Bride of the Cursed Alpha (Auren and Lucien)

Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Tamara POV

Confused, I hurried over to the beachball practice area. The beachball practice area was set in a spacious park, just a short walk from the main campus. It was an open, flat patch of grass near the edge of a sandy field. The ground was smooth enough to keep the ball bouncing steadily, but there were a few patches of uneven terrain. A large net stretched across the field, marking the boundaries of the practice area. Laughter of the team as they tossed the ball back and forth sounded as I neared them.

On one side, a few benches lined up where some of the team members gathered. Some of them sprawled out on the grass, chatting idly, while others stayed focused on warming up or stretching.

Coach Dana stood in the center, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. As soon as she saw me, her expression hardened. "Tamara Vaslof?"

I nodded. "Y-yes. Good afternoon."

"You're late," she snapped, glaring at me. "Do you have an explanation for that?"

I swallowed, pulling out my phone and showing her the message from the coach. "I received this two days ago from you. I thought it was real," I stammered, my hands shaking as I handed her the phone.

She read the message, and her frown deepened. "This isn't from me," she said flatly, throwing the phone back into my hands. "Who did this? Why would you try to mess with the team like this?"

I froze, not knowing what to say. "I-I didn't—"

She cut me off, her voice cold and sharp. "I don't want to hear it. You think this is some sort of game? You think you can just waltz in here and make a joke out of the team? You're wasting my time, Tamara."

Tears stung my eyes, but I fought them back. "If you haven't sent me the message, then who sent it from your number Coach Dana?"

"How am I supposed to know?" she said, getting impatient.

Dread ran down my spine. The thing was turning mysterious by the minute. But one thing was there someone was messing with me big time. And I had to find out who that was.

something like this again," Coach Dana grunted. "Do you know I

of the court, joining the other girls. They looked at me with judgment in their eyes. A couple of them whispered to each other, and I could hear the snickers. "She's such a mess. She is accusing

or messed up, I could feel their eyes on me. They weren't kind eyes. They weren't the eyes of teammates. They were the eyes of people who thought I didn't belong. And maybe they

again, my hands slick with sweat. I could feel my face turning red, and I tried to shake off the embarrassment,

scream on them, but instead, I just focused on the ball, pretending I wasn't hearing them. My mind was spinning. Everything was going wrong today. First the situation with Tulip and Matt, then the message, then the way the coach had looked at me, like I

talk to someone, figure out what was going on. But ! wasn't sure

to the admin block, hoping to get some answers. When I arrived, I was directed to the office for the athletic director. The office was clean, sterile-too cold

enter.

a shrill

door, the director, a woman with short gray hair, glanced up at

1/3

I could switch from the beachball

usually allow mid- season switches. You've already committed to beachball. You need to see this

heart sink. "But I had applied for basketball in my college application

went to her computer, asked me for details and checked my particulars. Taking a deep breath she looked at me with a touch of sympathy. "I understand your frustration, but you signed up for beachball. It's clearly written

was lost in a world of confusion, and it felt like no one could help me

other girls, at myself and furious at Matt for God knew why. "Why is this happening?" I muttered to myself, slamming my door behind me. I walked to my desk and sat down, trying to focus on my assignments. But even as I did the work, my mind kept wandering back to Matt, to Tulip, to Coach Dana and the events of the day. It felt like I was chasing shadows, trying to hold onto the

like that?" I asked aloud. My heart ached, but I didn't know why. Was it because of

Angel sighed in my

In fact I will reject him

she whined. 'Give him a

constant turmoil because of

assignments as quickly as I could, but my mind still wasn't at ease. I glanced at the clock. It was almost time for

*Tamara?"