Out of Bounds

"Prrt!" The referee’s sharp whistle cut through the roar of the crowd, earning a wave of boos. The game was heated, every move tense, every call sparking more frustration. "Personal foul, jersey no. 26!" the referee called. Shiloh cursed under his breath and let go of the ball. "Yikes! Now, partner, this is not good. It's Shiloh's fourth personal foul and for a captain, he's needed in this last quarter," the announcer said while shaking his head. "Yes, partner. They're in trouble with that five-point gap lead by the Brighton Raptors," the other one replied. The play began, and it was Archer holding the ball. He passed it to his teammate, but Shiloh stole it. The ball was in Shiloh's hand, and a pair of shoes appeared in front of him. Sweat covered his body as he looked at Archer. "Defense! Defense!" "What's this? Archer on Shiloh? What are the Brighton Raptors planning?" the announcer said. Shiloh dribbled while glaring at smirking Archer, the Brighton's team captain and his biggest rival. "Sorry, Alexii, but you aren't winning this one," Archer said, which ignited the anger inside Shiloh. The defense was tight. "Defense! Defense!" Shiloh glared at Archer and faked a pass to his teammate. He waited for Archer's reaction and spun past him and shot the ball. "Three points for the Stathmore Spartans!" "Shiloh, nice one, captain!" his friend, Kayden, and the power forward of the team said and tapped his back. "Just two more and we're caught up," David, the shooting guard of the team, said. Archer looked at Shiloh and his team running back to their side for defense. "Connor," he called and passed the ball. "What a great play by Captain Shiloh, partner. Will the Stathmore Spartans finally win this game?" the announcer said. "Damn right we will," Kayden said. "Eyes on the ball, guys. The Brighton Raptors are one cunning team. They won't let this be an easy win," Shiloh said while eyeing Archer intently. The ball is in play with two minutes on the game clock. Archer leads the Raptors; he passed the ball to Dmitri, and Dmitri attempted a three-point shot but failed. Kayden rebounded the ball and immediately passed it to Shiloh. Shiloh holds the ball, but Archer was quick to defend and tried to steal the ball from Shiloh's hand, but Shiloh took a step backward and jumped and shot. "Three points for the Stathmore Spartans!" "Shiloh! Shiloh! Shiloh!" The crowd erupted with cheers, and the Brighton Raptors took a time-out. Shiloh and the rest of the Spartans went back to their bench. "Do not let your guard down. You know how the Raptors play. Let's not get careless, okay?" Coach Torres said he has been the official coach of the Strathmore Spartans since the basketball team was formed. "Shiloh, you're on Archer. Guard him," Coach Torres said, and Shiloh immediately looked to where the Raptors were resting. "Yes, Coach," he replied. Shiloh took his duffel bag and saw his medicine. He bit his lower lip and shook his head. He carefully took a tablet, mixed it with his tumbler, and drank it. No one needs to know what it was. The referee blows the whistle. Both the teams went back to the court ready to play. The crowd goes wild with twelve seconds on the game clock, and it was Raptors ball. Shiloh guards Archer while Archer dribbles the ball. He smiled at Shiloh, annoying the captain even more. "I told you, Alexii, you can't have this one," Archer said and passed the ball to James, their shooting guard. Shiloh cursed, and with ten seconds on the clock, James jumped and shot the ball. Kayden tried to intercept, but it was flawless. The ball went in. "Three points for Raptors! And the crowd goes wild!" The crowd erupted in a deafening roar as the buzzer buzzed. Shiloh looked down to hide his frustration. "I told you, Alexii," Archer said and leaned. "It's still my win," he added. "f**k off, Whitmore," Shiloh said and pushed him away. Archer took a step forward, challenging Shiloh, but Shiloh wouldn't back down either. Both team captains were eyeing each other. Kayden saw the danger and immediately pulled Shiloh away to prevent the brawl from happening. Archer smiled and retreated. "Thanks, Kay, and I'm sorry," he whispered. Kayden shook his head and put his arm on Shiloh's shoulder. Shiloh gathered his team and tapped David's back, the youngest of the team, who was crying in dismay and frustration for losing the game. "You gave it your all, team, and I'm proud of you. We will beat them in the Governor's Cup," he said. They went back to their bench, and the coach and the rest of the teams patted their backs, saying they gave a good fight against the Raptors. "Capt., let's go," Kayden said. "You go ahead. I'll follow," Shiloh replied while taking pictures with his fans. The crowd started to disperse one by one, and Shiloh took his bag while checking his medicine. No one should know that he's an omega disguised as an alpha. In his world, three genders exist: Alpha, Omega, and Beta. Alphas are strong, dominant, and instinctively protective, while Omegas are sensitive, nurturing, and driven by biological cycles called heats. Betas are neutral, living mostly like humans do. When Shiloh went to the doctor with his parents, who were both Alphas, when he was younger, they found out he's an Omega, and to make things worse, he's recessive. His parents vowed to protect him and kept it a secret, disguising him as an Alpha. Only five people know about his situation. The Cross is one proud family of Alphas with dozens of businesses across the country, and Shiloh, with his brother Slade, will inherit it someday. Shiloh went to the locker room only to find it empty. A note was stuck on his locker. Shiloh took and read it. "Coach said to meet the team in the school after you're done." - Kay Shiloh crumpled the paper and threw it in the trash can. He took his towel and went inside the shower. Shiloh turned it on and drenched his hair. He closed his eyes and the game flashed back in his mind. It's just a two-point lead that took their championship. "Damn it," he said out of frustration. He hates to see Archer's annoying face. Shiloh turned the shower off and wrapped the towel around his waist. He went out and was surprised to see Archer leaning on his locker. "What the f**k are you doing here, Whitmore? Gonna rub it in my face that we lost to your team?" Shiloh asked sarcastically. He wanted to punch Archer's face to wipe out the grin on his lips. "Watch your mouth, Alexii. I'm not here to fight you," he said. "Have you taken your medicine?" he added and walked towards him. Shiloh took a step backward and glared. Only five people knew of his third gender, and one of them was Archer Vaughn Whitmore, his rival and the captain of the Brighton Raptors. "f**k off, I can manage myself," Shiloh replied angrily and tried to walk past Archer, but he stopped him. "Oh yeah, really? I can smell your heat from here, Alexii," Archer said and grabbed his wrist. "Same time and place, I will wait for you," he added and leaned in only to tease Shiloh more. Shiloh looked at Archer's retreating back and cursed. The two of them knew each other very well, and they hid a secret no one should ever find out.