Page 24 of The Purrfect Rival

She laid a hand on his arm to tell him not to worry and crimson and gold energy surged between them, swirling throughout the car’s interior like the northern lights. The magical display revealed ghostly silhouettes—a lion and fox running side-by-side through a phantom forest, their forms sometimes merging, sometimes separate but always connected.

“This...” Kalyna whispered, staring at the fading lights. “I’m not sure what this is.”

His lion knew exactly what it was.Mate-bond forming. True match. Destiny.

TWENTY-ONE

Prismatic light danced across the polished oak floor of Enchanted Falls Library as morning sun filtered through stained-glass windows. Kalyna traced her fingertips along the spine of an ancient text, savoring the familiar texture of cracked leather. The scent of aged paper and binding glue wrapped around her like an old friend—a constant in her century-and-a-half of existence.

Her fingers paused on a volume about cross-species magical harmonies. Had she subconsciously selected it? With a quick shake of her head, she placed it aside and continued sorting the historical tomes that needed special attention.

The heavy wooden door crashed open with a thunderous bang that shattered the library’s tranquility. Lucella bounded toward her, hazel eyes alight with barely contained excitement.

“You’ll never believe what’s happening,” Lucella announced, voice echoing through the vaulted ceiling.

Kalyna continued arranging the books by age and origin. “Good morning to you too, Lu.”

“Oh please, morning greetings are for people whose magic doesn’t create temperature shifts that fog up car windows whenthey almost kiss the town mayor.” Lucella hopped onto the table’s edge, disrupting Kalyna’s careful organization.

A jolt shot through Kalyna’s body, her fingers fumbling a sixteenth-century tome on fox clan lineages. “Keep your voice down.”

“Why? We’re alone, and besides—” Lucella leaned forward conspiratorially, “—Agatha Plumthorn’s been making rounds since dawn, describing in vivid detail how Enchanted Falls’s most eligible lion and its most scholarly fox were seen ‘creating a haze of supernatural energy that made the streetlamps flicker.’”

Heat crept up Kalyna’s neck, spreading across her cheeks. Her fox stirred beneath her skin, preening rather than recoiling at the mention of last night’s encounter. The disconnect between her animal’s reaction and her human embarrassment unsettled her.

“Your fox is showing,” Lucella pointed toward Kalyna’s eyes with undisguised triumph.

Kalyna blinked rapidly, willing her irises to return from telltale crimson to their normal brown. Her fox resisted, savoring the memory of golden eyes and strong hands.

“It wasn’t—” she began, smoothing her burgundy skirt rather than meeting Lucella’s gaze. “The situation was intense. We were investigating.”

“Yes, and somewhere between the investigating and the escaping, you two managed to make the air around you vibrate with enough magical energy that Mrs. Clearwater’s radio three blocks away switched stations all by itself.” Lucella’s eyes sparkled. “Tilly at Honeycrisp is designing a cupcake called ‘Fox-Lion Fusion’ with red and gold swirled frosting.”

Kalyna groaned, pressing cool palms against her burning cheeks. “This town really needs to mind its own business.”

“Speaking of business,” Lucella’s voice dropped to a more genuine tone, “your mother and Aurelia Leonid were spotted having tea at Enchanted Brews this morning.”

Kalyna’s hands froze mid-gesture. “My mother and Rust’s mother? Together?”

Her heart stuttered at the implications. Marisol Foxworthy—keeper of fox traditions, teacher of ancient fox magic, definer of proper fox-clan behavior—willingly sharing tea with the Leonid matriarch? In public?

“Mm-hmm.” Lucella nodded. “Heads together, whispering like conspirators, occasionally scanning the room to check who might notice them.”

A peculiar warmth unfurled in Kalyna’s chest. Her fox practically purred at this development. Maternal approval, even tentative, soothed an anxiety she hadn’t acknowledged was there.

“The town betting pool on when you two announce your courtship just doubled overnight,” Lucella added. “Most money’s on the next full moon, but old Winston put twenty down on ‘by weekend’s end.’”

“There’s a betting—” Kalyna’s voice cracked embarrassingly. “How long has this been going on?”

“Since the council meeting where Rust growled.” Lucella swung her legs, heels thumping rhythmically against the table’s wooden side. “Though after last night, odds have shortened considerably.”

Kalyna busied herself with the ancient texts, the familiar task a poor distraction from memories that sent tremors through her body

“Nothing happened at the restaurant,” she lied, even as her fox whined in protest.

“So you didn’t almost kiss him?”

The book in Kalyna’s hands—a priceless first edition on magical bloodline inheritance—slipped from her grasp, hitting the floor with a dusty thump. Lucella’s gasp of delight told her everything her expression had given away.

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