Which is how I find myself tramping through the woods behind Kai’s mansion on Christmas evening, trying to decide how difficult I want to make this for them.
The rules, as established by three very eager alphas, are simple: I get a fifteen-minute head start. Whoever catches me first gets to decide what happens next.
And I can use any means necessary to evade them. If I make it back to the house before being caught, then whatever happens for the rest of the night is up to me.
I’m very much looking forward to demanding a four-way full body massage.
Assuming I don’t let one of them catch me just for the fun of it.
The forest is silent except for the crunch of snow beneath my boots and my lightly exhaled breath. Twilight has settled over the landscape, painting everything in shades of blue and purple. I weave between the trees in erratic circles, trying to obscure my footprints to make it harder for them to follow them.
I know Grayson has the best tracking skills and Noah will be the most methodical in his search. Kai is the wild card—I have no idea what strategy he’ll employ, but I’d be a fool to underestimate him. When I glanced back during my head start,I saw him heading in the opposite direction from where I was running, which makes no sense unless...
Unless he knows these woods better than I thought. Unless he’s setting a trap.
I pause to catch my breath, leaning against a pine tree. The bark is rough beneath my gloved hands, and the scent of sap fills my nose. I’ve done too good a job eluding them, I realize with a burst of disappointment. Their voices have faded into silence, and I can no longer hear their movements through the underbrush.
The whole point was for them to catch me. I’ll be disappointed if I have to deliberately slow down so they can find me.
Maybe I’m getting that massage after all.
A blur of movement up ahead catches me off guard. For a moment, I think it’s a deer—but then I recognize the silhouette. Kai is practically flying downhill on his snowboard, weaving between the trees with a grace that would be beautiful if it weren’t so terrifying. He’s moving so fast that the trees should be a death trap, but he navigates between them like he was born to it.
Shit.
Adrenaline surges through me, and I turn to run. The sound of his snowboard skating over the snow is the only sound apart from my heavy breathing as I sprint through the forest. But my speed is no match for Kai’s athleticism, especially not on this terrain.
I hear him coming up behind me, impossibly fast. Then he slams into me—not hard enough to hurt, but with enough force that I would go flying if he didn’t wrap his arms around me in the same motion. We’re still moving, still on the snowboard, and I clutch at him reflexively, squeezing my eyes shut as the trees whip past us at a speed that makes my stomach lurch.
“Got you,” he whispers in my ear, his breath warm against my cold skin.
Then we’re stopping, the snowboard skidding sideways in the snow. Before I can get my bearings, Kai has me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, striding through the darkness with purpose.
“Where are we going?” I ask, my voice breathless from the run and the proximity to his body. “The house is that way.”
“I want a little more time alone with you before the others find us,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. He’s not even out of breath, despite carrying me through the snow. “Besides, I’ve got somewhere special in mind.”
I crane my neck to see where we’re headed. There’s a small structure ahead that I don’t recognize—a tiny cabin or shed nestled among the trees.
“What is that?”
“Grayson’s hunting blind,” Kai explains. “He built it last summer when he was tracking that mountain lion that kept coming onto the property.”
We reach the cabin, and Kai pushes the door open with his foot, carrying me inside before kicking it closed behind us. The space is tiny—barely big enough for a couple of people to sit comfortably—but Kai has transformed it. There’s a pile of blankets on the floor that already smell like me, and a small lantern provides warm, golden light.
“You planned this,” I accuse as he sets me down on the blankets.
“Of course I did.” His smile is unrepentant as he unzips his jacket. “Did you think I was just going to chase you through the snow without a plan for what happens when I catch you?”
“How long would it have taken you to catch me if you’d just followed me directly?”
He pauses, considering. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings by being honest.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Try me.”
“Three minutes, tops.” He shrugs out of his jacket, revealing the tight thermal shirt underneath that clings to every muscle. “But where’s the fun in that?”
I should be offended, but there’s something thrilling about his confidence, about knowing he could have caught me anytime he wanted. Heat pools low in my belly as I watch him remove his gloves, his movements deliberate and unhurried.
