Page 58 of Beastkin

I sank back down, my face burning with embarrassment, but I couldn’t stop grinning. The pride radiating through our bond was intoxicating, Karrick’s joy at scoring mixed with his satisfaction that I’d seen it. I wanted nothing more than to run down onto that field and kiss him senseless in front of everyone.

Instead, I settled for clutching my soda so tightly the plastic crinkled.

“You know what?” Lila said, leaning closer so only I could hear. “Screw being discreet. Cheer for your boyfriend. There are hardly any witches here and most of them are drunk, anyway.”

I looked around at the crowd, most of whom had already turned their attention back to the field. Maybe she had a point. It felt good to get away with something like this, to be who I wanted to be without worrying about my parents approval.

When Karrick jogged back toward the sideline, he glanced up at the stands again. This time, when our eyes met, I didn’t look away. I raised my cup in a small salute, and even from this distance, I could see his grin widen.

The rest of the game passed in a blur of cheering, terrible nachos that I ate anyway, and watching Karrick dominate the field like the beast he was. Every tackle, every defensive play, every moment he was out there, I felt my chest swell with an almost painful pride.

By the fourth quarter, I’d lost all restraint. When Karrick sacked the opposing quarterback so hard the poor guy saw stars, I was whooping and hollering with the best of them.

“There we go!” Lila laughed, throwing popcorn in the air. “Let it all out!”

And I did. For the first time in my life, I let myself be loud and messy and completely, utterly gone for someone. It felt incredible. However, all that soda was catching up with me.

“I’m gonna run to the restroom real quick,” I said, glancing at Lila as I side-stepped to the stairs. “Don’t eat all my candy!”

“No promises,” she grinned back. “Be fast! The game’s almost over!”

I nodded, smiling from ear to ear as I practically galloped down the stairs. I’d never been so happy.

Chapter 23

Karrick

Icouldn’t remember a game that had been won in such spectacular fashion. Ever since my surprise touchdown in the second quarter, we’d been ahead. After that it was just a matter of staying ahead. Thanks to some amazing tackles, most of them by me, and some good offensive work, we won the homecoming game by a mile. I’d never heard a crowd cheer so loudly in my life. It was like getting a shot of adrenaline straight to my heart.

Even mid celebration with my team, I looked back toward the stands, trying to see Phoenix. But the crowd was too wild and too raucous for me to make him out. Instead, I decided to focus on celebrating with my team. I’d see him soon enough. We already had plans to meet up after the game and possibly even jump off campus with Lila to some nearby town and get drinks together. It would be a nice change to just be normal, to forget about those in the world that wanted to keep us apart. Even if I had to take my human form, I didn’t mind. Going out with my boyfriend like it was no big deal… it might’ve been silly, but it sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world.

The locker room was chaos. There were guys shouting, towelsflying, and Coach Flannery trying to give some kind of victory speech over the noise. I barely heard any of it. My skin was still buzzing with leftover adrenaline, and all I could think about was getting out of here and finding Phoenix.

I showered quickly, ignoring the celebratory atmosphere around me. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled we’d won, but right now all I wanted was to see the look on Phoenix’s face when I told him about that touchdown. Had he seen it? Had he cheered for me?

“Yo, Karrick!” Jackson slammed his locker shut next to mine. “You coming to Miller’s party? His parents said we could have the lake house and?—”

“Can’t,” I said, pulling my shirt over my head. “Already got plans.”

Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Dude, it’s homecoming night. What could be more important than celebrating with the team?”

I just shrugged, grabbing my jacket. Let him think what he wanted. There was no way I was missing out on a real date with Phoenix, even if we had to sneak ten miles off campus into the middle of the wilderness to get some privacy.

But before I could get out of the locker room, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning back, I saw Silver, his purple skin still slick with sweat.

“You did a damn good job out there tonight,” he said, a big smile on his face. “In fact, you’ve been doing really well in practice lately too. You seem more…focused.”

“Thanks,” I replied, unable to look him directly in the eye. Silver always had a way of making me feel like he could see right through me. “I wanted to do good by the team.”

“And that witch you’ve been hanging out with,” he added with a grin.

“How do you know about?—”

“I saw you two,” Silver shrugged. “Sneaking off campus the other night.” He leaned closer, speaking in a hushed tone. “And there’s only one reason for that.”

I could tell just from his tone what he was hinting at. And he was right too. Which, of course, didn’t help and made my cheeks turn bright red.

“That’s what I thought,” he smiled, patting me on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Karrick.”