If You Can Dodge a Wrench, You Can Dodge a Wolf

The scent of blood flavored
the air with copper. My nostrils flared as my heart thundered in my chest.

“Zara, Zara, Zara.” The chant
was a low hum in my sensitive ears. “Zara. Zara. Zara.” While the tempo
increased, the volume didn’t.

I exhaled through my nose and
tilted my head back to bask in the glow of silver moonlight. Adrenaline coursed
through my body, masking the icy wind that blew my hair and the cold ground
beneath my bare feet. I called forth the magic necessary to fuel the shift from
human to animal form. My efforts met only resistance. I could feel the magic, I
just couldn’t access it. It was annoying but not unexpected; I always had
trouble shifting under pressure.

“Push through it.” I heard my
father’s voice in my head instead of my own, coaching me through the shift.

On the opposite end of the
metal bridge, my opponent pawed the ground and snorted. Frozen chunks of dirt
flew from his sharp claws. He stared at me, a challenge in his wolfish gaze.

My heart hammered against my
ribs.

Come on. You’ve got this.

The chanting stopped,
replaced by a low, collective howl from the gathered crowd. The earthy scent of
elemental magic mixed with the much headier scent of bloodlust, both calling
the wolf inside me to the surface.

My eyesight was the first of
my senses to sharpen, followed closely by scent. I surrendered to the animal,
the wolf that was just as much me as its human counterpart.

The cries from the spectators
on both sides of the bridge reached a crescendo. By the time my hands hit the
ground, they were paws, and the items of clothing that I hadn’t shed lay in
tatters at my feet. Through wolf-vision, I stared at my opponent across the
metal beams, still slick with the spilled blood of previous competitors. A
smile crossed his wolfy face, but his keen eyes glowed yellow in the darkness.

A shrill whistle pierced the
air, and we both charged. The bridge swayed dangerously. We collided in a
tangle of fur and gnashing canines. His jaws closed around my back leg. Weak. I
went for his throat. He shook me off before my teeth broke skin. My paws
skidded on the slick metal, claws scraping the cold, wet surface for purchase.

My opponent was on me before
I regained my footing. This time, he went for the jugular. Literally. I dodged
his attack, rolling out of the way and landing neatly on my feet. Teeth bared,
a deep growl started low in my throat. The black wolf spun to face me, eyes
glowing like fireflies in the darkness.

Boos went up from the crowd.
They wanted to see bloodshed. That was what they’d paid money to see. The
spectators had placed bets on the outcome, and no one wanted a draw. Including
me. Win or lose, I still got paid, though the champion’s purse was worth a lot
more.

Switching to the offensive, I
used my superior speed and reflexes to lunge first. My opponent was good,
though. He dodged to the left, and my jaws sank into his shoulder instead of
his throat. This time, I tasted the blood of my enemy.

Ah, the sweet flavor of
victory. But I was getting ahead of myself. Just because I was the first to
draw blood, it didn’t mean I would be the last wolf standing.

My opponent batted at my head
like he was dribbling a basketball. I bit down harder, receiving a pained yowl
as a reward. Claws extended, he responded with a brain-rattling slap across my
face.

I released his shoulder and
staggered backward several paces. Which was a mistake. I knew better.

The other wolf leapt, and I
reared up on my hind legs to meet his attack. My opponent was twice my size and
knocked me flat on my back. He landed on all fours over me.

The crowd went wild. Finally,
we were giving them their money’s worth.

But I wasn’t that easily
defeated. I was the daughter of an Alpha, after all. Trained since birth to
defend myself and my pack. Unfortunately, Liam also had an exalted lineage as
second-in-line to his father’s shifter throne. It was a fair match, though I
knew I’d win.

I kicked my hind legs up into
his soft underbelly, hard enough to knock him off balance. He stumbled as I
rolled to my feet. Not wanting to waste my opponent’s momentary weakness, I
attacked again.

One large black paw smacked
my head. Snarling, I aimed a hit at his bloody shoulder. The other wolf reared
up and howled. I did the same.

We both lunged, crashing
together midair before falling onto the hard metal bridge. I landed on my side
with bruising force, but barely registered the pain through my adrenaline.

Liam lay beside me, his
yellow eyes focused on something over my head. I didn’t look. It was an old
trick, almost too petty for such a good fighter. Then the night lit up like
someone had flipped a light switch.

A familiar voice bellowed
louder than the crowd. “What the hell is going on up here?”

We both jumped to our feet.
Our eyes locked, an unspoken message passing between us.

Bystanders scattered into the
woods, leaving the two of us to deal with the consequences.

“This had better not be what
I think it is!” my Uncle Buck hollered.

Liam’s yellow eyes never
blinked. Not even when he dipped his head and rammed my shoulder. Surprised, I
skidded backward, nails grinding against the ground.

Just as my hind legs slipped
over the side of the bridge, I dug my teeth into the shiny black fur covering
his throat. For good measure, I looped a front leg around his neck. If I was
going over the edge, it wouldn’t be alone.

Locked like lovers embracing,
we plummeted toward the icy water below.

My flank hit first. Liam’s
much heavier form landed on top of me, forcing me under the surface. Water
filled my nose. The shock of the cold water started an immediate shift. By the
time I resurfaced, the change was complete.

Two feet away, Liam’s head
popped above the surface. His yellow wolf eyes still glowed in a very human
face, and he flashed me a toothy grin. I smacked the water with my open palm,
sending a wave of it straight between his parted lips.

Spotlights shone down from
the bridge. Silently, we both slipped beneath the water and started toward
shore. Once I arrived at the beach, I darted into the surrounding woods. Liam
followed a beat behind. We both shifted, our animal forms better equipped to
deal with the sub-freezing temperature.

He was larger, but I was
faster and more agile. Though Liam fell behind a few lengths, he always caught
up. We broke into the clearing together, yet I edged ahead again at the
entrance to Arcane Falls Cemetery. I finally slowed at the Tomb of the Alpha and
rounded on my opponent. He pawed the ground, challenge returning to his canine
eyes.

Breath turning white in the
frigid night air, I barreled toward him, leaping so that all four paws left the
ground. Unlike up on the bridge, he didn’t meet my advance. Liam laid down and
literally rolled over. My front paws landed just above his shoulders, the back
straddling his hips. He shifted beneath me, and I noticed the skin on his
shoulder had already knitted back together.

I shifted and dipped my head
until my lips were just above his. “That was close, asshole.” I swatted his
chest. “Too close.”

Liam laughed, tendrils of
dark, wet hair curling into his eyes.

“You liked it,” he said, tone
teasing.

I glared down my nose at him.
“If my uncle had caught us—”

His lips captured mine,
cutting off the rest of my sentence with a kiss that left me wanting more. With
great reluctance, I pulled away.

“I have to go,” I whispered
against his mouth.

“Five more minutes,” Liam mumbled,
inhaling my breath as I exhaled. His palms slid up my ribcage. “Just five more
minutes. It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

It would be. I didn’t doubt
that. Skilled as he was with his hands, Liam could do a lot for me in five
minutes. Sadly, with my Uncle Buck already on the prowl, even a quick interlude
was off the table.

“Can’t.” I stole another
quick kiss. “I need to get back in my bed before anyone misses me. And if I get
caught with you, we’re both dead.”

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