Page 17

“One more time,” Hunter said, and he could fuck off with that.

I lay down and rested my nose between my paws, hoping he’d get the hint.

If he didn’t, I was going to have to make it clear the only way my wolf knew how and take a shit on his shoes.

He must have read my intentions in my gaze because he said, “Okay, we’re done. You can change back.”

Which was right when I saw movement from the corner of my eye, and I realized that the big crunchy leaf I’d been chasing earlier was still right there. It was caught up in a swirl of other leaves underneath one of the birch trees lining the shore, and I could have sworn it was taunting me. I got to my feet and ran over, paws flying.

The wind picked it up again, but I wasn’t letting it get away this time. I followed closely as it traveled across the ground, up a slope and down, before settling in a dip in the ground. Before it could get away again, I pounced. There was a loud, satisfying crunch as I trapped it under my paw, and a deep primal satisfaction surged in my chest at having found my target. I let out a chuffing noise, and a few moments later I became aware of a strange sensation in the rear of my body, a back-and-forth swinging motion. It took a second before it dawned on me what it was.

I was wagging my tail. At a fucking leaf.

Well, this was embarrassing.

I took my paw off the remains of the leaf and tried to control my tail. It continued to wag without my permission. Still, I did my best to look dignified as I strutted toward where I’d left my clothes on the park bench, my nose in the air. I glanced over and saw Hunter’s lips twitching up in a smile.

I ignored him. He could laugh all he wanted, but he hadn’t successfully stalked and captured a giant leaf, had he? No, he had not.

He turned his back to give me some privacy, although I wouldn’t have minded him checking me out again. It took me a minute before I was able to convince my brain to trigger my shift back, but then everything was stretching and moving, my bones crackling and my muscles changing, and I was standing there naked and human. A wave of tiredness washed over me, and suddenly I was bone-weary, as if I’d run a marathon.

Not that I’d ever run a marathon.

I took a couple of deep breaths, pulled on my clothes, and said, “You can turn around now.”

When Hunter turned, I didn’t miss the way he looked me up and down. I wasn’t sure he even knew he was doing it.

“Hey. My eyes are up here,” I said, and he gave a guilty jolt as his eyes snapped up to my face.

I grinned. He was into me. I waved a hand in the direction of the course. “So how did I do?”

Like I didn’t already know the answer.

Hunter was decent enough not to point out that I’d gotten distracted chasing a leaf and failed to make it more than halfway up a ramp. Instead he reached into a cooler bag that was sitting under the bench and threw me a sports drink. I snagged it midair. “Nice coordination. Drink that. You’ll need the electrolytes after shifting.”

I unscrewed the top and drained the bottle and some of my post-shift tiredness faded, so he obviously knew what he was talking about. “Thanks.”

Hunter’s expression turned thoughtful. “Interesting.”

“What is?” I asked.

“You caught that without even thinking about it.”

I shrugged. “Well, yeah. My hands aren’t the problem.”

He nodded in the direction of the trees where I’d been sniffing earlier. “When you were chasing that leaf⁠—”

I groaned and hid my face in my hands. “Can we not mention that? I told you, my wolf is a dumbass. It’s humiliating.”

“When you were chasing that leaf,” he continued, “you went up and down the ramp no problem.”

My head snapped up. “I did?”

“Yep,” he said. “But you didn’t notice because you were so focused.”

I thought back, and yeah, I had noticed the ground sloping up and then down, but I hadn’t paid any attention, too busy chasing my prey—if you could call a leaf prey.

And I’d managed to walk up and down a ramp just fine.