Trained by the Rogue Wolf

It took big brass balls to stand on the field of battle and
think I was good enough to take on the legends of the Continental Football
Association. There was protocol and tradition involved. I hadn’t been invited
to any of those parties. I didn’t finish high school, so college was out of the
question, and my invitation to the combine mysteriously got lost in the mail.
Probably because I didn’t stay in one place long enough for anyone to find me.

But I never stopped training. Studying. Getting stronger. I
never stopped dreaming.

I’d lost absolutely everything but my dream.

Right now, those legends needed me.

Alaska Bloodhounds linebacker
Ray Pendragon will miss the rest of the team’s improbable playoff run due to an
ACL injury. The Bloodhounds, who were already thin at the position, will be
facing their strongest opposition so far this season. Can the beleaguered
defense carry the workload, or will their weaknesses finally be exposed?

I snapped off the radio and took a deep breath before
walking into the practice bubble. I’d come all the way to Holiday Falls, Alaska
and I couldn’t let my nerves get the best of me now.

Excitement about the Bloodhounds’ playoff run had everyone
buzzing. Reporters and camera crews entered easily. I should’ve had
credentials, but I slipped through, following those who had a right to be here
deep into the inside of the organization. I headed straight to the field. It
might be the only time I had a chance to stand on it.

Coach Phelan paced in the middle of the field while the team
did warmups. My heroes were on this field.

I couldn’t think about that right now.

“Who the fuck’s that guy?” someone said, and everyone
stopped to look at me.

“Do we need to call security?” Coach Phelan was the calm in
every storm. Nothing rattled the old bear shifter. That was why he was the
best, and why I was willing to risk arrest for the chance to play for him.
“Practice is closed today. You can get your soundbite later.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult that he
thought I was a reporter. I admired the job, but I’d worked hard to have the
body of a football player.

“I’m not here for a story,” I said. “I’m here to play
linebacker.”

I expected those snickers.

Coach took off his glasses, squinting as he approached. “Who
the hell are you?”

“My name’s Matteo Shaw. You don’t know me. But I’ve been
living and breathing this game my whole life, and I can help you win the championship.”

More snickers, but there were a whole lot of guys I admired
on this field who couldn’t take their eyes off me. That was the first step.
Make them pay attention. Next step: keep them guessing.

“You play for one of the other teams?” Twenty-four teams
were currently sitting on their asses at home at this stage of the season. The
Bloodhounds would have scouting information on every single player. But not me.

I shook my head.

“Where’d you go to school?” Coach asked.

“I didn’t.”

“You a shifter?”

I nodded. “Wolf.”

He sighed. “You have about thirty seconds to tell me what
makes you think you can take the field with the absolute best in the business
before the only players you’ll get tackled by today are from the security team.”

Thirty seconds was more generous than I’d expected. “A rival
pack sucker-punched us in the middle of the night. Burned our buildings,
slaughtered our women and children. I should be dead too. I fought them, saving
everyone I could. I was eighteen years old. Had a full football scholarship to a
state school waiting for me. It was all gone after that night. I had to
disappear after that if I wanted to survive. But I never stopped fighting.
Because one day, I knew I’d be standing on this field, with a chance to prove
myself.”

Coach didn’t answer right away, but he didn’t call security,
either. It was my first victory as a professional football player.

“Why now? I don’t think you’ve come to help us out of the
goodness of your heart.”

“Because I found the wolf responsible for killing our pack
is dead.” Or so I hoped. Marcus wouldn’t be flaunting himself all over social
media if there was a chance of Cade coming for him again. “It’s time to take
back the years that were stolen from me.”

“Give him a chance.” I turned to see Landon fucking Fox nod
at me. Now was not the time to get starstruck. “We’re so thin at linebacker,
we’re royally screwed if one of these guys gets a hangnail. We’re going up
against the best offense in the league this week. If this guy can help keep
them off the field, I don’t give a shit if he landed here from Mars.”

Once the superstar veteran spoke up on my behalf, the other
guys felt more comfortable joining in the chorus to give me a chance.

Honestly, I expected this stunt to end in handcuffs, not a
helmet and pads.

“He’s right.” Coach shook his head. “Pendragon was diagnosed
too late to get anyone off waivers and have them learn our system. What’s your
name again?”

“Matteo Shaw.” I’d make sure he never forgot it.

“Do you understand how impossibly long the odds are stacked
against you?”

“I’m here.” I fought my grin. “Talking to you. Those odds
don’t seem so bad anymore.”

“If you say so, Matteo Shaw. Today’s your lucky fucking day.
Go back to the locker room and tell the trainers you need a uniform. As you get
dressed, I want you to think about the fact we’ll be coming at you hard. Landon
Fox is the top-rated quarterback in the CFA. Most likely to be named MVP.
Again. It’s your job to make sure he isn’t picking you out of his teeth after
practice.”

Holy shit, this was a dream come true. I looked at Fox and
nodded. “Give me your absolute worst.”

His hair and beard were gray now, but he hadn’t lost a step.
One side of his mouth curled up in a smile. No, that was a challenge. “Be
careful what you wish for, rookie.”

Not likely, I thought as I trotted toward the locker room. I’d
wished for this and it was happening. As long as I didn’t make an absolute fool
of myself, there was no way the Bloodhounds could say no. There were probably a
hundred reasons they’d try, but they were desperate. I knew desperate. I’d
spent too long with its hand gripping my throat, threatening to take my last
breath.

It had been ages since I’d been in full uniform. Too long.
My old coaches always warned that the game got faster every time you leveled
up. I’d just taken the express elevator to the penthouse.

I was met with cheers when I came back out on the field.
That was a good sign. These guys wanted to win as much as I wanted to play.
They were willing to take a chance.

“First we run drills. You know who plays defense. Get in the
back of the line and learn everything you can. We end practice with a scrimmage.
You better be on your toes, because like I said, we’ll be testing you at every
turn.”

“Thanks for the opportunity, Coach,” I said.

“I can’t tell if you’re batshit crazy or the best thing that
ever happened to me.” Coach swept his electronic clipboard toward the field.
“Get out there. I’ll have all the answers soon enough.”

That speed thing wasn’t bullshit. Even simple drills moved
in a time warp, but I kept up. I learned to stay one step ahead after I escaped
the ambush. A wolf without a pack had to be smart, or else I’d be dead. And the
other guys on the defense wanted me there, because during the scrimmage, they
made sure I understood the plays.

Landon Fox made good on Coach’s promise, hammering the ball
at me every pass, until I intercepted him.

Holy shit, I intercepted a Landon Fox pass.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself after the
scrimmage, so I followed the guys to the locker room.

“Matteo Shaw,” Coach barked. “Come into my office.”

Still wearing my borrowed uniform, I didn’t sit when I
closed the door behind me. But Coach did. He had his laptop in front of him,
and he’d typed my name into a search engine.

“Are you going to tell me who you really are?” he asked. “There’s
no record of anyone by your name playing football anywhere. I don’t believe
you’re that good with no history.”

“I hate to disappoint you, Coach, but I told you the truth.
If any of the recruiting staff is still at Wyoming State, they can vouch for
me. Maybe my high school coach, but he’ll be really surprised to hear I’m
alive.”

“If I put you on that field on Sunday, people will want to
know who you are. They’ll dig deep, especially if you tell them the same story
you told me. I don’t give a damn where you came from if you can help me win;
but there are reporters who will be salivating to uncover something you might
not want to share. Are you ready for that?”

“They can’t do worse to me than already has been done.” I’d
spare Coach the details. Waking up to my mother screaming, bleeding, taking her
last breath. The blood everywhere. The bodies of those I loved lifeless in the
dirt.

He nodded. “I plan on signing you to a one-week contract. To
see how you do against a real opponent. But I’ve got one more question for you.
Is there anyone who will be surprised you’re alive?”

My phone was in my temporary locker. Before I got here, I
couldn’t stop watching the video. It was about two little birds in a shelter
and their love bond. Which was cute, but it wasn’t what made me watch it over
and over again.

“Yeah.” I still couldn’t believe what I’d seen. “My
brother.”