Page 49 of Noah

But some shifters weren’t interested in camaraderie.

A whistle pierced the air, signaling the start of the race.

A blur of fur and muscle shot forward as wolves shifted in rapid succession, powerful forms taking off across the open field and into the dense forest beyond.

My eyes immediately found Adrian, already barrelling through the crowd, his powerful wolf shoving aside anyone in his way.

I grimaced. He didn’t even try to hide it. Pack mates, rival wolves—it didn’t matter. Adrian wanted to win, and he didn’t care who he trampled to get there.

Karl and his usual lackeys weren’t far behind him, but I noticed Carter moving differently from the rest of Adrian’s pack.

While the others focused on brute force, Carter was reeling in their weaker pack mates, making sure they weren’t left behind.

Interesting. Maybe not all of Adrian’s pack shared his cutthroat attitude.

The race intensified, wolves dodging and weaving through the terrain, pushing themselves to their limits.

But my attention snapped back to Adrian just in time to see him pull another dirty move.

He and Karl flanked a smaller wolf from another pack, shoving him aside. The young wolf yelped as he hit the ground hard.

Adrian snapped at his neck, not enough to seriously wound, but enough to make the wolf scramble back in fear. Karl then lunged at the smaller wolf.

I saw blood.

A sharp cry tore from my throat. The smaller wolf lay on the ground, injured, his pack mates snarling in warning. They wanted revenge.

Jackson was already there, stepping between them, trying to de-escalate the situation before it turned into an all-out brawl.

But Adrian’s arrogance had finally pushed things too far. The tension snapped like a bowstring, and snarls erupted as shifters squared off.

Griffin and the other Pecan Pines enforcers rushed in, forcing the situation under control.

The air was thick with barely restrained violence, wolves bristling, muscles coiled. But Adrian? He barely spared the injured wolf a glance.

Instead, Adrian resumed running as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t just almost started a war between packs.

And he crossed the finish line first.

I hadn’t even finished processing my frustration before Adrian trotted right up to me, his fur sleek with sweat.

My first instinct was to step back, but I caught myself just in time. I knew Adrian well enough to know that retreating would only encourage him.

He shifted, standing before me in his human form, utterly unabashed. I kept my gaze firmly on his face, ignoring the rest of him.

"Did you see that, Noah?" Adrian asked, smug. "First place."

I exhaled slowly. "I saw."

Adrian grinned. "Gonna reward me for winning?"

I opened my mouth, already prepared to shut him down, but before I could get a word out, Adrian leaned forward—and kissed me.

Shock paralyzed me.

The world tilted, my mind going blank for a fraction of a second before I heard a familiar, furious roar behind me.

Jackson.

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