Chapter 22
The energy was already pulsing through the stadium as we waited for our turn to be announced. I bounced on the balls of my feet, going over choreography in my head. This was my sweet spot. The moment where I soaked in every ounce of the excitement and adrenaline and used it during the game.
We’d been working harder than ever, even with meeting and keeping Dani safe. We practiced after our early runs, before leaving camp, anywhere we could fit a minute outside of our actual practices and games.
“Think she’s coming?” Jackson asked as he stepped up beside me, his dimples already on display as he scanned what little we could see of the crowd from here.
“Of course,” I said easily. After the jerseys, how could she resist? Plus, our girl promised she’d be here and she always kept her word. Knowing she was waiting to see us win had me grinning right along with him. She was our good luck charm.
Under the current of excitement, there was a hint of worry. As much as I loved my job, my alpha protested every time I had to leave Willow Lake without Dani. Not just because she was so much a part of me now, but Henry had thrown a whole new wave of worry into the dynamic.
It was our fault that she was in danger.
He was our teammate and we knew that he was jealous of us but how could anyone predict just how far he was willing to go to ‘put me in my place?’ There was only so much the league could do to help.
Assholes like Henry always found a way around the rules and laws.
“It’s time, boys,” Coach called out, right before the announcers cut him off. I moved forward to get into my spot, the camera man already moving to the end of the tunnel ready to start rolling.
"Aaaaand the moment you've been waiting for...The Knuckleball Knockouts!" the announcer boomed over the speakers.
Tonight, I led the team out onto the field to “What was I Thinking.” I did my best to focus on the moves but my eyes kept heading towards the VIP where Dani was likely waiting.
I missed a step and Jackson bumped into me, nearly sending the whole team into chaos.
"Focus, dude," he hissed.
"On it," I shot back and got back into the rhythm. It took everything in me to keep time in my head and my usual easy grin on my face, playing up the part the audience expected. It was easy to fall into this mask, to be this version of myself. It was mostly me, just a bit less honest.
I wasn’t always happy and grinning… unless I was with Dani. She was pure light and sweetness.
All the fans cheering reminded me why I was here and doing all this. I spotted a kid, maybe ten, wearing a shirt that read, "The next Cy Nixon." Not missing a beat I sent him a wink and wave, his screams echoing over the crowd. I loved it.
When we had a kid with Dani, I'd have a special onesie made for the baby with my number.
Knowing the other two, they’d do the same.
Somehow I managed to finish right on beat, the song fading and the crowd going insane despite my distraction.
I winked one last time at the camera before rushing back to the dugout.
I had to get the rest of my gear on. The only thing that I wore was my chest protector to dance in.
The rest of it was too bulky to do some of our moves.
"Cy, here's your glove and helmet," Griff grunted, holding them out to me and giving me a look.
"Thanks, and I know, I know. I let thoughts about our omega get me out there," I said as I finished the last strap on my left leg guard. I was always the last one out of the dugout. Thankfully, that also meant he didn’t have time to lecture me.
“We’ve got to keep our head in the game, otherwise how do we provide for our girl?” He just had to get the dagger in the chest at least once, didn’t he?
More pressure. Always someone expecting more of me and me falling short.
I frowned as his words really sank in. The last thing I wanted to do was jeopardize this life we were building.
“The trick is finding out the right balance of life with her, and your own passion. If you can’t have both, it will only drive you crazy in the long run,” the assistant coach said.
“Keep your focus on her when you can, but when you’re here, living the life you worked your ass off for?
This is where the focus has to be. The honeymoon phase passes and when that happens you need a strong foundation outside of each other as well. ”
“I’ll work on it,” I promised as I moved out of the dugout, ready to give the game my all. The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself in front of my omega on top of this.
Jackson jogged toward the mound, doing his signature flip and earning more cheers from the crowd. The beauty of this league was they tended to scream for both sides, despite the rivalry.
I’d leave the stunts to my packmate. The one time I tried to do a flip, I landed on my face and was black and blue for over a week. That was the end of that for me and since I led the team dance I didn't have any special moves to get to my position.
Plus, imagine flipping around in all this gear. It would be disastrous.
I gave the bond a moment of focus, just needing to check in. It felt a little off but she sent a wave of reassurance. That was enough to calm my nerves. If she needed us, I knew she’d call, or we’d know through the bond.
For now, I couldn’t let the team or our fans down.
Griff and I walked out onto the field at the same time and he patted me on the ass and told me to focus. He was right, I was the captain and if my game was off so was the team’s.
Once I was in my sweet spot behind the plate, a lot of the anxiety melted away and I got in the zone. I watched as each of the players stepped into their positions and we all waited for the first batter.
The team we were playing were our rivals, the organization pitted us against each other as often as they could, and that drove ticket sales.
To my horror, their first batter headed out to the batter's box doing some kind of shimmy dance and it was none other than Henry. Bile rose in my mouth at the sight and I started to rise, eyes darting to my packmates.
They had to be fucking kidding.
I noticed that both Jackson and Griff mouthed 'what the fuck?' That about summed it up.
This was fucked up beyond belief. And we couldn’t do anything right now under the view of the cameras and our own contracts.
Dani was safe. She was with friends.
"Miss me?" Henry smirked, fixing his stance in the box. The smile he flashed me was full of vengeance. This was about to be a bloodbath.
"Hard to do with that smell lingering," I answered back. “How are you going to get a pack with a scent like that?”
He chuckled to himself, but I wasn't trying to be funny. If that asshole thought that he was going to get close to Dani again, he had another thing coming.
Thank god we had invited Taryn's pack as well. I didn't know her guys outside of brief meetings, but from what Dani has told us, they could handle Henry if he tried to get to her before we could.
I had no doubt they saw his face on the big screen when he walked out. Instead of shutting out the bond to focus, I blew it open, sending her reassurance again in hopes that she knew she was safe here. She returned it, but shut it down from her end.
That did nothing to calm my rising anger and worry. Fuck.
The ump took his place behind me and the game was on its way. We ran through a dance before Jackson could throw a pitch. I did my best to keep on time but Henry being here threw me off and he knew it.
"Too bad Jackson is a shitty pitcher," he remarked the moment the song ended and the game actually commenced. He was looking back at me instead of the pitcher.
Rookie move, that was his mistake. Jackson flung the ball over the plate harder than he ever had before. I guess that anger worked in his favor.
"Strike one," the ump called as Henry stumbled, cursing us both.
That was what he got for underestimating Jackson. Everyone thought he was too sweet and reserved to get petty.
If only he knew how far our packmate would go to end this man’s career any way he could.
Henry was going to expect a fastball now, the man forgets that he was our teammate for long enough we knew exactly how his brain worked. This went both ways.
Eyes on Jackson, I gave the signal for a changeup. Henry's smirk widened as he watched the ball hurl towards us until it slowed and he swung. He fell face first into the dirt and flopped like a fish. It was the funniest thing that I'd seen in a while.
"Strike two," called the ump, laughter in his voice as the crowd roared with cheers and amusement.
Henry jumped up so fast he nearly toppled, fury in his eyes as he looked at me like I’d done it to him.
“That was just karma, kiddo,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm. He dusted himself off before he got back into the box. His grip was so tight his knuckles were white.
Oh, we’d definitely shaken him.
Good.
“I’m fucking ready this time, Nixon,” he hissed.
Should I call for a curveball when I knew that he couldn't hit it? Or would he be expecting it?
Better call the heat, instead. Stray as far from predictability as we could get. I gave Jackson the sign for a fastball and he nodded quickly before he did a well practiced backflip and throw combination.
A lopsided smile was on his face as Henry missed yet again.
"Strike three, you're out," the ump told him.
"What? Are you blind?" Henry yelled, getting up in his face. The psycho was unraveling. It was both a good and bad thing. Now that he’d shown his true colors I didn’t want him to get out of hand.
Normally, I'd get between the two of them, and calm him down, but that wasn't my duty anymore. If he kept it up, he'd get his ass kicked out of the game.
Fuck, that just meant he’d go for Dani while we were here. That had me jumping up and putting myself between them. Of course, Henry started yelling at me as well.
It took half the team to pull him away from me but I kept my temper in check. I even flashed a reassuring smile at the crowd and waved, hoping they knew it hadn’t shaken me.
They were here for fun, not fights.
As I settled into my position, the ump gave me a nod. “Thanks for that.”
"Of course, just remember that when I'm up to bat," I joked and he laughed as he crouched back down.
The other team’s batter did manage a hit this time, but the game was back on track and Henry wasn’t in front of me. That was enough to give the game my focus again.