Page 16 of The Purrfect Rival

She ignored the urging, maintaining a professional smile as she walked him to the door.

“Thank you for your help today,” she said formally, extending her hand.

Rust looked at her offered hand with an unreadable expression before taking it in his. The touch sent a current of warmth up her arm, their magics sparking subtly where skin met skin.

“Until tomorrow,” he said, his voice deeper than usual, his eyes briefly flashing gold.

Her fox pushed hard enough that she almost swayed toward him, almost closed the distance for an embrace that propriety forbade. She locked her knees, keeping her feet firmly in place.

“Tomorrow,” she echoed, withdrawing her hand with reluctance her professional expression didn’t betray.

After Rust departed, Kalyna locked the front doors and went back to organizing the historical documents, making notes about renovation precedents and searching for additional information about the mysterious fox heirloom. The library grew quieter as evening deepened, the only sound the occasional creak of settling wood and the soft tick of the grandfather clock in the reading room.

Her fox remained restless, sulking at her refusal to pursue their mate, occasionally pushing images into her mind—fantasies of how the day might have ended differently if she’d given in to her instincts in the archive room or during their heated argument.

She had just begun restoring the historical exhibits to their proper display cases when movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. A shadow slipped between distant shelves.

“Hello?” she called, setting down the books she’d been holding. “The library’s closed.”

No response came, but the faint sound of footsteps confirmed someone else was present. How had they gotten past the locked doors? Kalyna moved cautiously toward the sound, fox senses heightened. Her magic tingled at her fingertips, ready to manifest if needed.

“Security will be making rounds soon,” she announced to the apparently empty stacks. “If you’re here after hours, you should identify yourself.”

A figure darted from behind a shelf, moving rapidly out the side exit. Kalyna caught only a glimpse—tall, dressed in dark clothing.

“Stop!” She hurried forward, fox-swift, but the intruder had already disappeared along the street.

Returning to the spot where the figure had stood, Kalyna lifted her nose into the air and breathed deeply. Her sensitive nose caught the distinct scent of lion shifter.

Not just any lion shifter. The scent signature was similar to Rust’s but sharper with notes of sandalwood instead of cedar. The similarity suggested family relation—a Leonid, certainly.

Boz Leonid?

A chill ran down Kalyna’s spine. What had Rust’s cousin been doing in the library at night, lurking in shadows rather than visiting during normal business hours?

She noticed she was near the locked door to special collections that might or might not hold the fox heirloom.

From her pocket, she pulled out her key ring. She flipped through the various keys to the one with SC on the fob.

Pushing open the heavy door, hinges grinding, she breathed in the low-humidity air with a hint of staleness. The room was the biggest in the library building, packed full of locked containers, taped-up boxes, and display cases with old items belonging to various shifter groups, all important in some fashion.

She didn’t know how anyone could find anything in this mess. Fortunately, she knew exactly where she was going.

In the back stood several tall metal safes. The thin layer of dust settled on the fronts was proof no one had touched them in a long time. As she reached for the combination lock of the middle safe, her fingers felt the protective magic placed on the dial.

This safe was spelled so only those with direct Foxworthy blood could open it. That was one of the reasons she was the librarian.

After a few twists left and right, the door popped open. She slowly opened it to reveal shelves of items she hadn’t laid eyes on in forever. Some, she’d never seen before. Most she had no idea what they were or why they were there. But one box stood out as special.

With steady hands, she lifted the ruby red container and set it on a table loaded with ceremonial decorations of some kind. She pulled the lid off and her breath caught.

There in the crimson velvet-lined interior lay the talisman she’d only heard of. It looked like a pinecone found in the forest. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but that wasn’t it.

Apparently, the relocation hadn’t happened. She wondered if the fox elders knew it was still here.

After placing the lid back on and returning the box to the safe, she sealed the door and stepped back. If it had been safe here all these years, it would remain safe until after she spoke with the elders tomorrow to see what they wanted to do.

Locking the main door to the special collection room, she wondered if the heirloom was the intended target. But why would it be? If it was something really important or powerful, surely it would be hidden in a place where no one would find it. Not in a magically protected safe buried within the walls of a room with a locked heavy-ass door.

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