Ellie"Is this your idea of a run?" Ellie joked as she strolled alongside Ulysses through the forest in the early dawn. The sun was just coming up, and it was beautiful seeing the colors of the sky reflected off the glossy services of the autumn leaves."No, no it is not," Ulysses said. They were walking at a pretty fast pace, but they definitely weren't running. "If I were running, my knees would be bent, Ellie."His remark made her laugh. It was nice, hearing him say her name like that, as if they were old friends. While she appreciated the friends she had, her "little brothers" were a bit immature sometimes, and any more, all Shelby wanted to talk about was Carl. Talking to Ulysses was refreshing, even if her lungs weren't quite burning from this particular workout, and she didn't even feel like she'd need to stretch when she was done."So… what made you decide to come to this crazy tournament?" Ellie asked as they started a fairly steep incline where they'd get a great view of the
RiverKnowing that Ellie was going out on a run with Ulysses that morning didn't make it any easier to watch her step out of the woods alongside the handsome Alpha. River was at the tournament grounds, bright and early, preparing for the first event of the competition. Trying to keep his mind off of the woman who was hosting the contest and actually prepare for it was more difficult than he ever would've thought possible when he first let his mother talk him into this. Now, watching the tall blonde woman gracefully walk across the clearing next to another man made his muscles tighten and his eyes narrow. He had to look away.It was great motivation, though. Winning was always a driving force for River, no matter what the game was about. Whether he was playing cards with his packmates, participating in a team video game, or shooting hoops with his Beta, he wanted to be the best. He wanted to win. This tournament was no different. He would want to win even if there was nothing to be had
Ellie"How are you, sunshine?" Her dad called as she met up with him in the clearing where the first contest would be held. He was bursting with excitement as he wrapped his arm around her neck. "Can you believe it's finally here?""Everything looks great, Dad," she said, hugging him back. It was clear he was proud of what he'd put together, and he'd done a nice job. The stands were packed with people ready to watch the first event, the log toss, as he father had been calling it. Many of the audience members were from her own pack, but she saw familiar faces from the guests' packs as well. River's mother's face caught her attention. Ellie waved at Patricia, who was always so kind, and Patricia smiled and waved back."Now, I'm letting Beta Andrew run this contest so that I can just enjoy it with my beautiful daughter," Michael explained.Behind them, Cane chimed in. "And we'll be watching to make sure no one cheats."Ellie turned and looked at him, then caught the eyes of Hans and Seth
RiverBlade's smug confidence was sickening. As River watched the other Alpha test the weight of the log he was about to throw in his hands, he had to try not to scoff at the man. He was acting like there was some sort of science to this, some technique he'd learned in all of his year as a log thrower when everyone knew none of them had a vast array of experience when it came to tossing logs across open meadows.Blade went to the line, and Beta Andrew shouted, "Toss at will!" backing away. River stifled a laugh. They were trying really hard to make this seem official, sort of like the Olympics for wolf shifters, but it was all a bit comical. Ulysses, who was standing to River's right, had a harder time not laughing and had to turn it into a cough, which made him choke. River banged him on the back as Blade turned and glared at both of them. "Stop attempting to interfere!""Sorry," River said for both of them. Blade's eyes cut through him for another second, and then he turned back to
Ellie"Something is not right," Ellie said, leaning over to her father."What are you talking about?" Michael asked, still cheering along with much of the crowd at the huge toss Blade just made. "That was a throw if I've ever seen one.""Yeah, it sure was," she agreed. "A throw that doesn't match his other throws. And… he's acting weird."Michael gave her a questioning look and then shook his head. "Honey, I know he's not your favorite, but if he wins, he wins. You agreed to this, remember? You're the one who didn't want the Moon Goddess to choose or to pick for yourself. There can be no whining now if things don't turn out the way that you wanted them to.""Whining?" Ellie repeated, her eyes wide. She knew the tone her dad was using. It was that, "I want you to think I might just be playing, but I'm honestly upset at you," tone that he often used when he disapproved of what she did or said but didn't want to pick a fight. Normally, she'd just roll her eyes and go on. But this was dif
River'That bastard beat me.' River sat outside on the back porch of the cabin he was staying in, looking out at the woods, sipping a beer, trying to figure out how in the world Blade managed to beat him. There had to be something to whatever he was doing with his pocket, but River couldn't prove anything, and Beta Andrew claimed he'd examined everything carefully before, during, and after the event, and found nothing. So… all he could do was try to do better in the next event, which would be held the day after next. It was a race, and River knew he was fast. So long as Blade didn't find a way to cheat, he could win. If that was the case, he would at least be tied with Blade for first place going into the fights.It would take a lot for someone to beat River in a hand-to-hand fight. Blade would absolutely have to cheat in order to pull that off.Finishing off his beer, he decided to go for a stroll through the woods. As much as he wanted to let his wolf run and burn off some of this a
EllieThe irritation that Ellie was feeling from the moment Blade won the contest was starting to dissipate a little since she'd had her discussion with River. She hadn't gone out into the woods to look for him specifically, but when she'd seen him out there, she'd known she had to speak to him. He was so easy to talk to, and those eyes… she could get lost in those for hours. She'd never thought that she'd be cheering for anyone in particular to win this contest, but now, she was having second thoughts.Hosting this many people was taking a toll on her. She wasn't that much of a social butterfly anyway, and already, she was beginning to feel a little drained. As far as she knew, her father didn't have anything planned for that night, so at least she could go home and decompress for a while. Then, maybe she could get some work done.Ellie walked into her house and kicked her shoes off by the door, glad not to hear a ton of voices coming from the living room. She did hear her father tal
RiverDances really weren't his thing. In fact, as River got ready to go over to the main auditorium in the village where the ball was being held, he had serious thoughts of ducking out. He could have his mom tell everyone something important had come up, that he'd had to manage some work. No one would doubt that. Alphas were busy people, after all, and no one would understand that more than Ellie. But he knew he couldn't do that because even if he didn't want to go to the dance, he wanted to see her.The talk they'd had earlier in the woods had been short, and they hadn't talked about too many deep subjects, but he'd enjoyed getting to know her a little better. She was a fascinating woman, and unlike a lot of the girls he'd known over the years, she was interested in more than talking about herself and trying to impress him. In fact, she asked all sorts of interesting questions, he'd noticed, whenever he'd been around her, and she was just the sort of person he could find himself get