Jared glared into the distance and TJ growled in agreement.
Maggie held up a hand. “Guys. Put your testosterone back in your pants. I didn’t tell you about my issue to get you riled up.” She leaned back on Erik’s sturdy frame as she faced TJ and Jared. Both the young men’s wolves hovered just under the surface, furious for her sake. She tested her fear at the proximity of more wolves, but there was nothing there. Just calm reassurance emanating from Erik like a lifeline. Craning her head back, she blew him a kiss. “Thank you for letting me do this my way.”
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71
Vivian Arend
“Sure, but you’d better finish before they shift without meaning to. Jared especially is really pissed off. You’ve got an admirer I need to worry about?”
She nudged him in the gut. “I thought you boys needed to know. Last night I shifted, and it was glorious. There will be no troubles in the challenge with me running, but I still don’t know how I’ll feel when faced with a bunch of strange wolves. I don’t want you to get upset if I freak out. With the mate connection between me and Erik, I think I have the strength, but you’re my pack now too, and I’m trusting you to help me.”
TJ grinned at Jared. “I told you so.”
“Yeah, yeah. Mr. Sniffy and his Magic Nose have spoken. Hey, congrats on the mate thing.” Jared winked at her before breaking into a huge yawn.
She laughed. “I take it you had a good time last night with Miss Norway?”
Jared glared at TJ who shuffled off a few feet. “Well one of us had a good time.”
Laughter rumbled against her back. “TJ? You stole Jared’s woman? Again?”
Maggie choked. “TJ?”
He managed to look guilty. He shrugged. “Can I help it if the girls all love the underdog?”
A loud bell rang in the distance.
Erik squeezed her for a second before letting go. “There’s the call. Leave everything in the room.
They said they’d shuttle us back here when the event is done.”
They were all gathered at the starting line. Maggie kept Erik between her and the rest of the crowd without even thinking about it. After so many years of avoidance, she wasn’t going to be able to change habits overnight. She took a deliberate step forward and caught Erik grinning down at her.
“Well done, love.”
She lifted her chin a little higher and turned to listen to the Games Marshal.
“We’re starting the event here instead of in town for the sake of the humans. We’d like to thank all of you for the restraint you showed last night while in Dawson. There were only a few comments this morning at the local coffee shops about unusual wolf sightings, so you seem to have managed to keep yourselves under control while in range of cell phones and other recording devices.”
Jared nudged TJ and the two of them snickered.
“What do you think that’s about?” Maggie asked.
“I really don’t think I want to know.”
“Today’s challenge is a foot race. Cross country toward the Dempster Highway. We’ve got a loop through the Tombstone Mountains, finishing at the Tombstone campground. All the campers are ours, and we’ve closed the area to hunting for safety’s sake. It’s an all-out sprint for your wolves. No bonus points 72
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Wolf Games
available. At the end of this event, we’ll calculate the scores and announce the current standings. Final event will be held in two days’ time.”
All around them teams were stripping and shifting. Maggie watched in morbid fascination, wondering when the sense of utter horror would creep up her spine and throttle her.
It never came. They were only wolves.
She walked boldly toward the nearest team, shaking off Erik’s hand. “I need to do this.”
Her opponents watched her warily as she stepped into their midst and stood there.
Nothing. They were only…wolves.
She threw back her head and laughed, joy springing up again.
“You want to come and join us, love? I think you’re freaking out our opponents and that’s not very sportsmanlike.”
Oh shit. She bowed politely to the captain of the team, backing away with deference before leaping into Erik’s arms. “I can do this. I really and truly can do this.”
He patted her cheek. “I knew you could. Now get naked, little wolf, and let’s go for a run.”
Stripping off her clothes was freeing. Seeing the admiration in her mate’s eyes brought even more pleasure. But the sensation of shifting itself was almost orgasmic. Last night she’d been too worried she wouldn’t be able to shift, she’d missed the awesome physical rush. Today she experienced it fully, moaning with delight.