17. SEVENTEEN
SEVENTEEN
Colton
I pull up at the stadium, heart still heavy after my stupid mistake with Natalia this morning. I’m too early for training, but I didn’t want to hang around and make her feel awkward.
I’ve bungled it. I’ve gotten too excited and rushed in all hooves and no brains yet again.
Did I misread the fated mates thing? Because I’ve been wrong before.
That train of thought brings me to my friend Honey. She’s a half succubus who lives in Mosswood with her mate, Gryff, a werewolf. A long time ago, when we were both much younger, I thought she would turn out to be my fated mate.
I sigh. Maybe I’ll never get this right.
Then it occurs to me that Honey isn’t a shifter either. Her half succubus nature makes her more monster than Natalia, but if she can have a fated mate, then maybe…
I pull my phone out of my pocket and open a DM.
Hey, Honey, can I ask you a kind of weird question?
She sends back a laughing emoji and then: Gryff says don’t make him want a fat steak for dinner.
Ask away
I huff a laugh. I think Gryff is all bark and no bite, but when I first met him, I honestly thought he would try to eat me if I so much as looked at Honey the wrong way.
Thankfully I know the only reason I used to feel like that about her is the pheromones her particular sort of magic releases. She’s firmly in the friend zone now.
How did you know that Gryff was your fated mate?
She reads the message straight away, but it takes her a long time to type her response.
The little dots appear and then disappear several times.
Honey: Uh… you really want to know the answer to that question, Colt?
Colton: Yeah
Honey: I went into heat. Big time.
I chuckle. I’m guessing there’s a story there.
Colton: OK, but do you think a human can have a fated mate without being able to go into heat?
Honey: I don’t know. Maybe. Why? *smirking face*
Colton: Oh, no reason. I’m probably misreading things again. My toxic trait. Thanks for the chat.
Honey: NP. FWIW you’re not toxic and she would be a lucky woman. Gryff says don’t be an idiot and just tell her how you feel
I shake my head, shoving my phone into my pocket and climbing out of my car.
Gryff doesn’t know Natalia. I tried to tell her and that’s why I’m in this mess.
The only way to salvage this is to shut my mouth and try to get things to go back to the way they were.
At least then she’ll stick around long enough for me to figure out if I’m right or wrong.
The rest of the team are just as flat as I feel at training. Coach shouts and blows his whistle and makes us run for an extra forty minutes before we finish. Everyone just puts their heads down and takes it. There’s not a joke thrown or a stupid prank played or anything.
No one even talks about the game coming up this weekend.
It’s an away game, so we’ll be on the road tomorrow. I should be happy. That will give me some space from Natalia and time to figure out what I’m feeling.
I had been hoping to ask her to come along and bring Jayden with her, but I doubt she would agree now.
I stay on well after the official training session is done, doing an extra six-mile run and a lengthy cool down stretch.
I’m delaying the inevitable. I should go home and apologize properly to Natalia for overstepping this morning.
But the thought of taking back those words feels like I’ll choke on them.
The longer I’ve dwelled on this, the more sure I feel.
She is my fated mate. That’s a hill I’ll die on. But I can’t fuck it up and scare her away. I need to let her realize it herself.
I’m pulling on my sweats and shirt after my shower when the door to the locker room opens. I look up to see Coach Rodgers. He leans on the door frame with his arms folded over his chest, looking at me. “You trained hard today, Hester.”
“Just doing my job.” I shrug.
“You’re in great form. I haven’t seen you perform that well in weeks.”
I haven’t been my best lately. What with Jayden arriving early and the stress of Siobhan stalking me, I guess that makes sense, but I know coach hasn’t been happy about it. “Thanks.”
“I thought you’d given up on us,” he says, his expression softening a little. “But maybe I wrote you off too soon.”
“Listen, I know you think I am, but I’m not looking to transfer. I don’t want to give up on the Jacks. I just don’t want you to give up on us either.”
He sighs. “I’ll admit that playing defensively hasn’t been working for us, but none of you have been in great form all season. What else am I supposed to do to make sure you don’t get slaughtered out there?”
“You’re really asking for my opinion?”
He gives me a rueful smile. “Between you and me, I really am. You’ve been in the game a while now. You know a thing or two. That’s hard to admit when you question all my calls in front of the rest of the team.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
There’s a pause as we size each other up again, and maybe we both see something we didn’t see before.
“So?” he says, prompting. “What would you have me do?”
“Start calling plays like you believe in us again.”
He scrubs a hand over his salt-and-pepper beard. Then he sighs. “You gonna be able to back it up if I make big calls?”
My chest swells. “Absolutely. And I know the other guys will too. You have a great team here. We’ve just been waiting for you to see that.”
He shakes his head. “Well, we can hardly get any lower on the table than we are right now. There are only two games left in the season. Let’s aim to end on a win or two.”
I grin. “You got it.”
When he turns to leave, I stop him, jumping up as a thought occurs to me. “Hey, Coach?”
“What is it, Hester?”
“Is there any rule to say that we have to play our shifters right from the whistle?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what if we hold off until we see what the other team’s strategy is and play it on the fly?”
He scratches his chin. “You’d have to start out wearing your helmet and discard it to shift. Wouldn’t that be a problem?”
“I think we could do it. Might be hell on the uniforms, but what if it’s the advantage we need?”
“I’ll consider it,” he says slowly. “I like your thinking. We have to do something different, don’t we?”
By the time I pull up in my driveway, I’m feeling less heavy than I was when I left for training. The lights are on in the house, and Natalia left the outside light on for me since it got dark a few hours ago.
I listen for Natalia and Jayden as I open the door, careful not to make too much noise in case he’s already asleep.
The house is quiet. The soft swoosh of the dishwasher and the bathroom fan are the only sounds.
It smells amazing. Some combination of sweet, creamy milk and her particular bright, fresh scent coupled with something deliciously addictive.
It’s so good I draw in a long additional breath, tasting the air.
If I had any doubts left, they’ve disappeared.
“Natalia?” I call softly.
There’s no answer.
I drop my training bag in the laundry and toe off my shoes.
I’ve been planning my apology on the drive home and think I have it straight.
I’m going to tell her the truth. I moved too fast and that was pushy of me.
I never meant to rush her or pressure her into something she doesn’t want.
And it kills me, but if she never wants to give me a chance as her mate, then that’s a decision I’ll respect.
I’m hoping she just needs time, though.
I check her room, but she’s not there and Jayden isn’t in his crib. I’m starting to worry until I check the living room and find them both fast asleep on the sofa, Jayden laying across Natalia’s naked breast blissfully as if he fell asleep feeding.
Through a mammoth effort of will, I gently pull her top up to cover her and then lift my son to take him to his crib.
Poor Natalia. I shouldn’t have left it so late to come home.
Clearly she could have used some help around here.
She must have been busy all afternoon. The house looks spotless.
The kitchen is clean and the counters wiped down.
The floor is bare of toys and diapers and blankets.
The laundry pile is tiny, and the washing is neatly folded in the laundry.
Damn. I need to pay her more.
A little twisty tug low in my belly unsettles me, though. That must have taken a lot of work. I expected her to be angry or upset about what happened earlier, but instead I’ve come home to a perfectly clean and organized house and a peaceful baby. That doesn’t seem right.
I set Jayden down, and he heaves out a little happy sigh, turning and settling onto his side. I creep out, pulling the door shut behind me, and go back to check on Natalia.
The closer I get to the living room, the more I notice that rich sweet scent until, by the time I’m standing over her, my head is swimming with it.
It’s her but about a hundred times stronger than usual.
So perfectly mouthwatering I have to pause for a moment and force my bull back before I lose control of my shift.
It’s been a long damn time since that happened to me.
Well, until recently, because being close to Natalia seems to erode almost all my self control.
I shake my head. I don’t know what’s gotten into me recently. I’m going to blame the stress of new parenting coupled with the excitement of finding my fated mate.
That’s it. I mean, no wonder I’m keyed up.
Poor Natalia looks like she needed the sleep.
Now is definitely not the time to wake her and have a difficult conversation I know she’ll find confronting.
I debate leaving her on the sofa, but if I do, she might wake sore, and since I’m about to be away for a couple of days, I want her to get the best sleep she can tonight.
Decided, I bend and scoop her into my arms, which brings my nose so close to the tantalizing scent I’m lightheaded as I straighten, despite the fact I’d lift more weight in the gym easily.
In her sleep, she turns her face toward me, snuggling against my chest and giving me a good look right down her top at her full breasts.
I have to pause a moment, wrestling with the instinct to stride to my room, toss her on my bed and—
I force that fantasy to the back of my mind for later and keep walking past the door to my room and on to hers.
Natalia’s lips part as I bend and lay her down gently on the bed. “Didn’t mean to lead you on,” she murmurs. “Don’t be angry.”
I pause, still leaning over her, my heart suddenly thundering in my chest. “You didn’t lead me on, not at all. You were up front with me. I just forgot myself for a moment. I’m not mad.”
Her brows draw together, and she blinks open her eyes. “Colton?” Then she sits with a start. “Where’s Jayden?”
She must have been half asleep before. Was she even conscious of what she said? I help her back onto the pillow. “Shhh. I put him to bed. Go back to sleep.”
She turns away, closing her eyes once more, but a moment later she twists again, tossing off the blanket. “I’m so hot.”
I place a hand on her brow, and she does feel a little overheated. I pull back the blanket and open the window, leaving it ajar. “I’ve got you. Sleep now.”
She settles, and though I wait in the doorway, she doesn’t speak again.
Even though I’m tired, I can’t relax. Instead I sit up, watching match videos until my eyes go blurry, waiting for Jadyen to wake just for another opportunity to speak to Natalia before I have to leave in the morning.