109 | ALL THAT GLITTERS

Bones twist and break, skin gets punctured by the thick fur bursting through my pores, and then it’s over. Powerful limbs propel me to the surface, the vampire half of me receding to hover in my bones, as the wolf in me gains control and breaks the surface of the waves. My mind clears as I breathe in salty air, but the cold is burrowing deeper into my fur the longer I’m in the water. With a growl, I force my limbs to move and begin swimming out to the buoy where Paris and Ryker are now. My cousins eye me warily when they see I’ve shifted, but only give me small nods before swimming past me towards the shore, their faces contorting as they begin their own shifts.

I circle the buoy and speed up the paddling strokes of my four limbs, tipping my muzzle to keep my nose breaching the surface of the water. A few times I sneeze and snuffle as some of the salt water gets into my nose or past my lips. I rarely swim in deep water when in my wolf-form for this very reason. I shudder and whine as the chill of the water seeps deeper and deeper through my coat and chills my heated skin.

*Red*. The slight panic in the voice in my head makes me twitch as I finally reach the shore and shake out my silvery-red fur. Paris and Ry are already in their wolf-forms, running back through the trees towards the path.

*I’m fine*. I reply back through the mental connection, knowing Blue is aware of this, but think it back to him anyway as I shake out as much water as I can from my coat. Cold air spikes over my fur and I sneeze again, my ears flicking as I catch the sounds of shifting behind me and barks from the water. I need to get running.

*I’ll be waiting for you at the finish line*. Blue’s words are gentle but confident as my mind gets a little hum of his closing-in proximity. I hadn’t been able to sense him a town away, just his general direction - like I was a compass and he was my true north. But now I feel him coming through the Reinier bounds, only a few miles away. Anticipation rolls through me and longing forces my limbs to get moving. Blue’s chuckle rumbles through my mind and I shiver as I race, despite the heaviness in me from the amount of energy I’m using as my heart pounds wildly in my chest. I don’t know if it’s the fact that my mate is getting closer or that my body is trying to keep me warm despite the clinging water to my fur and cold around me.

A whine squeezes out of my chest as part of me considers abandoning the race in favor of making a B-Line to Blue. I decide I can hold out a few minutes to help Ry and Paris rather than running to my mate. Last thing I want is to get Ry disqualified. The urge is strong, pulling at my control, though I force myself to shelf that desire in favor of pushing my paws deep into the nearly-frozen ground to propel me faster through the winding path.

I’m nearing the end when I hear a howl from the trees where the Enforcers watch. It’s a signal that someone’s team’s been disqualified. Back from the beach, I think. And then another howl, just a little closer. Relief and worry knot through me, and I snuffle out a huff as I speed up, ignoring the shivers and way ice has begun to collect over the tips of my ears and along my coat and tail.

The thundering sounds of paws kicking up dirt and pounding the path echo in the trees around me as I get closer to the end. I growl, letting the rumble fuel me as I see a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. A small cluster of Wolven in wolf-form are speeding up behind me, their jaws snapping and snarls ripping from their throats when they see me. And they’re fast. All five of them are large, not as muscled as Blue but tall and lanky, built for speed.

I mentally dig deep and try to increase my speed as the clearing opens up around us and the houses at the center of the Reinier territory come into focus ahead. A crowd of those who didn’t participate are gathered, and I see Paris and Ry back in human form at the ends of the line, breathing hard. First and second place.

This makes me almost trip in relief, the motion making me slow instead of speed up. Then I spot Blue, waiting right beside Mom and Craven in the center. Blue’s waving with a ridiculous grin on his face, the brightness of his silvery-grey eyes like a beacon among the others. It calls to me, pulls at my chest and tugging me into the proper pace to reach him before the others. Blue’s smile widens, warming me and unlocking the last reserves of my energy as I approach.

I’m closing the distance between us at a record pace, leaving the cluster of Wolven behind. At the last second, I force my body to shift. One moment I’m a wolf, the next I’m human, falling against Blue. My mate’s laughing, pulling me tight to his furnace-like heat and squeezing me against his body. He tips back on his heels, my momentum almost making him fall over, but he just manages to rock back a little and swing me around. Cheers echo loudly around me, and I feel a hand clapping me on a shoulder.

“I missed you,” He groans into my ear softly and I lean into him, unable to hold him back, but cling to his shoulders as he swings me around. I burry my face in his neck, letting his pine-and-parchment scent envelop me.

“Hi,” I chuckle back, pressing a kiss to his barely-visible mark. He shivers and sets me back down, though I didn’t even notice he’d lifted me from the ground until my toes touch the gravel and dirt once more. Blue removes his hands from my waist and he’s cupping my face, staring warmly into my eyes like we’re all alone and not surrounded by cheering Wolven.

“Hi,” He repeats, thumbs stroking reverently over my cheeks as he continues to look into my eyes. My skin begins to warm against his touch, the heat rolling through me in shiver-inducing waves. My eyelids flutter as he leans down, lips skimming along mine in a barely-there kiss before he pulls back. “We should get you something warm to cover you.” A frown tips the sides of his lips down as his eyes slips from mine and languidly examine my damp clothing.

“It’s not that cold,” I roll my eyes and pull back from him, but reflexively wiggle my numb toes.

“Humor me?” Blue asks softly, his eyes tightening a little as they flick back to mine. I sigh and roll my head in a wobbly nod. Blue turns and says something to Mom, just behind him. Craven’s making his way over to Paris and Ry, the two coming our way as a few howls rise up from the surrounding trees.

“Who came in first?” I ask them when they’re close enough. Paris tips her chin at Ryker and I smile back at her as a small, tight smile pulls at her lips. I frown after it drops and her eyes go a little dark with worry. “What?”

“I came in third.” Paris tells me in a voice just-loud enough to hear as another roar of cheering rises around us. The Wolven who’ve managed to shift are now jogging towards a makeshift tent where one of the younger Wolven are passing out towels. Blue has one of them and jogs back over to me with it, but my attention remains on Paris as I frown at her in confusion. “Bleiz Gagnon got second.” Paris meets my eyes with hesitation and a shadow of fear in her expression.

I stare at her as comprehension dawns on me, my mind connecting the name of the Pack with my knowledge of the Reinier allies and the French last name. I cringe as Blue wraps me up in the towel, but lean into him as he settles the material around me tightly.

“How?” I ask Paris, pressing back into Blue for comfort as fear for my cousin begins marching through me. My mate wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me against him for reassurance that I happily soak in.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Craven mumbles, almost inaudibly, my eyes reading his moving lips more than hearing his actual voice. His eyes are scanning the growing crowd with open caution and deadly intent.

“It’s fine, Wisty.” Paris draws my attention back with her too-loud reply. There’s another tight, forced smile crinkling her face, but I can read the fear in her eyes as she glances off towards a group of freshly-arrived Wolven back in human form. The man from earlier, the French Wolven who had eyed Paris like a prize is watching us with that same predatory gaze locked on my cousin. “It’s fine.” Paris repeats, but I’m not sure if she’s trying to convince me or herself.