Page 34 of Baseball and Shifters

My twin was clearly not on the same page as me, because when I shift and turn around, his wolf plows into me. The big oaf knocks me off my feet and onto the sandy ground. He yips and licks my face while I try in vain to shove him off of me.

“Gross! No licking the face!” I groan as I shove his snout away from me.

He jumps off, yipping some more as he bounces around before he too shifts back laughing at me.

When Lucas shifts back, he’s already grinning like the smug idiot he is. Our faces may be the same, same chiseled jaw, same stormy blue eyes, but somehow he’s always the one that looks more approachable. Maybe it’s the stupid dimples or the way his hair always looks windswept, even when we haven’t been outside. I’m the serious twin. It shows, even when we’re laughing.

“Aw man. That was awesome!” He crows. “It’s been way too long since we’ve played. I forgot how much fun it is to take you down.”

“You were only able to take me down because I wasn’t expecting it. And if we’re comparing take downs, mine fromearlier was way cooler. My mark damn near pissed his pants,” I gloat.

“What? You attacked someone? Who?” he gasps.

“Don’t get all defensive of the jerk. If you were there, you would have jumped him too. Hell, I was protectingyourmate.” My mood instantly shifts when I remember what that prick said to her.

“Rachel?! What happened?” He looks ready to run back to the dorms to check on her.

“Your favorite outfielder,” I growl out.

“Hopper? What the hell did he do this time?” he snarls.

“He cornered your mate at the treeline,” the low growl that laces my voice is impossible to get rid of at this point. “The asshole said some pretty disgusting shit to her. I scared him off before he could do anything. You’re welcome.”

“Fuck! Bastian’s gotta get control of that piece of shit. Either he needs to or Coach does because if he comes near my mate again, I won’t be held responsible for what I do.” It’s not often that my brother's wolf is visible in his eyes but right now I can see the wolf’s rage simmering in Lucas’s stormy blue eyes.

This girl has him and his wolf all tied up. No wonder he was so distracted last game. She’s gonna ruin his career.

“Good. You take care of it next time. Leave me out of your mate’s drama.” My words come out harsher than I intend and I see him flinch.

“What the fuck is your problem? You’ve been a dick ever since classes started.”

“I wasn’t ready,” I grumble as I pace along the shoreline.

“Ready for what?” His plea is enough to snap my control.

“Her,” I bite out, swirling around to face him. “I didn’t come here to meet my fated fucking mate. I came here to play ball and become a travel photographer for a famous magazine. Yet she’severywhere I fucking go all of the time. She’s like a shadow I can’t escape.”

“Oh, so you admit she’s your mate now, huh?” he snarks back at me.

“Of course, she’s my fucking mate. I knew it the moment I smelled her in Film Studies the first day of classes,” I’m rambling now but I don’t care, I’m so tired of being alone in my thoughts. “But I’m not ready. I have dreams. I don’t want to be tied down and end up like our parents. I wanna travel the world. Take pictures of everything I see. Befree.”

“And you don’t think you can do all that with a mate? You’re not the only one who has dreams you know. I don’t think we have to give up our dreams just because we found our mate young. It just means we have someone to experience them with.”

“Yeah. You think she’s going to be okay traveling the world and being out in nature? Or going from ballpark to ballpark? Girls aren’t like that, Lucas. Once they find their mates it’s like some biological clock starts ticking. She’s going to want to build a burrow or some shit. Settle down and pop out a bunch of fucking pups like mom did.” I finally sit next to him on the beach too worn out to continue my pacing.

“I don’t think she will. I don’t think she was looking for mates either. You didn’t see the way she ran from me when I accidentally mated her. I think she’s scared. Maybe she thinks we’re going to tie her down like you think she’s gonna tie us down,” he tries to reason with me.

“Yeah, right,” I scoff.

“There’s only one way to know for sure.” He shrugs. “Bas invited her for a date tomorrow. Why don’t you come? You don’t have to bond with her. Just get to know her before you ruin your life rejecting her.” I physically recoil at his assumption that I would reject her.

I may not be ready for a mate, but I would never reject her.

“I don’t think so, Luc, I’m not ready.”

“Look… I know you’re scared. But you can’t keep being an ass and taking your issues out on her. She hasn’t done anything to you. She doesn’t deserve that.”

I run my hand through my hair, pulling at the roots. “I know. You’re right. If I should be mad at anyone, it’s Mom, not Rachel. Look… I won’t make any promises, ok? But give me some time. I need to come to terms with this on my own. I don’t want to hurt her or reject her. I just…”

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