3

Walking into the clearing, making sure my fox scent was replaced by one similar to a wolf. It took most foxes years to learn the scent trick, some foxes never did. It took me two weeks of living on my own.

As I shifted into my human skin my black tights, favourite hoodie, and white jacket appeared as if nothing had changed. When most creatures shifted into their animal form, the clothes they wore would rip from their changing bodies. Only a trained and highly skilled creature could master the ability to keep their clothes on their human form. I, of course, had been able to do it since I was a child.

Not many creatures could. Some shifters never bothered to learn as a body was just a body. But I always found that when being hunted by my enemies, clothes made it a lot easier to blend in.

I walked through the bushes that surrounded the clearing. The clearing was as big as a professional football field. Along the edges, wolves of all ages watched as the teams tackled each other. There was probably a little over one hundred spectators ranging from toddlers to old grandmothers.

An even amount of people came to support their home team, which wasn't right. The Viribus Pack members should have dominated the Algoren Pack because of their size. I guess Viribus wolves weren't huge football fans. Or they just had better things to do.

The Viribus team had possession of the ball, Algoren side working hard on defence. The quarterback on the Viribus team looked a couple of years older than me.

He was tall with short rich brown hair, his mouth a firm line in concentration. He looked like a younger version of Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Played like him too.

A team of unprofessional wolves could easily beat a professional human football team any day. Most packs didn't allow their members to join sports teams outside of high school. It could hurt the humans and draw too much attention.

That doesn't mean it doesn't happen though. The shifter just had to hold back a little when playing.

There was no holding back today. From the outskirts of the field. I watched the teams as they fought with everything they had to either get that first down or stop the first down.

My eyes roamed the field making eye contact with SJ. He gave me a huge grin and motioned me to come over.

I made my way over to the Algoren side of the field. Members from both packs staring at me as I walked past. I smiled at them all. I got a lot of weird looks from the people that didn't know me, but a few smiled back.

Almost every creature I passed towered over me. I kept my back straight, strutting the way wolves do. Adding my own touch of swagger. Proving to them I was one of them.

I had gained the attention of almost every wolf in the clearing as I walked along the Algoren bench. Which was exactly the plan. I made sure to grin at the team as I joined their small huddle.

"You guys are looking good out there." I drawled. No one seemed fazed as I put my arms around SJ and Christan. Effectively joining the group of big, sweaty wolves.

"A lot better than last time, that's for sure." The non-shifting female laughed from across the huddle. Her two dark braids shifting back and forth. She played wide receiver if I remembered correctly.

"Only behind by a touchdown." SJ beamed. "But not for long."

His optimism didn't deserve it but I rolled my head back with a laugh, "That's the spirit!"

SJ noticed. He gave me a small soft smile that I returned. He was starting to like me, which was exactly what I wanted.

Did I feel bad for playing with the boy's emotions? Not at all. Why? Because I was getting paid the big bucks to do it.

"V, we never asked. Do you play football?" Christan asked, forcing me to break eye contact with his soon to be Alpha.

I gave him my cheekiest grin as I looked him up and down, then winked at him. "If you need an extra running back, let me know."

Hinting that of course, I played football. He rolled his eyes at me with a smile on his face. Knowing that the only way they would need another running back is if something bad happened to the ones they had.

I give it five minutes.

I left the circle letting them finish their playmaking. Deciding what their next move on the field would be.

To get what you want, I learned you need two things. Be in the right place at the right time and let yourself be known. Be there for when they remember you.

The team yelled together, clapping their hands as they headed back on the field. The game starting back up.

While watching the teams, I saw wolf shifters make passes, run, tackle, intercept. They're faster than I expected. Stronger too. They move differently when they played in their human form. I had never actually seen a wolf game up close before. The crowd screamed for their team to win.

The teams and spectators getting intense. There had already been four fights between the two packs. One was between two passionate fans. It took four other wolves and SJ to use his alpha command to finally get them away from each other.

One was a downright brawl between a couple of mothers who's son had mouthed off. There were already a few injuries throughout the game. That wasn't even counting the players' injuries.

I saw how there would be a lot of injuries on the field though. No one wore any safety equipment, so every time a body made contact with another body, it echoed throughout the forest. When someone fell, they didn't just fall, they rolled. And tumbled. Some even seemed to fly for a bit before their bodies slammed into the ground. Most times the wolves just jumped right back up. Other times they didn't.

That's why it wasn't hard to believe it was just an unfortunate hit. Algoren Pack was on their fourth down, too far away to kick a field goal. It was their last chance before they lost possession of the ball.

SJ passed the ball to Christan as he ran right through the open trail that the offensive line created for him. He ran fast, it didn't take him more than a second for him to get that first down.

It didn't take a second after that for the tall burly male to smash into him. Almost wiping Christan off the map.

It took a nanosecond for the crowd to hear the cracking of bone and the roar from Christan as his leg bent the other way. Everybody in a 10-mile radius cringed.

Did I feel bad for breaking Christan's leg? A little, even though technically it wasn't me. Then I thought about what those big bucks could get me. Then I had to stop myself from smiling on the outside.

I ran over to him along with a bunch of people on the sidelines. I managed to get close enough to squat beside the growling male, SJ on his other side. His teammates and spectators crowding around us in one giant circle.

My face was full of concern as I looked at Christan's bone as it broke through his skin. Having to swallow the bile that wanted to rise, I looked Christan in the eyes putting a comforting hand on the back of his neck. Removing any trace of the light purple wolfs-bane.

The wolfs-bane I rubbed on his skin in the huddle was mild, it was called Monkshood. It made him weak without him noticing. Making his bones weaker was part of it, so if he got hit really hard they would easily snap.

The amount I used would only last a couple of minutes. Leaving the perfect amount of time for him to heal at a normal speed.

"Dude you know you can't play anymore, right?" SJ looked from Christan's leg to his face, shaking his head. One of the pack doctors was at his leg already working.

Christan gritted his teeth, breathing heavily. He slowly looked up at me and gave me a shaky smile. "You said you were a running back?"

My eyes widened. "Christan, I said if you need an extra running back. Not when you need an extra running back."

"Either way we are going to need a new running back." He gritted out through the pain. I looked at SJ helplessly.

"We can't cancel the game," SJ shrugged at me. "and we do need another running back."

"Is there anyone else who can do it?" It was an act, that's why I asked. I already knew there was no one else. I made sure of that before I even set my plan into motion.