Chapter 2
“Today is our lucky day, guys, I can feel it! The sun is shining, the temperature is great, and we are going to crush the Strikers tonight!” I called out to the team, my voice echoing through the locker room.
The words earned me a few whoops and hollers from the guys, though Griff and Jackson just rolled their eyes.
They were used to my brand of… enthusiasm.
I’d call it charisma.
“You say that every game,” Griff accused playfully as he tugged on his jersey. Henry, one of our rookies, was walking around with a tub of aqua blue face paint that matched our silver and blue uniforms, holding it out for everyone to put streaks on their cheeks.
We weren’t just professional baseball players, but entertainers. It took a lot of energy and effort to hype up the crowd, and tonight was no different.
Especially since we were facing off with our biggest rivals, the Steel City Strikers. They were full of energy, but also some of the biggest assholes I’d ever met. They took the game from simply fun and full of life, to full of tension.
When he got to us, Henry held it out to me, letting me put it on myself and my pack.
Henry and I were civil, but not friends. He was far too arrogant and I didn’t have time for jealousy.
I worked my ass off for my position and I wasn’t going to let a newbie come in with too much ego and audacity, to throw me off my game.
“Thanks, rookie,” Griff snarked as he tilted his face my way. I brushed the paint over his bronzed skin, before turning to Jackson and doing the same on his pale cheeks.
“I’m not a fucking rookie,” Henry growled as he snatched the paint and stomped off in his usual fashion.
“At some point, you’ll have to give the rookie thing up,” Jackson warned Griff, bumping his shoulder into the other alpha.
I’d found these two during college baseball. We’d had a few rounds of minors before finding our love for entertainment baseball.
The Knuckleball Knockouts were our home now and I’d never leave for another team. The money was good, we had each other, and we loved the area.
Coach Santiago stepped out of his office and let out a sharp whistle. We all finished pulling on our uniforms and gear, before stepping up to the usual pep talk spot.
Though, Coach and I were very different people in that regard.
“I know your Captain gave you some encouraging words. I’m here to tell you that we better wipe that field with the Strikers. That coach is a dick and I want nothing more than to see the smug bastard’s smirk fall. Got it? Don’t let me down,” he growled.
The old alpha was all bark. He might sound mean, but he was an old softie somewhere deep down.
His pale gray eyes skipped over each of us, a silent warning to play our best, be our best, and do right by our team.
How this man ended up in this league was beyond me, but I was grateful. He was the kind of coach that pushed you to your limits but made sure you didn’t take it too far or lose your head.
Hopefully, he’d work a bit more on Henry’s attitude.
As we walked out onto the field, music was already blaring and the crowd was going crazy. There was just something amazing about the ballpark. The music, the crowd, the cheers, the scents, it was all this incredible combination of pure magic I couldn’t get enough of.
The only thing that would make this day even better would be if my mate was watching from the stands. She was the one missing puzzle piece in this life we’ve built.
I wanted an omega. We’d spent our twenties thriving in this career, and now I was ready to start a real pack. One centered around a sweet smelling omega that had curves I could bite into.
"Earth to Cy," Griff said from beside me. "Where'd you go?"
"Just soaking it all in before those asshats start their shit at the plate," I answered him as we headed to the dugout to check our battling gear.
Jackson was already in the bullpen warming up with Henry. Good, let the rookie wear out his knees and I'll save mine for the game.
Not only being captain, but also the catcher was stressful. Yet, that was where I thrived. I loved the chaos of it all.
Griff and I finished checking our gear and headed out to the field. Since we were the home team, the Strikers were up to bat and the smack talking was about to begin.
"You ready for this?" Griff asked as we walked in sync to home plate.
"I am. My knees? I'll let you know after the game," I joked. It wasn’t something that had bothered me when we started.
Now? Well, now we were older.
"Better you than me," he said with a play punch on my arm.
"You just do your job at first and we are golden. I bet Jackson will strike most of them out," I told him.
"He better or he's buying the beers tonight," Griff told me with a snort. Even as his midnight blue eyes danced in amusement, his face was stoic.
"Shit, we'll make him do it anyway," I laughed.
"Smart thinking," Griff commented as Jackson joined us.
"What are you two plotting?" he asked. The side-eyed look said he knew we were talking shit.
"We’re two innocent angels," Griff answered in a deadpan voice that had Jackson rolling his eyes.
"Those lies will send you to hell, Lucifer," Jackson joked. "Come on. We have an audience to woo and a team's ass to kick."
For the first dance, we all started behind the plate and the others made their way to their positions. Once everyone was in their position, the music started and we did our thing.
Since I was already at mine, I went half way to the pitcher’s mound with Jackson but returned behind the home plate with the Ump dancing beside me. We said our hellos just as the music died and Booth came to the plate.
He did a little shimmy that would make anyone lose their lunch and settled in the batter box.
"Hey, bitch, ready to get stomped?" he asked me. Funny how he was all smiles for the crowd, and a dick to us. This entire team had multiple personalities.
I ignored him and gave Jackson the signal for a fast ball.
He shook me off. Jackson knew that the curveball was Booth's weakness, but when he was cocky like this he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.
I gave him the sign again and I noticed the sag in his shoulders.
He was going to do it, but he didn't want to.
"I bet you told him the curveball huh?" Booth asked with a smug look on his face.
Got him. Dumb shit.
I gave Jackson the nod and he let it rip. Booth did just what I expected, he swung and missed.
This time I gave him the curveball signal and I noted the smirk on his lips. Jackson liked that call.
We watched and waited for the ball, Jackson decided to throw some moves in before sending it down, making Booth growl.
Jackson finally stopped and hurled the ball my way. Booth made contact and it was a pop up, flying towards the fans on the first base side.
I knew that I could make that catch easily and threw off my helmet to snatch the ball out of the air in true Knockouts style. I ran as fast as I could, calling ‘ball’ on the way.
The moment I hit the stands, I leaned over to make the catch. The fans were going wild around me, but the moment I breathed in… I froze.
My scent-match. Holy shit.
Honey and peaches, sweet and tart. My mouth was already watering in response.
My eyes locked onto the girl I’d just saved from getting hit with the ball. I gave her a wink, my grin wide as I took her in. Her cheeks turned red, hiding her adorable freckles. A shock of red hair was the icing on the cake.
She was gorgeous.
The crowd erupted in applause and I had to force myself to move away as my coach shouted at me.
The rest of the game was a blur but I didn't miss a beat, even with her on my mind. In the end, we won.
It was a sweet victory, but the entire time, the curvy redhead of my dreams, my mate, was on my mind.
I rushed to get changed, hoping that I could find her in the crowd. Just as I was edging toward the door, Coach stopped me before I made my escape.
"Great job, Cy. You led the time to victory over those smug bastards. Way to go," he said, patting me on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Coach, couldn't have done it without you riding our asses in practice," I told him honestly. That got a laugh from the old teddy bear.
"That's what they pay me for. There are a few reporters out there that want to talk to you," he reminded me.
Fuck, that was my least favorite part of the job. There were others that would give a left nut for the attention, but no, the captain had to do it.
All I wanted was to seek out my mate. She had to be waiting for me… right? I couldn’t be the only one who’d noticed.
"Cy, were you trying to sneak out? Your groupies and press are waiting," Griff teased as he joined us. His face was brighter than ever after that victory.
If only he knew what I did, then he’d have that look all day long, every fucking day.
"Your ass is coming with me," I told him. That statement soured his smirk. "Grab Jackson and let's get this done."
If we were lucky, we might be able to find our omega still. I prayed to any gods listening that they somehow let her wait a bit longer.
He sighed as he walked towards our best friend and pulled him to come along.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Jackson questioned as we made our way to the press room.
"If I have to do it, so do you two. We’re pack. Maybe they will pick on you guys and let me sit back and relax," I answered with a smirk that had both alphas growling at me.
"Tell us what’s really going on," Griff stated. "You're hiding something. Why were you sneaking out?"
I did plan to tell them, I just hadn’t shaken myself out of the primal need to follow her, find her, claim her as mine.
Fuck, those curves. I needed them to fill my hands. To hear her say my name in a breathy whisper.
Great, now I was about to face the press with a raging hard on.
"I found her," I admitted in a low tone, a voice so low no one else could hear.
That stopped them both in their tracks.
"Your mate?" Griff questioned. It was guarded, I could see it in the way he ran a hand through his wet hair, making it flop over his eyes that were dark and holding a bit of worry.
"Our mate," I corrected him firmly. “We’re a pack.”
Since we’d found each other, we had always agreed that the reason we haven't found the right one was because she would be someone for the three of us. And I fucking found her.
Finally.
"Where?" Jackson asked.
"She was the redhead that Booth almost smacked with the pop fly," I told them. "Oh, her scent." I let out a groan as my head fell back, wishing I could have bottled that honey and spiced peaches scent forever.
Just the thought of it almost had me growling.
"We have to go find her," Griff started, trying to push past me, but I knew duty called. Mate or not, we had obligations. Any mate of ours would understand. It was part of who we were.
"We have to talk to the press first," I reminded him. "We can go to the camera room and get a copy of the catch. Then we can see if anyone knows who she is."