Game on, Alpha

Chapter 3: The First Rule

If there was one thing I hated, it was being underestimated. If there was a second thing I hated, it was being told what to do.

Unfortunately, Chase King managed both before nine in the morning.

"Warm up."

I stared at him. He stared back.

"That's it?" I asked.

"That's it."

"I came all the way here for a warm-up?"

"You came here because your coach begged me to train you."

My eye twitched. Coach Reed, who had wisely positioned himself near the exit, suddenly found the floor very interesting. Coward. I dropped my gym bag.

"Fine."

For the next fifteen minutes, I ran drills, layups, footwork, sprints, ball handling, the basics. By the end, I was sweating. Chase looked annoyingly unaffected. He hadn't even touched a basketball yet, he just watched. Observing, judging, and waiting. I hated it.

Finally, he stepped onto the court. "Again."

I blinked. "Again?"

"Again."

I stared at him, surely he was joking. His face remained completely serious.

I groaned. "This is ridiculous."

"Again."

I wanted to throw a basketball at his head. Instead, I picked one up and started over. Halfway through the drills, something became painfully obvious. Every mistake I made, Chase noticed. Every hesitation, every bad angle, every second of lost focus, nothing escaped him.

By the time we finished, I was exhausted. Chase wasn't, not even slightly.

"You're fast."

I frowned. Was that a compliment?

"But you're wasting movement."

Never mind. "There it is."

"There what is?"

"The part where you ruin the compliment."

His lips twitched again. That tiny almost-smile. I was beginning to think Chase King secretly enjoyed annoying me. The realization was deeply upsetting.

He picked up a basketball. "One-on-one."

Finally, something interesting. I grabbed another ball. "First to eleven?"

"No."

"What?"

"No scoring."

I stared. "No scoring?"

"You're focusing on the wrong thing."

"This is basketball." I said almost confused.

"This is training."

I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again. Nothing came out. For the first time in my life, I was speechless, a truly horrifying experience.

"Move."

I rolled my eyes, then attacked. The second I made my move, Chase stole the ball cleanly, effortlessly. Like taking candy from a child.

My jaw dropped. "No way."

He tossed the ball back. "Again."

I narrowed my eyes. This time I moved faster, lower, sharper. The result was exactly the same. Steal again, and again, and again. By the fifth attempt, my frustration was boiling.

Nobody embarrassed me like this, nobody. I drove forward with everything I had. For a split second, I thought I had him. Then he blocked my path, I stumbled. His hand shot out, grabbing my arm before I hit the floor.

Everything froze, the contact lasted less than a second. Yet something strange happened.

A sharp pulse shot through my body, my breath caught. Chase immediately let go and his expression changed. Just for a moment like he had felt it too.

"What was that?" I asked.

His face became unreadable. "No idea."

Liar. I knew he was lying. I just didn't know about what. Before I could press further, Coach Reed appeared.

"Everything okay?"

Chase looked away first. "Fine."

The strange moment vanished just like that leaving me wondering if I had imagined it. The rest of training was brutal, absolutely brutal.

By noon, my legs felt like jelly. Meanwhile, Chase looked ready to run a marathon. I hated athletic people which was unfortunate considering I was one. As I packed my things, Chase walked over.

"Tomorrow. Same time."

I looked up. "That's not a request, is it?"

"No."

"Arrogant."

"Efficient."

I snorted. Then something occurred to me. "Why did you agree?"

For the first time all morning, Chase hesitated. Only slightly but enough for me to notice.

"What?"

"The training." I slung my bag over my shoulder. "Coach said he spent months convincing you."

His gaze settled on the court. "Maybe I owed him a favor."

"Maybe."

His eyes shifted back to mine. "Or maybe I was curious."

My stomach did something weird, something I refused to acknowledge. "About what?"

"You."

Immediately, I regretted asking because now I was curious too. And curiosity was dangerous especially when it involved Chase King.

Before I could reply, a voice interrupted.

"Chase!"

A woman hurried toward us. Tall, beautiful, and blonde. Of course. Because apparently, they grew on trees around him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. I looked away. For some reason, the sight irritated me, again. Which made no sense, I barely knew him.

So why did I care? I didn't, obviously.

The woman finally noticed me. Her smile faltered. "Who's this?"

Chase answered before I could. "My trainee."

The words annoyed me more than they should have. My trainee, not Audrey, not the academy player, just trainee. I forced a smile.

"Nice meeting you." Then I left before I could do something embarrassing like admit I was annoyed.

That evening, I found myself unable to focus. Not on homework, not on practice footage, not on anything. Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered that moment. The strange pulse, the warmth, the look on Chase's face. It didn't make sense. None of it did.

A knock sounded on my bedroom door. "Come in."

My mother entered. One glance at me and she smiled knowingly. I immediately became suspicious. "What?"

"Nothing."

I pointed at her. "That's your suspicious face."

She laughed. "I was just wondering how training went."

"Terrible."

"Mm-hmm."

"He thinks he's always right."

"Mm-hmm."

"He's arrogant."

"Mm-hmm."

I narrowed my eyes. "You like him."

"I've never even met him."

"You already like him."

Her smile widened. I groaned dramatically. "My own mother has betrayed me."

"Poor Audrey."

I threw a pillow at her, she dodged it. Traitory clearly ran in the family. After she left, I walked toward the window. The sun had begun setting, orange light stretched across the trees. Everything looked peaceful and normal.

Then I heard it again, the howl. Closer this time. My entire body went still. A strange sensation spread through me. It wasn’t fear, not exactly, like something deep inside me was listening, answering, and waiting. The hairs on the back of my neck stood.

A sharp ache pulsed through my chest, then vanished. I gasped.

The feeling disappeared so quickly I almost questioned it, almost. Slowly, I touched my chest. My heartbeat was racing.

Outside, the forest stood silent, nothing moved, nothing made a sound.

“What is happening to me.”