My notifications were going insane when I opened my phone. Not just my email and texts, but just about every social media platform I had.
Right there at the top was a missed call from Jeremiah Kingsford.
Holy shit.
I tapped the notification and quickly called him back, desperate to find out what he thought about the first article. I’d all but forgotten it thanks to my dad’s bullshit and the heat spike.
“There she is,” he boomed when he answered. His voice was practically giddy. Clearly, the article has gone over well.
“I take it you saw my email and the article,” I hedged.
“The ratings are already in. We’ve shot up in popularity and mentions. The Narwhals are getting major coverage now and the tides have turned. I knew I made the right choice hiring you.”
“Oh, wow, sir. I’m so glad that it went over well. The team has been so great and they’ve been forthcoming every time I’ve asked to chat.”
He hummed in approval. “As I knew they would be. We cleared house and now our team and coach are locked in and have the right mindset.”
“I’ve watched them in action. The coach truly cares about the team and all of your players want to be here,” I agreed easily.
“It makes a difference, doesn’t it?” He chuckled. “Just one more article and I think we’re golden. The fault of our old players will no longer be our burden.”
“Perfect. I was just about to start working on it. I’m thinking something that covers the rivalries a bit, what motivates the players, and more of the games’ statistics. Is there anything else in particular you want me to include?”
“Oh no, don’t take my input. You, clearly, know what you’re doing. I simply wanted to tell you what a good job you’ve done.”
“Well, thank you, sir,” I said, pride beaming through me.
We hung up quickly, and I pulled open my laptop. My fingers were itching to type as we talked. The ideas were forming in my mind.
I knew exactly the angle I wanted to go with.
“Team loyalty and talent has never been a problem with the Narwhals,” I muttered as I typed it out. The words practically spilled out of me. I always zoned out in moments like this.
This was the sort of high I always chased. The feeling of accomplishment was nice, but I thrived in the details. Searching out the facts, using them to spin the story into something truthful, but exciting and impactful to read.
I’d cut out so much from the first article that I had plenty of ammo to mix in. It was funny how I’d spend weeks preparing to write an article, talking to each player, finding out who they were behind the scenes, what motivated them, what superstitious pregame rituals they had, just to be condensed into a single story.
The first draft floated out of me. There would be plenty of edits to focus on, along with rewrites and fact checking. But it was on page and I was damn proud of it.
As soon as I closed my laptop, the world rushed back in. I could hear my pack moving through the house. There was a cold plate of food on the table in front of me that I had, apparently, ignored.
“Oh, look she’s alive,” Kota teased as he flopped down on the couch next to me. There was a fresh plate of food in his hands. I thought he was going to eat but he handed it to me.
“We had a bet on whether you would even eat that, so I put an extra plate in the fridge as well. I just heated it back up, so it’s actually warm.”
My cheeks burned as I realized they had probably all tried and failed to have conversations with me.
I opened my mouth to argue but he gently pushed the plate closer.
“Eat,” he demanded. “Before Hayes comes in here and tries to feed you himself.”
That had me shoveling the food into my mouth. He chuckled and waited to chat until I was slowing down again. I wasn’t sure what it was with my pack watching me eat, but I swear this pack loved it.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. He took my empty plate and sat it on the table before giving me his full attention.
“My body hurts a bit but, clearly, the fog lifted. Now that I’ve stopped I’m feeling a bit achy and dizzy,” I said after assessing how I felt.
“We’ll just take it easy today. Coach already called a pack heat into the AHA, so we’re home free for at least a week, if not more depending on when it hits.”
