes after his dad got banished.

My stomach tightens into a familiar knot at that thought. You’d think after four and a half years, I would’ve forgiven myself, even if there’s no chance of Asher ever forgiving me.

“What do you think it takes to get nailed by Coach Jamison?” Olive murmurs, stirring her milkshake with her straw and ogling the gorgeous thirty-something high school football coach.

He’s sitting a few booths over. With shifter hearing, he probably heard her, if he’s bothering to listen.

I force myself to slow down sipping my espresso milkshake. I nearly drained the whole thing the moment Sandra, our waitress–another girl who never made it out of Wolf Ridge–set it down in front of me. Fate, my appetite has been out of control since the full moon. This meal is going to cost more than I wanted to spend.

“Who does he fuck during full moon runs?” Brianna wonders aloud.

My inner thighs slap together at the mention of the full moon. I’m still spending far too many thoughts on who my mysterious lover was and the things he did to me.

“He doesn’t. Or if he does, he’s discreet.”

“He’d have to be careful. He’s supposed to be a role model to all his players. He’s the one providing them with all the straight talk about sex and she-wolves,” I say.

What if… he was my full moon romp? Heat crawls across my chest. Maybe my lover isn’t already in a relationship. Maybe he didn’t show himself because he’s an important figure in the pack and has to be careful about gossip. I find myself looking over at his booth, too.

“I’m going to follow him next month,” Olive declares.

“Do you know what his wolf looks like?” I try to make the question sound off-hand.

“Doesn’t everyone? He’s a huge grey.”

Grey. Not black. Not my mate.

Brianna turns her dark-eyed gaze on me. “So? Did you have a human boy-toy in Chicago?”

I flush and put my lips around my straw to stall. “I had a roommate with benefits, but I ended it when it got old.”

“Ooh, was it awkward?”

I shake my head. “No. This guy’s ego was so big, I don’t think he even understood he got dumped. He was still trying to get with me every night he was home until I moved out. ”

Brianna wrinkles her nose. “Ew. Did you kick him in the nuts?”

“Nah. It was annoying, but not dangerous. I had other things to worry about–like finding a job that covered rent.”

Olive gives me a sympathetic look. “Did it suck there? I think it would be impossible to live in a city.” She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “We’re so glad you’re back.”

“Yeah…thanks.” My voice sounds hollow.

Brianna doesn’t miss it. “You don’t want to be back, do you?”

I wince. “Not really. The art scene here is non-existent.”

“What about Scottsdale?” Olive asks. “It’s just down the mountain. They have tons of art galleries there. You should take your stuff and see if they’ll show it.”

“Yeah, but you need to know someone to make that happen. You know, be a part of the scene. My former roommate might have a connection for me, but I haven’t heard back yet.” I watch myself as I throw up roadblocks. Why am I so afraid? Why don’t I follow up with Andy? I try to shake off my resistance. “But that’s a good idea. I should try anyway. You never know what might happen.”

“I’ll go with you if you need moral support,” Olive offers.

My lips fall open in surprise. “You would? Really?” Fate, I’m so used to thinking no one in this town supports my art, her offer comes as a shock. Especially considering what a shitty friend I’ve been.

She shrugs. “Sure. I know how to deal with snobby humans. It’s what I do all day at work.”

My vision goes wavy for a moment, and I hold my breath until it passes. “Amazing.” I bob my head. “That would be absolutely amazing. Thank you.”

“Girl, that’s what friends are for. Pack sticks together.”

Pack sticks together.

That statement tumbles around like a square peg that can’t find its hole. I’m not sticking with this pack. I’m going back to the human world where I can flourish as an artist. And yet, this taste of support and camaraderie I’ve been missing makes me feel like I can inhale a full breath for the first time in years.

I may only be here for a few months, but I don’t have to push away friendship to survive anymore. I lean forward and snatch one of Brianna’s fries. “So, wait until I tell you what happened to me on the full moon!”