The Moon Goddess' Chosen

492 Bag of Tricks

Cole watched as Bree weaved around Jason, feigning a move to the right before pirouetting completely around the alpha and dashing forward from his back, outside of his line of sight.

Jason’s focus disoriented, there was now a wide opening in their defence.

Jason already had a terrible experience with the nimble wolf… and watching him get completely outmanoeuvred once more did not bode well.

Bree was dashing forward a short while before the ball landed straight in her hands as though she’d expected it.

Cole turned to block her and collided with Lina. The princess planted her feet on the ground, blocking his way to the amber-eyed wolf. On his other side, Kyle started a dash to close the gap, easily accelerating beyond what Crysta was capable of.

Bree, however, seemed to notice and stopped her run before making a vertical jump with the ball above her head, aimed at the hoop in perfect form.

Her ascending motion seemed like a scene out of a sports anime, like a slow-motion shot that would never miss, landing a point at the last second.

Cole stepped back and attempted to side-step past the princess since he was closer to Bree. He could still make it.

The ball left Bree’s hands and sailed effortlessly through the air.

.....

Just as Cole thought to make the jump that would intercept it, Lina stepped forward and invaded his space. If he tried to push through, he’d hurt her… but Cole could already guess that this was the point in her strategy. Attempting another sidestep would earn him nothing.

The Lycaon team’s players watched as the ball sailed straight into the basket.

“Are you going to start taking us seriously? Sooner would be better than later,” Lina giggled before jogging back to her side of the court, ponytail happily swishing.

The buzzer had already sent the crowd into a frenzy of applause in favour of the Sirius team.

Jason jogged to the back of the court and held the ball firmly, “They are tough,” he mumbled, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

“Got anything, Jay,” Cole asked.

“Well… I can think of something… but it only helps us when we’re defending. I haven’t figured out a way to get past their defence yet. With Lina’s speed, it’s almost like they’ll always be several steps ahead.

From what I’ve seen, Crysta is the least active. Like something’s holding her back. I can’t imagine what that is… but for now, she’s their weak link, weird as that sounds. I’ll be happier switching marks with Kyle.

That little devil totally got me that last time… It’s like she’s faster with her eyesight,” Jason mumbled.

Cole chuckled, “She must really get on your nerves.”

The beta alpha passed the ball to Cole and the conversation proceeded within their minds. Cole made sure to send his voice to both of his teammates so Kyle wouldn’t be left out of their planning.

“They have the raw power… That’s for sure. But that’s not all one needs to win a basketball game. There is much more to that than simple speed and agility. So I will ask that you all get your heads in the game. We can win this. Don’t make it seem like the team of three alphas is weaker than a team with only one.”

With that said, the three of them faced the Sirius team once more. Lina, like before, watched Cole’s every move, her eyes glued to the ball, “Someone’s watching me like a hawk.”

She didn’t reply… Her focus was seemingly impenetrable…

Now that he’d had some time to relax, he knew what had happened earlier. And with much more clarity. He knew why fear kept gripping him as if he’d already lost the ball and yet it had gone nowhere.

This was simply the princess’s determination and conviction towards getting the ball. Every time the ball seemed to be within her reach and she was confident that her speed could reach it with no problem, she released an intense aura that was impossible for Cole to ignore.

It was… intimidating. Even for a royal.

But now that he knew that, the prince had an idea.

Everything seemed calm for a moment before it wasn’t.

Lina’s arm swept forward for the ball at a speed that still stunned everyone no matter how many times they’d seen it, only to grasp at nothing. A smirk appeared on Cole’s face as his left received the ball, creating an opening at the princess’s left side.

At the moment that Lina had struck, Cole had anticipated this as anyone would after playing the game a lot… and in that dribble, he’d made the ball faster than she’d gotten used to, throwing off her timing.

Then again, Lina was capable of getting the ball even without needing to time it like normal players. She was fast enough to get it without having to do that.

But habits were hard to break…

The princess planted one foot in front of her to brake and turned immediately, missing once more as the ball bounced right next to her feet and into Cole’s right hand on her other side. This time, recovery was even harder and the prince seemed to be making his way for the basket.

With that much of an opening, anyone would have panicked, trying to cover the wide gap in hopes of preventing the point from being scored.

Lina’s high speed and reflexes allowed her to recover in record time… however she was right on time to see Cole passing the ball to Jason, who’d gotten around his mark, Crysta.

The delta had no way of recovering to help the princess which meant Lina would have to stop Jason from making the point.

To her everything was moving slowly and smoothly… and yet for some reason, the ball seemed to fly when her body was going in the opposite direction or right past it.

Something felt off…

She rushed towards Jason, her eyes darting to a winded Crysta for only a moment. A moment too long and one that was enough for the ball to sail right past her ear, whistling a cruel tune and heading right into Cole’s open arms.

The prince made his way forward with no one in his way. Lina braked hard on the court, only to trip and tumble across the court. Then watch helplessly as the king sailed through the air, propelled by the insane jumping power his werewolf strength allowed him.

On the other side of the court, Kyle wore a smug expression as he blocked Lina’s last hope of making it to Cole in time, Bree.

Kyle hadn’t involved himself in the play.

Instead, he’d cut off one of Katie’s allies and created an opening for Cole to make the point.

The buzzer roared with the sound of the hoop being slammed by a five-foot-ten-tall alpha.

The crowd had erupted into chaos long before the prince made the basket, marvelling at the athleticism presented to them by the very monarchs that ruled over the two empires.

“Yeeaahhhh,” Jason yelled over the sound of the applause. It seemed the game was starting to get interesting. Lina was barely winded… but she didn’t feel so confident anymore.

She felt… excited.

Against her incredible speed and reflexes, the Lycaon king had managed to score a point and make it look effortless, “You still have a ways to go. But I think you’ll be getting better than me in no time too.”

“Oh, shut up, Cole,” Lina spat, remembering the same words she’d said about Kyle. The king was strong… probably stronger than any wolf Lina had ever met—with the exception of Katie Sirius.

That was still an ongoing internal debate.

And it seemed Cole was only starting to prove what kind of strength he had. “Lina, are you okay?” Crysta asked through the mind link.

“Yeah, I-I guess I got cocky, didn’t I?” the princess replied.

“We’re still in the lead. We can still leave them in the dust. This game has only just begun. Later on, it will start depending on who has more stamina… and I know yours is nearly limitless. Don’t lose hope yet,” Madeline tried soothing the princess.

The game had only just begun… and yet the pressure was thick and they felt like suffocating. Cole hadn’t shown any signs of strain during that play… which scared Lina even more. Could there be more untapped power that the king was harbouring to himself?

She almost missed the ball when Bree sent it to her hands, putting the ball back in play and bringing their minds back into the game. “We have to make up for this game.”

This time, when they attacked, something felt off. Lina wasn’t facing off Cole anymore…

Standing at the centre of the semi-circle that surrounded their hoop was none other than the colossal beta alpha, Kyle. Kyle’s arrogant grin was gone, replaced by a look of intense concentration.

Lina thought she imagined it when part of his curly hair extended down the middle of his head… ‘An attempt at a half-shift?’ she wondered.

She couldn’t say for sure… but she also couldn’t shake the weary feeling that invaded her senses.

‘Let’s get this over with,’ she thought as she suddenly accelerated. With her speed, getting past someone wasn’t hard. Even Cole couldn’t keep up with her…

And it was this kind of thinking that left her stunned when Kyle suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her way completely. The princess dribbled the ball through her feet and spun to get around him… but when she turned to make a break for it, he was there.

Despite his size, Kyle was fast, quickly covering any opening the princess made before she could even utilise it.

“Lina.”

The princess turned and passed the ball to Crysta who’d just got clear of Jason at the right moment. The delta made it back outside the large ‘D’, allowing them to re-assess the situation.

Lina moved out expecting Kyle to follow, but the big guy stayed behind, keeping to the space around the hoop… ‘A Zone Defence. With Kyle near the hoop like that… Damn it. How many cards do you have in your bag of tricks, Cole?’

Lina muttered under her breath as the ball sailed back to her hands. Jason stayed diligent in marking Crysta that she barely got a chance to get past him. Bree seemed dangerously overwhelmed as well with Cole rendering her nimble efforts useless with his agile covering abilities.

“Lina, can I suggest something?” Bree’s voice suddenly invaded her mind.

After a very short mental conversation, the princess smirked and dashed forward toward Kyle before abruptly bouncing the ball to his right.

Lina marvelled at the look of surprise on his face as Bree appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the ball in her hands. The amber-eyed wolf didn’t bounce the ball and instead pushed off the ground with all her strength… aiming for the hoop.

Kyle was in for a shock when she launched far higher than ordinary wolves should have been capable of. “So that’s what she is. Frightening.”

The confirmatory tone in his voice struck a chord of curiosity. ‘Bree’s normal right? She just trains extra… just like Crysta.’

She didn’t have much time to think about this as Kyle leapt into the air as well, heading into the air for the aerial battle which he was bound to win. When he was about to touch the ball in the girl’s hand, she pulled it down and sent the ball back to the princess.

Lina wasted no time jumping as well. The hoop was open. With Kyle stuck in the air and the other members of the Lycaon team preoccupied, there should not have been a way…

She gasped as the ball suddenly tipped out of her hands, forced out by an external force. She locked eyes with Kyle who wore a smug smile on his face.

The large beta alpha had arched his back and reached back in time to tap the ball out of Lina’s hand. And even worse, the ball landed in Cole’s hands… as though he’d expected.

The chase back to the other half of the court was cut short when Cole launched the ball into the air when he’d barely passed the centre of the court, scoring a solid 3-point basket…

This not only allowed the Lycaon team to catch up, but it also put them a point ahead.

The crowd was a roaring mess.

......….

Sirius 4-5 Lycaon

.....