Marked by the Alpha Team (Luna Merrick) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Many head down in my cap him a shorted my tone Id spen the erie day

myd of what would happen if I showed my face.

Farvering when fully deed myself to the bathroom down the wall. Id felt the change the second I stepped

le ates warted, than and cold like I’d personally insulted each one of

for me to ten look at her. No chane at all” Another one taugther and arter

thanked very her Graves’s arms and everyone will forget the’s a nobody”

$4 for torosh sell in my hand, cheeks borning, I’d turned around and walked straight back

** prætex Præter 1 condt day, Couch Kamarez had made that cryval clear. Two o’clock sharp, no excuses. The W******* He was contabil, mid he wased to see improvement, or I’d be watching from the bleachers instead of

wserything else was already falling

1 kepe my hey sailed lum, were taxed my, and my hands shoved in my pockets as I crossed the grass toward the track. The MN ** ***y ten tik amokg, lauteng, and jogging in small groups. The second they noticed me, the laughter

hey desped way why, and definitely not politely. They just… moved like I had the plague.

miyach that yo

they thirty and kep walking My Cheeks burned, bin I refused to look up. I refused to bet theny Miwata, w mating else mattered.

then prads. I wack p

med in tensorry breathing on the feel of the track and DY SH why ink, son the whispering froad entheran

W

Chapter 17

actually catch fire

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out at first. My throat felt tight, like someone had wrapped a hand around n

Coach didn’t wait for me to answer. Tand the school gave you a chance because we saw potential,” he said, voice still raised “Don’t make us regret it by turning yourself into campus drama headlines. We’ve got a reputation to protect. You want to compete? Fine, but you keep your head down and your focus on the track, not on football players.”

I finally found my voice, but it came out small and shaky. “I didn’t throw myself at anyone.”

He scoffed at me like I’d just told a bad joke. “You tell that to the thousands of students who believe you did.”

My stomach twisted. I wanted to argue, to explain that I’d fainted, that I hadn’t planned any of it, that none fault, but the words stuck in my throat. Everyone was watching. The girls on the team had gone quiet, their between me and Coach like they were waiting for the next blow.

Coach didn’t give me time to recover.

“You’ve got exactly ten minutes to warm up,” he said, his voice still loud enough for the whole field to hear. “After that, all the girls run the 400–meter. Only the three with the fastest times make the next competition. So you’d better impress me with your time, Merrick. Show me you’re serious about what really got you here.”

He turned and walked away before I could respond.

I stood frozen for half a second, cheeks burning, then nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “You won’t be disappointed.” I said under my breath.

I thought about still doing a few laps to shake out the nerves but decided against it since I needed to save my strength. The race was coming, and I couldn’t waste energy.

The thought of not having one of the top three times made my blood boil, not because I wanted to prove anything to Coach, though I did, but because of the girls. They were still sheering, still whispering, and still looking at me like I was trash who’d wandered to their field by mistake.

The only way to shut them up was to beat them, to run so fast they had no choice but to admit I belonged here. When it came to track, none of them could touch me. I knew that in my bones.

I was halfway through calf stretches when one of them walked over. She was tall and blonde with a ponytail so tight it looked painful. She stopped a few feet away with her arms crossed, and her lips curled in that fake–sweet smile people use when they’re about to say something nasty.

“You sure you don’t want to drop out now?” she asked. Her voice was loud enough for the others to hear. “Instead of embarrassing yourself in front of everyone?”

I straightened up slowly.

She kept going. “With everything going on with you…. fainting at parties, throwing yourself at the football team.. you’re not exactly fit to compete. If you want to keep at least a little dignity, drop out while you still can.

The words landed like slaps. I felt the heat rush into my face again, anger this time, not embarrassment. My hands curled into fists at my sides, and I looked her straight in the eye.

“Worry about yourself,” I said.

My voice came out calm and steady, a lot steadier than I felt.

She blinked, her smile faltering for half a second, but I didn’t wait for her to recover. I turned my back on her and walked to

8:21 am p pppp

Chapter 17

cake other side of the track. I didn’t need to prove anything to her per 14 yes then he

The other girls watched me go, some whispered, others smirked botighed I wan

I finished my stretches, and aker about five more minutes of clearing my mind the county

“Line up!”

I

We moved to the starting line, all eight of us with me in lane four polled my coed word deep breath before letting it out slowly.

The girls on either side of me shifted away slightly, like my bad reporation migh risk bother to look at them.

I looked at the track. One lap, four hundred meters, and first place. That’s all [newtent

Coach raised his hand. “On your marks…”

I dropped into position, fingers on the ground, legs coiled,

“Get set…”

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