I finished my final lap and lifted myself out of the pool. It was nice to get it all to myself, but I was still annoyed that I had to spend all day at the alpha's mansion. My grandpa was on his phone as I wandered over to get my towel.
"Done for the night?"
I nodded. "Good enough. I didn't want to overdo it. We're going to be running the relay tomorrow."
"Well, then"—he stood—"we better get you to bed."
"Grandpa?"
"Hmm..."
"You're not going to let Jet get his way, right? Bruce is a nice guy from what I remember, but I don't see myself—" I bowed my head. "I get I'm not a typical werewolf."
"You don't want to be the sub."
I nodded. "Like I know there is one in every relationship. But, I always saw myself as the dominant partner, even if my mate is ranked as a dominant." I sighed. "I still don't have an official rank, so I'm just assuming things. But, yeah..."
He patted my shoulder. "This is between Andreas and Gael. Jet is not a part of it."
I forced a smile. "I get nervous when people talk about it. Because of my hair, I know the red might be something Gael wants. I don't want to change packs."
He put his arm around me. "I'll do what I can to make sure you don't. I wish I didn't have to let any of you go. I'm worried about Drake, actually. He's already so tall." My grandpa shook his head. "If Gael goes for strength, he might take your brother. Though, Sasha is not afraid to have a go at either of you." He glanced at me. "Let's head to the hotel. I don't like thinking about it either."
***
I kicked off the last wall and glided through the water. I would feel turbulence behind me. The adrenaline was pumping, but I had to focus on staying calm and not tightening up. I went for air and caught a glimpse of the swimmer who was right behind me. I still had half a body length on him, and I wasn't going to give an inch up. I reached for the wall and looked up as the final member of the relay dove into the water. The other teams' last swimmers entered the pool right after.
My teammates helped me out. I knelt by the starting blocks and caught my breath as they screamed behind me. We were in the lead at the turn, and once again, he hit the wall below me. I sat up straight and started yelling as they swam the last one hundred. They entered the home stretched. The other swimmers were trying to close the gap, but Midfield was holding them off. I froze as my teammate dove for the wall. All our heads snapped to the scoreboard. Midfield was marked number one. My packmates behind me jumped and yelled as the one below threw water in the air.
We did it. I couldn't believe that we did it. I was attacked from behind. We helped the fourth member out of the pool and waved at our small cheering section. We did it. We won. It was hard to believe, and as I slowly started to comprehend what had just happened, my excitement grew. We were Continentals Junior champions!
***
I jogged over to my grandpa, who was waiting. A gold medal dangled around my neck. The werewolf snatched me in a hug and picked me off the ground.
"Your mom is furious they won't be here until tomorrow."
I laughed. "We weren't supposed to win."
"Well, someone decided to do a personal best 200-meter time." He messed up my hair.
I smiled to myself.
"Let me see this." He picked up my medal. "That is nice. It's heavier than it looks." He flipped it over. "Look at that. It has your event on the back. You know I was sitting by these important werewolves, you might say," he chuckled. "They were very impressed.'
"With me? Who?"
"You have a gift, Rudy. And now that you have some muscle on that wiry frame of yours, everyone is starting to see it." He grinned at me. "You could do this professionally."
I shook my head. "I'm not that good."
He picked up the metal. "This says different, and if you place tomorrow as a junior against a bunch of seniors, you might have the national team paying you a visit next year."
"There are two juniors in the finals."
"Lane six"—he motioned to me— "compared to lane one. I've been following you around long enough to understand the difference."
I sucked in my lips and nodded.
"We need to celebrate." He led me toward the exit. "I sent a car to get your parents, so we don't have to worry about them so we can have a mini-party of our own. We might need to get something sweet, though. Your mother is going to be so mad that she wasn't here in person. She was screaming the whole time," he laughed. "The people around me probably thought my tablet was possessed; it was making so much noise."
I laughed. "I'll have to win tomorrow then to make it up to her."
"That's my grandson." He pressed my head to his side. "The swimming champion."
***
My arms were burning. I couldn't go any faster. I could feel him right next to me. I couldn't tell if he was ahead or if I had made up ground after the last turn. I was almost there, and my body was ready for me to get to the wall. I stretched out my fingers and dove for it. I touched the side and lifted my head. He was right there with me. We both looked at the scoreboard, unsure of who it was going to be. He shouted and slammed his fist into the water.
I leaned back against the wall and sighed—second place by half a second. It was disappointing and stopped me from fully appreciating that I had gotten second. I shook the hand of the guy beside me.
"Great race." I forced a smile and congratulated a few other swimmers on the way to the side. My family was still screaming and waving at me. It lifted my mood. I got second. I wasn't ranked that high, but I still made the podium and missed first by half a second. My mood lightened, and I smiled as my coach leaned across the barrier to hug me.
"Amazing, you did so well." He held me out in front of him. "Half a second, it sucks, but look how much you've grown. Be proud of yourself. I am, and they are." He pointed at my cheering section. "So smile, Rudy."
My mom was frantically recording as she waved. My coach reached into his bag and took out the pack flag.
"I brought one just in case." He winked at me. "I had a feeling."
Taking it, I couldn't stop grinning. Winning with the relay had been surreal, but standing by myself was another experience. I joined first and third as we held our flags as the press took pictures. For once, I was kind of happy I'd been born a little different. I never would have done swimming if I could shift. I'd be playing rugby or football. I might have tried track even, but I would have never thought about doing swimming.
I waved to my mom, who was literally crying as she blew me kisses. I couldn't stop smiling. She might have missed my first-place win, but this was just as special.
***
"Wow." Sasha picked up my silver medal.
Drake examined the gold while the bronze from my final event sat on the coffee table in our hotel room's living area.
"This is sweet," said Drake. "In football, we get a ring or small medal when we win big competitions, but I wouldn't mind something like this. Can I put it on?"
I nodded. "Sure."
Sasha put on the silver one and looped the bronze one on as well. "These are so cool. Do they carve on the picture?"
"No, it's probably a mold of some kind," I replied.
"My turn," sang my mom. She took the gold from Drake and examined the back and front. "I'm going to start crying again."
"Mom," all three of us groaned. She hadn't stopped getting teary-eyed since my last race.
She wiped her eyes. "I know, I'm so embarrassed," she mocked. "You're all going to have to deal with it. Alright, Rudy. Put them on, and let's get a picture to send to the family."
I did so and went to stand by the way. My mom fussed over me a bit to make sure my collar was lying right, and each medal could be seen. She took a couple as my dad and grandpa came in with some snacks.
"I thought you were getting pizza?" said my mom. "We can't live on that."
"We're going to dinner," said my grandpa.
"Where?" asked Sasha. "Is it fancy? I need to shower because my fur smells like chlorine."
My grandpa took a deep breath and turned to me. "Rudy and his family were extended an invitation by Judah and the International Simming Committee to a dinner party to celebrate Continentals."
He tried to sound nonchalant, but I could tell he hoped that I might be good enough to make that next step. I wasn't so sure if I was good enough. I didn't win an individual event, but maybe that didn't matter to them because of my age.
Sasha jumped up. "I need to get ready!"
"It's non-formal. It's a barbecue from what I was told," my grandpa called after her.
"I'm not going smelling like a swimming pool." The bathroom door slammed shut.
My family hurried off to get ready while I sunk into the couch. I showered at the pool, and I already had on my team's more formal outfit. I picked up the medals and sighed.
Did I want to be a professional swimmer? They were considered employees of the alpha. The dominant athletes didn't have to do training as they were to focus on representing the pack. It might be my only way of giving back to the pack since I could defend it like a typical werewolf. I wouldn't mind being a pro. Actually, it would be pretty cool to be chosen to be on Midfield's team. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to at least try. That was my goal for next year—get back to Continentals, win, and secure a spot as a professional swimmer.
__________________________
Feel free to Link, Comment, and Share! Full Story is complete on Patreon (link on my profile); more is available on Radish Fiction.