He smirks. “Heard you met your mate.”
I watch him a moment before answering him. “Yeah.”
“She’s human, right?” My back stiffens at that, and I eye him. He puts up his hands. “Nothing wrong with that. Zane’s mate is human too.”
“Evieis,” I correct.
He nods. “Evie. I haven’t met her yet; I need to. How are you doing with all that? Finding your mate? It’s pretty intense.” He breathes deeply. “I remember meeting my mate like it was yesterday. I caught a whiff of her scent and was gone.”
“Is there a point to this conversation?” I ask tersely. “Because I have a game to get to.”
“I’m just checking in. That’s all.”
It hits me then. “Alpha Blackwood asked you to check on me, didn’t he?”
He smiles. “Yeah. He wanted to make sure you were in a good frame of mind to play today. I guess Zane kind of lost it when he met his mate—Evie,” he corrects.
“The difference between Zane and me is that Zane scented her during a game; I already know my mate exists.”
“Yes.” He continues to watch me. “But you’re not bonded yet.”
“We haven’t even known each other a week, and she’shuman,” I remind him.
“And how do you feel about that?”
I stand up. “Give me the shot. We can continue the psyche eval later.”
Emerett nods and gives me my shot. I stride towards the door, ready to get out of this room. I’ve got a game to focus on. “I’ll tell Alpha that you’re good to go for this game.”
I don’t turn back to him as I open the door. “You do that.” I slam the door a little too hard and then take a moment to catch my breath and steady myself. I’ve been doing so good all day not thinking about her, and then in less than two minutes, Emerett flushed that for me. I try to catch my breath and slowmy thundering heart. Just mentioning Tessa makes my heart race, and my muscles tense. Not knowing if she’s okay, if she needs something, if she’s in danger or lonely or sad, makes me lose my mind. Zane told me it would get better, that it’s all-consuming in the beginning; but I don’t know if I can handle this. Thankfully, my wolf is silent, our connection severed for now. Or his emotions would amp mine and make this ten times worse. I focus on the fact that she’s safe and taken care of. She has my number if she needs me, not that she would call me. I force that thought from my mind. She has Evie. If Tessa had a problem, she’d contact Evie. Evie would let Zane know, and Zane would let me know. I let that knowledge settle and try to calm myself.
“Slate.” My head pops up at the sound of my teammate yelling my name. “We’re ready. You good?”
I jog towards him and force all thoughts of Tessa from my mind. Somehow, I have to make it through this game without thinking about her, worrying about her. I know part of it is my protective instinct; it’s through the roof. It always has been; that’s why I’m the best choice for enforcer for Zane when he becomes alpha. But right now, it’s killing me. As soon as I get into the visitor locker room, I walk over to my locker and pull out my phone. I know I won’t be able to focus until I know she’s okay. I swipe my phone and see several messages. I’m about to ignore them all and text Tessa, but I see one has a photo attached. It’s from Zane. I immediately open it, and my heart stalls in my chest. It’s a photo of Evie and Tessa. They’re both wearing my jersey, but I have eyes for Tessa only. Seeing her smiling face wearing my name and number does something to me. I read Zane’s text.
Your girl’s here, surrounded by our pack members. She’ll be safe. Focus on the game and give her a game worth remembering.
I glance at her sweet face once more and then shove my phone back into my locker. I’m not sure I’ve ever appreciated Zane’s friendship more than in this moment right now. He must have known I’d be struggling. I wasn’t sure if Tessa would come. I never heard back from her after inviting her. But knowing she’s here now, watching in the stands, and safe...it takes a load off my shoulders. It also invigorates me like nothing else in the world could.
“Yo, Slate,” Ben, our goalie, yells from across the room. “You ready?”
I turn around, mentally pushing thoughts of my mate away, for now. Right now, I have a soccer game to focus on. “You guys ready to remind these guys who we are?”
Hoots and hollers follow my words, and we prepare to head out. I pass Emerett on the way to the field. I give him a small nod, letting him know I’m in control. And then, we get to our entrance, and I focus on my favorite sport in the world.
All through our warmup, I keep my focus exactly where it needs to be. It’s only right before the actual game begins that I let my gaze wander, just for a moment. I scan the bleachers, looking for blond hair. It doesn’t take me too long to find them because of Zane, Reid, and Quint. They sort of stand out. Then my eyes fall on the short blond wearing my jersey and laughing at something Evie says to her. Without my wolf sight, I can’t see her clearly; but it’s enough, knowing she’s here and happy. I release the breath I’ve been holding and get ready to play this game. There’s a new energy burning through me. I haven’t felt an urge to show off since I started my freshman year at FMU. It faded pretty fast, and I focused on being the best I could be. But tonight...tonight feels like a night to play the best I’ve ever played. We line up for the singing of the National Znthem. I put my hand over my heart and listen, all the while taking in everything I love about this sport—the bright green of the field,the screaming fans, the feel of the sun, the chill in the air. It never gets old, and I hope it never does. We move onto the field after the National Anthem, but a player blocks my entrance onto the field.
Karim Dresden, lead scorer for Alabama, stands in front of me. “Ready for a loss?”
I meet his gaze head-on. “Yes. Yours.”
He grins. “Have a good game, number seven.”
“You too, Nine.”
Bruce walks up next to me. “We need to keep an eye on him tonight.”
I nod. “No letting him get any looks at the net.”
