Page 44 of Baseball and Shifters

Her worry makes me want to strangle the man who calls himself her father but I don’t think she realizes that she will never be truly alone again.

“Hey, Moonbeam, look at me.” Her glassy green eyes peek up at me from behind her curtain of hair. “You will never be truly alone again. Remember the other night at the theater? D stroked your bond and you felt it even though you weren’t actually touching him.”

She nods her head. “Yeah, he’s been doing it all the time lately.”

“Exactly and you can do it too. Try it now. Find our bond inside of your soul and pull just a little.”

She closes her eyes and scrunches up her cute little nose. It takes a few seconds of quiet focus but then I feel it. It’s not just a pull but a plea. She’s asking me to kiss her down the bondand I can’t keep the smile off my face when I realize it. Without another thought I cup her cheek and plant a kiss on her. Her sweet gasp when we break apart calms something in me.

“That’s it exactly, Moonbeam. Now, let’s get cozy in this bed and watch some reality TV.” I hop up and grab the snacks, getting her settled and setting the drinks on the nightstand before locking both doors.

She chuckles when I go as far as barricading the doors.

“Expecting company?” she teases.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone tries to sneak in. I’m not taking any chances.”

“Thought you were okay with sharing me.” She arches her brow.

“Hundred percent, Moonbeam. I would never dream of keeping you from your mates… for more than a few hours.” I wink.

She shakes her head as she laughs. “Guess that’s fair enough.”

“Damn right. Now, are you sure this is what you want to watch?”

“You said I could pick, remember?”

“I know, I know. Just thought my mate would have better taste in shows, that’s all,” I tease.

She gasps in mock outrage. “And I thought my mate would do anything to make me happy.”

“Oh, I will, Moonbeam. Tonight’s proof of that,” I chuckle as she playfully scowls at me. But when the theme song forShifter Seasonstarts, her attention is completely fixated on the TV as if I don’t even exist anymore.

She’s so invested in this ridiculous reality TV show and by the end of the first episode, she’s turned me into a fan. We watch episode after episode as we demolish the snack supply. After the third episode, she starts yawning and I hope this means she will stay the night. When the fourth episode ends, she is softlysnoring on my chest, so I turn the TV off and snuggle further into the bed keeping her wrapped tight against my chest. The bond warms once more and my wolf whines his pleasure at being so close to our mate.

This is how we should spend every night. Wrapped around our mate.

Bastian

It’s been five days since our first date, and we have something special planned for our little mate. After Lucas secretly snagged a one-on-one date Saturday after the game, we had a long talk about teaming up to woo our mate. We worked together to come up with a plan. Do small things as often as possible to show her we’re here and we aren't going anywhere.

Today, that means a little lunch date. I happened to snag Maya before English this morning and convince her to keep Rachel busy in their room while I gather the needed supplies and put in an order at the cafe. D and Lucas finish up their second class of the day, and when they meet me by the fountain, I send Lucas to go grab Rachel while D and I get set up.

There’s a big shade tree off to the side and I lay out a blanket in the grass under the branches. It’s the first nice day we’ve had since class started and I don’t want to waste it indoors. As I unpack the food, D clears his throat.

“What’s up, man?” I ask, unwrapping a sandwich.

“I heard from my dad.”

That gets my attention and I stop messing with the food to look at him. D was so excited about finding his mate, he called his dad as soon as we got home from dropping Rachel off Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Ashford were beyond thrilled for their son, even though something tells me they already knew before he told them.

“He never liked Ranger and couldn’t understand how he got reelected. When I told him about how he’s been treating Rachel, he was livid. He said he’s been looking into him since they came to the school the other day. Can you believe there’s not one negative news story about him? How can you be in politics fornineyears and not have literally anyone say something negative? Even dad’s had his haters, like those nut jobs who wanted that law about shifters only being able to mate within their own type passed.”

“Huh. I don’t know, man. Sounds like he’s flying under the radar for some reason.”

“Exactly. But what’s the reason? He must have some big secrets to go to such lengths to keep his name so squeaky clean. Of course, Mr. Norton is useless. He agrees that it’s suspicious, but is more willing to go with the flow.” Derrick shakes his head.

Damn cowardly elephant.

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