off.
Damn! They were fast. Sloppy, but fast. June settled into a cleaner pace sooner than Rory did, and she was turned around and heading back a second or two ahead of Rory. Halfway back, it was clear she was a boat length or so ahead, but Rory was really pulling hard on the water.
I had thought that I would race as well. My style was significantly better than anyone else here, and that was an advantage. I also had a sleeker kayak than the ones they were using, a better paddle, and due to my size, I rode lighter in the water. But no way did I have the upper body strength I'd just seen June display.
June flashed between my boat and Lara's, Rory a half length behind her.
"The win to June," Lara declared. The winner raised her paddle in victory. From across the water, Elisabeth offered a wolf call to celebrate the win.
"David and Lara next," I declared. "Rory, if you can paddle wide of their path, please head down and replace Elisabeth. Tell her to conserve her strength."
Lara and David lined up. I called the start and they were off. David took an instant lead, but they were neck and neck when they turned around, and Lara won by a small amount. Both of them were breathing hard and grinning. With Rory now at the other end, Elisabeth followed them at a sedate pace.
I made everyone run multiple races, watching them tire themselves out. The men all relied on brute strength. The women did, as well, although their style was better than the men's. Finally, when everyone had raced everyone, and I saw a lot of heavy breathing and people working out stiff shoulder muscles, I said, "Last race. Lara and me." She had just raced Elisabeth, and they had both been very competitive about it. "Call the start, Elisabeth."
I was already set to go and was hoping Elisabeth would call the start before Lara was even ready, but she waited for the alpha to line up and nod to her before getting us started.
I paddled firmly but easily, maintaining a crisp clean track through the water. Lara relied on her strength. By the time we reached David, serving as the turning point, Lara was ahead by a half boat. I did a crisp reversal whereas Lara's was sloppy, and I gained a full boat length on her during the turn.
"Damn it!" she said from behind me. I could tell from the sounds that she put renewed energy into winning the race.
But she was just a wolf, and I was the fox. I waited until I saw the bow of her boat out of the corner of my right eye and began edging towards the right. "Don't run me over," I told her. "The passing boat is responsible for passing cleanly."
She continued to gain on me, and I continued to edge her further towards the right. Soon we faced towards the shore rather than the finish line.
"What are you doing?" she asked me.
"Playing to win, Alpha."
I knew the moment she dug a paddle in to turn towards the finish instead of being pushed closer to shore. I turned faster, and her boat dropped behind my peripheral vision again. I'd regained the lead I'd had from the turnaround.
This time, she came up on my left side. As soon as I saw her boat, I turned further to the left. She realized it right away and she swore at me.
I pushed her slightly left, but we only had fifty yards to go, and I turned immediately towards the finish. Elisabeth and June were marking the finish, and Lara and I would need to pass between their boats. I aimed my boat on a line that would take me very near Elisabeth's boat with no room for Lara to pass between me and Elisabeth. With twenty yards to go, she had almost caught up to me before she realized what I was doing.
"You fox!" Lara yelled.
"Don't hit anyone," I yelled back.
Seconds later I flashed across the finish line. Lara narrowly missed Elisabeth's boat on the wrong side.
"The cheating little fox won," Elisabeth declared.
Lara and I came to a stop well past the others. I paddled over to her. "Are you angry with me?" I asked her.
Panting, she shook her head. "No. You just demonstrated why I want
Damn! They were fast. Sloppy, but fast. June settled into a cleaner pace sooner than Rory did, and she was turned around and heading back a second or two ahead of Rory. Halfway back, it was clear she was a boat length or so ahead, but Rory was really pulling hard on the water.
I had thought that I would race as well. My style was significantly better than anyone else here, and that was an advantage. I also had a sleeker kayak than the ones they were using, a better paddle, and due to my size, I rode lighter in the water. But no way did I have the upper body strength I'd just seen June display.
June flashed between my boat and Lara's, Rory a half length behind her.
"The win to June," Lara declared. The winner raised her paddle in victory. From across the water, Elisabeth offered a wolf call to celebrate the win.
"David and Lara next," I declared. "Rory, if you can paddle wide of their path, please head down and replace Elisabeth. Tell her to conserve her strength."
Lara and David lined up. I called the start and they were off. David took an instant lead, but they were neck and neck when they turned around, and Lara won by a small amount. Both of them were breathing hard and grinning. With Rory now at the other end, Elisabeth followed them at a sedate pace.
I made everyone run multiple races, watching them tire themselves out. The men all relied on brute strength. The women did, as well, although their style was better than the men's. Finally, when everyone had raced everyone, and I saw a lot of heavy breathing and people working out stiff shoulder muscles, I said, "Last race. Lara and me." She had just raced Elisabeth, and they had both been very competitive about it. "Call the start, Elisabeth."
I was already set to go and was hoping Elisabeth would call the start before Lara was even ready, but she waited for the alpha to line up and nod to her before getting us started.
I paddled firmly but easily, maintaining a crisp clean track through the water. Lara relied on her strength. By the time we reached David, serving as the turning point, Lara was ahead by a half boat. I did a crisp reversal whereas Lara's was sloppy, and I gained a full boat length on her during the turn.
"Damn it!" she said from behind me. I could tell from the sounds that she put renewed energy into winning the race.
But she was just a wolf, and I was the fox. I waited until I saw the bow of her boat out of the corner of my right eye and began edging towards the right. "Don't run me over," I told her. "The passing boat is responsible for passing cleanly."
She continued to gain on me, and I continued to edge her further towards the right. Soon we faced towards the shore rather than the finish line.
"What are you doing?" she asked me.
"Playing to win, Alpha."
I knew the moment she dug a paddle in to turn towards the finish instead of being pushed closer to shore. I turned faster, and her boat dropped behind my peripheral vision again. I'd regained the lead I'd had from the turnaround.
This time, she came up on my left side. As soon as I saw her boat, I turned further to the left. She realized it right away and she swore at me.
I pushed her slightly left, but we only had fifty yards to go, and I turned immediately towards the finish. Elisabeth and June were marking the finish, and Lara and I would need to pass between their boats. I aimed my boat on a line that would take me very near Elisabeth's boat with no room for Lara to pass between me and Elisabeth. With twenty yards to go, she had almost caught up to me before she realized what I was doing.
"You fox!" Lara yelled.
"Don't hit anyone," I yelled back.
Seconds later I flashed across the finish line. Lara narrowly missed Elisabeth's boat on the wrong side.
"The cheating little fox won," Elisabeth declared.
Lara and I came to a stop well past the others. I paddled over to her. "Are you angry with me?" I asked her.
Panting, she shook her head. "No. You just demonstrated why I want
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