Page 336 of His Hungry Wolf

I’m not 100% on that because I still hadn’t replied to him sending me the video. I couldn’t handle knowing that the only guy I’ve ever loved hated me. There was a limit to how much I could take.

“Are you ready to do this?” Coach asked when he joined me in his office.

“Yeah. Whatever.”

He paused and stared down at me on the couch.

“Do you not want to be here? Because, let me remind you that we’re only here to salvage your professional career. But if you don’t give a shit about it, then we could tell everyone to go home and be done with it right now.”

“No. I wanna do this. I just… It’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair? That everyone is bending over backward to save your reputation? Well, sometimes life isn’t fair.”

“But, I didn’t want the lap dance. I didn’t ask for it.”

“And if you acted like that in the video, then we wouldn’t be here. Look, what’s happened has happened. Do you wanna deal with it head-on, or let the millions of people who now only know you as the strip club guy on East Tennessee’s football team, define how the rest of your life goes? You wanna take charge of your future, or let your past dictate what happens next?”

I thought about that. Yeah, my life was spinning out of control and not for the first time. But, even when I was a kid, the one thing I knew I could count on was football. I was good at it. And it didn’t matter what my mother was doing or not doing. It didn’t matter how lonely I felt.

All that ever mattered was how well I could catch a pass and how fast I could get down the field. The rest of my life faded into the background when that was happening. Shifter or not, football was the only thing that had always been there for me. If I were going to fight for anything, it had to be that.

“I wanna take charge of my future.”

“Good. Because you could have a bright one. It was a tragedy what happened to your brother. I can’t help but think of his draft-ending injury as my fault somehow. I didn’t want to let you down too,” he said putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Thanks, Coach,” I said meaning it.

“Now. I’m gonna need to ask you a personal question. Are you dating anyone?”

“What does that matter?” I asked feeling my wolf tense as I thought about Kendall.

“Because what you did isn’t illegal. You’re young. You’re an alpha male. Right or wrong, people will accept if you were just following your impulses. So, if you told the world that you’re single, and subtly reminded them that you didn’t violate any moral code, they’ll forgive you.

“Yeah, some people are always looking to feel superior, so not everyone will give you a pass. But, if you say it in the right way, the ‘Boys will be boys’ narrative could take hold. So, I’m asking you, Nero, are you single right now?”

I sat listening to everything he had to say. If I understood him right, he was saying that life was fucked up. ‘Boys will be boys’? What type of shit was that?

But, it wasn’t like I ever believed that life was fair. I was turned into the worst person I could think of to survive. Was that fair? So, if this was the break I got in exchange for my messed-up childhood, I was gonna take it.

“There’s nobody,” I told him sure it was true.

Even if there was a chance that Kendall didn’t hate me, it wasn’t like he would want to be with me again. I was a fucked up piece of shit mess. I wouldn’t want to be with me if I could help it. So there was no way a guy as great as Kendall would.

“Good. So, in the interview, I want you to focus on that. Say that it was innocent fun blowing off steam after a game and that as a single guy, you hadn’t meant it to hurt or embarrass anyone. But, really hit the fact that you’re single. And be as humble as you can be. Can you do that?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m serious, Roman. This is important. Not just for you but for the football program. Can you do that?”

“Yes, sir. I can do it,” I said steeling my heart to what saying those words meant.

“Good,” he said again squeezing my shoulder, but this time with a smile. “You’re gonna do a great job out there. The interview is with the Nashville channel 5’s sports reporter. But, we expect it to go viral. So, try to be relaxed, but don’t forget that millions will be watching.”

“So, act like I’m on the field?”

Coach smiled. “You got this. Come on,” he said ushering me out of his office towards an improvised media room. “By the way, the guy in charge of that program you’re in for your temper insisted that I invite your student counselor. So, he’ll be there too.”

“Kendall?” I asked as a bolt of pain shot through my wolf.