Page 9 of The Purrfect Rival (Enchanted Falls #1)

NINE

“ S o, it’s true? About you and the new mayor?”

Kalyna nearly dropped her phone. Of course, her mother would call at 5:30 in the morning. She fumbled with her teacup, setting it down before it could spill across her kitchen counter.

“Mother, what are you talking about?”

“Agatha Plumthorn stopped by yesterday with her special elderberry jam.” Marisol Foxworthy’s voice carried that particular blend of innocence and probing that had extracted confessions from Kalyna since childhood. “She mentioned something about red and gold sparks flying at the council meeting.”

Kalyna pinched the bridge of her nose. News traveled with supernatural speed in Enchanted Falls, especially when carried by a magpie shifter whose entire existence revolved around gossip.

“Mrs. Plumthorn exaggerates. The mayor and I exchanged some documents. Static electricity, nothing more.” Her fox stirred at the lie, nipping at her conscience.

“Mm-hmm.” Her mother’s skepticism traveled clearly through the phone. “And I suppose the mayor growling when you left the room was also... static electricity?”

Heat rushed to Kalyna’s cheeks. She glanced at her reflection in the window—her eyes had flashed crimson at the mere mention of that moment.

“It wasn’t a growl. It was... a throat-clearing.”

“Of course, dear.” A pause. “You know, your father and I aren’t like some of the older families. All that fuss about foxes and lions not mixing—such outdated thinking.”

“Mother—”

“I’m just saying, whoever your mate turns out to be, we’ll support you. Even if he happens to be six-foot-two with golden eyes and a mayoral sash.”

“He’s not my mate!” The denial came too quickly, too forcefully. Her fox yipped in protest, pacing restlessly beneath her skin.

Her mother’s soft chuckle said everything. “The library renovations start today, correct? With the mayor’s oversight?”

“Yes,” Kalyna sighed, surrendering to the topic change. “I’m meeting him there before opening hours.”

“How lovely. Wear that deep green blouse—it brings out your eyes when they... flash.”

“Good-bye, Mother,” Kalyna said firmly, ending the call before Marisol could make further observations.

She leaned against the counter, breathing deeply to calm her racing pulse. Her mother couldn’t possibly have detected the lie over the phone... could she? No. Impossible. Even with fox shifter intuition, some things simply couldn’t be sensed at a distance.

Kalyna moved to her bedroom, opening the wardrobe with a resigned sigh. Her fingers brushed past the green blouse her mother had suggested, then returned to it. The soft fabric called to her, and she pulled it from the hanger with a mixture of defiance and surrender.

As she dressed, memories of Rust flooded her consciousness unbidden. The moment their fingers had touched—gold and crimson sparks dancing between them, the instant recognition that had nothing to do with logical thought. The rumbling purr-growl he’d made when she’d left the council chamber, a sound that had sent delicious shivers through her body.

Her fox whined with longing, urging her to find him, touch him, claim him as hers. She clamped down on the impulse, forcing herself to think pragmatically. Lions and foxes didn’t mate. Centuries of tradition forbade it. Skulk and pride elders would object. The practical complications alone were staggering.

Yet her fox didn’t care about complications. It wanted what it wanted with primal simplicity.

“It’s just a renovation project,” she told her reflection firmly. “Professional. Temporary. Nothing more.”

Her fox disagreed, pacing anxiously in her consciousness.