Page 26 of The Purrfect Rival

Kalyna’s fox whined agreement, urging her to admit the truth—how Rust’s presence awakened something primal within her, how his scent made her dizzy with want, how their magics had synchronized in ways she’d only read about in ancient, forbidden texts.

How utterly terrifying it was to contemplate the possibility that her perfect match might be someone so fundamentally different from everything she’d expected.

Her phone buzzed, cutting through her spiraling thoughts. The screen illuminated with a text message:

Warehouse tip from Hezron. Suspicious activity at abandoned Silverwood Shipping. Meet me there at 8? —Rust

Her fox leaped to attention, every sense heightening instantly. She looked up to find both friends watching her with matching expressions of knowing amusement.

“Let me guess,” Lucella drawled. “His Mayoral Magnificence requires your assistance?”

Kalyna nodded, stuffing several fries into her mouth to avoid elaborating.

“Go,” Akari encouraged. “The burger will keep. Adventure waits for no fox.”

“Adventure or romance?” Lucella quipped.

“I’ll take a rain check on girls’ night,” Kalyna said, sliding from the booth. She dropped enough cash to cover her meal plus tip. “Duty calls.”

“Duty,” Lucella repeated with exaggerated air quotes. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

Kalyna flashed a rude gesture that made both friends dissolve into laughter. Despite her outward irritation, she couldn’t deny the anticipation coiling through her body as she headed for the door. Her fox surged forward, practicallyprancing with eagerness at the prospect of seeing Rust again—a reaction so powerful, it alarmed the human part of her.

Had she ever responded this way to another? Even her past relationships—brief connections over her long lifespan—had never triggered such visceral reactions. The thought both thrilled and terrified her as she stepped into the cool evening air.

TWENTY-THREE

The abandoned Silverwood Shipping warehouse loomed against the night sky like a slumbering beast, its corrugated metal walls rusted and windows shattered. Moonlight sliced through the gaps, painting eerie patterns across the weed-choked parking lot.

The air carried notes of damp concrete, rusted metal, and something less definable—a lingering magical residue that made Kalyna’s fox bristle with wariness. Her senses sharpened automatically, vision adjusting to the gloom, ears picking up subtle sounds carried on the night breeze.

A sleek black car pulled into the lot, its engine purring to a smooth stop. Kalyna’s body reacted before her mind could catch up—her pulse quickened, skin prickling with awareness, fox magic stirring beneath the surface of her control.

She tracked Rust’s emergence from the vehicle with laser focus, her gaze cataloging details: the powerful lines of his body beneath dark jeans and a fitted black Henley, the way moonlight caught in his golden hair, the brief flash of amber in his eyes when they locked on her.

Distance did nothing to diminish his presence. Even from across the parking lot, his alpha energy rolled toward her inpalpable waves, awakening responses she’d never experienced. Her fox practically keened with recognition, straining toward him as if magnetized.

Rust approached with measured steps, moonlight sculpting the planes of his face into sharp relief. A hint of a smile played on one corner of his mouth, sending an inexplicable flutter through Kalyna’s chest.

“Thank you for coming,” he remarked, his deep voice sending a ripple of awareness down her spine. “I called the sheriff, but I didn’t know if you wanted to be included in all this.”

Their almost-kiss from the previous night hovered between them, unacknowledged yet impossible to ignore. Her body remembered even if her mind tried to rationalize—the heated intensity of his gaze, the way they’d leaned toward each other, the way the air between them had crackled with invisible energy at the barest brush of their hands.

“I absolutely do,” she replied, surprised by the steadiness in her voice despite her racing pulse. “I have as much at stake here as you. Plus, I couldn’t let you do this alone. You might need backup.” She was glad the cool night air kept her face from overheating.

His smile deepened, revealing a hint of teeth that made her fox quiver with interest. “Always from you.”

They stood frozen in the moonlight, neither advancing nor retreating, the air between them charged with unspoken possibilities. Her fox recognized his lion—responding with a warmth that spread from her core outward, an insistent urge to close the distance between them. To touch, to be touched.

Why him? The question echoed through her mind even as her body swayed slightly toward his. He represented everything she’d avoided in a potential mate—dominant where she valued independence, direct where she appreciated nuance, physically imposing where she prized subtle magic.

Rust cleared his throat, breaking the trance-like moment. “I told the sheriff that Hezron’s security source mentioned crates being moved in after hours. Possibly connected to the missing artifacts and Agatha spotted people trying to be inconspicuous. Which for Agatha probably means they weren’t wearing flashing signs announcing ‘criminal activity in progress.’” Rust’s dry observation surprised a genuine laugh from Kalyna.

“She does have a talent for finding secrets, however misguided her methods.” She gestured toward the looming warehouse. “When is the sheriff getting here?”

Rust stepped beside her, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched. The proximity sent electricity dancing across her skin.

“I don’t think we don’t need to wait,” he said. “It doesn’t look like anyone is here now.”

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