Page 25 of The Purrfect Rival (Enchanted Falls #1)
TWENTY-FIVE
T heir eyes locked, both breathing heavily. Something fundamental shifted between them, a barrier crumbling that Kalyna hadn’t even realized existed.
“Kalyna,” he growled, her name transformed into something primal in his mouth, barely human.
She swayed toward him without conscious thought, her fox dominating her responses, urging closer, seeking completion of something that had begun the moment they’d first locked eyes across the council chamber. Her entire body hummed with awareness, magic rushing beneath her skin in response to his proximity.
“I can’t fight this anymore,” Rust whispered, pulling her against him.
Their lips met in a kiss that felt like inevitability—passionate, consuming, necessary. His mouth claimed hers with a hunger that matched her own, one hand tangling in her hair while the other pressed against her lower back, eliminating any space between them. Kalyna melted into him, fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt as she returned his kiss with equal fervor.
Her fox reveled in his possessiveness, in the strength of his embrace and the certainty of his touch. The human part of her that might have resisted such dominance quieted beneath a flood of sensation—the solid warmth of his chest against hers, his intoxicating scent surrounding her, the perfect pressure of his mouth as it moved with increasing urgency against her own.
Their magic erupted in a silent thunderclap, sending a shockwave of energy outward that momentarily stilled the air around them. The warehouse filled with their combined power—not visible light but a pressure wave that raised goose bumps on skin and made the surrounding metal groan. Crates toppled, packing scattered, dust motes froze in midair, and for a split second, sound itself seemed to vanish before rushing back with heightened clarity. Even Hezron, squinting through tear-filled eyes, staggered back a step from the invisible force.
When they finally parted, Rust’s forehead rested against hers, his breathing ragged. “Mine,” he whispered, the word carrying such raw need that Kalyna’s fox instantly agreed, recognizing something primal and true in his claim.
A tremor ran through her at the declaration. Her fox practically purred in response, wanting nothing more than to press against him again, to surrender to the magnetic pull between them. But her human side—the part that remembered centuries of fox-lion rivalry, that valued independence and autonomy—pulled back slightly.
“I don’t know... there’s so much going on,” she murmured, though she made no move to increase the distance between them. Her hands remained splayed against his chest, feeling the powerful heartbeat beneath her palms.
His expression darkened with determination, fingers gently tracing her cheek. “This, what’s happening between us, is much more special than pride politics.”
The truth of his words resonated within her. What she felt for Rust transcended the superficial differences between their species—it connected to something elemental, something that made her fox recognize his lion as its perfect complement despite every expectation she’d carried through her long life.
Yet generations of ingrained caution couldn’t be dismissed so easily.
Before she could respond, movement flashed in her peripheral vision—a final attacker lunging from the shadows with a raised blade.
Without words or planning, Kalyna and Rust moved in perfect concert. She cast multiple illusions, each one perfect enough to momentarily throw the assailant off balance while Rust struck with deadly precision. Their synchronized movements demonstrated a harmony that transcended conscious thought as though they’d fought together for centuries rather than days.
The warehouse fell silent except for their heavy breathing and Hezron’s occasional sniffles. Lucella emerged from behind a stack of crates, wide-eyed but unharmed.
“That was... intense,” Lucella commented, gaze darting between Kalyna and Rust with undisguised curiosity. “I swear my ears popped from the pressure.”
Hezron, still rubbing his irritated eyes, flashed a pained grin. “Should have sold tickets. ‘Come see the mayor make out with the librarian while kicking ass.’”
Unfortunately, that was the moment the sheriff chose to walk in. She was thankful it wasn’t Ms. Plumthorn. No telling what the rumor mills would have come up with after hearing that.
As Rust and the sheriff spoke, Kalyna went about gathering scattered papers from busted-open crates. Among them, she found a leather-bound ledger, its pages filled with neat handwriting she recognized with a chill.
“Rust,” she called, voice tight. “This is the same writing as on the message the attackers left in the parking lot at the restaurant. Boz’s handwriting?”
He appeared at her side instantly, his presence a solid warmth against her back as he leaned over her shoulder. The proximity should have been distracting, yet somehow it grounded her, allowing her to focus on the disturbing contents of the ledger.
“Magical transference between shifter bloodlines,” she read aloud, flipping through pages of detailed notes. “Fox-to-lion potential... Twinned-Tail amplification methods...” Her heart sank with each revealing phrase. “He’s not just studying fox magic. I think he’s trying to harness it—to take it.”
Rust’s expression hardened. “The Twinned-Tail Charm isn’t just a trophy. It’s part of something bigger.”
The implications chilled Kalyna to her core. The stolen fox heirloom—the very artifact she’d been tasked with protecting—wasn’t simply a valuable trinket but potentially a key component in a dangerous magical experiment.
“We need to take this to the council,” Sheriff Ironclaw said. “This goes beyond petty theft.”
Kalyna nodded, collecting more scattered papers. She noticed Lucella and Hezron exchanging meaningful glances—their usual bickering temporarily suspended by the gravity of their discovery.
As they exited the warehouse into the cool night air, Kalyna’s hand found Rust’s without conscious thought. His fingers interlaced with hers, warm and secure, neither of them acknowledging aloud what that simple contact represented. She knew something fundamental had changed between them—something that made the growing threat around them all the more dangerous.
Her fox pressed close to the surface of her consciousness, savoring the contact that her human side might have questioned.
Yet standing beside Rust under the starlit sky, their hands joined and magic still humming between them, Kalyna faced that uncertain future with something unexpected taking root within her—a sensation her fox had recognized from the first moment their eyes met across the council chamber even as her human mind had resisted.
The inexorable pull of destiny.