Page 13 of The Purrfect Rival

Kalyna ignored the persistent urging, though it grew harder with each passing moment in the confined space.

“Here,” she said, pulling a dusty box from a high shelf. “Building correspondence from the 1890’s renovation.”

After she lowered the box to a small work table, she pulled out a bound ledger as did Rust. On the first page, she noted it was from the personal archives of a Leonid family member. She carefully flipped through the pages looking for anything that looked important. A loose leaf of paper fell from the sheets and landed at Rust’s feet.

He picked it up, examining the broken wax seal. “This isn’t official correspondence,” he noted, turning it over. “It’s personal.”

The envelope, yellowed with age, bore two names in faded ink: “Melia Foxworthy” and “Leonidas Leonid.”

“Foxworthy?” Rust raised an eyebrow. “Your ancestor?”

“Great-Great Aunt, I believe.” Kalyna took the envelope carefully. “And Leonidas would have been...”

“My grandfather’s cousin.” Rust leaned closer, his breath warming her cheek. Her fox practically melted at his proximity,urging her to turn her face toward his, to bridge the small gap between them.

The letter inside was written on delicate stationery, the handwriting elegant but bold. Kalyna unfolded it gingerly, conscious of Rust reading over her shoulder.

“My dearest Leo,” she began reading aloud. “The council meeting dragged interminably, made bearable only by catching your eye across the chamber. How I longed to cross that formal divide, to feel your touch as we did beneath the waterfall last evening...”

Kalyna cleared her throat, suddenly aware of how closely Rust stood beside her, his presence mirroring the letter’s intimate scenario with uncanny precision.

Rust continued reading without pausing: “When moonlight silvered your golden form and my illusions danced upon your skin, I knew our magic sought union despite centuries of clan division. The elders may speak of tradition, but I speak of destiny—of fox and lion spirits that recognize each other beyond bloodlines or politics.”

His voice deepened on the final words, a resonance that sent shivers down Kalyna’s spine. When she glanced up, his eyes had darkened, the amber flecks more pronounced.

“Perhaps we should—” she began.

“There’s more,” he said quietly, flipping over the page. His eyes scanned the text, widening slightly before he read aloud: “When our bodies joined beneath the stars, when our magics merged in that exquisite moment of completion, I glimpsed what the ancients knew—that lion strength and fox cunning are not opposed but complementary, two halves of a primal whole. Our union transcends mere passion, Leo; it approaches the sacred.”

Heat flooded Kalyna’s cheeks. The letter’s explicit reference to physical intimacy between a fox and lion shifter—unthinkableby modern clan standards—hung in the air between them like a challenge.

Her fox howled with approval.See? Not the first lion-fox pair. Not wrong. Natural. Right. Fated.

Rust cleared his throat, the sound rough in the quiet room. “Apparently our species weren’t always so separate.”

“Apparently not,” Kalyna agreed, unable to meet his eyes. The letter trembled slightly in her hands.

A cloud of dust drifted down from a high shelf, tickling her nose. Before she could turn away, a sneeze escaped her—explosive and unexpected. The reflexive action triggered a surge of fox magic that burst outward in a flash of crimson light.

When the magical discharge cleared, Rust stood blinking at her, now sporting a pair of large, illusory fox ears atop his head. The translucent red appendages twitched realistically, responding to the smallest sounds in the room.

Kalyna clapped a hand over her mouth, mortified. “I’m so sorry!”

Rust reached up, fingers passing through the illusory ears with evident confusion. “What did you do?”

“It’s an accidental illusion.” She bit her lip, trying desperately not to laugh at the incongruous sight of the dignified lion mayor sporting fluffy fox ears. “They’ll fade in a minute or two.”

Rust straightened his shoulders, crossing his arms across his chest in a posture of forced dignity that only emphasized the absurdity of the magical fox ears swiveling atop his head.

A small sound escaped Kalyna—half-giggle, half-gasp—before she could contain it.

“You find this amusing?” he asked, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

“Not at all,” she lied, another muffled laugh betraying her. “It’s a perfectly normal magical mishap.”

“Is it?” He raised an eyebrow, which somehow made the ears perk forward attentively. “Do you regularly bestow fox attributes on unsuspecting lions?”

The dam broke. Kalyna doubled over with laughter, the tension of the previous moments dissolving in her mirth. After a beat of dignified resistance, Rust joined her, his deep chuckle harmonizing with her lighter tones.

---