Page 15 of Forbidden Mischief
“Chad!” I shout to my teammate. He tosses the ball to me, and I run with it. But the other defense has me blocked, so I toss it to Rob.
“Asher, would you just talk to me?” Zayne appears at my side.
“Why are you trying to talk to me now? Too little, too late,” I snap.
“Please?”
“No,” I say and run away from him. I can hear him curse, but I ignore him, putting all my frustration into practice.
I feel bad for body checking a few of the guys, but I’m on a roll. Coach is shouting praises, and I just roll with it.
“Asher!” Chad shouts. My head snaps over to see the ball flying at me. Grinning, I jump up and snatch it out of the air. The moment my feet hit the ground, I’m running for the end zone.
My blood pounds in my ears, heart racing so fast it’s giving me a high. I see the line, and I’m about to earn us the winning point for this practice when I’m tackled from behind.
I hit the ground hard with a grunt. Pain splinters through my body, and I’m pissed. My wolf surges forward, and I let out a low snarl.
Rolling over, I’m about to curse out whoever the fuck caused me to lose the point when I see it’s Zayne on top of me.
We’re both panting heavily, eyes wide with adrenaline.
And then it’s like time slows down to almost nothing. It feels like I’m underwater, voices around us muffled as reality comes crashing in.
My wolf breaks through my thoughts, saying one word that makes sense of all the weirdness of everything. Why I’m so obsessed with Zayne. Why can't I get him out of my head? Why do I crave him more than anything else in this world?
Mate.
CHAPTER 8
ZAYNE
One moment I’m laying there, chest heaving as I stare down at Asher, the next I blink and he’s shoving me off of him.
The coach’s whistle screeches across the field, splitting through my fog of confusion as Asher bolts as I scramble into a sitting position just in time to see fur flying and claws tearing up the grass. He’s running like his ass is on fire.
What the hell just happened?
One second, we’re practicing, and I just took his ass out, and thenbam—he’s wolfed out right in front of me. No warning, no explanation. Just a flash of dark fur and claws, right there in the end-zone.
Coach is yelling, his voice cracking as he blows the whistle again. “No shifting on the field!”
It’s school policy. Pretty much the only rule they enforce without any exceptions. And now Asher has just shredded it along with his practice uniform.
The rest of the team is either laughing or shouting in surprise, but I just stand there, frozen, trying to process whatjust happened. The coaches are probably ready to start handing out detentions left and right, but my thoughts are with Asher, imagining him running off into the woods, alone and…obviously upset. He’s been moody and restless, but I never thought it wasthisbad.
I jog toward the locker room, my cleats clicking against the asphalt as I go. I need to get out of this uniform and find him. There’s an ache under my ribs, like I’m just as freaked out as he is, though I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s the fact that he bolted without a word to me. But he’s been refusing to speak to me at all lately. I haven’t felt this…left out? Is that the right word? Since…well…forever.
The door slams behind me as I reach my locker, and I don’t bother with being careful or organized. I yank off my jersey, throw it to the side, and fumble with my phone. My fingers shake as I scroll through my contacts until I hit “Alice.” She’s been like a second mom to me—ever since she married Dad, she’s been all in.
“Come on, pick up, pick up…”
After three rings, she answers, her voice calm and collected as usual. “Zayne? Everything okay?”
I swallow, trying to get a grip. “Um…not really. Asher just shifted. On the football field, mid practice. He…he just ran off. I think he went into the woods.”
Her pause is barely noticeable, but I catch it. “Don’t worry, Zayne. I’ll be there soon, alright? You don’t need to worry about Asher—he’ll be fine. I know you’re concerned, but let me handle it.”
“Okay. Thanks, Alice. I’m just…gonna wait for you in the parking lot.”
