Page 18

Liam

O ur team played an amazing game tonight. We kicked those bloodsuckers asses, wiped the field with them eight to nothing. I’m in a great mood as we board the bus to head back to Eldergrove, that is until my twin starts yapping about his mate. Again.

“I just know she was watching me on TV tonight. You think so, right, Bas? D?” His happy-go-luckyness doesn’t usually grate my nerves this way but tonight it does.

“Will you please shut the fuck up about her? If she wanted to come to your games she would. She’s obviously not at home watching.” His phone dings in his pocket, temporarily halting my rant.

His smug smile when he flips his phone to show me the screen tells me all I need to know but I look anyway. It’s a selfie of Rachel and her roomies all around the TV showing the game playing. They are all holding pom poms and Rachel has a sign in her hands that says ‘Go Nightclaws’.

“So what,” I roll my eyes and slump back in my seat. “She wasn’t at the last home game and she won’t be at the next one either.”

Lucas goes quiet, which is unlike him, so I know something’s up. Giving in to my curiosity, I turn to look at them, only to see them having some sort of unspoken conversation.

What the fuck is going on?

“You assholes wanna hide shit from me then wonder why I get pissed off all the time.”

“No one’s hiding anything,” Bas counters, always the damn peacemaker.

“Sure. You have silent conversations without me all the time.”

Lucas sighs and turns to me. “It’s about Rachel.”

“It’s always about Rachel,” I grumble.

“She wasn’t at the game last week because she was worried her father would be there.”

“Who’s her father? Why would he be at our game? And why would that stop your mate from coming?”

If he doesn’t just spit it out, swear to God I’m gonna lose my shit.

“Ranger St. James,” Derrick spits the name, seething just at the thought of the man.

“And that means what? I’m supposed to know who the fuck that is?”

“He’s a Shifter Tribunal member for the Eternal Council and an all around despicable piece of trash,” D growls, smoke pluming from his nose.

Well, okay then. D definitely doesn’t like Rachel’s dad. And it looks like Bas and Lucas agree.

“Again, I ask you, what does that have to do with Rachel coming to the games?”

“Are you paying attention at all? Her father is an abusive asshole and she is terrified of him. He could come to our games because well everyone comes to our games and he graduated from Eldergrove and is now a Tribunal member so it wouldn’t even seem out of place. She’s terrified and from what she’s told me it’s almost like she’s accepted what he will do to her and she is more worried about us.” Lucas says.

“Yeah her asshole father had her convinced that having only one mate is the norm because he’s a tiger shifter and we typically only have one mate,” Bas adds with a sneer. “Hell, she still covers my mark most of the time. It guts me but I understand, she’s afraid he’ll pop up on campus like before.”

“Wait, what do you mean before?” I ask my eyes darting between the guys I thought I knew everything about. “He’s been on campus outside of the games? I thought that wasn’t allowed? Didn’t Mrs. Ashford complain about that for like six weeks before we left?”

“He came with my father, some sort of meeting with the dean.” D’s tone is all I need to know how that went.

“Wait a minute. Is he like six threeish, dark hair, suit, cold eyes?”

“Yeah, sounds like him.” D responds.

“I think I saw him the other day. You guys were all having a picnic and I was going to come over to try to get to know Rachel like Lucas suggested. I passed him, he was standing peering around the side of Sorgman Hall. I thought it was weird but I was on a mission until I lost the nerve. Then when I went back towards the dorms, he was gone.”

I guess this explains why my wolf went on alert when I saw him. Didn’t even know who the creep was, but of course my wolf knew he wasn’t to be trusted.

“He was there?” D seethes.

“That must have been who was watching us. Remember when Rachel froze? She said she felt eyes on her. Right after, we saw you, so we assumed it was you,” Bas sighs, shaking his head.

“You thought my mate was afraid of me?”

“I didn’t say afraid . I said she felt eyes on her,” Bas grumbles, rolling his own. “You have those, don’t you? You use them to look at people from afar, because you’re too chicken shit to get close to them?”

“I am not-”

“Oh, shut up. Yes you are. You admitted as much yourself,” Bas huffs.

“And we’re all very happy that you’re finally pulling your head out of your ass,” D chimes in. “I’m glad I didn’t have to pull it out for you.”

“Whatever,” I grumble. “Back to Rachel and her being afraid of her dad.”

“Now he wants to talk about Rachel,” Lucas teases with a smirk.

Why does he have to make it so hard to not punch him?

“Just tell me what I’m walking into already.”

“Long story short, he doesn’t like that she has four mates. He’s made her feel less than and called her vile names since she was a kid. We spent that lunch trying to convince her not to be afraid of him anymore and he was watching her the entire time.” Bas grinds out.

“You think he’ll hurt her?”

“He can try,” D snarls.

My mate’s in danger. She fears for not only her life every day, but ours as well and here I am throwing myself a pity party because I met her? What the fuck is wrong me? She deserves better than me.

So be the mate she deserves. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and wolf the fuck up.

How can I make it up to her?

What if she doesn’t want me?

I have to fix this. I have to help keep her safe.

But am I ready?

Doesn’t matter. My mate needs me. This is bigger than my comfort.

The conversation fades as I fall deeper into my spiral. The guys, all lost to their own thoughts, thankfully leave me alone for the rest of the ride and next thing I know, we’re pulling up to the school. We file off the bus and grab our bags and gear from under the bus.

“Good game, today,” Coach Mace says. “Everyone rest up the rest of the weekend and don’t forget to hit the weights Monday. The season’s off to a great start. Let’s not ruin it by getting complacent.”

“Yes, Sir!” We say as one before Coach heads to the employee duplex compound and the rest of us turn toward the dorm.

A few guys try to stop me to talk about my birthday tomorrow, but I ignore them, still lost in thoughts about Rachel.

It’s a quiet elevator ride and when we get inside, everyone goes their separate ways. I beat Lucas to the bathroom and smile when he pounds on the door.

“No fair! It’s my birthday! You couldn’t even let me have the shower first?” he grumbles through the door.

I turn the water on in response and groan loudly as I stand under the spray.

“Man, that’s nice after a long game and a longer ride home,” I say over the sound of the water, snickering as he continues to berate me.

The pounding finally stops and I hear him stomp away. Feeling better after riling my brother up, I scrub my hair then body, washing away all the sweat and grime from the game. When I’m done, I get out but leave his door locked and head to my room to get dressed.

Not planning on going anywhere for the rest of the night, I throw on some basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I’m hanging my towel back up in the bathroom when the banging starts again.

“Let me in, asshole! Rachel’s gonna be here soon.”

Fuck. She’s coming? Here?

Of course she is, numb nuts. It’s her mate’s birthday. Why wouldn’t she come over?

“Okay, okay. Chill out. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” I chuckle as I unlock the door seconds before Lucas rips it open.

“You’re such a dill hole.”

I shrug because, well, he’s not wrong, and flip him off over my shoulder as I make my way back to the kitchen. Figuring I can just camp out in my room while Rachel is here, I begin to gather some snacks and a drink to take back with me. I’m leaning over, head buried in the back of the fridge, looking at the offerings when a knock on the door makes me jump and whack my head on the top of the fridge. I right myself rubbing the spot on the back of my head that will surely be a goose egg by morning and I hear D answer the door inviting Rachel inside.

I turn to face them, arms wrapped around the pack of hard salami, bag of cheese cubes, and sleeve of crackers I intend to take with me but when I see her it’s like my heart stops. I can feel myself go slack-jawed, as my snacks hit the floor. Rachel is absolutely gorgeous. I have never seen her in anything other than the long sleeves and full coverage she prefers but tonight she is wearing a Nightclaw baseball jersey with my brother's number on it. Her golden skin looks sun kissed and her bright smile makes her face even more alluring than normal.

My wolf whimpers in my mind, begging for a chance to make her smile like that because of us. The thoughts that raced through my mind on the ride home flare back to life with a vengeance. I have to get out of here. Hurrying to gather my fallen treats and my drink I try to slide past D and Rachel and make it back to my room unnoticed. I’m almost in the clear when I hear my mate call my name.

“Liam,” she calls out softly and I turn to meet her eyes. “Is it okay that I’m here? Would you prefer it if I left? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable in your own dorm.”

“No, stay.” I snip at her.

When she flinches at my tone my shame deepens. I’m not trying to scare her. Do I remind her of her father? If I do I definitely don’t have a shot in hell at making this right. This is all too much. I turn to leave but this time I feel a hand on my arm just above my elbow stopping me. The second contact is made, a warmth floods my soul and I know without a doubt that she is my mate as the bond flares to life. Turning back to her I see the shock in her eyes at what she’s just done.

“I-I just wanted to say thank you. For, you know, saving me from Trent the other night. So, um, thank you,” She murmurs.

I look to where her palm still rests on my bicep only to see the most beautiful watercolor fox wrapped on my arm. The playful expression on its face makes me smirk and I love that she is wrapped protectively behind a large black tail. Moving slowly so I don’t spook her, I set my drink on the nearby table, grabbing her hand, I gently flip it to see her mark. From the palm of her hand to almost the crook of her elbow, a large photorealistic black wolf covers her arm.

Oh no, it’s huge. How is she going to cover this? I just put my mate in so much more danger.

For the second time tonight, my snacks fall to the floor as my heart seizes in my chest. Taking a move from my mate’s playbook, I turn towards the front door and run. Within seconds I’m down the stairs and bursting out the back door of the dorm. I don’t stop until I’m fully in the woods. Shifting, I let my wolf take over for a while as I curl up in the back of our mind and berate myself for endangering my mate.

I don’t deserve her and never will.