Page 7 of Quarterback Sneak
Chapter 3
Zane
I yank my headphones out of my ears as Coach walks in. “It’s time. You ready?” I join my teammates in a hearty response. We’re more than ready for our first game of the season. We’ve been itching to play since practice started weeks ago. Coach Mitchell turns to me. “Any last words of wisdom, Captain?”
“Leave it all out on the field, and let’s show everybody how it’s done. This one’s ours!” My words are met with more cheers, and we huddle up. “On three. One, two, three. Dominate!” With that, we grab our helmets and head out. Owen, who plays center for us, throws an arm around my shoulder.
“You ready, Cap!”
I nod, excited and locked in for today’s game. There’s a kind of energy that fills me before a game that’s difficult to define. It’s an adrenaline rush filled with energy and excitement but also focus. I'm able to focus on my teammates and what needs to be done and somehow ignore the thousands of screaming fans in the stands. I reach for my wolf without thinking and am hit with a dead end. I shake off the weird feeling. It’s always hard the first game of the season, but I get used to it fairly quickly. To keep the games fair, those of us who are shifters on the team get a shot on game days. Most of us are pretty good at playing without using our wolf strengths, but the shot makes it official. It’s that way across the league, not that other players know that. We keep it pretty hush-hush, but the officials at the top and usually at least one coach or two on each team know so that things are kept fair. Not many colleges have shifters anyway, so it’s not too big of a deal.
Most wolf packs like to keep to themselves, but our pack is more open-minded, always has been. Much of that is my dad’s doing. He wants us to be able to live lives that are full of the experiences that normal humans get to have. And as Alpha, he’s been able to make those changes for our pack. It’s been good. Like today, I get to play the game I love more than anything in the entire world. I don’t know what I’d do without football, and I know that the other pack members on my team feel the same way. Speaking of teammates, I turn to Quint, one of our wide receivers and a packmate. “You good?”
“Ready to go, Cap.”
Quint sometimes has a hard time with the shot. It messes with his head a little to not be connected to his wolf, but he seems to be doing fine so far. Maybe it’s because this is his second season playing college football. We take our place in the hall that leads out to the field and wait for them to announce us. We’re playing our rivals today. It’s an impressive way to start the season. I can’t help the grin that fills my face; I love good competition, and Texas will give us that today. We’ve gone one and one against them the last two years. This year, I want to go two and zero, making us undefeated against them. It’s time, and this is the year to do it.
Marcus slaps my back. “Ready for a win?” I nod, focused on the task ahead of us. He lets out a holler, that’s echoed by my teammates. Marcus is always good at getting us riled up before we take the field. “Let’s do this!”
They announce us, and we run out into the charged stadium. The buzz of adrenaline fills me, and my heart races in a good way. I love this—every part of it. The smell of the field, the sounds of the screaming fans, the lights, the thumping music, and most of all...the game. We win the coin toss, and my teammates and I huddle up one last time. Coach Mitchell, whoalso happens to be the beta of our pack, leans in. “All right, Boys. Let's remind these Texas Tigers who we are.”
I stand on the sidelines as my teammates take the field and prepare for kickoff. Brock catches it and makes good headway, to the thirty-eight-yard line. I pump my fist and put my helmet on.It’s time to play. I jog out on the field along with my other teammates on the O-Line, the offensive line. We line up for our first snap of the season, and everything around me fades away except for the ball that’s about to come my way. I take in the Tigers’ defense and listen as the offensive coach tells me the play. I lick my fingers and lean forward, ready. I yell out the play and wait for the snap. Everything slows down around me, and I zone in. Owen snaps, and the ball flies at me. I catch it and wait for Drew and Quint to run their routes and get open, but their center gets a little too close for comfort. I take a few steps back, but when nobody gets open, I run. Owen blocks for me, and I run towards the right. I’m brought down at the forty-eight.Ten yards. Not a bad start. We head to the line of scrimmage once again. I take in their defense and call out the next play. Owen snaps the ball, and I grab it out of the air and bounce on the balls of my feet, looking for Ender this time. He creates space between himself and his defender and gives me an open look right up the center. I throw it, and he snatches it beautifully out of the air. He's brought down immediately, but it was a good catch. We line up at the line of scrimmage. We’re at our own thirty-two. We line up and go at it again. This time, Zac doesn’t quite get his hands around it. The next play, Quint goes down and drops the ball. We recover it but at a loss of yards. And just like that, it’s third down. I line up behind Owen and call the play. Owen snaps it, and I catch it. I can tell right away that Quint isn’t going to be open. I look for Zac, but he’s tied up too. It’s time to scramble. I run to the right, my favored side but have to spin and backtrack to escape their guy. Dejuan blocks for me, and so do Owen andJJ. I go wide, outrunning the guy chasing me down and focus on the end zone. I’m brought down, but I jump back up. It was a good run; we’re at our fifteen. We line up and make our play based on their offense. Owen snaps it, and I grab it and back up a step, eyeing the field. Quint does a beautiful spin move and opens himself up. I pass it right down the center of the field, and he runs it in.Touchdown!
“Yes!” I pump my fist as I run to the end zone. “That’s how it’s done,” I say smacking Quint’s helmet. I leave the field as Elliot, our kicker, runs out onto the field. He kicks it right down the center, giving us the extra point. I smack him on the back when he gets back to the bench. “Good job!”
I drink some Gatorade before I take a deep breath and settle on the bench. I feel good; it was a good start to the game. I go still as a hit of something hits my nose. I don’t even know what it is, but something strikes at my subconscious. I resist the urge to turn around and fight to shake off whatever it is that’s bothering me. My focus in a game is legendary; nothing ever distracts me. And yet...I push the thought away. Whatever it is, I can’t focus on it. I throw my cup away and move back over to the bench as Coach hands me a tablet. I take it and sit on the bench. Owen says something to me, but I miss it. Our defensive line is on the field now, but I don’t watch. I know they’ll do what needs to be done. Terryl will make sure of it. I get another whiff of something, and the hairs on the back of my head stand up. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s making me frustrated. I turn my focus back to the screen, but the figures blur in front of me. I stand to my feet, irritated. Owen looks up at me. “You good?”
I rub the back of my head. “Yeah.” Even though I’m not. I don’t know what’s going on. I feel my wolf stir inside of me, confusing me even more. He shouldn’t be rising yet, not until the shot wears off, which is usually not until a few hours afterthe game. I pace the bench, and Quint eyes me over his cup of Gatorade.
“You good, Cap?”
I nod and walk towards the end of the bench, trying to shake off this weird feeling. Our defense stops them on third down, and they kick it away. I blow out a breath and focus. I grab my helmet and head to the line of offense. Brock got us set at the thirty-yard line. I line up behind my offensive line and focus on nothing else but this play. Owen snaps it, and I catch it. I watch downfield, waiting for a good opportunity.Ooof.I’m down before I even realize it. He came up behind me, and I hadn’t even noticed. I shake my head at my mistake and jump to my feet. We line up again, and Owen snaps it. I watch for Quint but overthrow it. I shake my head in frustration. Owen walks over to me. “Hey, you good?”
I crack my neck and grit my teeth, feeling my wolf again. I push him down. “Yeah. Sorry.” Quint runs back to the lineup. “That was on me,” I call out. He waves off my mistake. We line up again, and I call out the play Coach says. Owen snaps it, and I hand it off to Zac, who runs it for fifteen yards. I take a breath, feeling relief. “Okay, let’s do this.” I’m focused and back on track. The next throw, I’m short, and Ender comes up without it. I swear softly to myself; I need to get back on track. Two more downs, and we have to kick it away; we just couldn’t make any headway. I head over to the bench and get a cup of Gatorade, more to give myself something to do than anything else. I can’t shake this feeling. Something is off. My wolf rises even more, and I curse. This is not supposed to happen. I’m going to have to say something to Coach. If he rises fully, I’ll have to...I don’t even know. Get another shot? It’s never happened before. I take a deep breath, trying to settle my edginess. Everything in me goes still.That smell. My eyes nearly roll back in my head as the most amazing scent I’ve ever smelled hits me like a brick. My wolfsurges forward, rushing past the barriers that were keeping him locked down. He threatens to take over, and I feel completely overwhelmed. It takes me an instant to fight him down; he hasn’t tried to take control like this in years. A growl escapes, and I hunch my shoulders as I fight for control. Suddenly, Quint is in my face.
“Zane. What is going on?” His voice is low, but I know he didn’t miss my growl. As a shifter from my pack, he would know exactly what’s going on.
“I don’t know,” I say through gritted teeth. “My wolf is trying to take control.” I force the words out, fighting with every ounce of control I have. I take in another deep breath, trying to get control. That scent slams into me with the ferocity of a mac truck, and it hits me.My mate.And that’s when I lose control.
Chapter 4
Zane
The air is forced from my lungs, and there’s dirt in my helmet. I growl and try to force my way up. “Stay down, Blackwood!” The words penetrate some remote part of my brain, but it’s not enough to keep me down. Not when my mate is out there, alone, unmated, possibly afraid. A growl rolls through me. I forget sometimes just how big Owen is and how much it hurts to be tackled by him. But now, I remember. I push Owen’s big body off me as my wolf tries to take control again. I draw in a deep breath of that intoxicating scent and scan the field trying to figure out where it’s coming from. Everything comes into sharp focus, and the game taking place on the field takes a backseat. My wolf is running the show here, and our focus is on finding our mate. Somebody stands in front of me, blocking my view; and I shove them out of the way without thinking.Our mate.My wolf’s thoughts mesh with mine.Find.I shove somebody out of my way and move towards where I think the scent is coming from. Somebody says something to me and shoves me backwards, but I keep going forward.Find our mate.I am aware of nothing but the driving force to find my mate. I catch another whiff, and my wolf nearly springs from my chest. Somebody blocks my view of the rows of seats, and I shove them back as rage courses through me. Nothing matters right now except to find our mate.She might be hurt, in danger. What if she needs us?I scan the rows of seats, seeing more males than females, and my wolf growls in anger.None of these males should be here, scenting our mate.A fierce growl explodes from my chest.
“Zane! Stop!”
I’m aware of voices and chaos around me, but I tune it all out. I no longer know what are my thoughts and what are my wolf’s, but we’re in agreement that nothing matters until our mate is safe and in our arms and...I lose the scent. I whirl around and sniff, trying to find the scent. All I can smell is the male scents of my teammates. I growl again.Where is she? Where did she go? We have to find her now. We can’t focus until we do.
“We’ve got to get him out of here. Get Alpha Blackwood here now!” I hear voices, but none of it gets past the panic in my brain. And then one voice penetrates through all the rest.
Son, stop fighting your teammates and get to the locker room. I’ll meet you there, and we can sort this all out.
Even though he’s not here, I can feel the power behind the alpha command. Part of me, the obedient son part wants to obey; the other, the part that desperately needs to find my mate, wants to disobey the alpha command.
Come on, Zane. Fight your wolf. Control him and get out of the stadium before you make a scene you really don’t want to.
Some part of his words register in my brain, and I fight for control from my wolf. Thankfully, he hasn’t pushed all the way through. I’m still human, but my control is tenuous at best. I grit my teeth and wrestle back control; he doesn’t give it up easily. I am my father’s son after all; Alpha power runs in my veins. My beast will be Alpha one day, and he has no problem asserting himself right now and reminding me of that fact. It takes every ounce of the strength I’ve gained over the years to push him down. When he’s pushed down enough that I can function, I push to my feet. I take one more sniff but don’t smell my mate’s scent. Panic threatens to make my wolf take control again, but I keep him locked down and walk off the field, towards the locker room. I block out the sounds of the crowd and focus on nothing but getting to the relative safety of the locker room.
