average human’s Reviews > Twisted Trails > Status Update

Ugh I loved this. Especially the rat photos before each chapter. Lovely touch. Alright so contemporary isn’t really my thing. But this was incredibly well done. U can feel the character growth from here and Alaina’s journey to wellness was incredibly well done. 4.5 stars rounded down because the middle was dragging a bit.

“Kick their asses,” he whispers, and then he kisses me so soft and certain that everything stills. Well, until⁠—
“Hey!” Luc calls out, feigning outrage. “I heard that!”
Mason snorts. “Yeah, Greer. Way to stay professional. Very motivational. Inspiring for all your athletes. You’re so not playing favorites.”

After the Great Rat Surprise of the season, we made sure they were all fixed. Spayed. Neutered. Whatever the official term is for making sure Luc never accidentally starts a rodent dynasty again.
And that honestly feels like the most responsible thing this team has ever done.
Finn grins at my laughter before he brushes his nose against mine, and the weight of everything suddenly goes quiet.

Right now, his is with Jim, who’s not only obsessed with his own little guy, but also with everyone’s. He even built them a full-on rat palace in the new team bus, complete with hammocks, tunnels, and a damn miniature ramp system.
It’s excessive but also kind of amazing.

Mine is named Phoenix, a little white and dark brown fluffball who’s currently curled into the crook of Finn’s neck, nestled right up against Quebec, his all-white rat with a superiority complex. Their mom and dad are sleeping beside them, as if Finn is just another spot for a race-day nap.
And they’re not the only ones.

Luc was very sure Bristol was a boy when he bought him for Mason’s birthday.
Spoiler alert—she is not.
Honestly, it’s on brand. I mean, this is the same man who thought I was a guy for the better part of a season.
Thanks to that little misjudgment, we’ve got rats everywhere. Everyone has one now. It’s like a plague but adorable.

He’s trying to look all confident, calm, and devastatingly hot, and it would be working, except a tiny pink nose twitches beside his ear, followed by a second, and a third, and then a fourth.
I bite my lip, hard, to keep the laugh down, because while Finn is being all heroic and steady, his hoodie is doing its best to strangle him under the combined weight of four tiny rats.

Any woman who consistently qualifies within the top three men’s elite time range can start with the men.”
Luc reaches up to hold my upper arms. “That’s no one but her.”

The guy shrugs. “Exactly.”
I turn to look at the men behind me, one by one. “Did you do that?”
“I’d love to say yes, but it was all Otis,” Mason says, clearing his throat.

My ears ring so loudly that everybody around me must hear it too. “I… what?”

“Yeah,” the younger one mutters. “That’s exactly how I reacted.”
The older one ignores him. “We’ve had internal discussions. Even if that’s what the whole male field advocates for, we can’t make a one-time exception just for you, so we’ve created a new rule.

The guy sighs. “There was a petition, signed by the entire men’s elite field.”
My stomach flips. “Okay.”
“They’re refusing to start next season if you’re not allowed to race.”
Holy shit?
“Wait. You mean, I can go back to the women’s division?”
“No,” the older official says. “They’re asking for you to stay in men’s elite.”