Page 125 of Baseball and Shifters

“Yeah, definitely not jealous,” Aubree snarks.

“Not at all,” Maya agrees with a giggle.

“Whatever. I’m getting my sandwich before I lose my appetite,” Dallas grumbles, walking past us to the food truckwindow. “I’ll have the ‘Gouda be kidding me’ special and a can of orange pop, please.”

Laughs bounce around as the rest of our group slowly split off heading to grab whatever food item has caught their eye. Bas and I stand in line behind Dallas and when she has placed her order we put ours in. We wait together for our sandwiches to be finished and head towards where the band is playing. There we find Aubree, Maya, and Liam already waiting, staking a claim over one of the big picnic tables.

We spend the rest of the day laughing and dancing, having an absolute blast. When we all fall into our big bed that night I’m surrounded by more carnival prizes than mates. I take my place in the center of the stuffies and men and enjoy the comfort surrounding. The feeling of home.

Derrick

The crowd is electric. From behind home plate I can see Rachel sitting right in the front row, where she was the day Lucas flew into her lap. My parents and her roommates surround her, all fully decked out in Nightclaw gear. My dad even brought huge foam hands custom made with claws on the fingers.

Her cheers motivate me as I crouch down, taking my spot and flashing Liam the signal that tells him to throw it low and fast. It’s the top of the ninth and we’re up by one. There’s a runner on first, and one out. Two more outs and we win. We’re so close I can almost taste it.

Liam nods, the faintest jerk of his head, and winds up.

The world narrows.

The buzz of the crowd fades.

The ball leaves his hand like a bullet.

Then… crack.

The batter swings hard, a fast grounder rocketing down the third base line.

My heart lurches.

The runner on first takes off to second as the batter runs to first.

Lucas is already moving. He dives, parallel to the dirt, arm outstretched. It looks impossible, but he snags it mid-air, twisting as he lands with a thud. The stadium gasps.

He pops up, pivots, and rifles it across the diamond.

Bas stretches, and the ball slams into his glove a fraction of a second before the batter’s foot touches the bag, getting the double play before either runner realizes they’re out.

“OUT!” The Ump’s voice rings loud and clear across the field.

And then… the stadium erupts.

I launch up from my crouched position and tear off towards the mound. Liam’s laughing, arms outstretched, and I slam into him, lifting him up as I hug him. The rest of the team converges on us, voices overlapping as cheers rain down from the stands. Someone fires a confetti cannon, and one of our team mates actually howls as the green and blue shiny flakes fall around us.

Then I spot Rachel.

She’s climbing over the wall with Demi and Maya’s help, laughing and cheering, her eyes locked on us. Her hair is tied up in green and blue ribbons that match the glitter paint streaked across her cheeks. But the smile stretched wide across her face?

It’severything.

Bas races towards her, reaching her first and sweeping her off of her feet. He spins her in a few dizzying circles before setting her down almost directly into Lucas’s arms. Lucas plants a kiss on her cheek before dragging the rest of us into a group hug.

Suddenly we’re all tangled together. Laughing, breathing hard, half-sweaty and fully-in-love.

I look at her, smiling bright, the joyous heart of our pack, and my heart thunders with something greater than victory.

We did it.

For our school.

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