Game on, Alpha

Chapter 5: The Girl Who Shouldn't Exist

I couldn't stop thinking about the wolf, not even when I crawled into bed and pulled the blanket over my head like that would somehow erase the memory of those glowing golden eyes staring straight at me from the darkness.

The worst part wasn't the fear, it was the recognition.

A normal person would have run. A normal person would have panicked. Yet when that wolf appeared, a strange part of me had wanted to move closer instead of farther away, as though something deep inside me had recognized it long before my mind had the chance to catch up.

Needless to say, sleep didn't come easily.

When I finally drifted off, the dream came almost immediately.

I was standing in a forest I had never seen before, surrounded by towering silver trees that glowed beneath an enormous moon. The air felt heavy with power, and somewhere in the distance, wolves howled, not one or two, but dozens of them, their voices rising together in a haunting chorus that sent chills down my spine.

Then I saw her.

A woman stood at the center of a clearing. She wore white. Her long dark hair danced in the wind. And although I couldn't see her face clearly, I somehow knew she was looking directly at me. Waiting for me.

The woman slowly raised her hand. The moment she did, a sharp pain exploded behind my eyes.

I woke up gasping. My room was dark; my heart was pounding.

And for the first time in years, I genuinely wished my mother was still tucking me into bed like I was five.

"Okay," I muttered, rubbing my face. "That was creepy." Very creepy.

Unfortunately, morning arrived much faster than I wanted it to. By the time I reached the academy, my mood was already terrible. The lack of sleep wasn't helping, and neither was the fact that Chase was waiting for me on the court with a basketball tucked beneath one arm, looking entirely too awake for someone who had probably spent the previous evening breaking hearts.

His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw me approaching. "You look awful."

I stopped. "Good morning to you too."

"You didn't sleep."

I stared. "How do you know that?"

"You have dark circles under your eyes."

I hated observant people especially when they were right.

Chase tossed me a basketball, and I caught it automatically. For a moment, neither of us spoke, and the silence felt oddly comfortable until I remembered who I was standing with and immediately became suspicious of the feeling.

"Something happened yesterday," he said.

I groaned. "Are we still talking about this?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

His expression remained unchanged, I sighed dramatically. He ignored it. Rude.

"What exactly do you think is happening to me?" I finally asked. Chase looked uncertain. The emotion disappeared almost instantly, but I caught it barely.

"I don't know."

That answer surprised me. I had expected confidence, arrogance, some annoying Alpha know-it-all response. Instead, he looked genuinely puzzled. "That's comforting."

"It shouldn't be."

The seriousness in his voice made my stomach tighten. Before I could ask another question, Coach Reed blew his whistle and called everyone onto the court.

Practice had begun. Training was intense.

Coach Reed had arranged a scrimmage between several of the academy's top players, and from the moment the game started, the competitive atmosphere swallowed every distraction in sight. Basketball had always done that for me. No matter what was happening in my life, once I stepped onto the court, everything else faded into the background.

At least, that was usually true. Today was different. I stole passes I shouldn't have been able to reach. I reacted before people moved. I saw openings before they appeared.

Every instinct felt sharper than usual, and by halftime, even my teammates were beginning to notice.

"What has gotten into you today?" Jenna asked after I scored again.

I laughed nervously. "Good question."

Because I genuinely didn't know. Across the court, Chase was watching. Again, always watching. The realization sent a strange flutter through my chest that I refused to examine too closely.

The man was my trainer, nothing more, nothing less. And definitely not someone whose attention should matter.

The problem with lies is that eventually they start falling apart. Mine began cracking after practice.

I was walking through one of the academy hallways when two students rounded a corner ahead of me. Normally, I wouldn't have paid attention. Except I heard them talking. Clearly, perfectly, despite being at least thirty feet away.

My footsteps slowed, my pulse spiked. No, no, no, that wasn't possible. The conversation continued, every word reaching me effortlessly.

I stopped walking entirely. The students hadn't noticed me. There was no reason I should be able to hear them, yet, I could.

A cold chill crept down my spine. The hearing, the speed, the dreams, the wolf, every strange thing that had happened over the past few weeks suddenly felt connected.

And I couldn't dismiss it anymore. Something was changing, something real, something impossible.

"Audrey."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Chase stood a few feet away, looking both amused and concerned, an irritating combination. "Do you enjoy sneaking up on people?"

"No."

"Could've fooled me."

His gaze lingered on my face. Then his expression changed. "What happened?"

I looked away, Chase noticed. "I said what happened."

The concern in his voice caught me off guard. For several seconds, I considered lying. Then I remembered who I was talking to, there was no point.

"I heard them."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Heard who?"

I pointed toward the students disappearing down the hallway. "Them."

Realization flashed across his face. A second later, he cursed under his breath, a very Alpha-like curse. Deep, annoyed, and absolutely not reassuring.

"What?" I demanded.

He rubbed a hand across his jaw, he looked troubled, actually troubled. The sight immediately made me nervous.

"Chase."

His eyes met mine and whatever he saw there must have convinced him not to lie. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. Too quiet.

"A normal human shouldn't be able to hear conversations from that distance."

Silence settled between us. I swallowed hard. The words I'd spent years refusing to hope for suddenly echoed through my mind.

What if everyone was wrong? What if I wasn't human? What if I never had been?

And judging by the look on Chase's face, I wasn't the only person asking those questions anymore.