Talia moved to the center of the playing field gingerly while trying to ignore the fact that there are hundreds (or maybe thousands!) of people staring at her.
Her heart was pounding so hard that she pressed her lips into a line firmly, out of fear that her heart might escape through that cavity if she speaks.
"We don't have much time between kicks, so we need you nearby.", Keith explained when Talia reached them. "The referee said that it's fine."
Talia jolted when Pierce held her hand and she couldn't believe that he was getting on his knees.
Pierce was the first in the queue to kick the ball from the penalty mark.
"Do we need to do this here?", Talia asked Keith in an urgent whisper.
"You will be fine.. I'm counting on you.", Keith said while patting her shoulder and then he jogged out of the field.
Talia looked at Keith's retreating back and she felt like crying.
On the bench was one thing, but this was in the middle of the field, and all non-participating players left, leaving Talia with five other guys. Actually, ten guys, because five players from the Midnight Guardians team were standing nearby, observing her with curiosity.
Talia glanced to the side and saw numerous eyes watching the scene of Talia standing and Pierce kneeling in front of Talia and kissing the back of her furry palm. It looked like he was proposing marriage.
So much for keeping a low profile. Talia was not sure about Pierce's relationship status, but based on his looks, Talia was sure that at least a few girls are interested in him, and she was even more sure that those girls hate her.
Talia decided that if there is next time, she will demand a mask to fully cover her face because this was beyond embarrassing.
Pierce leaned his forehead on Talia's hand, and said, "I will dedicate this goal to Talia, our team spirit."
He looked up at Talia and grinned. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck.", Talia squeaked.
Pierce kissed her hand again and stood up, and just as he stepped on the side, Mark was kneeling in front of Talia and holding her hand. He was the second to kick from the penalty mark.
Talia exhaled helplessly and looked to the side where Liam was sitting on the bench. If she knew that allowing Liam to warm her hands that morning would lead to all this crazy ritual, she would stop it before it happened.
Up in the VIP booth…
Everyone was on their feet (just like the rest of the audience) and observing the preparations for penalty kicks in silence.
Other than a few indistinct whispers that were hushed in the bleachers, no one was talking.
Damon was torn between his reasoning and emotions that raged within him as he watched Talia standing in the middle of the field and holding hands with some random guys (how he saw it).
'Doesn't she look like a Luna?', Caden's voice sounded in Damon's head.
Damon didn't get it. 'What?'
'Maya found out that they believe how holding Talia's hand and kissing it is good luck. Every player dedicates his goals to Talia. She is motivating them to do better. Isn't that what Luna does for her pack? Those are some of our best warriors, and they are kneeling in front of her willingly, no one is forcing them. Can you believe that they met only a few hours ago? That should tell you that Talia's strength goes beyond physical. People want to be with her and to please her.'
Damon had to agree that Caden was right, but Damon wanted to do the pleasing, damn it!
Damon knew that he should be happy for Talia, however… 'I have maddening desire to go down there and chase away all those guys.'
'That's the bond.', Caden responded. 'The more time you spend together, the stronger the pull will be.'
'But she doesn't feel it.', Damon said dejectedly.
'I don't think that's true.'
Damon whipped his head to look at Caden. 'What?'
'Talia is not a lusty power-hungry she-wolf who is interested in your looks or in your status. Considering your nasty personality, she should run for the hills, yet she is still around. Think about, why is that?'
Damon frowned when Caden said how he has a nasty personality, but he was focusing on something else, 'Are you saying that she can feel the bond?'
'Probably not like you, but to some extent, yes. Whenever we asked her to decide on something, her sight gravitated toward you. She wants your approval. When the two of you are together, she looks happy, and that, my friend, is the effect of the mate bond.'
Talia is happy when she is with Damon. Damon repeated those words in his mind a few times because he liked the sound of them.
The penalty kicks ended with 4:5 for the home team, and the audience erupted in cheers and shouts, notifying the rest of the Darkbourne that it's time to celebrate the win of the Dark Howlers team.
Everyone dashed to change and quickly freshen up and then the players lined up to get their awards that were set for the top three ranked teams.
The winner was the Dark Howlers team, the second placed was the Midnight Guardians team, and the third placed was the team from the Blue River pack.
The starting crew of eleven players from each of the top three teams was in the middle of the field, accompanied by their coaches, and they were surrounded by other teams.
Damon walked to the field with Alpha Maddox and Axel.
Four ladies in tight-fitting outfits followed the handsome trio, three ladies were carrying trays with shiny pins that will be given to the players, and the fourth one held onto a trophy for the winner.
The trophy looked like a massive golden cup with two handles, one on each side.
Talia stood with Lulu on the side and clapped as Damon put pins on the jerseys of the Dark Howlers team.
Talia told herself not to think about Damon, but he was right there, standing tall and handsome, and she couldn't stop staring at his back.
Alpha Maddox and Axel were putting pins on teams that were representing their packs.
It was all very official, and no one spoke until Alphas finished putting all the pins.
Then, Damon shook hands with Keith and gave him the big trophy. With the audience cheering, Keith passed down the trophy to other players until it reached Mark who had a role of a team captain.
The photographer took photos of teams with their awards and Damon took the microphone for a closing speech.
"Alpha, will you allow me to say a word?", Keith asked Damon and Damon handed him the microphone.
Keith stood in front of his starting eleven players and spoke to the audience. "We are honored to receive these awards, and we hope that you will share with us the joy and pride of winning the tournament. As it's our custom, I will call out our MVP of the game, the person who contributed the most to our win today."
Keith paused and walked toward the field line. The crowd parted, opening a path that led straight to Talia.
Keith reached for the pin that was on his jersey and removed it while speaking into the microphone, "Talia, we wouldn't win today if not for you. You went above and beyond for the team, and you showed us what it truly means to be selfless. I hope you will accept this as a sign of me acknowledging your contributions."
Talia stood frozen while Keith put the pin on her jersey.
She was not sure what to say. Should she even say anything?
And then Liam approached Talia. "I agree. Without you, I would be sent to the hospital during the first game." And he put his pin on her jersey.
Talia looked at two shiny pins and when she looked up, there was Pierce, grinning at her and removing his pin.
And just like that, all players of the Dark Howlers team approached Talia and after a minute, she had twelve pins on her jersey.
Mark was standing in front of Talia last, handing her the trophy.
"You guys…", Talia said in a small voice. "You shouldn't do this. You worked hard for this win."
Keith patted her shoulder. "As I said, you are selfless. You didn't realize how much you did for the morale of our team. These pins are yours; you deserve them. I hope you will continue to be our team spirit. And this is yours also…" Keith waved at Mark and Mark pushed the trophy in Talia's hands.
The audience exploded in cheers and claps, and Talia felt the heat creeping on her cheeks.
Talia held onto the shiny trophy and smiled as her heart swelled. No one ever acknowledged her like that openly. And this was in front of a lot of people.
Talia was not sure what she did, other than holding hands. It was not a lot, and she didn't understand why they would give her tokens of their win. But everyone was watching, and Talia decided to ask Keith for clarification later. She can also give him pins to distribute back to the players.
Damon watched this from the distance, and he smiled a little.
Talia getting those tokens means that they truly acknowledged her. He was proud of her.
They were all excitedly talking to Talia, and he could see under all that shyness that she was happy. Damon really wished to go there and give Talia a hug, to engulf her so that no one else can look at her because she is his, but he forced his legs to stay put.
If he does that, it would attract a lot of unwanted attention and it will spoil Talia's moment. This was her moment and he needed to stay away, no matter how hard it was.
She was there, in his line of sight, happy and safe, and that should be enough. It has to be.
