Logan stands, dragging his bag out from under a seat. “You don’t even know if there is one.”
Jace throws a hand up. “Manifestation, bro.”
Tyrell leans forward over the seat in front of him. He’s in for Wes while he’s out, one of the main rotation defensemen when needed. “Bet it has a hot tub.”
“If it does,” Jace laughs. “I’m claiming that, too.”
A balled-up piece of foil from the burritos they got at the gas station stop hours ago flies from the back row. Jace ducks as he stands in front of the bus steps and laughs.
He points blindly at the dark back row. “Whoever threw that, you get to jump in the pool without heating it up. Naked!”
I glance back at them. Teo, one of the main left wings on the team, stands with his hoodie tied around his waist. “Not unless you’re leading the charge, pretty boy.”
Jace steps off the bus as the driver opens the door. “Hard pass. I don’t bargain!”
Laughter follows them as they file off the bus; rookies elbow each other.I wait so I’ll be the last one off. No way I’m getting trampled by a bunch of rowdy Alphas.
Even with all the sitting, my body feels wrung out. I don’t want to get up. Staying here would be easier than facing the instinct gnawing under my skin. Taking suppressants on the bus was a risk I couldn’t avoid. Hiding it has been harder than I expected.
Doug grabs his bag and follows them out of the bus, camera still on his shoulder, keeping pace to catch the team’s entrance.
Ford follows the rookies down, swinging his bag low. He glances back once, brown eyes conveying I should follow him, then steps off the bus.
Now it’s just me and the driver, who looks like he wants me to leave. I suppose there’s no other way around it. Doug will want the audio gear. With a sigh, I grab the audio gear and my suitcase. My muscles protest every inch of movement.
I follow him.
Inside the house, the icy air hits me from the AC blasting through the vents. Dark hardwood floors stretch across an open layout. Everything is designed in neutral tones that make the house feel more like a catalog than a place to live. It’s clean, curated, and too big to feel safe.
I make it five steps in before Ford’s voice finds me. “Let me grab that.”
He’s at my side before I can pivot, already reaching for the suitcase handle.
I pull it out of his reach. “I’ve got it.”
“You sure?” His voice is careful. I hate that it’s careful. They’ve been treating me like porcelain today, and I think it’s because of the nosebleed they witnessed the last time I was around them.
I lift the handle with more force than I need. My bicep twitches. “Yeah.”
Ford backs off, lifting his hands in surrender. He nods toward the entryway, where a mounted screen flashes the team logo, welcoming them and then a list of room assignments. “Lookslike the League put our names up already. Yours is in the east wing. One of the en-suites.”
I nod and walk to the wide, curving stairs at the far end of the house. I try to lift my suitcase high enough, but can’t keep it up for long. The suitcase bumps against each step. I pull harder, trying to hike it to my hip. Never in my life have I been this weak. I go to the gym regularly and lift. A fifteen pound suitcase shouldn’t feel like fifty.
My head throbs.
Ford steps up beside me before I can make it up three steps. He doesn’t ask this time, just takes the handle from my grip and lifts it like it weighs nothing and stays with me as we make it up to the landing. I don’t argue.
The hallway lights are stark white over the polished floors. We walk down a wide hall lined with six pristine white doors on either side, each with a paper next to it listing a name. Logan’s name is across from mine. I don’t see Jace or Ford’s by any of the other rooms.
Ford glances at Logan’s door and then the others around my room with a frown, then shifts his weight like he wants to say something else. Instead, he opens the door just enough to set the suitcase over the threshold. His honey brown eyes look over at me as he runs a tanned hand through his short chestnut hair.
“Take it easy. The BBQ catering should be here in an hour. Come down and eat.” His tone holds no room for argument. It borders on an Alpha command, but not fully. I’m still able to ignore it if I want to. The pull to follow his word isn’t there.
I nod. He doesn’t linger as he gives me a soft smile and heads back down the hall, giving me space. I push open the door.
Slate blue coats the walls, framed with minimalist black trim. A queen bed sits in the center with a pale gray comforter folded tight over hotel-starched sheets. A desk in the corner matches the black nightstands.
I close the door behind me and lock it.
