Suddenly, Flint and Eden both disappear into two camouflaged midair tunnels—which leaves me the only one on the team with any chance of retrieving the ball. I lay on the speed, and since the other team’s dragons make the mistake of thinking the threat is gone now that Flint and Eden have disappeared, I swoop in from behind and underneath them and steal the ball right out from in front of their noses…and claws.
I get a swipe across my wing for my trouble, but there are perks that come with being made of stone. And while it sets me off-kilter, I manage to recover.
Part of me wants to make a run for the goal line, but I know that when it comes to speed, I’m no match for two dragons. So I swoop toward the ground and drop the ball into Xavier’s waiting hands.
He takes off with it, but it isn’t long before the vampires are on him, so he moves toward Jaxon, who has gotten back to his feet, and tosses the ball straight into his waiting hands.
Rafael makes a lunge for him, but Jaxon avoids him and fades his way straight to the goal line.
The whole match is over in less than two minutes, and no one is more surprised than I am that I actually played an important part in helping us win.
Once I’m down on the ground, Macy throws her arms around my shoulders and shouts, “One down, three to go.”
“Three to go,” I echo, grinning from ear to ear. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all…
76
From Jock to
Cock-a-Doodle-Doo
The rest of the day passes in a blur of excitement and anxiety, exhaustion and adrenaline rushes.
Our second match takes more than twenty-five minutes and nearly destroys us, while our third match is even worse. We pull it out, though, then watch in disgust as team twelve beats team three in a game that stretches forty-five minutes long and leaves the team led by the alpha wolf, Cole, as the only other one standing.
“Oh shit,” Xavier snarls, and there’s a wealth of rage in those two words. He drops back down onto the bleachers as Cole runs the ball across the goal line, much to the excitement of half the stadium.
The other half groans in dismay, and I groan right along with them. Considering our history with Cole, that wolf is going to be out for blood.
Normally, it would be strange for Xavier to have the same feelings I do, since Cole is technically his alpha. But Xavier is a relatively new transfer to Katmere, too—he’s only been here about a year—and as I’ve learned over the last couple of days, not a big fan of the school’s alpha.
Not that I blame him. Cole is a total jerk, and that’s putting it mildly. Then again, stealing a guy’s canine will likely piss off even the best person, and Cole is definitely not that.
“He’s a total arse,” Hudson says. “Personally, I think someone should have challenged him a long time ago.”
“Give Xavier time,” I respond. “I’m pretty sure that’s coming before the end of the year.”
He grins. “I knew there was a reason I liked that wolf.”
“Look at it this way,” I tell Xavier as I reach over and grab his hand in solidarity. “After today, he’s going to be so humiliated that everything else that happened before isn’t even going to register.”
“You mean like when Jaxon drained him in front of the whole school?” Xavier says, with a wicked gleam in his eye. “Or like when someone else drained him in the middle of the night? Or—”
“Yes,” I tell him. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
“Oh, goodie.” He grins. “Please, universe. Please let me be the one to plow my elbow straight down his throat in the middle of a pileup.”
“I was thinking your foot,” I tease him. “But if you want to go small…”
His smile turns into a full-on belly laugh as he holds a hand up for a high five. “Girl, I like your style.”
“Good,” I tell him as I slap my hand against his. “Because you’re pretty much the only one in this whole school who does.”
“That’s totally not true,” Eden says, dropping back to wrap a hand around my shoulder. “Any girl who can keep Jaxon and Hudson Vega in line at the same time is a girl I can get behind.”
I just shake my head. “You’ve got a very broad definition of ‘in line.’”
“Hey!” Jaxon yelps. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I roll my eyes at him teasingly. “It means that I’m not sure who’s more trouble. You or your brother.”
“My brother,” he and Hudson say at the exact same time.