Alpha Bully (Wolf Ridge High 1)

I drop back on the bed and close my eyes, wishing I could just pass out and forget the pain in my chest.

The room spins. I haven’t eaten since breakfast and football practice was grueling today. I guess that’s why the beers didn’t stay down. I should clean myself and the floor up. I should get out of this bed.

But I just can’t seem to make myself move…

Chapter 16

Bailey

I wasn’t going to go to the game. I guess I’m truly a masochist. Doesn’t this whole relationship with Cole prove that?

No, I don’t want to go there.

We had moments I wouldn’t trade for anything. And I know the truth about Cole. Underneath the bully and bluster, the swagger and cocky arrogance, is a compassionate, honorable young man who does the right thing when push comes to shove. Who takes care of the people he loves, even if it means taking a beating and pretending not to date the girl he cares about.

And I do know he cares about me.

He didn’t fake it. He wasn’t using it or trying to break me. He just… isn’t in a position to be my boyfriend.

And I forgive him everything. Because for all the pain of this breakup, he gave me so much more.

And that’s why I’m sitting in the back row of the stadium with Rayne, watching him play football. I couldn’t stay away.

I spot his dad down in the front, a beer can in his hand.

When the teams trot out, Cole’s head is down. He gets in place for the first play and runs it with a decided lack of enthusiasm, losing the ball to the other team.

The spectators on our side grumble and mutter. I hear Cole’s name spat out from all directions. I guess his fans are fair-weather only.

Which pisses me off.

I hope his friends aren’t, too.

I sit and watch the disaster of the first half with a knot in my stomach, my hands balled on my lap. Cole’s a mess. A total mess.

And it doesn’t soothe my ego to know it’s over me.

It just makes me die inside.

“You want anything?” Rayne asks as everyone rises from the benches to stretch and get food.

“No.” I don’t move. My body feels so damn heavy. My limbs weigh a million pounds. Rayne leaves and I sit and stare out over the crowd.

They’re shifters. Probably most of them. Funny, but I don’t feel like an outsider anymore. Wolf Ridge is my school. This team, my team.

None of that makes sense, but in finding out just how different I am, I finally fit in.

Maybe just knowing I share their secret.

That was what brought Cole and I close, too. The vulnerability of shared secrets.

I hardly notice when Rayne returns and the game starts back up. I’m numb from all the sorrow.

But then Cole comes out and I’m riveted to his figure again.

The whistle blows, the ball snaps. Cole catches it. Someone from the other team tackles him.

And then Cole goes apeshit nuts.

With a clear display of supernatural strength, he pushes up, flipping both their bodies so he lands on his back on top of the other guy, who is on his back on the ground. And then he turns around and starts punching the guy.

The referee blows the whistle non-stop. The crowd screams and boos—both teams alike. Cole’s teammates jump in and drag him off the guy and his coach barrels out shouting.

“Rough play. Player number twenty-six is disqualified,” the referee says over the mic.

I can’t hear what the coach is screaming, but it’s clear he’s livid with Cole. Cole stalks to the sidelines but just before he gets there, he stops and tears off his helmet.

And looks straight up at me.

I don’t breathe.

He doesn’t move.

His coach is shouting at him. The crowd is booing. And then they start muttering. “What’s he doing?” or “Who is he looking at?” The people around us twist in their seats, looking around until everyone in our section lands their gazes on me. Or at least, I feel their gazes on me. I’m not looking. All I see is Cole’s anguished face, his burning gaze only for me.

I lift my fingers in a hesitant wave.

He lifts his chin.

Two of his buddies grab his arms and forcibly haul him off the field.

I bite my lips to keep from bursting into tears, even though I don’t even know what I’d be crying for.

For Cole.

For me.

For us.

What can’t be.

We sit through the rest of the game, although I see none of it. Honestly, I don’t even know if Wolf Ridge won or lost. I probably would’ve sat there all night if Rayne hadn’t grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet to walk to my car.

Out in the parking lot, I hear the sound of raised female voices, but I ignore it. The cheerleaders are over by the baller’s cars where they usually hang out, ready for their post-game partying.