Page 39 of The Purrfect Rival (Enchanted Falls #1)
THIRTY-NINE
K alyna pulled her cardigan tighter as she crossed the council building parking lot onto the sidewalk. The evening air carried a hint of pine and magic—scents that normally comforted her. Tonight, though, something lurked beneath those familiar notes. Her fingers brushed the fox charm bracelet at her wrist, a habit from childhood.
Concrete clacked under her heels. Shadows vanished into dark alleys, darker than they should be. Her fox senses prickled with warning.
From farther up the street, she heard car breaks screeching to a halt. She looked up, and motion in her periphery vision grabbed her attention. A hooded figure lunged from behind a parked car, arms outstretched. Kalyna spun, crimson magic crackling—too slow.
A blur of golden movement cut between them. Rust materialized with impossible speed, his body partially shifted. Claws extended from his fingers, teeth sharpened to points, and his eyes—gods, his eyes burned with molten gold intensity that stole her breath.
“Stay away from her,” he snarled, voice dropping to a register that vibrated through her bones.
The attacker struggled against Rust’s grip, twisting toward escape. Within seconds, Hezron appeared from the opposite direction.
“Always leaving me the cleanup,” Hezron grumbled.
Kalyna stood frozen, unable to tear her gaze from Rust. The sight of him half-transformed ignited something primal inside her. Her fox stirred, pressing against her human consciousness with unexpected hunger. Strong. Protective. Ours.
Heat bloomed across her skin as she watched the powerful muscles of his back shift beneath his shirt. When had she started noticing such details about him? The way his shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, how his hands—now tipped with lethal claws—managed to appear both dangerous and gentle simultaneously.
He turned toward her, concern etching his features. “Are you hurt?”
Those three simple words carried such weight. The low rumble of his voice sparked tiny electrical pulses along her spine. She wanted to hear that voice murmur other things entirely—private things, whispered against her skin in darkness.
Focus, Kalyna.
“No, I’m fine.” She stepped closer, drawn by something beyond conscious thought. The scent of him washed over her—cedar and spice with the distinctive undertone of lion magic. Her fox purred in response. “You protected me.”
His golden eyes searched her face. “I will always protect you.”
Something melted inside her at the simple declaration—no qualifiers, no hesitation. Just certainty. The librarian in her collected words like treasures; these four she wanted to preserve in amber.
His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes. The air between them thickened with possibility.
Sheriff Ironclaw’s arrival shattered the moment. As statements were given and the attacker secured, Kalyna couldn’t stop stealing glances at Rust. He’d shifted back to human form, but something fundamental had changed. The careful distance he’d maintained—the professional mask of Mayor Leonid—had cracked irreparably.
What remained made her fox want to pounce.