Chapter 32
Slater
I jog over to the sideline and grab a towel.
I rub it over my head and the back of my neck, relief filling me.
It was a win; not a solid one, but a win, nonetheless.
We only scored that first goal in the first half, but we kept them from scoring.
It's enough that we’ll advance to the next round.
“Good game,” I tell Ben when he gets close.
He had a few really good saves, keeping us in this game and on the road to the cup.
“Thanks, Man. You too.”
I scowl. We both know it wasn’t a great game for me, but a win is a win. Diego jogs over to where we’re gathered. “Hey, good one.”
He grins, still flying high from being the only one to score in today’s game. “Thanks, Man. Thanks for the assist.”
We head into the locker room, where Coach has a few choice words for us.
I know they’re mostly directed at me. Finally, he finishes, and the guys start celebrating.
I grab my towel and head to the showers.
I’m ready to find Tessa. I’m starving and hope she’s up to grabbing something to eat.
It will take me hours to wind down, but I’m hoping to convince her to come over to the house or something.
I don’t care what she wants to do; I just want to be near her.
I’m the first one to finish showering. “Whoa, Thorne, you got a hot date or something?” Diego calls out.
“He’s with that blond girl now. Didn’t you know?” Adam, one of the freshmen calls out.
“Oh yeah, she’s hot.”
I turn around, but Ben’s already there. “Hey, don’t talk about somebody’s girl that way.”
Ricky, another of the newest players, raises his hands. “Sorry.”
I grab my bag and throw it over my shoulder.
“See you guys on Monday. Have a good weekend. And remember, no drinking and no partying.” Groans follow my parting comments, but I don’t care.
We haven’t made it this far to fall apart now.
They can refrain from drinking and partying for just a little while longer.
I throw open the door and step out into the hallway.
I’m instantly aware of the power coming from behind me.
I don’t even have to look to know that Alpha Blackwood is in the hallway.
“Slate, good game, Son.”
I turn around and shake his hand. “Not my best.”
“It wasn’t.” That’s the thing I love about Alpha Blackwood; he always tells it like it is.
He would know this wasn’t my best game because he’s come to more than a few, over the years.
He’s certainly been to more than my own parents have.
I take in his stance and the fact that Joe, our enforcer is right behind him.
I’m instantly alert. Something happened during my game. “Where’s Tessa?”
Alpha puts a hand up. “She’s okay.”
But it’s the way he says it that has alarm shooting through me. “Did something happen to her?” I search my senses for anything that would indicate if she’s okay or not. But we don’t have a connection yet, and while I would never push her to mate before she’s ready, I hate it in this moment.
One of my teammates comes out of the locker room, and Alpha Blackwood tips his head to him. “Good game, Silas.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
I don’t wait for him to get out of earshot. “Where is she?”
“I’ll take you to her in a moment.”
“What happened?” I ask. There is no mistaking the threat in my voice right now.
“Sam, Evie’s old roommate, showed up tonight.” Every muscle in my body goes on high alert. “She approached Tessa in the bathroom.” A curse rips from my throat, and Alpha gives me a warning look. “She didn’t hurt her.”
“What did she do to her?” I growl.
“Put a bracelet on her wrist.”
Of all the things I thought he would say, that was nowhere close. “What?”
“She put a silver bracelet on your mate’s arm.” My mind whirls, trying to process what that means. “She’s obviously not a shifter, so it’s not hurting her at all.” I flinch at his words, hating the thought of Tessa possibly getting hurt.
“So, what is it?” I growl.
Alpha shakes his head. “We don’t know.”
I eye him, knowing he would never lie. “Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know, Son, but we’re going to figure it out.
Let’s get you to your mate.” I follow him and Joe down the hallway, anxious to lay eyes on Tessa.
I can already feel my wolf beginning to rise, even though he doesn’t usually surface for a few more hours after a game.
He must feel my panic. We make our way through the building and outside.
I sniff the air as soon as we’re outside.
I catch a whiff of her scent. Even that has me calming down just the tiniest bit, but I push myself to walk faster.
I need to see her now; I need her in my arms. I need to make sure she’s okay.
Her scent gets stronger when we get near the parking lot.
And then, I finally see her. She’s surrounded by Zane, Reid, and Quint.
Evie’s standing next to her as well. Normally, I would rage at the guys for standing so close to my mate, but knowing they’re protecting her right now beats out everything else I’m feeling.
I lock my gaze on her and run my eyes over her, noting every detail.
Her face is pale, and her large, expressive eyes are larger than normal.
I can see the fear in them a mile away. I jog towards her, needing to wipe away that fear.
She sees me coming and moves towards me.
My long legs eat up the distance between us.
In the next instant, too many things happen at once.
I pull her into my arms, breathing in her scent.
But the moment I touch her, her body locks up.
She screams and throws herself backwards, landing on her backside in the dirt.
A growl rips from my throat, and I frantically search for the threat.
Quint tries to reach for her, and I slam into him, knocking him to the ground.
“Easy,” Zane says, putting a hand on my shoulder; but I shrug it off.
“Don’t touch me.” My words are low and fierce. I scan the area looking for the threat, ready to kill and destroy; but there’s nothing. I drop to the ground next to Tessa. “Tessa, Baby, what’s wrong?” I reach out and put my hand on her shoulder. She jerks back, crying in pain.
“What the—”
“Slate, calm down, Son.” Alpha Blackwood squats down next to me, and I resist the urge to demand he move further away. “Tessa, Honey,” he says in a very gentle voice. “Are you okay?”
I reach out, but she shrinks back. “Please don’t touch me,” she whispers, and I freeze, her words gutting me.
I stare at her, horrified. “I’m what’s hurting you?”
Her eyes plead with me to understand. “I’m sorry, Slater,” she whispers.
And with that, my wolf shreds the distance separating us and rises.
A fierce growl rips through me, and I feel my fangs drop and my nails lengthen.
I’m going to shift; my wolf is going to force it.
I'm powerless to stop it, or maybe I don’t want to stop it.
Rage like I've never known consumes me. I’m aware that Alpha is trying to talk to me, but I can’t make sense of his words.
That is until a huge dose of his power blasts me, quickly shutting down my partial shift.
I stand to my feet and stare down at her and try to get control.
“The bracelet.” I turn to Alpha Blackwood, and his grim look tells me he’s thinking the same thing.
“Get it off her.” I turn back to Tessa and take a breath.
I don’t want to make her even more afraid and losing control right now will do just that.
I drop down into a crouch in front of her.
She flinches back, but I keep my face impassive, even though her reaction to me cuts deep.
“We’re going to get it off, okay?” I will her to meet my eyes.
I need to see those gorgeous eyes. She finally does, and I feel like I can catch my breath at least a little.
“It’s not you,” she whispers, pain in her voice.
“Does it hurt now?”
She shakes her head. “Only when you touch me,” she whispers.
I force myself to ask the next question. “Does it happen when anybody else touches you?”
“I don’t think so. Evie was holding my hand earlier.”
I swallow and speak through what feels like gravel. “What about the guys?”
Her eyes widen, and she looks over my shoulder. I don’t want to see which guy she’s looking at. I really don’t want to kill any of my brothers tonight. “I already touched her, and she was fine. But I'll do it again,” Alpha says and kneels next to me.
“Tessa, I’m just going to touch your hand, okay?”
She nods, but I can see the reluctance in her eyes. How bad is it hurting her? I watch her face carefully when Alpha Blackwood touches her. “Anything?” he asks.
“No.”
“Can I get a look at that bracelet again?” He holds up her wrist and examines it again, even going as far as to touch it. “It’s really tight against your skin. Does it hurt?”
“No.”
I keep my gaze steady on her, but my mind is running circles around the problem. “Can’t we just take it off?”
“Aside from cutting it off, I don’t know how,” Alpha Blackwood says quietly. “There’s no clasp, no mechanism, nothing. It’s like it was fused together right on her wrist.”
“That’s not possible, right?” I ask quickly.
He gives me a heavy look. “With dark magic, a lot of things are possible that shouldn't be. I’m worried there will be other ramifications if we cut it off. That is, if we could even get it off without hurting her.”
“It’s not staying on,” I tell him. There’s no way I’m not going to touch my mate, especially when she’s this scared.
“We can’t do it here,” Alpha Blackwood says. “Why don’t you bring her over to our house? We can try a few things.”
I glance down at Tessa. “Is that okay?”
She pushes herself to her feet and stands up. I have to force myself not to help her. Alpha turns to the others to relay the plan, and I step close to Tessa. She gives me a wary look but doesn’t tell me to step away. “I’m really sorry.”
“Slater, you had no way of knowing; it’s okay. Oh, by the way, good game.” She smiles at me, but her eyes are missing their normal brightness.
“It wasn’t really,” I argue.
“You won,” she points out.
“Barely.”
“A win is a win,” she says. “We’ll take it, and we’re going to the semifinals.”
I can’t even think about soccer right now. “How are you doing? For real?”
She swallows hard. “I’m a little nervous.”
“It’s okay to be scared.”
She blows out a breath. “Okay, I’m terrified.”
My chest expands, but I feel like I can’t get enough air. “We’re going to resolve this,” I promise. “Let’s go to Alpha Blackwood’s house, and we’ll figure it out.”
Right then, he gives the next set of orders. “All right. We’re heading to my house; let’s load up.”
Evie turns to Tessa to talk to her a moment, and Alpha Blackwood puts his hand on my shoulder. “You doing okay? I know not bonding puts a strain on your body. It can make you weak and unable to perform at the level you’re used to performing at. I know it was hard for Zane.”
“I’m fine.”
He only nods. “Come see me if it becomes too much, okay?”
“I will.” I wait for Tessa to finish speaking with Evie before she walks over to where we’re standing.
“Want to ride with me?” I ask. She nods, and we walk over to my truck.