Chapter 98 - The Summer Solstice Festival (5)

Talia observed that both Keith and Travis were serious and focused on their tasks and she glanced at Liam who was sitting on the stretcher and watching the game with a frown on his face.

It seemed that everyone had a task they were passionate about, and Talia hoped that one day she will also have something that sets her spirit ablaze. At this point, Talia's focus was on surviving and gaining independence, and she believed that once she takes care of the basics, she will find her passion as well.

Talia flipped the ice and looked at Liam who was now smiling at her.

"There is no need to be so gentle.", he said. "The doctor numbed me up good and I don't feel a thing."

"But the numbing will go away and if I hurt you now, you will feel it later.", Talia responded.

Liam shook his head while thinking how Talia is a kind girl..

By the time anesthesia wears off, his werewolf healing will take care of the injury. As long as it's not a torn muscle or a broken bone, he will be good as new in a few hours even without any treatment. As a werewolf herself, Talia should know that. But then... Liam didn't hate how Talia treated him with care.

Liam perked up when he realized that everyone was focused on the game, and this was his opportunity for some one-on-one time with Talia.

"I didn't get a chance to ask, where did you disappear last night? We were dancing and Dawn pulled me to the side and then an epic fight erupted. I was trying to find you, but you were nowhere to be found. We were worried that you got swept away in the scuffle, but you were not among injured so…", his voice trailed, obviously waiting for Talia to explain what happened.

"I'm not sure.", Talia responded honestly. "I drank too much. I remember dancing, and the next scene is me waking up in the morning with a nasty hangover."

She heard Damon mentioning carrying and spanking, but that didn't make sense, so Talia dismissed it. In any case, Talia didn't want to think about Damon.

"That bad, eh?", Liam asked with a chuckle. If he knew that Talia was wasted so badly, he would stick to her closely, and maybe she would wake up in his bed. Ah, the possibilities!

Talia switched hands because other than cooling Liam's injury, her hand was also getting cold to the point of being uncomfortable. Talia didn't have a metabolism of a werewolf that would keep her warm, and even with furry gloves, her fingers were exposed and cold.

Liam noticed Talia balling her free hand into a fist repeatedly and he took her hand between his and blew softly. "Let me warm you up."

Talia looked at Liam who was treating her hand like a precious treasure and her breath hitched. She was not used to such a gentle treatment.

They were on the playing field, with hundreds of people in visual range, yet at that moment, the atmosphere between Talia and Liam became very intimate, like it's just the two of them.

The heat in Talia's cheeks told her that she was blushing profusely. "There is no need."

"I insist…", Liam said while increasing his hold on Talia's hand so that she can't pull it out. "You are tending to my injury. The least I can do is to make sure you don't freeze…" And then he blew into her hand again.

Talia was not sure where to look so she decided to stare at his tattoos.

At a certain point, Travis checked on Liam's injury and after pressing some areas on Liam's leg, Travis cleared him as good to return to the game.

Travis was bandaging Liam's leg and Liam held Talia's hand the whole time.

"You can let go of her hand, Liam.", Travis said with a chuckle.

"She is the team spirit. I'm feeding off her energy.", Liam said matter-of-factly.

Travis shook his head and smiled. He could see that Liam was shameless, but it was only holding hands, so he didn't want to meddle.

Liam stood up and tried stepping on his foot before confirming that he is fine.

"Good luck.", Talia told Liam and he grabbed her hand. Before she could react, Liam twisted her wrist and kissed the back of her palm (over the furry glove).

"Thank you for supporting me. My next goal will be for you.", Liam said to Talia with a grin, and he winked before going to stand next to Keith at the field line and wait for the referee to call him to enter the game.

"Thank you for your help.", Travis said to Talia while keeping things back into his medical suitcase.

"I'm glad I could help." And she was glad it was over. The hand holding was awkward.

…

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The crowd erupted in screams when Liam scored a goal for the Dark Howlers team, and shortly after that, the first halftime was over with the result being a tie.

A game consisted of two halftimes, each thirty minutes long, and there was a ten minutes-long break between halftimes.

Two bulky guys brought a massive cooler that was filled with ice and various beverages.

All players dashed for the cooler to get a drink, and Talia observed them from the bench, happy that she survived the first halftime without the need to do cartwheels or anything excessive. But she noticed that the girl in the blue dress cheered for the opposite team enthusiastically and Talia thought that maybe she needs to up her game. Somehow.

Pierce patted Liam's back with more force than necessary. "When you got injured and the blue bastards scored a goal, we all thought we are done, but then you came back and evened the score. Impressive!"

Liam lifted his chin smugly. "Yeah. They messed me up quite badly, but the team spirit helped me."

Pierce turned to look at Talia curiously. "Talia? What did she do?"

"Eh…", Liam chuckled mysteriously. "Our team spirit was holding my hand while meds kicked in and I'm sure that the kiss brought me good luck. The moment my lips touched her, I could feel the positive energy surging through me."

"A kiss?", Pierce asked under his breath, and a few more players turned to look at Talia who stood up from the bench as an urge to flee swelled within her.

The tall man with a head full of blonde hair and a number 3 on his jersey walked toward Talia while eyeing her. "You gave Liam a kiss for good luck?"

"Hand! Liam kissed my hand!", Talia said with urgency, and she stepped backward over the bench in an attempt to increase the distance between her and the guy who was obviously thinking about kissing her.

Talia panicked. They are not thinking about forcing kisses on her, are they? She didn't have a proper kiss in her life, and now this?

Talia's hair stood on ends. Why are two more guys approaching her?

She glanced nervously at Liam. "Explain this properly!"

Talia didn't believe in kiss for good luck nonsense, but the sparkles in eyes of players told her that they are superstitious.

Liam stifled a laugh before admitting, "Yes, it was on the hand."

"Just a hand. He kissed my hand.", Talia repeated in a calmer voice, but she was still moving backward.

Talia froze when her back hit something solid. It was Keith.

"As a team spirit, you should do this for the team…", Keith murmured close to Talia's ear, and she felt like crying. "I will make it up to you. I promise."

Talia didn't care about making up anything. She wanted to escape, but there was no visible exit.

And just like that, all players from the Dark Howlers team lined up to hold and kiss Talia's hand. Even Mark who gave Talia bad vibes before the game, now stood in line obediently.

...

In the VIP lounge…

"What is your team doing? What kind of a ritual is that?", Mindy asked while munching on freshly roasted peanuts.

After asking her questions, Mindy narrowed her eyes while wondering if that's the same girl who was serving them on the previous day… the girl who Mindy mistook for an underage girl. 

Most of them in the VIP lounge were watching the game (with a few exceptions who were fiddling with their phones), but during the break, everyone was chatting while enjoying refreshments that were brought in.

After Mindy's comments, they all looked down to see what got Mindy's attention.

Alpha Maddox and Axel had matching expressions of confusion and there was some amusement as well.

Caden craned his neck to satisfy his curiosity, and his eyes nearly bulged out at the sight on the field.

Talia was sitting on the bench with her arm extended in front of her, and all players from the Dark Howlers team were taking turns in holding and kissing her hand, substitute players included, males and females. Some even kneeled in front of Talia, in a ceremony that looked like they were pledging allegiance to their queen.

Caden glanced at Damon, and he could almost see the murderous stormy cloud forming above Damon's head as the latter watched the scene on the field.

Damon couldn't believe this. Why was Talia wearing a headband with fuzzy black ears that increased her cuteness level? And why was she on the field, surrounded by a bunch of sweaty guys? And what's with all that touching and kissing? Unacceptable!

What's up with the guy with number 5 on his jersey? Why is he chatting and smiling while kneeling in front of Talia? How dares he!? That kiss on Talia's hand lasted much longer than necessary!

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