Page 13 of Baseball and Shifters

“You do that all by yourself, bud.” I smirk as I walk to the fence and grab my water bottle as Lucas starts his run.

“Pft. Ain’t nothing bad about the way I look. I meant the rest of ‘em.” He nods to the field.

Lucas is already rounding third when Axel takes off from home.

Damn it, Axel.

He should have started when Luc hit first. He’s going to slow the whole line down with that delay.

I get that not everyone can be as fast as me and my boys, but does he have to be so damnslow? Elliott is up next and thankfully takes off at the perfect moment. Now let’s just hope he doesn’t overtake Axel, that’ll mean wind sprints for sure.

Lucas joins us and shakes his head as he reaches for his water.

“He’s gonna be the reason Coach makes us run sprints again,” Lucas grumbles before taking a big swig.

“Step it up, ladies! Gotta be faster than that when we play against the Shadowpeak Predators Saturday!” Coach Mace’s gruff voice carries across the field. He’s built like a brick wall and never seems to take his sunglasses off, no matter the weather.

“Better go show ‘em how it’s done.” Derrick puffs his chest out before taking his spot in line behind Liam.

Unlike Axel, Liam also has perfect timing and D follows suit. He’s not as fast as me or the twins, but he’s strong and the best catcher in the league.

“D! Watch out!” I yell as a ball sails through the air right at his head.

Fucking Hopper.

Derrick turns his head as he rounds third, breathing fire and turning the ball to ash seconds before it can slam into his face.

Hopper’s smirk melts away with the ball and I can smell his fear from here as D changes course and heads for him instead of home.

“Ashford! Get your ass back here!” Coach roars, running after him.

I’m already halfway across the infield and closing in on D fast, Liam and Lucas right behind me.

“We’ve got him, Coach!” I shout as I run past.

Coach Mace may be more than a few years older than me, but he can still hold his own. No doubt if he were in his prime, he would out run me any day. Lucky for D, I’ve got youth on my side as I reach him first.

“He’s not worth it, D!” I cut him off, blocking him from getting to the idiot kangaroo that’s currentlyhoppingaway.

Fucker can’t run for shit, but if I slow D down enough, he’ll be able to escape with his tail between his legs.

“It was an accident!” Trent cries as he retreats.

“Accident my ass. That was aimed straight at my head!” Derrick roars.

The twins surround us, helping me block Derrick.

“Calm down, bro. Let Coach handle it. You don’t need to get in trouble right before a game. We need you. I don’t give a shit if he gets benched. But where would we be without our star catcher?”

His nostrils flare as he takes deep breaths. Derrick and I have been best friends our entire lives. He’s not normally one to get so worked up. The guys and I razz him on the daily. But he doesn’t back down when someone comes after him or those he loves.

What the fuck was Trent thinking?

“Practice is over! Get him out of here, Rana. Hopper. My office. Now.” Coach growls through clenched teeth.

“You heard Coach. Let’s go.” I grab D’s shoulder and turn him around, not giving him any say in the matter.

Louder, I call to the rest of the team, “Don’t think this means you have the night off. Get to the gym and finish your workouts.”

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