Tasting

76-Team Brody!

Nora:

Once I stepped into the building, I spotted Natalya standing by the tables where teams were being assembled.

“Nora!” She grabbed my arm and pulled me away before I could even grab the pen.

“Which team are you going for?” She asked, agitation evident in her eyes. I could sense something had happened, hence her fearful look. I wondered if she had already signed up for a team

or not.

“I have to join my stepbrother’s team. Dad asked me to pick him,” I fibbed, noticing the change in her expression. She went from scared to completely mortified.

“What’s wrong?” I grasped her arm and gently shook her to get her attention.

“You said you’d stick by me today,” she pouted, her voice on the verge of tears.

“I am sticking with you. Let’s sign up for Team Ryker,” I

suggested, noticing how quickly she shook her head to reject the idea.

“Why? What’s wrong with you signing up for his team?” I was concerned because Ryker had told me to sign up for her, and I didn’t want to go against his wishes.

“Nora! Ariel has signed up for his team, and she’s going to be a captain. Our lives will be miserable. There will be days when Ryker won’t be around, and then what? She’ll chew me out,” Natalya pleaded, holding my hand and shaking it vigorously, trying hard to dissuade me from the idea.

“It’s alright. I’ll talk to Ryker and ensure he doesn’t make her a captain,” I reassured, shrugging.

“But he’s already picked her, so I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she pouted, shaking her head at my cluelessness.

“Huh? There’s no way he would pick her,” I almost grunted, feeling a surge of jealousy.

“Why? Did you tell him not to make her a captain? No! He doesn’t know anything. For all we know, he might even be talking to her this whole time,” she reasoned. She was right. Ryker must not have known. But could it be that he was talking to her and they were dating?

I sighed and nodded.

“Please just take Team Brody. I mean, you’ve mentioned in passing that you’d be happy to be on his team,” she urged. But I still wasn’t certain if I wanted to go against Ryker, until I recalled how difficult it would be for me to avoid getting aroused when he helps me stretch. The thought scared me.

“Give me a second. I’ll go speak to Ryker and see if he can–” I began to walk away, but a firm grasp on my arm stopped me.

“He wouldn’t because she’s already signed. And even if he doesn’t make her the captain, she’ll still be on his team and make my life miserable. I’m sorry for putting you in this

situation, but I thought you’d want to help me after what happened in the woods. I went there thinking you’d be there, Nora,” her voice broke, tears forming in her eyes.

“Natalya! I apologized for it,” my voice faltered as she reminded me of that horrible night.

I

“And I forgave you because you said you’d be with me through and through. Nora! You were the or who helped me lie when you said you saw me kill that mons..r. After that, I got so hyped up that I couldn’t step back, and now you’re stepping back even after you promised to stick with me,” she held my hand tightly, refusing to let go.

I felt odd and guilty.

“Okay! Let’s sign up for Team Brody. I’m sure my brother would understand,” it was hard calling him that, but I had to remind myself to keep a distance from him because that label had sadly become attached to our names.

“Oh my, thank goodness,” she hugged me, jumping up and down. I sighed and approached the tables, signing up for Brody.

Once we were done, we headed into the changing room, and immediately, I was stunned to see everyone glaring at Natalya.

“Yo! It’s the superhero we ordered from Amazon!” one of the girls laughed, pointing at Natalya, who started to step behind

me.

“Natalya! Please save us,” another one yelled, laughing maniacally.

“Oh! Let her change. I want to see if she has wings behind her

back since she’s so special–” one of the girls eyed the others, and they brought out their phones. I was in disbelief. I was already under so much stress, and these girls messed me over.

“Go change. I’ll stand here and see who even gets close to your stall,” I instructed Natalya to go to her stall. We each had our own stalls with lockers to secure our bags and other stuff. We could take showers in privacy and all.

“Are you sure? They’ll make your life serable too,” Natalya sounded so low whenever she had to face these bullies.

“I’m sure. Just go! I’ll handle them,” I pushed her into her stall and stood outside with my arms crossed and my brow raised.

“Oh look, it’s the other useless girl, who’s hiding behind the alpha king brothers these days,” the girl commented as she approached the stall with a phone in her hand.

“Do you think you can stop us?” she smirked, and the minute she tried to get past me, I grabbed her arm, twisted it, and spun her to the ground.

She landed with a thud, and for a moment, she remained frozen. It took her a whole d***n minute to come to her senses when her friend gasped.

“What the f**k–” the girl quickly crawled away, getting to her feet and watching my face.

“Who says a wolf is the only thing that can make you powerful? Baby! I can fight too,” I smirked, watching their faces change colors.

Well, it’s good to see them realize that just because they had

wolves didn’t mean they could pick on anyone.

“Anyone want to come have a word with me?” I yelled and noticed that the girls began to s** away.

“We are only leaving because we don’t want to upset the alpha king brothers,” the girl saved her face with that excuse.