Fated Rivals

Chapter 22

Elijah's POV

I startle awake as my head smacks against something hard that I'm leaning on. Dazed, I blink away the blurry vision on my eyes as I regain my bearings. Oh, I must have fallen asleep on the bus ride back. To be fair, if you just won the state championship for your school, you would be tired afterwards too.

Over the past few weeks, the sixteen teams from the nine packs in the area have been competing against each other in the playoffs, rising through the ranks. Resulting in our team being one of the final four in the championship. These past few days have been the most stressful, painful, and rewarding days of this entire year.

Day one was pretty funny, considering we were the only ones pulling up with what looked like a SWAT team of warriors for protection. Not the way I would have preferred to stand out there, but at least it made us look like a big deal. I'm sure that we only had protection because of the rogue situation but I highly doubt that they would have attacked some random high school sports team.

That first day allowed us to settle in at the nearby hotel, go over plays, and practice before hell started. Days two through four were when the championship really began, with best-of-five games to 25. The semifinals breezed by as we obliterated the competition from a pack east of us, 3-0. But they were cool and had good sportsmanship. Unlike one of the teams in the next semifinals game.

They were from a southern pack, and they were good. Really good. And they knew it too. Their cocky behavior on and off court grated against my nerves when I saw them play their semifinals game. Yeah, they got called out for it, but they still won which meant we had to face them in the finals on the last day.

The finals... were rough.

It got down to the wire with the last game, the score already 2-2. Our team was exhausted, nervous, but relentless none the less. We knew it was now or never and coming home without that trophy was not an option. And as much as I hate to admit it, I even rubbed the charm on Gray's bracelet attached to my bag for good luck.

After a grueling hour and fifteen minutes, Melvin delt the finishing blow. Spiking the ball, and scoring the point needed to win: 3-2. Our other team mates on the side went wild, and even coach was cheering. Honestly everything after the game felt like a blur of cameras, people, and confetti; that only ended after we clambered on this bus to go home.

I rub at the sore spot on my head, as Kai hops into the empty space next to me on my seat.

"Dude how are you even able to sleep? I'm still rushing from the energy of winning," he says, practically vibrating with adrenaline.

" How do you still have energy? That game was brutal. Not to mention, having to do pictures, interviews, and packing to leave. I'm exhausted," I say, yawning to prove my point.

"The pictures and celebrations are the best part! Tons of cameras catching all of my good sides, the crowd chanting our names. Cheering on the team of omegas and betas that defied the odds. What's not to love about all that attention?"

"Cut our star libero some slack Kai," Melvin says, leaning on the back of our seat. "Not everyone is the living embodiment of Red Bull and vanity like you."

"What! You got the most attention out of all of us, Mr. Winning Point," Kai pouts.

"Trust me, I would have gladly given that spotlight to you. Just thinking about all those interviews is making me tired too," Melvin says, yawning.

"Aah! The exhaustion is contagious!" Kai says, scooting away from us. At least laughing with Melvin over Kai's eccentric nature wakes me up a bit more.

"By the way, Eli, where did you get that bracelet from? I've never seen you wear it before, and now you have it on every day," Melvin asks. Shit, I was hoping that they wouldn't notice. I don't really wear accessories a lot, so I guess me wearing a new bracelet everyday would stand out a bit.