Page 128 of Baseball and Shifters

Lucas is already sitting up, bleary-eyed. “What’s wrong?”

I toss his phone onto the bed. “You two might want to read that.”

Bas grabs it first. I watch the slow blink of realization as he reads then a smile takes over his face.

“I didn’t expect them to make an announcement so soon.”

“What announcement?” Lucas grumbles, leaning over Bas’s shoulder, scanning the screen. “Oh,” he gasps.

Rachel sits up slowly, rubbing her eyes. “What? What happened?” Her voice is thick with sleep.

“They did the first round of player announcements for the draft. It’s official. Lucas and I are going to be in the draft this year,” Bas says, still stunned. “I can’t believe it’s really happening.”

Rachel’s expression shifts, confusion, surprise, then pride. Her eyes shimmer.

“That’s amazing,” she says, soft but steady. “You guys… you deserve this. I’m so proud of you.”

Lucas smiles, but there’s worry behind it. “What if it tries to take us away from you?”

Liam, now awake, leans in. “Then we come with you.”

Rachel turns to him, startled.

“Obviously,” I add.

Rachel’s eyes well up. “You’d both really just... follow them?”

“We’re not following them,” Liam says. “We’re going with you. I’m not going pro, so I can go wherever. I didn’t even enter the draft.”

Rachel blinks, startled. “What? Why?”

He smiles, slow and steady. “Because I don’t want that. I love the game, but it’s not my dream. I want to travel. Take pictures. Tell stories with my camera. I was thinking... Maybe we make this whole thing an adventure. I photograph it. Maybe build a portfolio, get featured in a travel mag one day.”

Her eyes shine, and she wraps her arms tighter around him. “That’s perfect.”

I clear my throat. “I didn’t enter, either.”

That gets everyone’s attention.

“Wait—what?” Bas asks, brows lifting. “You didn’t even try?”

“Dad offered me a position. Junior council member for the Shifter Tribunal. It’s... a big deal.” I shrug. “I never thought I was made for that life. But after everything with Ranger, I changed my mind. I’d get to help rewrite laws that hurt people like Rachel. Like all of us. It felt right.”

Rachel stares at me, breath catching. “That’s huge.”

I smile, feeling a little sheepish now. “I didn’t want to say anything until the draft came out. I didn’t want anyone to think I was backing out just because I didn’t make it.”

Lucas slaps me on the shoulder. “Dude. That’s badass.”

“Thanks,” I say.

The bond pulses again, warm and grounded, pulling all of us closer together.

For a few seconds, no one says anything. We just breathe. Tucked into the morning light, wrapped in the kind of love that promises we’ll figure it all out.

Rachel breaks the silence first. “We could get one of those RVs! I watch travel blogs online... It looks like fun.”

Liam groans. “Stuck in an RV with my brother for months on end, what a joy.”

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