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Wyatt

S pinning on the spot, I put my head down and sprint, finally snapping out of my loved-up trance to rejoin the competition.

Naomi grins, a mixture of joy and relief replacing her worried expression.

“Go,” I shout, urging her to continue without me. I’ve held her up enough already.

With a sharp salute, she turns and dashes away, her speed impressive as she silently but rapidly gains on the contestants ahead of us.

That’s my girl.

She’s almost neck and neck with the last of the leading pack when they get to the cargo nets, and she slides to the earth, gracefully slipping under the heavy net and crawling forward. I’m so damn proud as she overtakes one male and begins to eat up the distance to the next, who struggles with fitting his bulky frame underneath.

Not quite as light on my feet in human form as my mate, I’m still in last place by the time I raise the rough ropes and duck my head down to start my long crawl.

Naomi is all grace and technique as she shimmies her way toward the end.

I, on the other hand, am forced to use sheer dogged determination to drag my hefty form along the dirt and out to the other side, having caught up with one contestant. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done.

Keeping my head down, I emerge slowly from the heavy net and spring to my feet, immediately searching for Naomi rather than focusing on the rest of the competition, who I need to beat. My heartbeat picks up as I scan the runners ahead and don’t see her.

“Easy there,” I say to myself, when my wolf starts to panic.

“The rogue’s lost it,” someone jeers from the sideline as I stand frozen to the spot, letting my competitors catch up, knowing I won’t be able to continue until I get eyes on my mate.

Naomi’s shocked gasp reaches me right as she plunges into a bath of icy water having slipped from a rope.

Despite knowing we’re in the middle of an obstacle course, I have to hold my wolf back from running to her. He thinks she’s drowning. We know she’s kicking ass.

When her head breaks the surface, panting against the cold-water shock, I can breathe again. Other than being a little wet, she’s doing great. Better than me.

Something deep inside me stirs, a pull so strong that it's almost physical. My wolf has never reacted this way to another being.

So this is what the elders describe when they talk about true mates, that inexplicable connection that forms instantly, like your souls recognize each other and never want to be apart.

“There you are,” I murmur, now able to resume my race to catch up with her once I know she’s safe. I ignore the taunts being hurled at me from the sideline and charge toward the next challenge, pleased to see Naomi getting out of the water quickly and back to the start of the obstacle.

She joins me on the blocks just as another wolf falls from the swinging ropes with a yelp and splashes down, already swimming to the side the second they hit that dark, freezing water.

“This is why Dad didn’t give you the alpha job. You’re a choker,” a man shouts in from the side at the poor wolf hauling himself from the pool, and I feel sorry for him if this is the type of support he has with him for the event. I’d prefer to be on my own.

But then he catches me looking and gives the middle finger, and all of my sympathy disappears.

Refocusing on Naomi, I hand her the rope and let her go first.

“You’ve got this,” I say, pushing as much of my confidence and calm toward her as I can.

Her nervousness flutters in my chest alongside my heartbeat, but with a couple of calming breaths, she relaxes. Her blue eyes mellow as she nods, leaning back to take a running leap and allowing her momentum to carry her over to the next rope.

Like a love-sick teenager, I follow behind, barely able to concentrate on what I’m doing.

As her feet hit solid ground on the far side and she bends over, ass in the air, I almost fall into the inky water too.

Concentrate, Wyatt, or you’ll be the one going home tonight.

Shaking myself to get my head back in the game, I imagine her in the Games for the remaining rounds without me, surrounded by the strongest and wealthiest wolves around. Just because I can’t stop ogling her.

Not going to fucking happen.

I’m going to be by her side every step of the way.

With a determined roar, I swing quickly to the far side of the icy baths and land on both feet with a loud thud. Setting my sights on the men between Naomi and me, I push down the urge to attack and try to talk some sense into my wolf, who’s growing more and more agitated.

They’re not trying to block you from her, they’re just running their race. You don’t need to kill them, just overtake them.

My wolf has never been this territorial, this desperate to eliminate any competition. That alone tells me what I need to know—this is far more than just attraction.

She is mine, and I am hers.

As she sprints up and over a balance beam, she takes a moment at the end to prepare for a long run up and down the course with sandbags on our shoulders.

I put on yet another burst of speed and blow past the other two guys with a disgruntled snarl.

The crowd gasps as I make quick work of the balance beam, my agility clearly a surprise to them, and I cheer internally when the male I was neck and neck with wobbles, losing precious seconds to steady himself on the beam.

“Go Wyatt, go!” Jamie’s frantic voice reaches me from the crowds, and I smile. She’s hosting the competition. She’s a Luna now, and she’s supposed to be neutral, but that’s completely forgotten as she dances on her feet, pointing toward the next challenge so wildly that I have to smother a smile.

My sister either doesn’t see or doesn’t care about the snide glances she’s getting from those who want to see me fail. The route to the finish line is even easier to find now that I have Naomi ahead of me, leading me there like a beacon of light.

My wolf could find the way with my eyes closed.

Grabbing the sandbags and tossing them up onto my shoulders, I hear the ripple of unease that spreads through the crowd as I double up, eager to cut the number of laps to a minimum and ensure I stay close to Naomi, who’s well ahead of me now.

She reaches the end of the challenge, setting two bags on the ground next to the two she brought up in the previous run, and groans when I dump all four of mine on the ground next to them.

“Show off.” She pants as she sucks in air and lifts her head to assess the next challenge.

We’re nearly there with only one competitor left ahead of us as we turn to face the impossible-looking wall we now have to scale. Naomi’s far too small to get over that monstrosity.

“FUCK,” the same man from before is a few feet onto the course now, hands clasped anxiously behind his head as the reality of the situation dawns on him. They’ve set it up so the smaller wolves will be at a major disadvantage.

I let my hands dangle by my sides, my pinky grazing hers as I sense her fear. Our skin barely connects, but it's enough to send a jolt through my system, like touching a live wire. I can feel her determination and frustration mingling with mine. She doesn’t think she can make it over.

“We’re going to run together, and you’re going to get over it. I’ll help.”

Naomi says nothing but nods. We’re both aware anyone could be listening.

“Good girl. Stand on my thigh, my head, whatever. You can buy me a beer later to say sorry.”

Without giving her a chance to dwell on it, I charge straight toward the high wooden obstacle ahead.

Naomi hisses my name but then hurries after me, and I grin as she closes down the distance between us, panting hard, but so fucking fast. She’s like lightning.

We hit the slope together, but while I run forward and grip the lip of the platform with my fingers, one knee raised, Naomi jumps, and parkour style, stands on my thigh before pushing higher, getting a grip on the ledge.

I drag myself up, only realising in the nick of time that the alpha behind me was reaching for my ankle, attempting to drag me back down. My wolf curls a lip in disgust, but instead of focusing on one wolf’s bad behaviour, I spin to watch as Naomi hauls herself up, inch by inch, over the edge.

Other contestants close in, and I twitch, struggling to contain the urge to tell her to hurry, or to simply stoop and lift her onto the platform. When she finally rolls onto the top, officially through to the next challenge of the day, I whoop, extending a hand to help her to her feet.

She holds my hand, my palm pressed tightly to hers as she brushes off her clothes before she stands and stares out at the cheering crowd. The moment our skin connects, our eyes lock, and I know she feels it too. That undeniable rush, the sense of rightness, pulses between us, invisible to others, but as real to me as the ground beneath my feet.

When she turns to me, face bright, pride shining through her eyes, her entire body vibrates with happiness. “We did it.”

I beam back, lifting her hand high in the air, even though technically I won that round.

The crowd erupts in squeals and shouts, which are deafening to sensitive ears. Her friends and companions are delighted to see her through, and those with no skin in the game are just thrilled to see a woman progress.

But none of that matters as everyone and everything else melts away. “Yes, we did. And that’s only the beginning.”