Chapter 9: Friday Means Game Day!!

POV: Zander Blake

The roar of the crowd was deafening.

People screamed from the stands, faces painted in Pine Ridge green and black, cheerleaders danced, and the marching band’s drums rattled like thunder behind us.

It should’ve made my blood pump harder, should’ve lit that fire inside me that always came alive under Friday night lights.

But tonight, none of that mattered.

Because the second I looked up..

She was there.

My mate.. My Aurora.

Top of the bleachers, legs curled beneath her, bundled in that green hoodie she always wore when she was nervous.

Her fingers were wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate, the steam fogging up the space in front of her.

Ember my sister sat beside her, waving a pom-pom around like a lunatic, but I barely registered her.

All I could see was Aurora.

And suddenly, the weight of the football in my hand felt like nothing compared to the storm that hit my chest.

I stumbled, just a little, coming back from the huddle. Coach barked something from the sidelines, but it was muffled—like my head had been dunked underwater.

She’d never come before.

Not to a single game. Not even when we were kids and Ember begged her to sit in the front row with the cheer squad.

Aurora always made excuses too cold, too loud, too many people. I figured she just didn’t care.

But tonight, she was here.

And she was watching me.

My pulse slammed against my ribs. I wasn’t ready for this. Not for the way her presence dug under my skin and lit everything on fire.

Then, like a blade slicing through me, I felt him.

Rowan.

My eyes found him on the opposite side of the field, waiting for instructions from our coach. I couldn’t believe the coach just let him in the game like he belonged here just because he was a quarterback at his old school.

He looked too calm. Still. Focused.

Focused on her.

He wasn’t watching the coach. He was watching her.

My blood went hot.

My jaw clenched so hard I thought I’d crack a molar. A growl rumbled in the back of my throat, low and dangerous, but I shoved it down. Not now. Not here.

But the rage was already curling through my gut like wildfire looking for something to burn.

Because it wasn’t just the way he looked at her. It was the way she looked back. She smiled when Ember whispered something in her ear.

That soft, uncertain smile I remembered from middle school—the one I used to catch when I passed her in the hall before I turned it all into hell.

She never smiled at me like that anymore.

And maybe I deserved that. Maybe I deserved worse.

But watching her give that smile to Rowan felt like drowning in my own mistakes.

My fists tightened as I turned back toward the huddle, every muscle wound tight with something I didn’t have words for.

Coach called the next play, and I nodded without hearing it. My teammates slapped my back, lined up beside me. The center snapped the ball and I ran, ducking through defenders like they were ghosts.

I didn’t care about the game.

All I could think about was the fact that she showed up for the first time ever..

And she wasn’t here for me. Why did the moon goddess have to make her have two mates in the first place? Why did she have to bring Rowen into the picture.

Zee- Zander my human remember we won’t know until her sixteenth birthday if she is truly ours.

Well you don’t plant it into my skull that she was Zee now what?

Second Quarter

I played harder than I should’ve. Rougher. More violent. I slammed into bodies, dodged hits with reckless speed, and threw two passes so fast they barely had time to spiral before landing in Ben’s arms for touchdowns.

The crowd was going wild. My team was shouting my name. I was probably having the best game of my life.

And it didn’t matter.

Because every time I glanced up at the stands, she was still there.

Watching.

And every time Rowan glanced up too, it felt like he was stealing her from me—inch by inch.

Even though I’d never really had her.

Even though I’d spent years pretending she meant nothing. Making sure she believed it too.

I deserved this.

But that didn’t mean I could stand it.

Zee—my wolf—was pacing.

She’s ours, he growled.

I thought you just said we don’t know for sure bub what’s the change?

There’s something about her that keeps pulling me to her. I’m telling you the truth you may not feel it yet but you will.

I didn’t argue this time. Couldn’t.

Because no matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise, Zee was right.

She had been mine since the moment I first saw her. Since we were kids. Since she handed me a crayon with a crooked grin and told me I colored outside the lines wrong.

I remembered that grin.

I remembered the way her laugh used to sound—before I made her afraid of me.

And now Rowan was getting to hear it again.

I felt like I was losing something I never got the chance to claim.

Something I never deserved—but wanted more than anything.

Halftime

I stormed off the field, sweat dripping down my neck, adrenaline buzzing under my skin like hornets. The coach grabbed my arm, shouted something about strategy and tempo, but I barely registered it.

I looked at the bleachers again.

Aurora was still there. Her eyes met mine this time.

Only for a second.

But that second cracked something in me open.

There was surprise there. Concern. A flicker of confusion. And something else I didn’t have the right to hope for.

Her lips parted like she was going to say something—even from up there—but Ember leaned over and pulled her attention away.

That look stayed with me.

Burned into the back of my eyes.

Locker Room

“You’re playing out of your damn mind tonight,” Derek said, tossing me a water bottle.

“Yeah,” Trent added. “Keep it up, and colleges are gonna be lining up at your door.”

I didn’t respond. Just nodded and stripped off my gloves.

Xavier eyed me from across the room. His gaze was sharp, calculating.

“You saw her, didn’t you?” he asked under his breath.

I didn’t answer.

“You know Rowan did,” he added.

I stood and turned away before I said something I’d regret.

Final Quarter

I kept playing like my life depended on it.

Because maybe it did.

Maybe if I played hard enough, fast enough, good enough she’d look at me the way she used to.

Maybe I could erase the years of bruised egos and cold shoulders. Maybe I could rewrite the story.

But even after the final whistle blew, and the scoreboard screamed our win into the night, that feeling didn’t come.

She clapped politely. She smiled when Ember cheered and waved a banner.

But that look in her eyes—the one I used to know—never came back.

Post-Game Chaos

Fans flooded the field. Teachers, students, parents, even the principal came down to shake hands.

I pushed through them all.

I needed air.

I needed space.

I needed her.

But when I reached the bottom of the bleachers, she was already gone.

Just a swirl of green hoodie disappearing into the dark.

Later That Night

I sat on the edge of my bed, half-dressed, the smell of sweat and grass still clinging to my skin. My helmet sat in the corner, forgotten.

My phone buzzed with notifications—teammates, fans, some cheerleaders I didn’t care about.

But not her.

Not Aurora.

Not even a “good game.”

My fingers hovered over her name in my contacts.

I never deleted it. Not once. Even when I should have.

Even when I told myself I didn’t care.

I closed my eyes and let the guilt flood in.

Because the truth was, I pushed her away all those years not because I hated her.. but because I knew the second I let her in, she’d ruin me.

And she has.