Page 38 of Rogue Games

I push their negative attitudes out of my mind. All I can do is my best and hope we’re here for another day.

Feeling someone’s attention on me, I turn and lock eyes with Dean. He’s probably worried we’re going to come back in under four hours, and he’ll be stuck with us longer than he wanted.

Shouldering me gently, Wyatt pulls my attention back to Lynn, who tightens my chip. Callum stands to the side, getting ready to let our group loose on the course. He’s watching me, a serious look on his face, but when Lynn joins him and whispers something in his ear, he gives me a small nod as I step up to the line. Resisting the urge to turn and look for Dean once more, I shake out my arms and bounce on my toes, knowing my speed is going to be my biggest asset today.

“Ready, set, go!”

18

DEAN

Wave after wave of fit, athletic shifters take off across the stony beach and into the trees, all departing close together. Beckett argued for spreading them out more, leaving five minutes or so between groups, but I wanted them to feel the next wolves breathing down their necks.

Dealing with pressure is part of being an alpha, and this competition is meant to be uncomfortable. We need to push their animal’s buttons. Each round is designed to test their temperament, not just how fast they can cover some difficult terrain.

Some people stick to the paths, others veer off into the forest to avoid the congestion. All have only one thing on their mind: getting home as fast as they can.

Jamie takes off at speed, racing across the beach with ease, while the heavier males struggle more on the shifting sand. She’s going to need every second of that head start. There are challenges further ahead where she won’t have the brute strength they do, and somehow, I don’t see many people here giving her a helping hand.

“I kind of feel bad for them,” Callum says, his barely hidden smile suggesting he feels anything but sympathy for the contestants.

“No, you don’t,” I scoff. He’s enjoying this as much as I am. Or, as much as I was before I saw Jamie lining up in those tiny shorts and getting jostled by the wannabe alphas who resent her presence in the competition.

Those that aren’t threatened by her piss me off just as much, because I know they see what I see: a gorgeous, capable woman who’s excited about challenging herself. And a pair of tanned legs that would bring a grown man to his knees.

And those golden eyes. Eyes I should have recognised the instant I saw them.

Eyes that are the same as Maggie’s.

Jamie’s her daughter, she must be. Which means I was right all along. She’s not just here to win, and she’s definitely going to cause me some trouble.

“Can it even be done in four hours?” Blake Steel asks, coming to stand beside us as the last of the men charge around the bend. As they disappear from view, only the echoes of their footsteps, and the distant sounds of snapping branches remain.

Blake says he’s here to lend some support, to make sure everything runs smoothly and to keep a watchful eye over how the contestants are behaving. I think he’s just as interested in how my pack handles interacting with our guests.

“It can. I did it myself after Callum made the last adjustments.”

Rubbing my shoulder, I wince, my still recovering muscles a reminder of just how difficult it is.

The three of us listen as the noise of departing competitors fades away. If you didn’t know the race was on, there’d be nothing to suggest dozens of wolves were charging their way through the trees.

“You didn’t have the weather they’re about to get though,” Callum points out as we all watch the surface of the lake as it turns slightly choppy.

The sun disappears behind a cloud, and the temperature noticeably dips. A breeze stirs the trees, and I glance up at the sky, noticing the dark shadows blowing in from the west. The weather is turning bleak, just like my mood.

We toyed with postponing until tomorrow when the forecast showed a storm brewing, but what better way to test both their determination and decision-making abilities than to see how they cope with the bad weather.

“So, what do we do now?” Blake asks when I make no move to leave. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on standing here for hours, waiting for them to come back.”

The right thing to do would be to go back with my alpha and use this time to show him the improvements we’ve made to the pack. It might convince him to send more business our way. And yet, an invisible string tugging my gut is keeping me in place.

Sensing my hesitation, Callum steps in, lightening the mood.

“You could always give it a go yourself, Alpha Steel?” Callum jokes. “I’m sure I could find you some trainers.”

Blake laughs, a deep rumbling sound, and smooths the front of his crisp white shirt. Always smartly dressed, Blake is every inch the ideal alpha. He’s calm, charming and impeccably mannered, but lethal behind it all. A real wolf in sheep's clothing.

“Fun as that sounds, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to get involved in whatever goes on out there. When the rain starts, it’s going to get messy.”

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