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He signed up to be hunted—but he never expected his rival to be the one catching him.

Buttoned-down human Nick has spent years butting heads with wolf shifter Viktor—his arrogant, insufferably handsome coworker. When they clash in meetings, Viktor always finds a way to come out on top.

Nick hates him. Truly.

Which is why he never expected to run straight into Viktor on the mating run.

One night. One chase. A pack of anonymous werewolves free to take what they want from a human. It was supposed to be simple—one secret night of pure submission.

But now, the man who’s spent years challenging him in the office has him pinned down in the woods.

And this time? Viktor definitely has the upper hand.

But if Viktor thinks Nick is going to roll over without a fight—he’s dead wrong.

Rivals is a high-heat knotty wolf shifter/human enemies to lovers romance with a HEA. It's part of the Mating Run series, but can be read as a spicy little standalone.

107 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2025

91 people are currently reading
83 people want to read

About the author

Leo Rivers

34 books47 followers

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5 stars
99 (31%)
4 stars
114 (36%)
3 stars
83 (26%)
2 stars
16 (5%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Kati *☆・゚.
1,242 reviews648 followers
October 17, 2025
3*** stars


I’m not quite sure what I expected here but to put in one word it would be: More.

[…] he'd never once felt his knot begin to form. It was a sacred part of werewolf physiology—a biological bonding mechanism that emerged only with true mates. Not with one-night stands. Not with colleagues. Not with Nick from fucking work.


The title of the book is deceiving. I thought the hunt would take place with them being in some kind of wolf form but there was no shifting at all. It was sex. Nothing more. And even as I usually don’t mind that when I choose to read an erotica and/or a short/novella I would’ve still wished for a tiny bit more plot and maybe a domestic scene or two there at the end to round out their HEA? What we get tho, is a one-year-later that comes out of nowhere right after the werewolf knotted the human in the woods which also only shows another sex scene in the office’s supply room with only a hint of what had transpired in the past year.

I’m leaving this unsatisfied but I was still kind of hooked while I read it. Tho the writing was very repetitive which lessened my enjoyment a bit further. Don’t know if I will come back for more of this. Probably not.


************
Mating Run Series

Book 1 - Caught
Book 2 - Rivals - 3.0 stars
Book 3 - Stalked
Book 4 - Kept
Book 5 - Ours
Book 6 - Off Limits
Profile Image for Whitney.
249 reviews276 followers
October 8, 2025
Nate + Viktor 🖤
Work rivals | Surprise mates | Involuntary knotting | "Mine"


Is it really love if your mate doesn't fight another wolf off of you while they're both buck ass naked in their human form? Just picturing flaccid dicks flopping around while their owners punch each other 😂

The taunting after they both figured out who the other was, killed me.

“What’s wrong? Impotent?”

“Look at you, ... So damn desperate. .... Still trying to pretend you’re in control.”


And I love a good "relax, I got you" moment between enemies





⚠️potential spoilers below in detailed tropes, content and warning lists






Tropes/content:
Work rivals
Wolf + human
Mating run
Surprise mates
Primal play
Touch him and die
Involuntary knotting
Sex over the copy machine at work
Taunting and teasing
Brattiness
Face fucking
Power swapping
Rescues him from another wolf
"Tell me to stop"
Strict roles
Mine mine mine
Jealousy
Possessiveness
"Relax, I got you"
Bareback


Warnings:
Breath play not previously consented to during a face fuck
Spit for lube
738 reviews
September 22, 2025
Too abrupt an ending. Where was the HEA?. I was just left in limbo. Some people will be okay with the ending. Not me. They didn’t even say “I love you”. I just feel deflated and shortchanged. I’ve read one other of this authors work and I don’t remember feeling empty like this. I’ll give another book a chance but I’m going to go to the end, which I never do, to see how it ends first. If they don’t get their HEA it’ll be a DNF unfortunately. I can’t waste my precious reading time on a book that leaves me feeling bereft.
Profile Image for Cindi.
1,698 reviews85 followers
October 8, 2025
This is a good enemies-to-lovers story, but I'm not a fan of the rush, rush ending.

Viktor and Nick were enemies at work. So they come together - really come together - during the mating run. As in, fated mates coming together. Then they spend a year (I think?) keeping it secret? Even at the end, nobody knew about their relationship because they kept the banter going at work.

The word 'boyfriend' was used, but no 'I love yous'.

Rushed HFN ending.

4 stars instead of less because I did like them together, and I got a kick out of Nick's taunts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Andrea.
388 reviews4 followers
June 4, 2025
MM🌈
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Paranormal
Werewolf
Coworkers/rivals

Nick and Viktor are coworkers and have a heated rivalry. Viktor is a werewolf and Nick thinks his ego is too big. They exchange snarky jabs as often as possible.

Tonight is the hunt, where werewolves are allowed to hunt down a mate in the forest. Humans get one year living expenses if they volunteer. Nick volunteered this year. And who catches his scent and realizes he is his mate….Viktor.
Profile Image for Rachel M Whealtey.
19 reviews1 follower
July 30, 2025
These Two

This one was yummy but the crap talk between them…. I laughed out loud. And once again I can see this being a longer story or leading into a bigger one. Looking forward to the next book!
Profile Image for Madam Ra.
236 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2025
Very nice, short enemies to lovers to mates. Primal play duh..knots...hells yeah and kinda sweet. Perfect
Profile Image for Tyler.
413 reviews3 followers
May 5, 2025
4 Stars

This one was hot! Much better than the first one. The characters actually had some depth even if that was just snark. The spice was good also.
11 reviews
May 31, 2025
love these two!!!

Yep book number two so far the best!!!! I loved it every moment! I want more of these two and I want puppies!!!!
Profile Image for Taylor Simmons.
36 reviews1 follower
October 20, 2025
Quick spicy read

I loved the enemies to lovers and it was even better that they were co-workers. Plenty of spice to go around.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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