Bride of the Cursed Alpha (Auren and Lucien)

Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Tamara POV

As soon as other girls saw him, I could hear the girls whispering behind me, clearly gossiping about Matt.

I was so frustrated I could barely focus on anything else. My mind kept replaying the image of Matt standing there, his bare chest glistening, with his hand on the doorframe, like he was some kind of God. Like he owned the place. Commanded the air and demanded the attention of one and all. And now he was here?

He came to sit on the benches nearby, kept his bag on the side, and sat back to watch us. I mouthed him, 'what are you doing here?' He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He mouthed back, 'Watching you.'

I pursed my lips as I turned away, feeling heat rising to my cheeks. He was watching me so possessively that my heart hammered in my chest.

"Come on!" Coach Dana hollered us, ciapping her hands. "We don't have all day with us. The match with the Dolphins is tomorrow!" Dolphins? Blood drained from my face. The Dolphins were the best team, not just in the county, but in our state. Why would we have a match with them? And why wasn't I told before? Like was it a joke?

Seeing me, Coach Dana grunted. Other girls chuckled.

"She'll be on the benches soon," one of them snickered.

At the beachball practice, I was immediately bombarded by the team again. The same girls who had been all over Matt were now pushing their way around me. They swarmed around me, their eyes glinting with disdain. They made no effort to hide how much they were enjoying seeing me struggle.

One of them, Sarah, tossed the ball straight at me with a little too much force. "Tamara,” she said with a sneered with a challenge in her voice. The ball came hurtling towards me-too fast, too hard. I barely managed to get a hand up, but it bounced off, landing out of bounds.

Laughter rang out from a few of the other girls, and Sarah smirked. "Nice try," she mocked. "Maybe you should stick to running away from your problems, huh?"

The others giggled as the sting of her words rattled me. Before I could gather myself, another ball was passed my way-only this time, it was a deliberate shot aimed straight at me, coming at me like a speeding bullet. I tried to dodge, but my foot caught on the sand, and I tripped, landing hard on the ground.

"What a mess," one of them muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. "Guess she's just clumsy, huh?"

I pushed myself up, my palms stinging from the sand. My face burned with embarrassment as my eyes went to Matt, who had narrowed his eyes on us.

Coach Dana's voice cut through the noise. "Tamara! Focus!" she snapped in a harsh voice. "Stop making excuses. This is a game, not a place for you to sulk. If you can't handle it, maybe you shouldn't be on this team."

I flinched at her words. The next play came, and I was ready for it, or so I thought. Lexi passed the ball directly to me again. I went to catch it, but it was too high, and the ball slammed into

my face.

"Oops, sorry," Lexi said sarcastically, giggling quietly with others.

Coach Dana's eyes narrowed as she walked toward me. "Are you even trying, Tamara? This is embarrassing. You're making us all look bad. We are going to lose because of you?"

felt a rush

Tamara!" Coach Dana shouted again. "You're wasting time. If you can't get it together, you'll be benched

the lump in my throat, trying to

snide remarks from the team

"She's such a joke."

Matt seeing

you sure

1/3

will be

the other girls

face had a hard expression.

back into reality. "I don't know what's going on with you today, but get it together. This is supposed to be a team sport, not a circus

to keep from breaking down right

Dana announced that we would be going for the match

my bag, I noticed how Sarah

come you're here?" Lexi asked, practically batting her eyelashes.

jaw, trying not to

here for Tamara," he said in a clipped voice as he

face scrunched up. "Oh,"

and walked to where they

"Oh, Tamara, you're so lucky to have a guy like him around!" Lexi teased, glancing at Matt, who came to stand with me, completely oblivious

I was

here I was trying to stake

"With that faulty game

watched in silence as Matt clenched his

felt my heart twist, the jealousy

1. me.

I need to pump-up

your

Matt could teach you

I knew what he meant. He rejected Lexi and Sarah even before they began. My spirits immediately lifted, and

at others, "We've got a competition coming up in two days. I expect everyone to focus on the game and stop worrying about your

wrist and said, "Let's get out of here. I know

that I could eat a boar like Obelix. All of it. And then maybe

me to the hostel mess, I allowed to just drift with it. The feeling that settled over me was like a calm after a storm. His touch was calming, and I felt like purring. When we reached there, we sat in a quiet corner. He went to grab breakfast trays for both