Read Online The Pretend Marriage: A Werewolf Romance by Dawn Steele - Free Book Online
Authors: Dawn Steele
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sight of our shifter roots – where our forefathers came from, how they used to live. We are all in a rat race of our own making. In fact, we have become almost more civilized than the humans we once warred with.”
Laughter all round. Jake can’t honestly say Peter is wrong.
“I want to remind us all of our shifter heritage. My great-grandfather, Lucius, lived in the wilds of Scandinavia. He was the alpha of his pack, and he took my great-grandmother as mate. They interacted with humans only sparingly as those were the days where the humans still hunted us as wolves. But they were damned tough, not soft and pretty like the wolves today.”
Peter pauses and casts a significant glance at Jake, Jeff and Mariko.
“Let’s see what stuff we are made of, shall we?”
Uh oh, Jake thinks.
When was the last time he shifted? When was the last time he even ran in a forest in his wolf form, sleek and free and true?
God , I’m so domesticated!
Jeff grins. He flexes his muscles, and Jake can just tell this is a wolf used to his primal state. Great. Just great.
Jeff says, “Bring them on, Peter. I’m ready.”
*
They are all gathered at the edge of the forest. The air is crisp and fresh here so close to the ocean. The salt tang from the sea merges with the leafy smells of the foliage. Birds chirp unseen on branches, and Jake feels invigorated despite his trepidation.
So this is Peter’s game. To pit the three of them against one another in a physical contest involving shifter dynamics and goodness knows what else.
“Did we dress right?” Terry asks anxiously.
“You don’t need to dress right. We’re shifters,” Mika says.
Terry gasps as she steals a look at Jake. “You mean, we have to go n- ”
“Well, yeah. What did you think?”
As the master of ceremonies for the day, Peter says to the gathered throng, “These are the rules of the game. Somewhere in that forest is a hare inside a gilded cage. You may choose to shift into your animal forms or remain in your human ones. But since this is a contest of speed, agility, tracking ability and strength, you would need to choose your forms wisely.”
Speed, agility, tracking ability and strength. Those were the modalities Jake could apply in his teenage years when he was a marathon runner. But now? When he hadn’t run in years?
“A hair?” Mika asks her grandfather, wrinkling her nose.
“Hare, Mika. As in large rabbit. And if you took those plugs out of your ears, you might be able to hear better.”
Mika scowls, but does not pull her earphones out.
Peter continues. “You come in pairs, mostly. In this contest, only one of you in a pair may participate. But this means the other one who has chosen to sit out on this contest will have to participate in the next one, yet undisclosed, which may or may not prove to be a more difficult task.”
Jake and Terry exchange wary glances.
“What do we have to do, Mr. Skaarsgard?” asks Mariko. “Eat the hare?”
Jake feels his stomach going queasy already at the anticipated blood lust. OK, it has been a long time since he had eaten anything raw. It has been a long time since he had done anything remotely wolf-like. Peter is right. They are becoming too civilized – too divorced from their birthrights.
Peter says, “ It is equally essential for shifters to maintain self-control. So we don’t want you to devour the hare, but to merely bring the animal to us – freed from its cage. Alive.”
Jake’s eyes bug out at that. A wolf and a live hare? No way the latter can be kept alive. You will have to have incredible self-control.
“Th e first contestant to return here with the live hare wins the first round.” Peter beams. But it is obvious to Jake that he fully expects the three of them to participate, and the winner of this entire contest will be the one to get the coveted Skaarsgard job as Head of Advertising.
He has to win at all costs.
“Who am I going to pair up with, Grandpa?” Mika
Laughter all round. Jake can’t honestly say Peter is wrong.
“I want to remind us all of our shifter heritage. My great-grandfather, Lucius, lived in the wilds of Scandinavia. He was the alpha of his pack, and he took my great-grandmother as mate. They interacted with humans only sparingly as those were the days where the humans still hunted us as wolves. But they were damned tough, not soft and pretty like the wolves today.”
Peter pauses and casts a significant glance at Jake, Jeff and Mariko.
“Let’s see what stuff we are made of, shall we?”
Uh oh, Jake thinks.
When was the last time he shifted? When was the last time he even ran in a forest in his wolf form, sleek and free and true?
God , I’m so domesticated!
Jeff grins. He flexes his muscles, and Jake can just tell this is a wolf used to his primal state. Great. Just great.
Jeff says, “Bring them on, Peter. I’m ready.”
*
They are all gathered at the edge of the forest. The air is crisp and fresh here so close to the ocean. The salt tang from the sea merges with the leafy smells of the foliage. Birds chirp unseen on branches, and Jake feels invigorated despite his trepidation.
So this is Peter’s game. To pit the three of them against one another in a physical contest involving shifter dynamics and goodness knows what else.
“Did we dress right?” Terry asks anxiously.
“You don’t need to dress right. We’re shifters,” Mika says.
Terry gasps as she steals a look at Jake. “You mean, we have to go n- ”
“Well, yeah. What did you think?”
As the master of ceremonies for the day, Peter says to the gathered throng, “These are the rules of the game. Somewhere in that forest is a hare inside a gilded cage. You may choose to shift into your animal forms or remain in your human ones. But since this is a contest of speed, agility, tracking ability and strength, you would need to choose your forms wisely.”
Speed, agility, tracking ability and strength. Those were the modalities Jake could apply in his teenage years when he was a marathon runner. But now? When he hadn’t run in years?
“A hair?” Mika asks her grandfather, wrinkling her nose.
“Hare, Mika. As in large rabbit. And if you took those plugs out of your ears, you might be able to hear better.”
Mika scowls, but does not pull her earphones out.
Peter continues. “You come in pairs, mostly. In this contest, only one of you in a pair may participate. But this means the other one who has chosen to sit out on this contest will have to participate in the next one, yet undisclosed, which may or may not prove to be a more difficult task.”
Jake and Terry exchange wary glances.
“What do we have to do, Mr. Skaarsgard?” asks Mariko. “Eat the hare?”
Jake feels his stomach going queasy already at the anticipated blood lust. OK, it has been a long time since he had eaten anything raw. It has been a long time since he had done anything remotely wolf-like. Peter is right. They are becoming too civilized – too divorced from their birthrights.
Peter says, “ It is equally essential for shifters to maintain self-control. So we don’t want you to devour the hare, but to merely bring the animal to us – freed from its cage. Alive.”
Jake’s eyes bug out at that. A wolf and a live hare? No way the latter can be kept alive. You will have to have incredible self-control.
“Th e first contestant to return here with the live hare wins the first round.” Peter beams. But it is obvious to Jake that he fully expects the three of them to participate, and the winner of this entire contest will be the one to get the coveted Skaarsgard job as Head of Advertising.
He has to win at all costs.
“Who am I going to pair up with, Grandpa?” Mika
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