Page 93 of Baseball and Shifters

None of us look reassured by his words. Still, we file out onto the field. Bas takes first base, Lucas moves onto third, and Liam jogs to the pitcher mound. I slide behind the plate, tugging my helmet into place, and try to focus on the game.

But I can’t.

Not without her.

The first pitch flies directly from Liam’s hand to my glove. Cheers and claps sound off around the stadium but I can barely hear it, because at that same moment, the door from the VIP box into the stands opens and gets my full attention.

My mom and dad emerge first and they’re not smiling. Dallas, Maya, and Aubree are right behind them, all wide-eyed and frantic. My mom scans the stands and the field like she’s searching for someone.

Rachel.

“Time!” I bark at the umpire, tossing my glove and helmet to the side as I jog to the fence behind first base where my parents are already approaching.

Lucas, Liam, and Bas aren’t far behind me.

“Talk to me,” I demand, voice rough.

“She’s not with them,” Dad says. “The girls say she left them a note saying she was heading back to your dorm and would meet them here for the game.”

“But when we got here, she wasn't,” Dallas adds. “We thought she’d be here.”

My chest goes tight. The air feels thinner, heavier. Murmurs rise in the stands and behind us on the field. Heads turn in the crowd, whispers ripple out in every direction like someone dropped a stone into still water. Even the ump goes quiet, but I don’t give a fuck about any of it. My mate’s missing.

“She left the dorm? After dark? Alone?” Lucas rambles as the panic sets in.

“It had to be sometime after midnight,” Aubree informs us. “That’s when we all went to bed.”

“What the hell is going on here? We’re in the middle of a game! Get back to your positions!” Coach roars behind us.

Ignoring the pissed off lion, I reach for the bond again, more focused this time, trying to grasp it like a tether. It feels like I’ve grabbed hold of it physically and I begin to shake it, pumping all of my concern and worry through the bond. For a brief moment I get a sensation of pure panic back but it’s gone so quickly I wonder if it was my own anxiety I felt. Then the bond is back to how it was, soft, faint. A dull strum.

“She’s not just late,” Bas mutters, his voice thick with grief. “She’s missing.”

The words are like a gut punch.

“Who’s missing? What are you boys talking about?” Coach Mace grumbles and I notice we have a crowd forming around us.

“Our mate,” Lucas breathes.

“We have to find her,” Liam growls through clenched teeth. “Now.”

“No more waiting,” my dad agrees, stepping away and putting his phone to his ear.

The second whoever he’s called answers the phone he starts barking out orders. Invoking protocols, calling in security, and alerting Dean Harold.

“We’ll find her, son,” Mom says, tears glistening in her eyes. “You four go get changed and meet us out front.”

I nod, but my pulse is pounding. The world around me is noisy. Too much. Not enough.

Bas growls, low and vibrating in his chest, and I swear I feel it echo in mine. Liam has gone still, that scary kind of still he gets when he’s barely keeping his wolf from the surface. Lucas’s already moving, headed back toward the locker room, fists clenched at his sides.

I follow him, barely aware of my feet. My dragon is pressing against my skin, scales brushing bone, wanting out.

“Hey! Where are you going? We’ve got a game to play!” The other team's coach yells. “If you walk off this field, your team forfeits!”

“Fuck you and your fucking game,” I snarl as I rip off my catcher’s gear and throw it at him. “Take the win. Everyone knows it’s the only way you’d get it.”

The noise in the stands is deafening as my brothers and I storm off the field into the dugout.

---