“Wouldn’t you like to know?”He had to release her as she twisted free.
They came together in a flurry of strikes and blocks, their childhood training merging seamlessly with adult skill.“Remember when we used to spar behind the Old Packhouse?”Larissa asked, landing a glancing blow.
“Until your mother caught us and made us clean the entire training area?”
“Worth it to see you covered in dust and complaining.”
“I wasn’t complaining,” Malcolm protested, sweeping her legs.But she rolled with it, coming up smoothly.“I was providing constructive criticism.”
“Is that what you called it?Because I remember a lot of whining about the unfairness of cleaning duties.”
Their bodies collided again.“You always did bring out the worst in me,” Malcolm murmured.
“And the best,” Larissa said softly, then seemed to hear her own words.She covered by increasing her attack speed.“When you bothered to apply yourself.”
“Some of us didn’t need to study every minute of every day.”
“No, some of us just coasted on natural talent and charm.”
“You thought I was charming?”His delighted tone earned him a sharp jab to the ribs.
“I thought you were insufferable.”But her eyes sparkled with suppressed amusement.“Still do.”
Decades of history passed between them in a single look.
Nick’s voice cut across the mesa.“Shift!”
The change rippled through Malcolm, both familiar and exhilarating.
In seconds, where two humans had stood, two enormous wolves now faced each other.Malcolm’s dark gray fur bristled as he bared his teeth.
Across from him, Larissa’s coat gleamed.She was smaller than him in this form, but Malcolm knew better than to underestimate her.
He charged first this time, his larger size kicking up dust from the mesa’s surface as he tried to bowl Larissa over.
But she was ready for him.At the last second, she dodged, using the slight incline of the mesa to her advantage.Her teeth grazed his flank as he passed, drawing a yelp of surprise and pain from him.
Spinning around, Malcolm faced her again.
Larissa was using the terrain, making up for her smaller size with quick thinking and quicker movements.It was a strategy he wouldn’t have considered, and it was working.
They clashed again, a tangle of fur and fangs.Malcolm managed to get his jaws around the scruff of Larissa’s neck, but before he could press his advantage, she twisted free, her claws raking across his muzzle.
The sting of the scratch mixed with the heady scent of Larissa’s fur created a potent cocktail that made Malcolm’s head spin.He shook it off, refocusing on the fight.
He couldn’t let himself get distracted, not now.
She might not have his raw strength, but she was making him work for every advantage.
In a final, intense struggle, they ended up locked together near the mesa’s edge, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Nick’s voice interrupted.“Time!The bout is a draw!”
Slowly, reluctantly, Malcolm and Larissa separated, shifting back to their human forms.They stood there, panting and covered in sweat and dust from the mesa, their gazes still locked on each other.
Larissa’s beauty struck him, even—or perhaps especially—like this, her hair wild, cheeks flushed with exertion, eyes bright.An urge overwhelmed him to reach out and touch her, to pull her close and—
“Well fought, both of you,” Nick said, stepping between them and breaking the moment.“With this challenge ending in a draw, the diplomatic round will determine our next alpha.”
