2. Steff

TWO

STEFF

My head was spinning, and I had to blink and shake it to get myself under control. There was no way. No way in hell. The kid was nine years old. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it had been more than nine years since I'd left. How long since I'd left her crying in that parking lot? Ten? Eleven? More? Yeah, it couldn't be. He was too young.

The boy—shit what was his name? It had to have been on the roster, but I couldn't for the life of me pull it out of my head at the moment. Had I even read the roster? He was pulling April toward me. Her approach filled me with a mix of dread and excitement. Would she slap me across the face? Knee me in the balls? Break down crying? Sweat beaded on my forehead.

Then the other thought reared its head. If he was her son, who was his father? An irritated grumble rattled through my head. My bear was livid. The very thought had pissed it off. The irrational anger was startling, but not as much as the wave of possessive desire that filled me. What the fuck?

"Aunt April, this is my coach. Coach Steff, this is my aunt, April," the boy said.

"Yes, Aiden, thanks," April looked at me and said, "Hey, Steff."

Aunt April? That explained it. He must have been Kris's or Kellan's son. There was another stab of guilt. Some of the best friends I'd ever had, now they'd rather piss on me than speak to me.

April and I stared at each other for several moments, multiple emotions battling it out inside me. I'd loved her once, with all my heart and soul. Every bit of myself had poured into her, and then I'd ripped her damn heart out. Even thinking about it made me hate myself. How much did she despise me for what I'd done?

She looked different, slimmer than when we were younger. She was almost too thin, waifish and sickly. That may have been part of her career, though. As hard as I tried to not keep tabs on her, it was impossible. For years, it seemed like every time I turned around she was on another billboard, commercial, or magazine cover. Like the universe was beating me across the head, punishing me for hurting her.

"Um, hey, April. Uh, long time no see." Jesus, I couldn't believe I'd really said that.

She made a weird frowning grin that let me know she'd thought it was an awkward thing to say too.

"Sorry," I said, wincing, "I mean, it's been a long time. It's good to see you."

"Yup, you too."

My bear wouldn't shut up and it was making it hard for me to concentrate. The beast inside me was reacting to her presence. Was it because the bear recognized her scent after all these years? Some familiarity that was making it act up? Whatever it was, the bear had nothing to do with how fast my heart was beating from being around her. Those brown eyes staring into mine swept a wave of memories across my mind. It was too much. I couldn't handle it. I had to get out.

I flicked Aiden's hat. "Great job today, buddy. I think you're gonna have a heck of a year." I glanced at April, my nerves still getting the best of me. "I guess I'll see you around. I've got to head out. There's… uh, something I've got to do."

Not waiting for a response, I waved at her and turned to go. My bear fought me the whole way to my truck. It raged inside me, desperate to go back to April. I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled, forcing the need down. I picked up the pace, refusing to even glance back over my shoulder. If I did, I had no doubt the bear would win and send me back to her. This was not good.

As soon as I reached my truck, I jumped in and drove straight to the office. There was something wrong, and the guys were the only ones I could talk to about it. The trip there happened in a daze. Pulling into the parking lot, I blinked, realizing I couldn't remember even half the drive. Had I run stop signs? I had no idea.

Once inside, I nodded to Kennedy. "Where are the guys?"

She raised her eyebrows and pointed toward the conference room. I made my way down the hall. All three of them were inside, poring over the floor plans on the table. It looked like a hotel's floor plan, so they were probably planning another job. I closed the door and leaned against it, safe for the first time since seeing April.

Tate crossed his arms over his chest. "You good? Looks like you saw a ghost."

None of them knew my dating history. I'd kept what happened with me and April close to the vest. Now wasn't the time to keep secrets. Not after what happened with Tate and Harley. This was important.

"I think it's happening to me," I said.

Miles lifted an eyebrow. "It? What do you mean?"

I banged my hand on the door. "Emily's curse."

They all went still. From the look on their faces, I could tell they'd all hoped Emily had been wrong. Honestly, I'd thought it might be over as well. After how things went down last year, we'd all secretly prayed that maybe the curse would only affect Tate, and the rest of us would get away scot-free. The way my bear reacted to April told me we weren't so lucky. These weren't just pining memories of a lost love. These were intense, uncontrollable urges emanating from my bear.

Blayne put his bottle of water down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Are you serious right now?"

"What's it feel like? Be specific, and I'll tell you for sure," Tate said.

I took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to describe it. Finally, I said, "It's like my bear is dying to be with this woman. As soon as I saw her, it was like it was hooked. Possessive need, unstoppable desire. The only thing it can think of is her. I walked away, and it was all I could do to force the bear to do what I wanted. I've never felt it do that before."

As I spoke Tate's face first went blank, then a frown creased his brow. He knew I was telling the truth. That filled me with a terrible fear. I'd seen what the curse did to him. I wasn't sure I could handle it as well as he had.

Miles rubbed at his temple. "Okay, let's say this is happening. Who's the woman? Who is your bear pushing you toward?"

I took two steps over and slumped into one of the office chairs. I had to tell them. They were my friends. They'd understand. The problem was, I'd done a shitty thing to April in the past. I'd never told anyone about it, and the thought of voicing all of it made me want to throw up.

"This all started back in high school. I met a girl, April Knight. I loved her, like, more than life. My bear was also fond of her back then. She's the only woman it ever had any true connection to. But she was human, and that was a problem. As you all know."

They all nodded. It was almost unheard of for humans to know our secret. Tate had only told Harley because of the curse. Keeping humans in the dark was the only way for our kind to stay safe. Humanity would have a full-on freak-out if they knew magical shapeshifters lived next door to them.

"Anyway," I continued, "part of me knew I had to break things off, knew it wouldn't, couldn't, last. I… well, I sort of led her on. We used to hang out and make all these plans. Go to the same college together, get married. Toward the end of my senior year, I realized I had to end things. I told her I'd gotten a scholarship to Colorado State for baseball. She was going to enroll the year after since she was only a junior." I looked at my friends and shame filled me, but I forced myself to go on. "I never told her that I actually accepted the scholarship to North Carolina State."

"Bro, not cool," Blayne said, shaking his head.

"Fuck, man, I know, okay? I'm a piece of shit, but let me finish. The last month or so I started cutting things off. I wouldn't respond to her texts or emails; when she called, I was distant and got off the phone as soon as I could. I didn't hang out with her. Finally, word got around to her that I was moving across the country, and she cornered me in the school parking lot a day or two before graduation. Asked me what was going on, and I told her I didn't want to be with her. That we were done. I'd never seen someone look so devastated. All I wanted was to comfort her, but I willed myself to turn, walk to my truck and drive away. That was the last time I saw her, until today."

I leaned back in the chair and laughed. This entire thing was ironic. I'd pushed April away to keep her safe. Now, because of the curse, I was being pushed toward her. I needed to reveal everything anyway now. Hurting her seemed like the dumbest decision of my life.

"What are you going to do now?" Tate asked.

Shrugging, I shook my head. "I have no clue. She may still despise the shit out of me. I might not even get the chance to talk to her."

We talked a bit more, but most of it was them trying to make me feel better. Tate told me that things would all work out. I wasn't so sure about that. When he and Harley got pushed together, there hadn't been all this old baggage and heartbreak. Was I going to die screaming like Emily said we would? I'd never been so depressed in my life.

When I turned into my driveway, movement caught my eye next door. A big box truck was parked outside. The last renters, a nice young couple I'd liked, had left for Wisconsin a month before. Looked like I was getting new neighbors. A short stocky man in a suit was barking orders to the crew as I got out.

As I pulled my baseball gear out of the trunk, the guy's voice became clearer, and he was being a royal dick the movers. I closed the trunk and leaned against it to watch him.

He had a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear, like he was still living in the year 2004. He held an iPad in the hand that wasn't gesturing to the team of movers. A glance at the furniture the guys were bringing in made me a little uneasy. Very feminine and modern décor. Nothing looked like it could belong to a guy. A single woman, maybe? That didn't bode well. Not well at all. My instincts were on high alert, impossible thoughts bouncing through my head. When my phone rang, I almost jumped.

I dug the cell out of my pocket without taking my eyes off the scene next door. "Hello?"

"Steff? It's Tate. Wanted to give you a heads-up, we just got a contract for a security system install. It's weird, though. It's the top-of-the-line system you and Blayne designed. It's scheduled to be installed at the house next door to you. The only people we've ever installed that for are celebrities and stuff. Who the hell are your new neighbors?"

The anxiety in my chest worsened. "Tate, what's the name on the order?"

"Says here, Lionel Mosby, but that's probably an alias. You know most of the people we work with use fake names for stuff like this. Keeps stalkers and paparazzi off their trail."

I leaned against my truck and tilted my eyes to the sky. "Well, old buddy, I think I know exactly who's moving in." I sighed and muttered to myself, "Just my freaking luck."