Page 21 of The Chosen Fae

He cast her a smile. He wasn’t used to being bossed around. He wanted to object because she had really heard it first. She had stopped the others from playing in the game, giving them the advantage. She was the clear winner as far as he was concerned.

When he hesitated, she grabbed his hand, and they touched it together. Half of the wolf statue was suddenly covered in a sprinkling of silver stars. The other half of the stone they touched revealed a full moon.

They stared at it in amazement. Then they heard movement and feared it was the wild boar again, but it was Lolita, panting, out of breath, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

“Wow,” Lolita said. “That’s just beautiful. I didn’t know that two people could win a challenge simultaneously.”

“We were here at the same time, so we had to try it,” Rune said. “If no one won the challenge, it was all right by me.”

“By all rights,” Stone said, “Rune should have won. But I’m glad we could do it together.”

Lolita smiled. “Me too. And thanks, Rune, for sparing me a dunk in the river. I know that I’m not much competition…”

“Sure you are. If you had found the idol first, we would have been happy for you. We know you're still siding with the rest of the wolves in your pack because you don’t have any other choice, but we don’t hold it against you,” Rune said.

“Can I stick with you guys?” Lolita asked.

“We’re not a team,” Rune quickly said. “It just worked out this way.”

Stone agreed. “And for your safety, I think it would be better if you stay with the larger group, keep your head down, and go along with their gameplay.”

“I really don’t want to, but I’ll go along with it, for now,” Lolita said.

7

That night, Rune showed Stone her new suede leather boots that her sponsor had sent her, and Stone showed his off to her.

“Your sponsor’s gift?”

“Yeah. I guess since Ena and Brett are mated, they go shopping together or have the same idea in mind,” Stone said. “I’m sure these are for the Rope Bridge Trial.”

“Did you get a warm wolf blanket earlier after the Changeling Challenge?”

“I sure did, even though the Game Master said no one won the game. I guess you got one?”

“Yes, I was so thrilled. I was so cold and had to sleep as a wolf that night.”

“You could have told me, and I would have joined you once Maeve was gone.”

Rune smiled.

The next day, all the competitors gathered in a sandy area for a new challenge while the Game Master said, “The tug-of-war game is next. Because we have an uneven number of competitors, Elon will sit this one out. The participants have to stand in the sand and pull their opponents across the halfway mark. But first, since both Rune and Stone had won the contest of finding the idol, they will be the team leaders and choose the fae to join their teams.”

Stone hadn't anticipated a teamwork game like this, but he could understand why. If a wolf was leading a pack, teamwork was essential too, though the alpha leader would have the final say in how things were going down. They had Stone choose first, and he knew Rune would choose Lolita because she was loyal and a friend, but it would put Rune’s side at a disadvantage. So he chose Lolita first.

Several disagreed with the choice, asking him if he was crazy to do so! Rune raised her brows at him. He smiled and gestured for her to choose next. Lolita walked over to stand beside Stone, though she seemed to want to be on Rune's team. Rune picked Iris. Stone shook his head. She should have balanced her team more by choosing a male.

He chose Silas this time, only because that would balance out having Lolita on his team. The women looked frustrated that he had chosen a male. Rune chose Xena!

“Why did you have to choose me?” Xena was red-faced and angry.

Rune was going to lose for sure. But Stone always wondered what she had in mind. She was a clever wolf, and maybe she had something more up her sleeve than he could count on. On the other hand, her competitive nature was such that he didn't believe she would want to give up, yet he was fairly certain she really didn't want to lead the packs into the new decade.

This time, he chose Pari, so Rune wouldn't have all females on her side. That left one more person for him to choose. She picked Caspian. Stone could only choose Vesper or Fang. Vesper looked eager to be on his team. He had probably never been left out of a team selection. Truth be told, neither Stone nor Rune had ever played as team participants so this was new to them.

Though Stone loved to play tug-of-war with her, just the two of them, and he mostly won. Which is why he knew she would lose with a team composed mostly of women. He chose Fang, leaving Vesper to his fate. Why should he choose him when he was so hateful to Stone? Sure, he was strong, but let him use his strength to help even the odds under Rune's leadership.

Rune motioned to Vesper to join her team, and he glowered at Stone, then at Rune. She didn't react; she just gathered her team and explained the best way to beat Stone's team.