Chapter 5

Odessa POV

The Daciana Wildcats had a massive game this weekend. Despite the ache in my body and the fog in my brain, I had to come to work if I wanted to keep my job.  I went around the stadium picking up trash and leaves blown here by the wind.

The football team hadn’t arrived yet. How could they when they partied until three in the morning!

The cheerleaders were on the field practising their latest routine.

Sienna might be a territorial witch, but I had to confess she was great at her job. There was a reason everyone loved her. She directed her teammates in the new stances and cautioned them about timing.

I watched as Sienna and Rune, the other head cheerleader, took their positions to start their high-flying routine.

“Hey, are you done?!” Someone yelled, and I snapped out of it.

“I… uh…” I said, frantically looking around for something to pick up.

“Get out of here, you freak!”

“Ugh, I swear I can’t escape this girl,” Sienna complained.

I picked up my garbage bag and moved to the next session. That was when the football players started to arrive for their morning training session.

They marched past me as if I were part of the furniture. They didn’t look like they’d drunk a liquor store’s monthly supply. I waited for him to show up. My heart wanted another glance. I didn’t know what for, if only just to hurt myself more.

The rejection hurt my wolf. It was like she chose not to wake up today.

Captain Maverick approached next. He had his gaze straight ahead and his head raised. I didn’t think he’d notice me, but his attention turned. His pace slowed, and his eyes burrowed in concern. Our eyes locked for a moment, and I thought he would stop.

I tore my gaze away from him. I held the trash bag to my chest and turned around. I didn’t want to be accused of stinking up the place.

After dumping the trash, my phone rang in my back pocket.

“Hey Evyn, I’m about to get off work—”

“Get out of there now!” She yelled.

“Why?”

“Haven’t you seen the pictures? You’re dead!”

“What is going on? What pictures?”

“Just get out of there, Odessa.  There are pictures of you and Gage going around. It’s only a matter of time before Sienna sees them.”

“Shit!”

“Meet me at Daisy Den. I want all the juicy details!”

I’m so screwed! Where did these pictures come from? That didn’t matter because I had to get out of here. I couldn’t go home because that’s where the danger lives.

I quickly clocked out and took a bus so I could meet Evyn. Daisy Den was a large park where I came to run and sometimes hide. It was my favourite place in the Pack. This place had so many labyrinths to get lost in.

“Evyn’s not even here,” I said, kicking a rock.

I ventured deeper into the park because I didn’t want to run into anyone.  I found a little rock and settled down. I had to see these pictures for myself. Evyn was right, the pictures were everywhere. I saw them the second I logged into social media.

“Oh my gosh,” I mumbled.

These were taken outside my old apartment building. They showed us going in together and coming out hours later.  The crunch of gravel made me stand instantly. My breath caught in my throat when I realised Maverick was standing in front of me.

What’s he doing here?

Maverick cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.

“Mate,” he growled.

My initial shock of seeing him out here vanished and was replaced by rage.

“Is this a joke?” I blasted. “It isn’t funny.”

“Funny? This isn’t fucking funny.”

“You found out Gage rejected me and came to make fun of me? Grow up!”

“What?” he barked.

Maybe he didn’t know about Gage after all.

“Never mind. What do you want?”

Why did he call me that? He took another step forward, and his wolf flashed in his eyes. A shiver ran down my spine.

“Why didn’t you feel it when I saw you at the stadium?” he growled.

“Are you serious?” I whispered.

“I should be with my team training for one of the biggest games of the season, but I’m here with you, Odessa. Of course, I’m serious!”

We were deep in Daisy Den. No one was around. It was so quiet you couldn’t hear a bird chirp or the children playing. It was just the two of us, and Maverick had just dropped a major bombshell on me.

“It’s not possible! I don’t feel anything.”

“I get that. The question is why.”

Things couldn’t get any worse. He was the Alpha in waiting. The Pack’s beloved Captain. Maverick had the world at his feet. He hated me, too. Why would the moon goddess do this to me when his best friend had just rejected me?

Maverick raked a hand through and exhaled. “We’ll figure it out later. I have to get back before coach busts my balls.”

“No,” I said firmly.

I know how this ends. No one wants me for a mate, especially not Alpha Maverick, the Wildcats' Captain extraordinaire.

“Reject me and get this over with. No one ever has to know this happened.”

Maverick took me in and smirked.

“Little Odessa,” he chuckled. “I’m not rejecting you.”

“What?”

“If the moon goddess says you’re my fated mate, then you’re mine.”

“No, I’m not your toy. You’re only going to make my life hell.”

He grabbed my cheeks and dragged me forward. “I won’t if you’re a good little omega. Get it through your head, Odessa. You’re mine.”