Owned by the Red Flag

Chapter 1 Episode 1

In football, there are two people, winners and losers. Nothing else in between matters, and with my last name and image hanging in the balance, there is absolutely no way I’m f*****g losing, not even in practice. I give the asshole trying to stand one more vicious kick to the ribs, then step over his body. He'll be fine. He's wearing football pads.

My friends come up behind me, the men I trust most in the world. Lee, Aries, and Sebastian take my back as I jog slowly toward the training center to clean up after our practice.

The rest of the team, and even the coaches, follow at a healthy pace as if they want to keep their distance.

I'm amped up, as I didn't get nearly enough time to run off my energy. That d**k groaning on the ground back there tried, unsuccessfully, for a sack. After his failure, my boys and I taught him a lesson. The coaches called practice over, but I'm still amped up for a fight.

Ipull off my practice jersey and start unstrapping my pads as I head into the locker room. It takes a minute to strip them off, leaving me only in my pants and shoes.

Once I jerk my locker open, I shove the equipment inside and throw myself onto the bench to strip off my cleats.

Lee plops down beside me, his dark hair standing up in a sweaty mess. "You alright, man?"

Ilean back into the locker, letting the cold metal cool me down. "Yeah, fine. Just wish we would have stayed out a little longer today. I have to work off some energy."

Aries leans in, his dark curls equally messy. "Want me to go find you a girl? Give you something to preoccupy yourself with?”

Ishake my head and stretch my feet outside the confines of my shoes. "No, I'm saving it for tonight."

"You can go find me a girl, Ari," Sebastian says, his tone dark and deep. "I might need a little appetizer before the main event. It’s hard as f**k to wait until tomorrow. Just a little thing to suck me off, tide me over. It’s always good to get someone to take the edge off."

Aries narrows his eyes at Sebastian. "The last time I found you a girl, you f****d her throat raw, and now I can't go near that sorority house ever again."

Sebastian snorts. "She wanted it. She begged me before I let her have it. The only reason she got bitchy about it afterward was because I told her I wasn't f*****g a cunt every man on the team has had. She could have my fingers or nothing, and she chose nothing."

Lee snorts from his spot at his locker a few paces down. The room is full now, the entire team filing in and stripping down to shower.

The boys rib each other a bit more, but I lean my head back, clenching my fists, thinking about tomorrow night’s big event. I can't wait to sink inside some little doe-eyed beauty who doesn't have enough sense to run when I finally catch her. That’s what my body waits for, what my d**k waits for. I should have realized nothing else would do.

The guys strip off their own gear, shoving things in lockers and harrying the towel boy as he comes through to hand out the fresh towels.

Isnatch one off the stack and shove him faster through the row to get him out of my sight.

"Sebastian, is everything prepared?”

Ileave the planning for The Hunt to the most depraved of us. Sebastian always comes up with fun little surprises. He might appear to have his s**t together, but he’s far from ordinary. The guy makes me look like a gentleman, and that’s saying something, given how f****d up I am myself.

Sebastian strips his undershirt off and drops it to the bottom of his locker. "Of course, it's all finished. Who do you think I am? Invitations have been sent out and shared by the guys. Every detail is in order.”

Istretch my neck from side to side, thinking. "And the pack this year…anyone who might pique my interest?"

Sebastian grins at me over his shoulder. "What do you think? There are at least a couple of virgins and a few lovely girls who have no idea what they’re getting into. I suspect a few of them might bring their own clueless friends along.”

Lee and Aries both chuckle at this.

Aries scrubs his hair away from his face. "I want one with a little fight. She might start out clueless, but when I catch her, I want her to make me bleed, and maybe I'll return the favor."

Lee shrugs. "I like surprises. I'll chase, and we will see what I happen to scare up."

Ilet out a long sigh and stare back and forth between them. "You all know what I want. But this time, I want it to be f*****g real. None of this pretends not to want it while her cunt is sopping wet bullshit. I want to see the whites in her eyes. If she fights, fine, but I want it to be out of fear, not pretense."

Lee snickers as he shucks his cleats. "You want what we all want and have yet to find. Good luck, man. I hope when you find her, you're able to keep her."

Ishrug. "Maybe, maybe not. That depends mostly on her, I suppose. The more she doesn't want me, I think, the more I'll enjoy The Hunt. That's my goal. The ultimate hunt and the ultimate prize."

Iwant very few things in life. Given my money and my father's legacy, there is nothing I can't have except this: the perfect chase.

It disturbs me how much I need it. How much I've thought about nothing else recently. Maybe tomorrow will be the night. When you have as little control over your life and the things that happen in it as I do, something as simple as a little chase in the woods can make or break you. It’s one singular thing I have a choice about.

Iclench my fists again and stand, shoving off my pants and tossing the rest of my kit into my locker. Shower first, then I have a nerd to hunt down. I check my phone again, and I’m not surprised when there's no response to my text. The little s**t will regret keeping me waiting. I paid him five hundred up front for that paper, and if he thinks he can stiff me, he's sorely mistaken.

It doesn't take me long to shower and throw my wash into the designated bags. I make sure to shoulder-check the glowering teammate who thought he could take me on the way out. Ruckus or Tucker, maybe. I don't remember his name.

The guys watch me go and say nothing as I head out, hair still wet, in my hoodie and jeans. On the way through the training center to outside, I shoot the little asshole a text telling him to respond before I hunt him down and beat the s**t out of him.

Istop to fill my water bottle from a fountain on the path while I wait for him to respond. The i***t reads the text but doesn't answer. If that's how he wants to play it, so be it. Unfortunately, some people aren’t nearly as intelligent as they think. I don’t pay nerds to do the work because I can’t do it myself. I pay them because it’s easier to have someone else do it. I don’t have time to waste on writing papers or doing research. But it only works if the person I hire actually does the work.

Istalk across the quad, heading toward the place I first found him: the library. It's not even a half mile, and the slight chill in the air cools the simmering rage in my veins into something sharper and more sinister as I walk.

Aflitty little blonde rushes up to my side, matching my pace to talk to me. "Drew, I heard that tomorrow is the big night."

Igive her little more than a grunt of agreement. "So?"

She bats her long, fake eyelashes, now practically running to match my long stride. "Well, I was hoping for an invitation. I have some friends I could bring along for some fun."

Istop, and the halt makes her lose her balance. I wait to see if she falls, but she doesn't. "What kind of friends?"

Out of breath now, her smile widens. "Oh, I have a lot of friends. I guess it depends on the type you’re after?”

Inarrow my eyes and scan down her low-cut top and skintight leggings. She’s dressed as if she’s ready to go frolicking through the woods at this very moment. "How about someone with a little innocence? Know anyone like that?"

She taps her chin, considering what I’ve asked, but her eyes have a knowing twinkle. "Well, I have a few who might fit. I'll ask them to come in exchange for an invitation of my own and some tips on how to bag one of your crew."