Page 64 of The Purrfect Rival

“And you,” Hezron added to Rust, eyebrows rising, “have definitely picked up fox notes. It’s all over your aura.”

Heat rose to Kalyna’s cheeks while Rust’s expression remained impassive save for a slight tightening around his eyes. Their animals had claimed each other in ways that transcended conscious choice, creating biological markers even other shifters could detect.

Before either could respond, a young fox shifter burst into the room, panic etched across her features.

“The attacks!” she gasped. “Foxworthy homestead and Leonid estate—both under heavy assault! Elder Willow sent word that defensive barriers are failing at both locations!”

The room erupted with exclamations and questions, but Kalyna heard only a roaring in her ears. Her parents—Winston’s quiet strength and Marisol’s gentle wisdom—facing danger while she was absent. Family that had nurtured her, raised her, loved her despite occasional disagreements over clan traditions.

Simultaneously, she felt Rust’s hand tighten around hers. His mother Aurelia, who had maintained the Leonid legacy since his father’s death, now threatened in her own home.

“It’s a calculated move,” Echo said grimly, looking between them. “Boz knows he can’t face you together—you’re too strong as a unit. He’s targeting our families to force you apart.”

The cruel logic hit Kalyna like physical pain. Their fox and lion instincts compelled them to protect territory and family—primal impulses that could override even their newfound bond if pressed hard enough.

The room fell silent as everyone turned toward them, awaiting their decision. Both clan territories needed defending. Both families needed protection. The impossible choice lay between them like a chasm reopening.

The memory of their earlier separation lingered—the physical ache, the sense of wrongness that had grown with eachstep of distance. Everything they had discovered pointed to a single truth: together, they were stronger than apart. Yet how could either abandon their family in crisis?

Rust drew her slightly away from the others, his expression more vulnerable than she’d ever seen from the usually composed mayor. His golden eyes, still glowing faintly from his partial shift, held hers with unmistakable intensity.

“My lion recognized you as mate from the first moment,” he said quietly, his deep voice pitched for her ears alone. “But the man in me needs you to know—this isn’t just animal instinct. I would choose you in any form, in any life.”

The raw emotion in his voice made Kalyna’s breath catch. This wasn’t the formal mayor or even the protective alpha lion—this was simply Rust, offering his heart with complete transparency.

“My fox and I are in complete agreement where you’re concerned,” she replied, her fingers tightening around his. “Always have been.”

Their hands remained intertwined as they turned back to the anxious group. The impossible choice still loomed, but one thing had become absolutely clear: whatever path they chose, they would walk it together.

SIXTY-ONE

Kalyna paused at the crest of the hill, the Foxworthy homestead sprawling before them in complete chaos.

When they’d debated their strategy, she’d braced for resistance—surely a lion would prioritize his own territory. Instead, he’d simply nodded and said, “Your family first. Mine can fight lion for lion. The tactical choice is yours and the right one.”

She squeezed his hand once before releasing it, squaring her shoulders. “They won’t all welcome you.”

“I don’t need their welcome.” His golden eyes met hers. “Only their survival.”

Warning shouts came from the eastern perimeter, followed by flashes of offensive magic striking against the protective wards. Kalyna ran into the fray and joined her father on the garden terrace, adding her fox illusions to the defensive array. From the north gate, she sensed Rust coordinating the lion shifters, his presence radiating focused authority.

The wards on the northern boundary collapsed under coordinated magical assault. Boz’s forces poured onto the property—hired mercenaries in black tactical gear wieldingspelled weapons, rogue shifters in partial transformation, corrupt mages channeling sickly green energy.

Kalyna’s fox magic responded to the threat, power flowing more freely than ever before. Her illusions gained solidity, confusing attackers with phantom pathways while she darted between defensive positions. Through her bond with Rust, she sensed his fierce concentration, felt the surge of protective rage each time an attacker breached their lines.

A trio of mercenaries cornered two young fox shifters against the garden wall. Kalyna sprinted toward them, hands weaving complex patterns that multiplied her form into six identical copies. The mercenaries hesitated, weapons tracking between the illusions, unsure which to target.

She used their confusion to strike—not with magic but with the physical training she’d rarely needed before. Her foot connected with the nearest attacker’s knee, dropping him to the ground with a howl of pain. The second swung a spelled blade that passed harmlessly through one of her illusions.

The third proved more dangerous—a bear shifter whose massive arms ended in wicked claws. He slashed through her remaining illusions with terrifying speed, snarling as he identified her true location.

Kalyna ducked under his first swipe, fox reflexes giving her a crucial edge in speed. She rolled across the damp grass, coming up with a fallen branch that glowed with fox magic as soon as she grasped it.

The bear shifter charged, surprisingly fast for his bulk. She sidestepped, swinging the branch at his exposed flank. It connected with a satisfying crack, the fox magic disrupting his partial shift. He stumbled, fur receding from his arms as he lost control of his transformation.

Victory proved momentary. The first mercenary had regained his feet, producing a small crossbow from inside hisjacket. Kalyna spun toward the new threat, illusions already forming to distract him.

Too late.

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