Dustin Perry strolled into the locker room, chest puffed up, nodding to anyone who looked at him. They must all know who he was. He was the top bear shifter football recruit this year, the only one from his college and his entire state to be scouted for the team. So what if it was only semi-pro? It was better than any of his former school teammates, and it was just one stop to the pros. By this time next year, he’d have made it even bigger and his career would be off to the perfect start.

He’d checked out the rest of team. From what he could tell, he was the biggest star among them, even despite that quarterback, Hayden, who had made the news and everything with his sob story about his sick mother. And then Kenny, the wide receiver who had been pro once, but got himself shot and had to come crawling back to the semis until he was fully healed. But Dustin was still better than them, and he’d make sure he was more famous by the end of the season. His college coach had nicknamed him The Untouchable because of his speed and skill, and he planned to make sure every one of the Fargo Polars knew it.

As he walked to his locker, only about half the guys looked at him. Those who did didn’t seem to recognize him immediately, but there would have to be some sort of team introduction later. Though, maybe it didn’t matter much. A lot of these guys were going through tryouts. He’d been scouted, so unless he really screwed up, he was in already. The team would be much smaller in a few weeks as the duds were weeded out.

Dustin found his locker with his new gear already inside. He got dressed and headed out to the field.

As he walked out, looking for a ball to toss around to warm up, someone shouted at him. “Heads up!”

Dustin turned, caught the ball, and chucked it back. The guy caught it easily. He threw back and forth with the guy for a while. He didn’t know who this guy was, but he was good. Dustin threw harder to prove he was better, but he’d have to keep an eye on this guy.

After a while, he asked, “What’s your name?”

He shouted back, “Hayden. You?”

So, this was Hayden. “Dustin. I’m a running back.”

“Quarterback.”

That explained it. The team needed a good quarterback, so this might be okay then. Being on offense, they’d be working together, and he needed his teammates to be decent. Nothing like being the best the player on a team of guys who screwed up regularly and made you work harder or look bad.

The coaches came out to the field to get things going for real. Coach Kent addressed them. He gave a nice little speech about how hard they would all work and how the semi-pro shifter league was just as important as the pro league and how the tryouts would work. None of this concerned Dustin much. He wasn’t part of the group going through tryouts, and he just wanted to get to the introductions. He wondered what the coach would say about him.

“We’re going to run some drills now,” Coach Kent said. “We’ll warm up together then start running. The real work starts today, boys. I hope you came ready.” Then he walked away.

“No team introductions?” Dustin asked.

The coach turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m sure you can handle introducing yourself.”

A few guys chuckled and Dustin felt his face grow warm. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to expect. His college coach had them introduce themselves and their positions and say what rank they’d had in high school. It was his way of creating competition within the team, to push each of them to work harder. If Coach Kent didn’t want them working hard to be the best, well fine. He’d just shine that much brighter then.

Coach led them in the warm up—running, jumping jacks, burpees. Basic stuff. He didn’t have them shift, but maybe they’d do some drills in bear form later. Then the drills started. This was his time to start shining.

The coach set up cones for them to run through side-to-side for speed and agility. They got in two lines and started like they were racing. Dustin was good at this drill. He was fast and agile, and when he got up to the front, he looked over at his opponent. Big guy, had to be slow at this. They started and Dustin took off, dashing past the cones, then switching back. When he looked over, he noticed that the other guy was even with him. Then the next time he looked, the guy was a step ahead.

Dustin moved faster, trying harder to win. He kept looking over to see where the other guy was. He was gaining on him now. He turned his head to double check and misstepped. His foot landed on the little orange cone and he lost his footing. He felt his foot hit the ground after sliding off the cone, then his knee crumpled and hit the ground. He got back on his feet quickly, but the coach blew his whistle. Dustin stopped and turned to him.

“What the hell was that, Perry?” Coach Kent asked. “Keep your eyes focused ahead. Quit worrying about what he’s doing.” He pointed to the other guy, who had finished the first part of the drill and was now running back through the cones. “When you’re on that field, you have to be able to focus on where you’re going and not trip over someone because you didn’t keep your eyes where they should be.”

Dustin clenched his jaw and nodded. He had no choice but to say, “Yes, Coach.”

“Now, run it again.”

Dustin went back to the front of the line. When he saw who was running with him this time, he narrowed his eyes to a laser focus at the end of the cone line. He would not let Hayden beat him at this. They took off, and he kept his gaze ahead, making sure to do his best while trying not to watch the quarterback. When he reached the end and turned back, he saw that Hayden was ahead of him—and far enough ahead that he wouldn’t beat him.

They made it back to their waiting teammates and Hayden slapped his back. “Good sprint.”

Dustin nodded and pulled off his helmet to watch. He made a mental note on each player. Who could be competition? Who did he need to beat? And then there were guys like Hayden, who he might not be able to beat. And that meant he’d have to keep him close, be his friend, pretend to like him, and if the chance came up, screw him over.

By the end of the first drill, there were really only a few guys he was worried about. Kenny, though he was huge and supposedly had some leg injury, was really good. Coming from the pros, he should be, but Dustin had hoped his injury would have affected him more. Then Hayden, of course. But there was another running back, and that meant he was even more competition than the others. Kenny and Hayden were both part of the offensive line, so they’d be working together, but another running back would either be paired up with him or put in in his place. And that meant Alex was someone he’d have to keep very close.

They did several more drills—tackling, throwing, passing—all the basic stuff he expected from a day of football training. What he hadn’t expected was how poorly he performed compared to the rest of the team. He’d been the standout star in college and even back in high school. But here, he felt like a little bear in a big forest. These guys were good. Well, a few sucked, and he doubted they’d even make it past the first week of tryouts. But many of the guys were much better than he’d expected them to be, and they out shined him. That wasn’t something that happened.

“Listen up, team,” Coach Kent said from the front of the locker room once they’d finished changing. “That’s it for day one. I have a list. It’s the ranking list. Almost half of you are trying out, but that doesn’t mean I won’t cut a recruit if a tryout player is better. Right now, there are 70 of you. Our roster will only have 50 when the season starts. That means whoever is in the bottom 20 will be gone. I’ll cut 5 after the first week, 5 after week two, and the remaining 10 cuts will be after the final week. Real training schedule starts tomorrow.”

He passed out a paper to each player, and Dustin looked at the schedule. Morning workout and weight-lifting session, a bunch of meetings, morning practice, a few hours off to rest and eat, then another late afternoon practice. Every day for four weeks. It was going to be rough. This was a more intense training schedule than he’d had in college, but he was up for it. He’d been working out hard all summer to prepare for this, and he had no worries that he’d get rundown or be too tired or sore as the days dragged on.

“Here’s the ranking.” Coach stuck a piece of paper on the wall and taped it in place. “I suggest those at the bottom look to those at the top. Time to step up your game and give it your all. You’re going to have to play your absolute best if you want to be a Fargo Polar.”

Players swarmed around the paper, most coming away with shouts or fist pumps in the air. One or two had a sullen face. By the time Dustin made his way up to the paper, most of the team had scattered.

Dustin started at the top, of course. Kenny was in the number one position. Of course. He scowled. Alex and Hayden were also near the top. He got to halfway down the paper and started over at the top. He had to have missed his name somewhere. But as he got back down and didn’t see his name again, he was forced to keep going. There, in the number 49 spot was his name. He was one place above the cut mark.

He blinked at his name. It had to be a mistake. He walked to Coach Kent, chatting with some tryout guy he hadn’t bothered to remember the name of.

“Coach,” Dustin said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I think there’s been a mix up. My name is near the bottom.” Dustin chuckled like this was all a good laugh.

Coach Kent did not chuckle back or crack a smile. He took his clipboard from his arm and looked it over. “You tripped during the agility drill, were slow in running for offense, didn’t hit hard enough, and got tackled too easily. All around, you did not perform your best today. You have time to prove yourself. I suggest you get started acting like the top recruit you are. If my scouts messed up choosing you, I’m going to have it out with them.” He spun on one heel and walked toward his office.

Dustin’s face grew hot. The anger burned up his neck and his hands clenched into fists.

“Aww, man, don’t fret it,” Alex said, coming up to slap him on the back. “We all have those days. All the ranking does is make us all work harder. I’m sure you’re fine.”

“Easy for number five to say,” Dustin said, glaring at him.

Alex smirked and lifted a shoulder. “When you’re good, you’re good.”

“And we’re good,” Hayden said, sticking out his fist to bump it against Alex’s. Hayden had been number two.

“Whatever.” Dustin made a show of rolling his eyes. “I’ll catch up. And in the meantime, I have a little ranking of my own.” He pulled his mouth into a sly smile.

“Oh, yeah?” Alex asked.

“I’ll catch up on the team rank. Not worried about that. It’s my personal rank I plan to really work on.”

Hayden and Alex exchanged a confused look.

“Have you seen the cheerleaders?” Dustin asked.

Hayden nodded. “I’ve had my eye on them.”

“Well,” Dustin said, leaning in close, “I plan to run a different game off the field.”

Alex nodded. “I wouldn’t mind hooking up with one or two.”

“Why not put some money on it, then?”

“What did you have in mind?” Hayden asked.

“Whoever sleeps with the most cheerleaders by the end of the season wins.”

Alex chuckled. “You’re on.”

“How much?” Hayden asked.

Dustin shrugged. “Half a grand too rich for your blood?”

Hayden looked them both up and down, seeming to assess them. “Not at all.”

“I’m in,” Alex said.

“It’s a bet.” Dustin shook their hands. “I better get started then.”

He walked away feeling his confidence boosting his chest. He was good looking. More than playing football, he knew he was a star when it came to charming the ladies. He would win this easily. Not only that, he had another plan. He wouldn’t just win, but he’d win it faster than them. He would sleep with every single cheerleader on that squad and do it quickly. Then they’d know he was the star on and off the field, that he couldn’t be compared to or competed with. Then he’d be the real winner.