"I got him!" Lolli screamed, grabbing onto Jan's woolen coat with a death grip.
"Motherfu- oompf!" Jan grunted as another body landed on his back. His knees nearly buckled under the weight of the four girls now trying to pull him down.
Lolli had an arm around his shoulder, and he arched his neck, tilting his head away from the hot breath blasting the fine hairs on his nape.
This was a horrible game!
He jerked away, but under their combined effort to hold him captive, he barely took two steps forward. Then his coat was yanked back, almost slipping off his arms. Something roughly brushed his neck, and Lolli screamed.
"Get off my mate!" a familiar voice bellowed.
Someone hauled her and the other barbie off his back, and he stumbled forward, finally falling to his knees.
He gulped huge lungfuls of air as his collar eased around his throat.
Suddenly Ethan appeared, kneeling on the grass in front of him. "Jan? Jan! Hey, I'm here. I'm here."
He snapped off the zip tie like it was nothing but a piece of string.
Gasping, Jan leaned against his sweaty, powerful chest. He breathed deeply, taking in more of the unique masculine scent that never failed to calm his heart.
"I'm here, love," Ethan whispered.
Jan started smiling at the term of endearment, then paused, remembering how he had gotten into this mess in the first place. Brushing the loose strands of hair from his face, he lifted cold, silvery eyes up to the worried hazel ones.
"Why the fuck did you take so long?"
"Wha-... I-I run all the way here! There was a lot of them, and we really fought hard."
Ethan lifted a hand to caress Jan's cheek, and the vampire shifted away, eyeing him with distrust.
"Yeah, I saw you fight alright. All the way off the field," Jan accused, fighting the urge to pout.
"Those girls were dangerous! See, one nearly took out my eye with her baton. And we weren't allowed to knock'em out either."
Indeed, there was a red welt swelling above the dark eyebrow. But just as a glimmer of sympathy flickered in Jan's heart, Ethan added. "I saw your honor guard. They were all over you, and you weren't trying that hard to shake them off."
Jan drew in a sharp breath. Just as he was about to spew out a scathing reply, a young she-wolf with an afro-puff and gold hoop earrings sped by, yelling at the top of her voice.
"I saw what you did, you sneaky, cheating cow. You tripped him!"
In the corner where he had fallen, the boundary girl shrieked and took off, fleeing from the promise of retribution on Breanna's angry face.
Ethan started chuckling. Then it grew into full-blown laughter, and he dropped his head on Jan's shoulder. The vampire sighed, relief finally spreading through his bones like warmth. He threaded his fingers through the short damp curls, pulling Ethan closer to him.
Then sounds from the rest of the stadium flooded in. Whistling. Cheers. Applause. The ground shook with it.
The audience was jubilating.
Jan stared up at the stands in a mild daze. This was the first time a bunch of wolves hailed him for anything.
Well, technically, they were applauding Ethan, a snarky little voice corrected in his head. But it felt good all the same.
YOU ARE READING
Blooded Mate
Fantasy[[MATURE CONTENT]] Pack, family, mate. Loyalty, respect, honor. These are the words that form the foundation of the wolf society. At six years old, Ethan had to choose between his Alpha title and his survival on the night of his father's death. As a...
