Chapter 7 Sam

• Beta's POV
• The morning came too quickly. The sun barely had a chance to rise before I was up and out the door, heading toward school. Time seemed to fly as I made my way to the bus stop.
• On the way to school, Sam walked next to me. He was talking about the upcoming games, and some other random stuff, but I wasn’t really listening. My mind was elsewhere. Still, he kept talking, nudging me every now and then to get my attention.
• "So, man, you coming to the game Friday?" he asked, nudging my shoulder.
• I blinked, trying to shake off my thoughts. "Huh? What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’ll be there."
• He raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You seem a little off, man. I’ve been trying to talk to you, but you’ve been very quiet."
• I cleared my throat, trying to sound normal. "Just tired, I guess. Been a lot on my mind."
• "Yeah, I can tell. You’ve been zoning in and out. Everything good at home?" Sam asked, his voice softer.
• I shifted uncomfortably. "You know, same old stuff. Mom’s still... distant."
• He gave me a knowing look. "Yeah, I get it. My parents are always busy too. Doesn’t help with everything else going on."
• I nodded but kept my eyes on the ground. I wasn’t ready to talk about last night. I definitely wasn’t ready to tell him what happened in the woods and wolf’s paw print in my bedroom.
• "Anyway, back to the game," Sam said, breaking the silence. "I was thinking, man, if we can’t beat Riverton this week, we might as well hang up our cleats for the season." He smirked. "Their defense has been trash, though. We’ve got a good shot if we play smart."
• I managed a small smile. "I’m down for that. You know I’ve been working on my footwork."
• He chuckled. "Oh, I know. The way you dodge tackles, it’s like you’ve got a sixth sense or something. I’ve seen you leave people in the dust."
• "Thanks, man," I said, feeling a bit lighter.
• "Well, with your speed and my arm, we’ll be unstoppable. Just gotta keep those guys in check," Sam said, grinning. "You seen their quarterback? Dude’s fast, but he can’t throw for shit."
• I nodded, trying to focus. "Yeah, I’ve watched him. He’s not great under pressure. We’ll make him crack."
• "That’s the spirit," Sam said, nudging me again with a grin. "You should be excited. A win like that could put us on the map for the playoffs."
• "I’ll be there. I’m excited," I replied, trying to sound more sure than I felt. The football game was nothing compared to the weird stuff I had dealt with in the woods.
• We reached the school gates, and Sam slapped me on the back. "Come on, man. We’ve got this. Let’s show them what we’re made of."
• I forced a smile. "Yeah. Let’s do it."
• As we walked into the hallway, my mind drifted back to last night, the glowing eyes, the pack, the strange pact with Kade. My heart was still racing. The tension from that night hadn’t gone away.
• "Hey, you good?" Sam asked again, looking at me.
• I opened my mouth to respond, but the bell rang, cutting me off.
• Sam gave me a quick clap on the back. "We’ll catch up later, yeah? Just... don’t keep staring off into space. You’ve got a game to win."
• "Yeah. I’ll be there, I promise," I said, but my mind was far from the game now. It was stuck on the pack, Kade, and the things I was starting to understand, and fear.
• In class, I sat down, dug into my bag, and pulled out my books. But as I did, my hand brushed against something hard. I froze. Reaching into the bag, I pulled out a thick wad of cash. More money than I’d ever seen in my life.
• Where the hell did this come from?
• My heart was racing. Who put this here?
• I looked around, but nobody seemed to notice. The questions piled up, but I had no answers. What the hell was going on? I couldn’t think about it now. I had bigger things to worry about.
• But one thought kept running through my mind:
• Maybe I was about to find out who was behind all this.