Chapter 3
Silver
Oh my gods… that fucking whistle.
Coach Flannery was standing on the sidelines looking less than impressed with our performance as a team. Then again, I’d seen almost everyone at the stoplight party the night before, and considering how much we’d all been drinking, it was a wonder we were upright at all.
The painful throbbing in my head matched perfectly with every piercing blast of that damned whistle. Coach was doing it on purpose, I was sure of it. He’d been around long enough to know exactly what happened the first night back, but that didn’t stop him from scheduling morning practice, anyway.
“Jackson, you’re dragging ass out there!” he barked at the werewolf behind me. “And the rest of you aren’t much better! My dead grandmother could run these drills faster than you sorry lot!”
I winced as I jogged back into position, grateful the coach’s wrath wasn’t directed at me for once. My mouth felt like I’d been chewing on cotton balls all night, and my stomach churned with every sudden movement. But I powered through it. I always did.
“Yo, Silver,” Karrick panted beside me, his fur matted with sweat. “That guy you hooked up with last night? That dryad freshman with green skin? He was fucking hot, man.”
I grinned despite my hangover. “Yeah, he was. Those quiet ones are always the wildest.”
“Details, bro. I need details,” Karrick insisted as we lined up for another drill.
“Don’t you get enough dick from your mate?” I laughed. “Why do you need to know about my sex life?”
Karrick blushed a bit, even under all that fur. “I… well, Phoenix likes to hear the stories, and it gets us really… you know…”
“You’re sick, Karrick.” I gave him a wink. “I like it though. Well, let’s just say that dryad could—”
Coach’s whistle cut me off, and we sprinted forward again.
“—bend his legs back over his head and still suck his own dick at the same time,” I finished once we were jogging back to position. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Holy shit.” Karrick’s eyes widened with a mixture of shock and admiration. “That’s some serious flexibility.”
“Tell Phoenix I said he’s welcome for that mental image,” I smirked, wiping sweat from my brow. “The dryad said it was because his body is partially made of wood, so he can sort of... reshape himself. Pretty fucking hot watching him do it.”
“SILVER!” Coach Flannery’s voice boomed across the field. “If you’ve got energy to gossip, you’ve got energy to run point on this next drill!”
Shit. My stomach lurched in protest as I raised my hand in acknowledgment. I’d been hoping to coast through today’s practice, but it seemed Coach had other plans.
“Yes, sir!” I called back, trying to sound more enthusiastic than I felt.
The rest of practice was brutal. Coach worked us like he was trying to sweat the alcohol out of our systems—which, knowing him, was probably exactly what he was doing.
By the time we finished the final drill, even Karrick was looking worse for wear, and he could usually outrun most of the team without breaking a sweat.
“Hit the showers, you degenerates!” Coach finally called out. “And remember, team meeting tomorrow morning. Eight sharp!”
A collective groan rose from the team as we trudged toward the locker rooms. My legs felt like jelly, and the pounding in my head had only intensified. But I’d made it through, and that was something.
“Silver! Hold up a minute.”
I froze mid-step, wondering what fresh hell Coach was about to unleash on me. Had he noticed me sneaking off to vomit behind the equipment shed earlier?
“Yes, Coach?” I turned around, trying not to look as miserable as I felt.
Coach Flannery waited until the others had moved out of earshot before approaching me. His expression was unreadable, which was never a good sign.
“Walk with me,” he said, gesturing toward the far end of the field.
I fell into step beside him, my mind racing through all the possible reasons I might be in trouble.
Had someone ratted me out about stealing that bottle of enchanted whiskey from the faculty lounge last semester?
Or maybe this was about the time I’d used twilight magic to help us win that game against Moonhaven College… but that was like… two years ago now?
“You’ve been with the team for three years now,” Coach said, interrupting my panicked thoughts.
“Yes, sir.”
“And in those three years, you’ve proven yourself to be one of the most reliable players I’ve ever coached.”
Wait, what? This didn’t sound like I was in trouble at all.
“Thank you, sir,” I managed, genuinely surprised by his compliment.
Coach Flannery’s blue eyes fixed on me with that intense gaze werewolves got when they were sizing someone up. It made me squirm a little, even after three years of being on his team.
“Silver, I’m going to cut to the chase. I want you to be team captain this year.”
I blinked, sure I’d misheard him through my hangover fog. “Captain? Me?”
“Don’t act so surprised,” he huffed, crossing his massive arms. “You’ve earned it. The team respects you, you know the plays better than anyone, and you’ve got leadership qualities whether you realize it or not.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. Captain. The word echoed in my throbbing head. This wasn’t something I’d even considered. Sure, I was good—hell, I was great—but captain? That was a whole different level of responsibility.
“I... I don’t know what to say, Coach.”
“Say yes,” he replied simply. “Unless you’ve got some reason why you can’t handle it?”
There it was. The challenge. I straightened my shoulders despite my body’s protests. “No sir. I can handle it.”
Coach’s face broke into a rare smile, his canines glinting in the morning sun. “Good. Because this team needs someone like you at the helm. Someone who can keep them focused when things get tough.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Me, the secret prince with an expiration date on my freedom, being asked to lead others. But then again, wasn’t that exactly what I’d been trained for my entire life? Just in a different realm?
“What about Daisuke? He was expecting it, I think.” I couldn’t help but mention the senior kirin who’d been vocal about wanting the captain position.
Coach waved his hand dismissively. “Daisuke is all bark and no bite. You’re just the right amount of aggressive. That’s what we need this season.”
Pride swelled in my chest, momentarily overshadowing the nausea and headache. “I won’t let you down, sir.”
“I know you won’t.” He clapped me on the shoulder, nearly sending me to my knees in my weakened state. “Now, first order of business as captain is to get your hungover ass to the locker room and make sure nobody’s puking in my showers.”
I laughed, then immediately regretted it as my head throbbed violently. “Yes, sir.”
As I turned to go, Coach called after me, “And Silver?”
“Yeah, Coach?”
His expression softened just slightly. “I’m really proud of you.”
The comment hit me like a bucket of ice water.
That kind of comment was something a father would say, not that I’d ever heard it from my own.
Despite all the training and the years of sitting through long court sessions with the realm’s leaders, I’d never been told that anyone was proud of me.
But Coach Flannery, whom I actually respected, was the first to give that to me.
I couldn’t help beaming as I gave him a nod and headed for the showers.
Team captain. It was an honor I hadn’t expected, and something that sent a strange mix of pride and anxiety coursing through me. I made my way to the locker room, my steps feeling lighter despite the hangover still pounding at my temples.
The team was already in various states of undress when I pushed through the door. The familiar cacophony of voices, laughter, and locker doors slamming hit me all at once. The smell of sweat, grass, and whatever enchanted body spray half the team used, filled my nostrils.
“There he is!” Karrick bellowed when he spotted me. “The dryad fucker himself!”
Several guys laughed, and I flipped him off with a grin. “Better than being a witch-fucker,” I shot back, which earned me a chorus of “ooohs” from the team.
Karrick clutched his chest in mock offense. “Hey, Phoenix is a catch and you know it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, making my way to my locker. “Just like I’m a catch for whoever’s lucky enough to get me.”
As I stripped off my practice jersey, I noticed Daisuke watching me from across the room. The kirin’s expression was unreadable, but there was tension in his shoulders. He knew something was up. Maybe Coach had already told him he wasn’t getting the captain spot.
“Hey,” I called over to him. “Good hustle out there today.”
He gave me a curt nod before turning back to his locker. Shit. That wasn’t a good sign. I’d need to smooth things over with him sooner rather than later. The last thing I needed was team drama in my final year.
“So,” Jackson sidled up beside me as I sat down to remove my cleats. “That dryad. Was he, like, splinter-free down there? I’ve always wondered.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Completely smooth, actually. Like polished wood.” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. “And the way he could bend... let’s just say it opened up a lot of possibilities.”
“Damn,” Jackson sighed wistfully. “Maybe I should start going for guys instead of that vampire bitch I ended up with. She bit me in places I didn’t even know could be bitten.”
“That’s why you were moving so slow today!” Karrick hooted from across the room. “Got some extra holes in your dick you didn’t want?”
The locker room erupted in laughter, and even I couldn’t hold back a snort.
This was what I loved about the team. There was an easy camaraderie, a shameless oversharing of hookup stories, and a sense of safety where we could all just be ourselves without judgment. Well, without too much judgment anyway.
As I showered, letting the hot water soothe my aching muscles and clear my head a bit, I thought about what being captain would mean.
More responsibility, sure, but also more visibility.
More attention. That could be dangerous for my secret.
I didn’t want people to find out I was a prince, to treat me differently than they had before.
I was just Silver, and that’s who I wanted to remain.
The locker room gradually emptied as my teammates finished their showers and dressed, still trading jokes about their escapades from the night before.
I lingered under the hot spray, letting it wash away the last remnants of my hangover.
My mind kept circling back to Coach’s words.
Team captain. The responsibility of it weighed on me. I had yet another role to play.
When I finally heard the last locker slam shut and the door swing closed, I let out a deep breath.
The sudden silence was a relief. I needed these few moments alone to process everything.
I’d only been at school for a day and already I felt like there was far too much going on in my life.
I hadn’t even gone to my first class yet.
I closed my eyes, tilting my face up into the spray.
The water pressure at Widdershins was always perfect, another small luxury I’d miss when I returned to the Twilight Realm.
There, even as royalty, our water was infused with magical properties that made it feel like liquid silk but never quite had the satisfying pounding force of mortal plumbing.
“Just one more year,” I murmured to myself, running my hands through my wet hair. “Make it count.”
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear the door open. Didn’t sense the presence of someone else in the locker room until a startled gasp echoed off the tiled walls.
My eyes snapped open, and I whipped around to find the source of the noise.
Standing there, frozen in place with a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other, was a young man I’d never seen before.
He was thin, with dark hair that fell across his forehead in a way that made my fingers itch to brush it back.
His eyes were sapphire blue and wide with shock, his mouth slightly open in surprise.
And I was, of course, totally naked, with my cock to the wind.
Water cascaded down my body as we stared at each other, neither of us moving.
I watched as his gaze involuntarily traveled downward, taking in my chest, my abs, and then lower.
When his eyes reached my cock, his cheeks flushed a deep crimson that spread down his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his hoodie.
“I—I’m so sorry,” he stammered, nearly dropping his bucket as he took a step backward. “I didn’t realize anyone was still—I mean, the schedule said—”
“It’s fine,” I said, making no move to cover myself. Why should I? I was proud of my body, and from the way this guy was looking at me, he appreciated the view. “I was dawdling anyway.”
“Right. Of course.” He seemed to be having trouble deciding where to look. His eyes kept darting from my face to the floor, occasionally slipping back to my chest or cock before he caught himself. “I’ll just... come back later.”
Something about his awkwardness was endearing.
“It’s alright,” I said, reaching up and turning off the water. “I was just leaving.”
His eyes were still locked on me as I grabbed my towel but made no move to wrap it around my waist. I walked towards him, pausing only for a moment in front of him. From here I could see that he was really enjoying the view. The bulge in his jeans told me everything I needed to know.
“So,” I said softly as I cocked one hip to the side, making my purple cock shift to the left. “You must be the new cleaning guy.”