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We both smiled then giggled like kids. I cuddled into his embrace. Feeling small against him. Safe. “Don’t laugh, but…that was my first kiss,” I admitted, hoping it wouldn’t put him off.
“Don’t laugh…it was mine too,” he said, planting a strong kiss on my head, holding me closer.
I couldn’t believe that—that he’d waited all these years for a first kiss—but his sincerity was easy to read. Professor Belanger. Aaron. He’d turned my world upside down tonight.
Jaxon
Friday night was a great night for football.
At least, it would have been, without my dad and his obnoxious cronies sitting in the crowd. I’d been hoping they wouldn’t turn up. Wishful thinking for the first game of football season.
Our eyes met across the field and throngs, and we exchanged stony nods. Whenever he came to a game, his gaze always cut into me, drawing me back to it magnetically, more powerful than any knock from the opposition, or even the roar of fifty thousand cheering football fans.
No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I craved his approval. He was my Alpha. I didn’t like a vast number of things about him, even despising some of his traits, but I couldn’t deny my compulsion to try and please him. And I frequently did, on the football field.
Less so in pack matters. The cold, calculating cruelty and stubbornness of his wolf made that task considerably more difficult. The pricks who buzzed around him like flies, his bootlickers, Cletus, Lester, and Brock—the Three Stooges—only encouraged him as well.
The game would be starting soon. Against our closest rivals in the paranormal college league, too. The New Omaha Chargers. I blew a hard exhale, double-checked that my shoulder pads felt the right level of tightness, and picked up my helmet off the bench. I reminded my wolf he wasn’t invited to take part. Shifters were immediately banned if they even changed partially during play. Same for vamps or elementals found using supernatural powers or magic of any kind. Fae too, not that any of them played. That was beneath them. Arrogant bastards.
The air was balmy, the sky a steadily darkening dome of azure. Hot dogs, beer, and popcorn were being guzzled and munched in industrial-sized quantities. People were having a great time already, relaxing, unwinding with friends and family.
As for me, I was steeling myself for sweat and pain.
I was readying my helmet when an uplifting sight in the crowd caught my eye. Cecilia, sitting with the new friend she’d told me about, Vesta. I’d texted Cecilia again this morning, making sure her first week had gone well, and she’d told me it had, and a new friend had made all the difference. I was glad she’d found a flame child friend, to keep her company, and more importantly, make sure she was safe.
Though my wolf kept insisting that was our job. I could feel his panting, primal delight at the sight of her in the stands.
And she sure did look happy. No wonder, it was probably her first ever football game in New Nebraska. Nothing beat the atmosphere of—
Some huge, scruffy faced guy in the row behind her was brushing spilled popcorn off her shoulder. She was laughing, beaming fondly at him, like they were best buddies. My wolf’s contented panting turned into a low growl. Then a fierce one, at what I saw next.
That scumbag, Xander.
Several rows across, surrounded by coven members, he was sprawling in his chair, laughing, flashing that shitty grin of his. Staring at Cecilia. Then his focus changed, peering towards me. I scowled back at him as he smiled smugly, mouthing some words over the crowd’s loud bustle while giving me a thumbs up.
My senses were so heightened, I made out Xander’s words without any trouble.
Break a leg, fur baby.
My wolf went berserk, snarling, barking, straining to get out from under my skin. If I shifted, my game was over and I’d be in deep shit with the coach, the guys on the team and my dad. Focusing on my breathing, I closed my eyes and commanded my wolf to back down. He did, grudgingly, growling.
“Hey, Jax! Kick some ass out there! Go Sentinels, yay!”
Dammit. Mandy, who was the cheerleading captain, had skipped over to say hi, pompoms and tits bobbing.
I nodded, my lips pursed, trying to simultaneously ignore my dad’s gaze, Xander’s provocation, and Cecilia’s apparent flirting with some guy, while about to have one of the most important games of the season. I did not need to deal with Mandy’s shit on top of all that.
“Go Sentinels. Mandy, you’d better get back to your team. I’m about to go on, it’s about to start.”
Her beaming smile’s brightness was competing with the floodlights. “There’s still a couple of minutes. I only wanted to wish you luck, you meanie.” She did a seductive twirl and pompom flutter, ending it with a shake of her hips and a bouncing jump. “You like our new outfit design? I think it’s kinda cute, don’t you?”
No doubt a vast number of men in the stands agreed. I couldn’t care less. I looked back at Cecilia. That guy was giving her a shoulder massage now. What the fuck!
“Yeah, yeah. It’s very nice.” I rattled my helmet. “Okay, that’s me onto the field now.” If I didn’t get myself lost in the game straight away, distracting my wolf, I feared he’d soon run rampant from frustration.
I slipped on my helmet, the foam inside pressing snugly but comfortably against my skull and ears, and tapped it hard on the top twice, checking it was securely on, tugging at the front grill to make sure the same. “Okay, cheer for us hard—”
“And your dad ordered me to come over too, of course,” she blurted, looking away from me with that fake coyness I hated.
