Game on, Alpha

Chapter 2: Absolutely Not

I stared at Coach Reed. He stared back. Neither of us blinked.

"Say something," he said.

"No."

His smile didn't waver. "That's not exactly a productive response."

"I don't care." I stood up so quickly my chair nearly tipped over. "Find someone else."

"Audrey"

"No." I pointed toward the arena. "Anyone else. Literally anyone."

Coach Reed sighed. "You're being dramatic."

"I'm being realistic." The image of Chase King standing there with that smug expression flashed through my mind. Then the women hanging off him. Then the way he'd looked amused when I challenged him. I disliked him already, being forced to train with him sounded like torture.

Coach Reed leaned back in his chair. "Do you know how many people would kill for this opportunity?"

"I don't."

"You do." Okay, I did but that wasn't the point. The point was that Chase King and I already don’t like each other and we had known each other for less than five minutes.

"Why him?" I asked.

"Because he's the best."

I crossed my arms. "So am I."

A slow grin spread across Coach Reed's face. "There she is."

I groaned. The man loved turning my own confidence against me.

"Audrey, listen carefully." His expression became serious. "The scouts love your talent."

My annoyance faded slightly. "But?"

"But they all said the same thing." Of course there was a but. "You hesitate."

I frowned. "I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You do."

I hated when he was calm, mostly because it usually meant he was right. Coach Reed folded his arms. "You trust your skills until the pressure becomes overwhelming."

My chest tightened. I didn't answer, that one hit too close to home. He continued.

"When the stakes are high, you start thinking instead of playing."

I looked away. The championship game had ended well but he wasn't wrong. There had been games before that, important games, games where fear had crept in. Fear of failure, fear of disappointing people, fear of proving everyone right. The Alpha's daughter, the girl without a wolf, the disappointment. I hated that those thoughts still had power over me.

Coach Reed's voice softened. "You're close, Audrey." I looked back at him. "So close."

For a moment, I saw genuine belief in his eyes. The kind that was impossible to fake. "You can play professionally."

My heart skipped. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

Something warm settled inside my chest, then he ruined it.

"Which is why you're training with Chase."

I grabbed the nearest notebook and threw it at him, he dodged it laughing. Traitor.

The drive home was longer than usual. Mostly because I spent the entire ride complaining. My mother listened patiently as always.

"So let me get this straight," she said. I gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"He's arrogant."

"Mm-hmm."

"Annoying."

"Mm-hmm."

"Probably thinks the moon rises just for him."

"Mm-hmm."

"And now I have to train with him." I added sharply.

My mother smiled. "You sound nervous."

"Nervous?" I nearly choked. "I'm offended."

She laughed; the sound filled the car. I couldn't help smiling despite myself. My mother had always had that effect on me. She could calm storms without even trying.

"Maybe this is a good thing."

I snorted. "There's absolutely no chance."

"You haven't even trained with him yet."

"I met him."

"That's not the same thing."

Close enough. When we pulled into our driveway, the familiar sight of our house instantly improved my mood. Home, safe, normal. The massive pack house wasn't far away, but my parents had always preferred privacy and I understood why. Being Alpha came with enough attention already.

Inside, the smell of dinner filled the air. My father appeared almost immediately. Towering, broad shouldered, every inch the Alpha people respected. Yet the moment he saw me, his face softened.

"There's my champion."

I smiled. That smile lasted exactly three seconds, then my mother announced the training arrangement. The betrayal, the absolute betrayal. My father laughed so hard he nearly dropped his drink.

"You're enjoying this." I said to him.

"A little."

I narrowed my eyes. "A terrible father." I said sarcastically.

"A successful father." He countered.

"Worse."

He grinned. Then his expression became thoughtful.

"Chase King is impressive."

I groaned. "Not you too."

"I'm serious."

My father rarely praised other Alphas which meant the compliment carried weight.

"He built everything himself."

I knew that already, everybody did. The orphan who became a superstar. The story was practically legendary. Still didn't mean I had to like him.

Dinner passed peacefully after that, at least until bedtime. That's when things got strange again. Lately, strange things had been happening, small things. Things I couldn't explain.

I was brushing my teeth when I heard something. A noise, faint, distant, I froze. The sound came from outside, way outside. Far beyond our property, yet somehow I could hear it clearly.

A dog barking. No, not a dog, a wolf. My stomach tightened. I stepped away from the sink and the sound vanished. Silence filled the room. That was impossible. I shook it off, it was probably stress or exhaustion. Still, unease followed me to bed.

The next morning started badly. It became worse when I arrived at the academy because Chase King was already there, standing courtside, waiting. My mood immediately deteriorated.

Several students were pretending not to stare and failing miserably. A group of girls nearly walked into a wall, also failing miserably.

Chase looked perfectly comfortable under the attention. Of course he did. I considered turning around, a reasonable plan, a smart plan. Unfortunately, Coach Reed spotted me and waved. Traitor, again.

I walked toward them, every step felt like a personal attack. Chase glanced up. His blue eyes met mine. Something unreadable flickered across his face, then he smiled. Not a friendly smile, more like he was amused by something. I immediately disliked it.

"Morning, Audrey." I stopped blinking. He remembered my name. For some reason, that annoyed me even more.

"Morning."

Coach Reed clapped his hands together. "Excellent." Nothing excellent was happening.

"Now that you're both here, let's begin."

"Begin what?" I asked.

"The partnership."

The word nearly gave me hives. Chase folded his arms. "You look thrilled."

I forced a smile. "You look tolerable." His eyebrow lifted.

Coach Reed looked exhausted already. Good, he deserved it. For several seconds, Chase simply studied me, then he shook his head. Almost like he couldn't believe something. "What?"

"Nothing."

"I hate when people say that."

His lips twitched. A laugh, an actual laugh. The audacity. Then his expression sharpened, the amusement vanished. And for the first time, he looked less like a celebrity and more like an athlete. Focused, intense and dangerous.

"Let's get one thing straight, Audrey." Something in his tone made me stand a little taller.

"If we're doing this, I don't care who your father is."

I blinked. "Good."

"I don't care that you're the academy's best player."

My competitive instincts immediately woke up. "Okay."

His gaze locked onto mine. "And I definitely don't care if you like me."

I smiled, sweetly, dangerously. "Perfect."

The smile he returned looked equally dangerous. Coach Reed sighed deeply like a man watching a train wreck in slow motion.