Chapter Seven

My lungs were begging for air, my hands were raw and shaky and I could hear my blood rushing in my ears. 

I had finished almost all of the course. 

I had climbed across the monkey bars, climbed up more walls and fallen on more padded floors. I’d swung from ropes, crawled, and dragged myself to the final feat: the giant slime pool. 

Lucky for me, it seemed the others were having a hard time with it as well. I had lagged behind quite a bit, by almost three whole minutes. I’d halfway been expecting to reach the pool of slime to see everyone already on the other side.

Violet, Quinton and Peter were all stuck in the slime currently. It seemed to be really, really sticky. Every time they stretched an arm forward, it was pulled back again by the stuff. When I had first seen it I had assumed it would be difficult to get through, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this. I hope the producers had a plan for getting the people stuck in the slime out.

“Seems as though we’re at a standstill.” I stop beside Victor, catching my breath for a second. He’s standing at the edge of the pool watching the other’s struggle. He makes a "tsk" noise, shaking his head a little. “I just don’t think I can clear it. I’d really rather not get stuck…” he mutters, his eyes fixed on the slime.

I chew on my lip a little, glancing at the cameras still watching us. Laura had said there was a secret, but what could it be? They wouldn’t put it here with no way to beat it and she wouldn’t say that if it weren’t true. She was obviously trying to give us a hint, make us think. There was a way across, we just didn’t know it yet.

“I’m gonna try and jump it.” Victor nods, rubbing his hands together as he backs up to give himself a running start. I stand clear, watching him with a unsure expression. Deep down I felt like he couldn't do it. I mean it was like ten feet, and clearly the others who’d tried doing the same thing before had failed. A human just couldn’t clear that. 

Lightbulb. 

I almost stop Victor, almost tell him I just realized what we needed to do to get across. But I don’t. He seems like a nice guy so far but I had to remember, this was a contest, especially in this instance. I couldn’t afford to tell him, have him do it, and then everyone else follow suit before I had a chance to. There was no denying I was at a physical disadvantage when it came to these people, so I was going to have to work extra hard to think my way out of this.

Sorry, Victor 

I watch him push off and start running, his legs pumping and his face determined. If you could get things done with pure determination he might’ve made it across. 

I wince a little as he jumps too short and falls into the slime. I can hear him cursing and complaining as he breaks through the surface. 

I chew on my lip a little, clenching my fists at my sides as I turn and start walking back to the same point Victor had gone to get a running start. 

I can feel the eyes of the others lingering behind on me, I’m sure wondering what I was doing. If a guy like Victor couldn’t clear that jum, there was no way I would be able to. Why would I even embarrass myself by trying?

I know that’s what they were thinking. I could see it on all of their faces. None of them believed in me or thought I could do it. They’d at least looked at Victor with skepticism, like they were unsure but still had a small drop of hope he could do it. 

When they looked at me, they only saw weakness. 

I can do this. I just have to time it right.

I take a deep breath, focusing on the jump I was fixing to make. I could see more than one camera on me as they prepared to watch me fail. 

I take off suddenly, trying not to overthink it more than I already had. I just had to do it. Had to try.

As I’m running I reach down inside myself, focus my breathing, and call my wolf forward. 

No one had said we couldn’t shift. And it was like I said, there was no way a human could clear this jump. 

But we all had something inside us, an animal who could do ten times more than we could. We had been told not to try and kill each other, to smile for the cameras. No one had said anything about shifting forms. Why wouldn't a werewolf dating show let us use both of our forms?

“Oh shit.”

“Wait…”

“She’s going for it!”

The shocked words and gasps of the others reach my ears as I land on the ground as a wolf, my legs still pumping me forward. I can’t stop, I can’t get distracted now. 

I push off the ground right before the edge, white noise filtering through my ears as I leap over the pool, all eyes on me. Was I going to make it? Or would I fall short, into the slime and drown in embarrassment?

The breath is knocked out of me once again as I crash onto the other side, sliding across the ground and across the finish line. It hurts, but relief floods through me when I hit the hard ground rather than the sticky slime.

I had not only cleared the course, I had done it before anyone else.