River had recognized Ellie almost immediately, though he was pretty sure she had no idea who he was, so he'd decided to play along. It was clear, the way she'd flown across the distance between the house where she'd been sitting on the front porch and her office, that she had no idea who he was and thought he might be snooping around. The whole thing had been a bit comical, but he'd done his best not to laugh. After all, he couldn't blame her for being protective of her personal space, especially with all of these strangers in her pack lands.Shaking her hand had left his palm tingly in a way he'd never experienced before. She was beautiful, and as he stood looking into her crystal blue eyes, waiting for her to say something else, after, "Nice to meet you, River," he couldn't help but wonder how soft those lips might be. He shook his head slightly to clear it, and since she wasn't talking, he decided he should."So… where is everyone else? I'm sorry we're running a little behind. Somet

RiverA group of the Alphas strolled to their rooms together after the get-together at Ellie's house. Even though River's car was still sitting a few steps away outside of Ellie's office, he decided to walk along with the others to get to know them better. While he hadn't necessarily come there to make friends, it wouldn't hurt to strengthen his alliances if he could. Nor did it hurt to sum up the competition. At first, he'd wanted to win the contest simply because he hated to lose, but having just spent the evening in Ellie's presence, his reasons for winning were a bit different now.It took a lot to get a wolf shifter drunk, but a couple of the guys were borderline tipsy, at least. Blade wasn't with them, as he'd arranged for one of his Omegas to come and pick him up and drive him the quarter mile to his quarters, which seemed ridiculous, but the rest of them were walking together. With one exception, this group seemed pretty decent to River, like they could be friends. That except

Ellie"Is this your idea of a run?" Ellie joked as she strolled alongside Ulysses through the forest in the early dawn. The sun was just coming up, and it was beautiful seeing the colors of the sky reflected off the glossy services of the autumn leaves."No, no it is not," Ulysses said. They were walking at a pretty fast pace, but they definitely weren't running. "If I were running, my knees would be bent, Ellie."His remark made her laugh. It was nice, hearing him say her name like that, as if they were old friends. While she appreciated the friends she had, her "little brothers" were a bit immature sometimes, and any more, all Shelby wanted to talk about was Carl. Talking to Ulysses was refreshing, even if her lungs weren't quite burning from this particular workout, and she didn't even feel like she'd need to stretch when she was done."So… what made you decide to come to this crazy tournament?" Ellie asked as they started a fairly steep incline where they'd get a great view of the

Ellie"How are you, sunshine?" Her dad called as she met up with him in the clearing where the first contest would be held. He was bursting with excitement as he wrapped his arm around her neck. "Can you believe it's finally here?""Everything looks great, Dad," she said, hugging him back. It was clear he was proud of what he'd put together, and he'd done a nice job. The stands were packed with people ready to watch the first event, the log toss, as he father had been calling it. Many of the audience members were from her own pack, but she saw familiar faces from the guests' packs as well. River's mother's face caught her attention. Ellie waved at Patricia, who was always so kind, and Patricia smiled and waved back."Now, I'm letting Beta Andrew run this contest so that I can just enjoy it with my beautiful daughter," Michael explained.Behind them, Cane chimed in. "And we'll be watching to make sure no one cheats."Ellie turned and looked at him, then caught the eyes of Hans and Seth

Ellie"Something is not right," Ellie said, leaning over to her father."What are you talking about?" Michael asked, still cheering along with much of the crowd at the huge toss Blade just made. "That was a throw if I've ever seen one.""Yeah, it sure was," she agreed. "A throw that doesn't match his other throws. And… he's acting weird."Michael gave her a questioning look and then shook his head. "Honey, I know he's not your favorite, but if he wins, he wins. You agreed to this, remember? You're the one who didn't want the Moon Goddess to choose or to pick for yourself. There can be no whining now if things don't turn out the way that you wanted them to.""Whining?" Ellie repeated, her eyes wide. She knew the tone her dad was using. It was that, "I want you to think I might just be playing, but I'm honestly upset at you," tone that he often used when he disapproved of what she did or said but didn't want to pick a fight. Normally, she'd just roll her eyes and go on. But this was dif