He walks into the lot wearing jeans and a Knotlocke polo, eyes red-rimmed like he’s been crying. The entire team goes quiet as he steps up to the donation board. He stares at the numbers for a long moment, then turns to face us.
“I had to leave for a family emergency yesterday,” he says, voice thick. “But I heard what you kids did. The auction. This car wash. All of it.” His voice cracks. “I’m so damn proud of you.”
One of the younger players pipes up, voice hesitant. “We probably won’t clear twenty grand, Coach, but—”
Coach laughs, and wipes at his eyes. “If it were only twenty grand, I would’ve covered it myself. But it’s closer to fifty.”
The lot goes dead silent for half a second, then everyone groans in unison.
“Fifty?!” Jamal yells. “You said twenty!”
Coach shrugs, grinning through the tears. “I’ve been fighting the administration and the bank for months. The twenty was what I had left to cover after the grants and alumni donations came in. You kids just helped close the biggest gap we’ve ever had.”
The cheering starts again, louder this time. But before it can get too loud, a new voice cuts through the noise.
“Make it an even fifteen.”
Everyone turns.
A guy in a sharp black business suit is walking toward the donation board like he owns the place. Short cropped hair, sharp jaw, and enough bling to blind someone, earrings all the way upboth ears, a hoop through his lip, one in his nose, and another through his brow. He’s grinning like he knows exactly how much chaos he’s about to cause and he can’t be any taller than Parker.
Maybe even shorter.
And fuck,he’s an Omega.
He pulls out a check, signs it with a flourish, and hands it to Harlow.
Harlow’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit. Fifteen thousand? Wait, Blair Reyes?” Recognition blooms in her eyes but I have no idea who this small ass Omega is. What I do know is that he’s wearing more money on him than he just signed the check for.
Blair shrugs, sassy as hell. “They’re starting a new wrestling program here, but it’s near the end of the semester, so they didn’t want to take me on. I told them I’d make a sizeable donation if they let me in. All my courses would transfer and I can keep up with the school work. Plus, I’m taking some summer classes.” He turns and nods toward the dean, who’s standing at the edge of the lot looking positively pissed. “Of course, the dean thought it would be for another building or some bullshit.”
The dean’s face goes red. “I thought—”
Blair cuts him off with a feral grin. “Of course not. I like helping my fellow athletes. Besides, I’ve been told I’m too mean.” He winks. “Figured the baseball team could use a little mean on their side.”
The entire lot loses it. Harlow is staring at the check like it’s going to disappear if she blinks. I’m still trying to figure out how this Omega supposedly has all this money. Scratch that,he wrestles?The longer I stare at Blair, though, the more I see that beneath the fancy fabrics is a whole ass terror waiting to get out.
I’m not sure I ever want to be on a mat with him.
“New uniforms,” Harlow whispers. “Travel budget. We’re actually going to make it.”
Everyone starts whooping and cheering, slapping each other on the back, spraying each other with hoses in celebration. Parker’s eyes are shining with tears as she steps forward.
“Thank you,” she says to Blair, throwing out a hand to shake.
Blair just grins wider as he takes it. “Don’t thank me yet. I expect front-row seats for the rest of the season.”
Parker laughs, but the sound cuts off suddenly. She doubles over with a soft whine, hand flying to her stomach. I smell it instantly, her scent thickening dramatically, slick flooding so hard it soaks through the pad she’s wearing and starts to darken the front of her shorts.
“Parker?” Harlow asks, concerned.
Fox is already moving. He scoops her up mid-sentence, one arm under her knees, the other around her back, and starts carrying her toward the apartment without a word. I fall in step beside him, heart racing with a mix of worry and heat.
We’re barely ten steps away when Parker buries her face in Fox’s neck and whimpers, “Heat… it’s hitting harder than I thought. Fuck, that’s so embarrassing. I was literally holding that Omega’s hand.”
That drags a laugh out of me, immediately cut short when Parker throws me a glare, her eyes glazed over, my woman barely able to keep her head up.
“Fox gets to knot me first now.”
