Page 68 of The Golden Receiver

As expected, Serena, Nick, and Charlie were waiting outside the stadium. I’d hoped Kieran would have been with them, but I didn’t see him.

“How was the game?” Nick asked.

“We won,” I announced with a bright smile. “Kieran got the final touchdown, and you should have seen Willis’s face. He was so fucking red.”

Charlie gave me a look I couldn’t decipher. “Is that who did it?”

Fuck.

I’d been so careful not to name names. Not even with my pack. I might not have agreed with Kieran’s decision, but I couldn’t betray him. The worst part was that I had no poker face, so I knew the answer was plain as day. Of course, Willis was one of the people who attacked Kieran.

I didn’t have to answer. I could see it on their faces. My silence and expression were all the confirmation they needed.

“Where is Kieran?” Nick asked after an awkward moment.

“I think he left before I did. Not like him, but maybe he was tired. I hoped he’d be out here, but I guess I’ll see him back at the dorm.” I shifted nervously, looking back at the building. Where was he?

“Which you’re anxious to get back to, because being separated from your emotional support human is literal torment?” Serena teased.

I flipped her off, but I couldn’t tell her she was wrong when she wasn’t. I really wanted to get back to Kieran and know that he was safe.

We took off toward the dorms while I told them about the game.

We hadn’t made it very far when I heard it.

Behind me.

There was the sound of a body being pushed against a building. I heard Kieran grunt. I stopped and immediately summoned my good ears, trying to determine exactly where the noise had come from.

I whipped around, shifting as I ran toward the sound. I felt the change in energy behind me and heard the beat of three sets of paws on pavement. When I looked over my shoulder, my pack had shifted. I charged back toward the stadium. I saw the figures from a distance. Three figures crowding in the shadows.

I growled and jumped into battle, ripping the largest person away from my human.

I landed on him, ready to maul and maim. The other two attackers were pinned down by Serena and Nick.

“Evander, no!” Kieran’s voice was loud and scared, and it forced me back to my senses.

I shifted back to my human form, but I tightened my grip on Willis. “Do you really think you’re doing anything?” I demanded as I looked down at him. Now that I had my human hands back, I had the urge to punch him.

I must have been radiating that kind of energy because Charlie pulled me off him. “You’re not helping anything either,” he said calmly. He looked over at Serena and Nick. “Both of you, off.”

They complied immediately. It was rare that Charlie got demanding, and every time he did, we couldn’t help but listen. He turned his attention to the prone forms of Willis, Reyes, and Hopkins. “You three, up.”

I don’t know what it was, but they scrambled right back to their feet. Maybe one day Charlie would take over the pack. He had that commanding presence thing that Kali had down pat.

I took a step closer to Willis and his cronies. “If I hear that you’ve touched my human one more time, no one will be able to stop me,” I warned.

Willis laughed. He actually laughed at me. “Like I’m scared of you? You’re not scary, Sawyer. Even when you’re all wolfed out. You’re about as scary as a damn golden retriever.”

I wanted to prove him wrong. Let him see that I might be a nice guy, but I wasn’t one to mess with.

Especially not when it came to Kieran.

I was stopped by the familiar pressure of a hand on my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Kieran. I didn’t even need his all-too-familiar scent. I would know him anywhere. I could just feel him.

He stepped up beside me, staring down his attackers. “This is the last time,” he told them with a shake of his head. “Because now I can see you. There’s no mistaking who you are, and there are witnesses.”

I saw fear register on Willis’s face.