Kaya Alexie kept crouched low behind the thick underbrush of the forest, careful to keep still in her human form, making no more noise than what it took to breathe. If the male cougar-shifter found her before she reached the target, she would lose, and she needed to win if she wanted to claim her prize. Only then could she get what she’d wished for these past few months.
She strained her ears for the slightest sound that might give away the male’s hiding spot, but even though her hearing wasn’t as good as in her wolf form, all she could hear was the rustling of the leaves and branches and the small scurrying of the ground mice. Apart from the occasional bird cry, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Maybe, just maybe, she had finally lost him.
Not that she would be celebrating anytime soon. She’d been secretly dating Sylas Murray, the cougar-shifter from a neighboring clan, for the last six months and she was well aware of how skilled he could be. His tracking skills were damn good, and definitely her biggest obstacle to winning.
Still, she wasn’t too bad herself. She could outsmart the other eighteen-year-old wolf-shifters in her pack when it came to tracking and evading drills; it was only a matter of time before she could beat Sylas too.
Maybe even today.
A bird chirped and then flew right past her. She looked up into the trees, but since the sun had set half an hour ago, it was too dark to make out any recognizable shapes. If Sy had made his way into the branches up above, the sneaky cat would use his feline grace to pounce on her. She needed to move.
She itched to shift into a wolf and feel the wind against her fur, but they’d agreed to stay human to make the challenge more difficult. Of course, moving her nearly six-foot tall body through the underbrush without making a sound was no easy feat. Autumn was nearly here, which meant the thick foliage of the understory had turned into a maze of sharp sticks.
She finally broke through the last of the trees at the edge of the clearing and felt a sense of giddiness. Victory was nearly hers for the taking. If she could just make it to the big rock outcropping on the far side, she would win, and Sy would have to give her anything she wanted. That was their deal.
And she knew exactly what she wanted to ask for.
She was tired of looking over her shoulder or finding a way to sneak past her clan’s guards and sentries to spend a few stolen hours with her boyfriend. She wanted to show off Sy to the world, and if she won tonight, she was going to invite him to her clan’s autumn celebration next week.
Sy accompanying her to the celebration and facing the scrutiny of her entire clan was a big step. Interspecies pairings were still considered taboo among most shifter clans, Kaya’s included. Yet, if Sy felt as she thought he felt about her, he wouldn’t care about her clan’s objections and old-fashioned bullshit. He would stand with her against anything.
But she was getting ahead of herself. First, she needed to make it across the wide-open clearing and be the first to touch the rock.
Kaya sprinted as fast as her long legs would carry her. She had ten feet to go when she heard a cougar growl behind her.
This was the border between her clan and his, and her heart skipped a beat as a million questions and worries raced through her head. Had someone from Sy’s clan discovered them? What would Sy do if they had?
Stop being a chicken shit, and see who’s following you. She took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, only to find a naked Sy chasing after her. She stumbled at the sight of his broad chest and strong, lean muscles, but Kaya quickly regained her wits. They had both started this game dressed in clothes and his nakedness could only mean one thing: Sylas Murray was a cheating bastard who had shifted into his cougar form back in the forest.
Despite months of these little games, he’d never cheated before. His shift and disregard for their “human only” rule signaled that he was afraid she could finally beat him.
Her inner wolf growled at his deceit and her human-half agreed with that sentiment.
Well, fuck him. I’m still going to win. She pushed her body harder. It was just a few more feet to the rock, and now more than ever, she was determined to beat her man.
~~~
Sylas Murray noticed Kaya’s glare and realized he might actually lose. The woman was beyond determined to beat him.
Normally, he loved the way she challenged him and tried to outsmart him. She being a wolf-shifter and seeing the world differently because of the wolf inside of her was part of the reason he loved her.