Page 20 of One True Mate

“You were so fast, Kels! I've never seen a shifter move so fast, especially in human form. Wow!” Lily sounded super excited and impressed. “Can I clock your speed in wolf form? I'm dying to know if you're faster than Kyle.”

“He holds the fastest recorded speed in the Westin Pack,” Elise filled me in. “And he's third fastest amongst all documented wolves throughout history,” she proudly exclaimed.

I looked at Kyle, but he just kinda hung his head in slight embarrassment. It was clear how proud of him his sisters were, and it was kind of cute seeing him so humbled by them.

“So, what's the record stand at?”

“Sixty-seven miles per hour,” Elise told me.

“And Kyle's at sixty-three last count,” Lily was quick to add.

I looked at him, “Only sixty-three miles per hour?” I faked shock. “Bet I could take you.”

He perked up and looked at me. One eye brow slightly raised higher than the other.

“You're on.” I loved the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Lesson one, Kelsey,” Lily said with an exasperated sigh, “do not ever issue a challenge to another shifter that you aren't serious about, not even in jest. Man, you have so much to learn!”

“Kyle, back off, please,” Elise said.

“No, I understand, lesson one is on, let's go,” I told him lifting my chin to him in defiance.

“Ahhh! Kelsey! Lesson two, looking another wolf directly in the eyes and holding that stare is a direct challenge.”

“But you said I already made the challenge and I said, OK, so what's the big deal?” I didn't understand what she was trying to say.

“It's more than that, Kels,” Elise tried to more calmly clue me in, “Kyle is an alpha wolf, not just any alpha, he'll one day take over as Pack Alpha. He's not someone you can just stare down. The respectful thing is to avert your eyes at the very least. I can't even believe you can actually stand to hold his stare for that long. Your wolf should be screaming at you to look away.”

“Look away? If Kyle stared back at me that hard, I'd be baring my neck in a heartbeat!”

“Baring your neck? What does that mean.”

“Here, I'll demonstrate.”

I watched as Lily walked down the stairs, suppressing the territorial demands of my wolf as she came to the bottom of the steps. Instead, I looked over to Kyle as he made eye contact with her. It was very brief before she dropped her head and averted her eyes, then turned her head to the right, exposing her neck to him.

“That's a full act of submission,” Elise explained.

“The wolf in the woods did that.” I said more to myself than anything remembering how I had copied them in wolf form.

“Try it,” Lily encouraged.

I hesitated, and saw Kyle nod his head towards the stairs. I waited until she was back up, out of my den, before I walked over and attempted to mirror what Lily had done. But I knew he was staring at me still and I couldn't help but look. It was like I was drawn to his eyes and couldn't look away. I bared my neck and heard his slight intake of breath from the action, but his pupils dilated and I kept his stare.

“No, you're not supposed to be looking at him while you do it.” Lily instructed.

I burst out laughing.

“I can't help it, I feel stupid. Why does he get to look at me and I can't look at him?”

“We have so much you need to learn before you're presented to Council,” she pouted.

“It's okay, Kelsey, you're doing fine,” Kyle assured me after having been quiet for quite some time.

“How about you? If you're the great alpha, do you ever have to bare your throat to anyone?”

“On formal occasions, I do to my father and members of the Grand Council when they travel here, but only for formality purposes,” he informed me.

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