The Quarterback Alpha: A Sweet YA Paranormal Romance (The Smoky Hills Academy Book 1)

by Emma Wolfe

  18

  Liam

  I tried to stay away—I did. But I couldn’t. After I forced myself to pull away from Cora and disappear into the woods, I ran. Hard and fast. Anything to get away from the pull she had on my heart.

  But my inner wolf wouldn’t listen, and I found myself right back at her house, peering up at her window. I could hear her heartbeat. It was slow and methodical. She was asleep.

  Morphing back into human form, I scaled her wall and pushed open her window. I needed to make sure she was okay—then I’d leave her alone.

  I wasn’t sure who the wolf was who attacked me in the woods, but I had a feeling it was just the start of things to come. Pulling away from Cora was necessary, but my inner wolf wasn’t going to rest until I was sure she was safe.

  I padded across her floor and over to her sleeping form. She was half-buried under the covers and pillows. Her nose was still pink from crying, and my heart wrenched at the sight. It was killing me that I had caused that.

  She shivered and twisted in her bed. I reached over and pulled up the blanket to cover her shoulders.

  I stood there, committing her features to memory. The feeling of her body and her lips against mine seemed seared on my soul.

  I would never feel for another like I felt for her.

  A low growl rumbled my chest as I fought the urge to take her into my arms. I’d already hurt her enough. It was selfish of me to keep leading her on.

  Instead, I forced my feet to carry me to the window, where I leapt down to the ground. My inner wolf forced its way to the surface as I sprinted across the grass, and I was fully changed as I entered the tree’s protection.

  I ran home, my heart beating in my chest. I had to force Cora’s face from my mind. I feared I’d find myself right back at her house if I continued to allow her to occupy my thoughts.

  Once I neared my house, I shifted back and made my way up the back stairs and into the kitchen. Dad was sitting at the table in jeans and a T-shirt. His hair was tousled which meant only one thing. He’d shifted.

  I furrowed my brow. “Where did you go?” I asked, walking over to the fridge and pulling it open. I grabbed out a root beer and popped the top. After half the can was gone, I peered over at Dad.

  It wasn’t until I studied him that I realized his shoulders were slumped and his head was drooped. Worry brewed in my gut. Something wasn’t right.

  “Dad?” I asked, making my way over to the table and sitting on the chair next to him. I dipped down to see that his eyes were closed and a pained expression was written all over his face. “What happened?”

  Dad looked up as if he’d just realized I was home. He studied me for a moment before he ran his hands over his face.

  “There was a challenge extended,” he said, his voice low.

  I nodded. I figured that would happen with Grandpa dying. “Okay?”

  He sighed and then reached out to grab his coffee. “To me.”

  I stared at him. “But I thought you said you were done.”

  Dad ran his finger along the rim of his mug. “Yes. But when a challenge in extended, there are consequences if you back out.”

  Still confused, I stared at him. “Who challenged you?”

  He swallowed. “Brutus.”

  “You mean…Uncle Brutus?”

  Dad nodded. “Yes. He wants to be Alpha. The ‘right’ way.”

  I leaned back in my chair and took a swig of my soda. “So what are you going to do?”

  Dad closed his eyes and twisted his head, cracking his neck. “I guess we have to fight.”

  I nodded. “You’ll win.” I knew Dad was strong. Even though a challenge wasn’t ideal, Dad always won.

  “It’s not that simple,” he said, leaning forward on his elbows. “The mother pack is changing. Morphing into something…I don’t know, darker.” He glanced up at me. “Is there anything you need to tell me?”

  Dad’s gaze penetrated mine. My thoughts moved to Cora for a moment before I pushed them out. She didn’t matter anymore. We were done. I was going to leave her alone.

  “No. Nothing.”

  Dad studied me for a moment longer before he nodded. “Good. Now is not the time to involve yourself with a she-wolf.” And then he chuckled. “Or a human.”

  “Right,” I said. I tried to shrug like his words didn’t cut right through me.

  He sighed as he leaned back and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “Well, I guess it’s time to prepare for the fight.”

  I nodded and stood. “I’m going to shower and then get to bed. Long day of school tomorrow.”

  Dad waved me away. I could tell from his body language that he was already lost in thought.

  Once I was up in my room, I showered and climbed into bed. My body felt as if it had run a marathon. I was exhausted.

  As I lay there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, Dad’s words kept rolling around in my head. Uncle Brutus. Morphing into something darker. All of that confused me. What was happening? And did that mean it could happen to us?

  I closed my eyes and pushed out my worry until my mind went blank. I’d face all of that when the time came. All I cared about right now was that Cora was safe and things were over between us. Beyond that, I had to push her from my mind. I had too many things to focus on.

  One being the wolf that had attacked me in the woods. I needed to find out who he was and take care of it. Without my protection, Cora was going to be vulnerable. Even though I doubted my ability to stay too far away, she was fragile.

  If something happened to her, I wasn’t sure what I would do. She was everything to me.

  Cora Gray had undeniably and irrevocably changed my life.

  I was never going to be the same.

  19

  Cora

  The next morning came too soon. My whole body ached as I lay there on my bed. I kept my eyes closed and took in some deep breaths. Anything to calm the pain in my heart.

  I rolled to my back and stared up at the ceiling, Liam’s words floating through my mind.

  He’d made a mistake. We’d made a mistake. And I needed to stay away from him.

  I blinked a few times as tears started to cling to my eyelids.

  Truth was, I didn’t care if being with him put me in danger. To me, it was worth the risk. Liam was worth the risk. I’d never been so sure of someone or something in my life before.

  I wanted Liam, and I knew he wanted me. There was just a part of him that I feared.

  Maybe it was my job to help him see through that fear.

  A spark of determination rose up inside of my chest as I threw off the covers and stood. I wasn’t going to let go as easily as he seemed to be able to. I was going to confront him. Tell him I was sticking around. He brought me into his world, and it wasn’t fair for him to be so quick to shut me out.

  I stood in front of my closet and assessed my clothes. After pulling on my yellow sundress—with a scoop neck and a skirt that made my legs look longer than they were—I studied my reflection in the mirror. I was pretty sure that this was a dress that Liam was going to have a hard time saying no to me in.

  A sense of courage rose up inside of me as I blow-dried my hair, put on some makeup, and slipped on my sandals.

  I grabbed my homework—still not done—and slipped it into my backpack.

  Then I opened the door and padded out into the kitchen, where I found Mom awake and sitting at the table. She had her glasses perched on her nose, and she was reading something on her phone as she sipped her coffee.

  I smiled slightly, reveling in the familiar feeling of seeing Mom like this. But then, the memory of her words last night crashed into my mind, and my smile disappeared. She didn’t want me to have anything to do with Liam.

  I walked over to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt followed by a spoon from the drawer. Then I leaned against the counter. I wasn’t really in the mood to chat.

  Mom jumped slightly as she set her phone on the table screen-side down. “Morning,�
� she said as she sipped on her coffee.

  I just nodded. Mom had hurt me last night, and I wasn’t so sure I was ready to forgive her yet.

  She studied me and then sighed. “Are you going to ice me out?”

  I kept my gaze on my yogurt as I shrugged. Then I scooped a spoonful and slipped it into my mouth. My heart was breaking. Not only because of Liam, but because I was angry with my mom. That wasn’t our relationship. We were friends.

  But she’d hurt me.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Mom stand and make her way over to me. She stood a foot away as she leaned her hip against the counter.

  We stood there, the silence eating me alive. I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to confide in her. I just couldn’t. I’d promised Liam, and even though he was keen on breaking promises, I was not.

  I felt Mom’s hand on my back as she rubbed it in a circle. Then she sighed and shifted so that her back was against the counter and her arms were folded. “I promise you that Liam isn’t the only guy in the school for you to like.” She peeked over at me.

  I swallowed, the lump in my throat hardening. “I know,” I whispered. But I didn’t want another guy. I wanted Liam.

  “Just get some distance. Time will heal what hurts.”

  I knew that. Time had helped scab over the hurt when Dad died. Tears clung to my eyelids as I nodded. “Yeah.”

  I sighed as I scraped the last bit of yogurt from the bottom of the container.

  “A guy who takes risks like that isn’t the kind of guy I want for you.” Mom’s voice cracked, drawing my attention over to her. Her gaze was downturned, and I could hear the pain in her words.

  “Mom,” I said, reaching out to pull her into a hug.

  “I couldn’t imagine losing you,” she said as she pulled me in close. “After we lost your dad, I promised I would do anything to keep you safe.” She pulled back and met my gaze. “I worry that if Liam is that loose with his own safety, what would he do with yours?”

  I studied her. I wanted to tell her that to Liam, my safety was sort of an obsession, but I didn’t want to open that box. Instead, I just nodded. “I know. And I’ll be safe.”

  Mom met my gaze and then gave me a soft smile. “Promise?”

  I nodded and then held up my right hand. “I promise. Besides, he told me yesterday that we were pretty much over, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  Mom hesitated before she blew out her breath. “I know. But boys have a way of weaseling themselves back into your life.” She pulled back and brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Trust me.”

  My heart quickened. Even though she was trying to deter me, her words were giving me a modicum of hope. Hope that, somehow, I would be able to convince Liam not to leave. That he would stay, and we could forget this whole mess. Mom would have time to see who Liam was, and this ridiculous ban she’d put on our relationship would be lifted.

  I knew it might be too much to hope for, but for now, hope was all I had.

  Glancing over at the clock, I shot Mom a quick smile and shouldered my backpack. “I’ve gotta go, or I’m going to be late.”

  Mom glanced over at the clock as well. “Okay, be safe. And I expect you home after cheer practice.” Then she nodded toward the doll that was sitting in the car seat. “Don’t forget screamer.”

  “Thanks for reminding me,” I said as I hoisted the carrier up onto my hip and made my way toward the door.

  When I got outside, I took in a few deep breaths and tipped my face toward the sky. The sun was warm on my skin and the air was fresh. It was so relaxing here in Smoky Hills; I just wished I could calm my heart enough to truly appreciate it.

  As I walked down Main Street with the car seat bumping against my leg, I couldn’t help but glance around. Part of me was waiting for Liam to jump from the shadows, ready to protect me.

  I couldn’t help that my heart picked up speed at the thought of seeing him again. I wanted to see him so badly that every sound caused me to jump and whip my head around.

  By the time I was halfway to school, I was exhausted and rapidly beginning to realize that Liam wasn’t going to show up. My heart ached as I paused at a stop sign. Nothing. No one. Liam was nowhere to be found.

  I made my way across the crosswalk with my head down and my gaze studying the ground beneath my feet. I was trying to hang on to a last glimmer of hope, but it was proving difficult.

  Every other day this week, Liam had somehow found me by now. He’d shown up, determined to force me into something.

  I guess I hadn’t realized how safe Liam made me feel, and how lonely I would be in his absence.

  The sound of a car’s engine pulling up behind me made my heart race. I glanced back to find Rose sitting behind the wheel of her beat-up Chevy Malibu, smiling at me through the windshield.

  I forced a smile—even though my heart was sad that it wasn’t Liam—and waved at her. She nodded toward the passenger seat, and I gave her a soft smile.

  At least I wasn’t going to have to walk. That was a blessing.

  I made my way to the backseat and set the baby inside. Then I pulled open the passenger door and slipped onto the seat, shutting the door behind me.

  Rose pulled away from the curb as I buckled myself in. Then I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Thanks,” I said, glancing over at her.

  Rose shot me a smile. “Of course. What are friends for?” Then she turned her attention back to the road. “Having a good morning?”

  I shrugged as I folded my arms. “Kind of.”

  “Kind of?”

  I wanted to be able to confide in her about what was going on. But I couldn’t, and it was breaking me. How could I pretend to be happy when my heart was broken?

  “Where did you go yesterday during practice? You were there one minute and gone the next.” She pulled to a stop at a red light and took that moment to glance over at me.

  Right. I’d totally ditched her yesterday. “I—yeah, sorry. I wasn’t feeling well, so I went home.” I shot her an apologetic smile.

  She furrowed her brow. “Oh.” Then she glanced forward again—the light had turned green. She pressed on the gas and the car moved forward. “But you’re feeling better now?”

  I nodded. I hated lying to Rose. It was all I could do to keep the secret to myself. I figured if anyone would understand what I was going through, it was probably Rose. She’d been the one to warn me about something hiding in the woods in the first place.

  I could only imagine what she would do if I told her she was right.

  We kept our conversation light the rest of the drive, and the moment she pulled into the school’s parking lot, I lost all ability to focus on what Rose was saying.

  My entire being seemed determined to figure out where Liam was.

  After I climbed out of the car, I attempted to calm my nerves as I glanced around in what I hoped was a calm manner. I wished I had the same ability to home in on Liam’s whereabouts as he had for me.

  I tried not to look too defeated when my search came up empty-handed. He was nowhere in sight.

  I joined Rose as we started making our way to the school.

  “You okay?” Rose asked as she looked over at me.

  Great. If she was picking up on my agitation, it was only a matter of time before Liam did as well—wherever he was. I took in a deep breath as I attempted to calm my nerves. I forced a smile and nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

  Rose didn’t look like she believed me, but she didn’t push it. She changed the subject to homework, and I thankfully fell into step with her, enjoying the mindlessness of the conversation.

  All thought flew from my mind when I rounded the corner and saw Liam in front of his locker. His head was down as he stared at something in front of him. I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

  I took a deep breath and headed toward my locker, a few lockers down from him.

  If Liam noticed my presence, he didn’t show it. There wasn’t even a twitch from
him as I moved past him.

  After I opened my locker, I peeked over and saw that he had earbuds in and a hard expression on his face. A few seconds later, he slammed his door and shouldered his backpack.

  He moved past me as if I didn’t exist.

  Once he disappeared around the corner, I let out my breath and collapsed on the locker next to mine. I fought back the tears that formed in my eyes as I turned back to my locker. All the hope that I had worked up earlier was gone.

  Liam was being true to his word.

  Whatever we had was over.

  20

  Liam

  I was used to pain. I mean, every Friday night, I was hit by two-hundred-pound guys as they hurled into me at top speed. Pain and I had a certain understanding.

  But the gut wrenching, soul crushing pain that was coursing through my body as I walked away from Cora was more than I could bear.

  Especially when I could feel her gaze on me and hear the elevation of her heart rate.

  Blast these good-for-nothing earbuds that did little to drown out her every move.

  I rounded the corner and headed down the hallway, so frustrated with myself that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. And honestly, I didn’t care.

  It was all too much. Keeping myself away from Cora had already proved pretty much impossible that morning as I’d trailed behind her on her way to school. I could tell she was looking for me, but I didn’t show myself.

  Thankfully, Rose picked her up, which helped ease my worry slightly.

  I could feel Cora even more acutely than before. I should have never kissed her. I should have never allowed myself to bring her into my life. Because it was killing me to cut her out.

  And cutting her out meant dropping my home ec class so that I could spend my entire time at school avoiding her.

  I quickened my pace as I headed into the admin office. I stood at the receptionist desk, tapping my fingers on the counter, as I waited for Mrs. Murphy to notice me.