Chapter 04

KARA

I made a conscious effort to avoid the two Alphas today. Keeping myself occupied wasn't as difficult as one would think. I went into town earlier this morning with a few of the other she-wolves so I could help stock up the reserves. Us wolves ate a fair amount of food so we consistently made trips to the town in Mystic Valley.

The pups shared a school with the human kids. There was a total of one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. Our pack may have been large but our town was respectively smaller than most so one of each worked well.

We supported our local stores and boutiques as well as restaurants as much as we could. It helped build our little economy and most weren't prepared to make the hour-long drive to find a Starbucks or McDonalds. The humans who ventured out here to build a home for themselves and maybe their families came with the notion of idealistic peace and privacy in mind. With that being said, some of the Blood Wolves had chosen human mates over the years which led to many half-blooded wolves and many humans discovering our little secret. So far, all of the humans who knew kept their word and took a vow of secrecy.

I watched as throngs of wolves gathered outside the pack house. My father had a gleam in his eyes, one that had faded over the years. This gave him a heady rush, toying with my life brought elation to him and that had my stomach roiling with rage.

Miles and Orion stood side by side diligently awaiting their instructions for the first game. Their acute gazes never wavered from my father. I knew, from the pulsing set of their jaws, the thinned press of their lips, and their taut muscles that rigging the game for them to lose would be a difficult feat. Especially when they seemed dead set on doing the opposite.

"Welcome, Orion and Miles Kessler, to the first game of The Mating Games," my father's bellow brought the cacophony of whispers to pin-drop silence. He commanded attention and weaved it so not a soul would have a wandering thought, "My Kara over here," tucking me under his arm with an appreciative glance, my father trailed on, "is an expert tracker. She and her wolf have honed the skill. I'm not sure there's any as skilled as her in our pack or even beyond that. However, when mated, it is important to find your mate as quickly as possible when there's danger lurking. Being able to track your mate's scent is something any mate should be able to do. Therefore, Kara will have thirty minutes to hide anywhere within the territory. Once the thirty minutes are up, you'll be sent out to track her. The first to find her wins."

"We haven't been around her much to be able to track her scent accurately. It seems a bit unfair, especially when the she-wolf in question won't permit our touch," Orion mused pensively as he scratched the stubble coating the sharp angle of his jaw.

I could rig this. I could beat them. I wasn't only skilled at tracking, but also hiding from those who wanted to track me. It was another skill I picked up while learning to track. I bit back the smile that threatened to split my face as a bubble of hope swelled in my chest.

"We've thought of that," Ma pushed forward through the crowd of gathered pack members—from the human ones to our wolves. Throwing two items of clothes to the Alphas, she said, "Use those to help pick up her scent."

Upon closer inspection, I realized that Miles held the sports bra I wore last night and Orion held my sweatpants.

"Ma!" I squeaked, my cheeks heating with utter humiliation, "why would you give them that?"

"It was either that or they sniff you," her tone was bland and her expression bored.

Un-fucking-believable.

Miles white-knuckled the fabric of my sports bra as he brought it to his nose. With a darkening gaze, a rumbling growl, and a deep inhale, he gritted, "Lemon and pine."

Orion echoed his agreement with the fabric of my sweatpants against his face and a larger-than-life grin bottoming out my stomach, "A hint of something cool, mint maybe."

Was my heart still beating? Why was the sky not opening so the Goddess Celine could put me out of my misery?

Lex paced on the floor of my mind, "Miles has more certainty in his deduction. He's the stronger tracker. Focus on him."

"Noted," even my internal voice shook as my nerves frayed.

"Off you go, Kara," my father ushered me forward before whispering for only me to hear, "I know you don't want this so I designed this game for you to have a bit of fun. Give them hell, Kara."

My lips parted in a gasp, "You can't be serious."

"I know the outcome might not be the most ideal one. But, it's for the betterment of the pack and you deserve to release your anger. Maybe this will help. Maybe you might learn to respect the one that finds you because of their exceptional skill. Who knows what can happen."

"That's if they find me," I muttered, chancing a glance at Miles who pocketed my sports bra while Orion shot me a sultry wink as he tied the legs of my sweatpants around his shoulders the way preppy, rich kids would in town with their sweaters, "I can't believe those are my two options."

"You'd only have one if they hadn't divided their pack," a chaste kiss was pressed to my forehead before he could shoo me off.

I knew I'd cover more ground in my wolf so I brought Lex forward, allowing her red fur to burst free from my flesh. My nimble paws carried me through the thicket until the shadows blanketed my figure. Then, I took a sharp turn and veered off to the right, heading toward the lake on the territory.

Rule number one: no wolf could track a scent they could not pick up.

Thirty minutes would practically fly by so I had to make quick work.

"Are you sure you don't want to just make this easy for them?" The quicker it's over with the better," Lex suggested as we slowed to a trot.

"A better option is if no one wins. Think of it this way, if they both lose then neither one of them is fit enough to be forced to marry us," my logic was sound—at least, it was to me.

"I really don't want to have to do this," Lex grumbled as she locked our muscles in place.

"Lex," came my warning laced with potent irritation, "you're the most bourgeois wolf I know."

"We could be out here all night, what if we freeze to death?" She whined.

"In this heat? This will likely keep us cooler," I argued, forcing her to give me control so I could trot into the lake. It was abnormally hot for a November night or maybe that was the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

The water lapped at my paws, sending a chill racing up my body until my thick fur stood in attention. Clamping my jaw shut, I lowered myself into the icy water until I was fully submerged. When I ambled out of the lake, a brisk wisp of air assaulted my matted body as water streamed from my drenched coat.

I rolled onto the sandy embankment, muddying my fur until the red turned to brown and I was cocooned in the thick dirt.

"There, this will cover our scent," I thought to Lex.

"What about the paw prints?" She pointed out.

"Let's have them running in circles."

"All this mud will slow us down."

"I have a plan." My confidence inflated that bubble of hope in my chest.

These Alphas were in for a real treat tonight.