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“Without further ado,” Mrs. Violet begins. “The first alpha safe tonight, the one on the top of the leaderboard is,” she pauses for dramatic effect and my heart skips a beat. The front runner is a big deal because unless something crazy happens, they normally end up in the omega’s pack. First impressions are everything, after all. She raises an eyebrow at whatever is revealed on her tablet. “Matthew Slate. What a pleasant surprise.”
A lump forms in my throat that I have to swallow past. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with Matthew. He’s attractive. Broad shouldered. Charming. But there’s something in his eyes that seems... detached, for lack of a better word.
Maybe he’s simply trying to protect his heart from this process like I am, but that doesn’t seem right either. He’s outgoing and have I mentioned charming? Maybe that’s the issue. I’m always suspicious of too good to be true. That’s what Matthew screams to me.
Since he’s in the front row, it doesn’t take him long to cross the distance to me, the very same smarmy smile as the first time we met fixed on his face. He clears his throat and flicks his eyes toward the strings, spurring me into action. I grab one at random, without even looking, or caring, and tie the knot I’m supposed to at the top.
After I hand it to him, he turns to the camera. “Thank you all for launching me to the top of the leaderboards. I appreciate each and every one of you that voted.” His voice is dripping with sex appeal, but I don’t find myself attracted to it. It’s like he’s attempting to be a copy of Jedrik, but the knockoff version that’s missing what everyone loves about the real one.
Mrs. Violet continues with the elimination after Matthew returns to his spot, without a word to me. Two more men that haven’t really stuck out to me are announced to receive their strings and have their knots tied. No, the irony is not lost on me. But like I said, it’s a cute tradition. I’ll be interested to see what the strings look like next week. Will anyone lose theirs? Will they be frayed or stained?
“Taking the fourth spot on our leaderboard and securing their spot for another week is none other than our very own beloved, Andrik Hart.”
I blow out a giant breath of relief, my gaze automatically seeking his. He shoots me a beaming grin that steals my breath as he descends the two rows of steps, pushing past the other alphas in his excitement.
The smile that brightens my face makes my cheeks hurt as Andrik stops a respectable distance in front of me and waits for me to select one of the strings laying on the podium. For the first time, I actually study them, wanting to make sure I give him the best one I can, but I find they’re all about the same. Still, I pick one that seems sturdier and work on tying the first knot—hopefully of many to come.
Our fingers brush as I hand it to him, sending a shiver of desire through me. “Here’s to winning, Precious,” he whispers, but with the mic on his suit, I’m sure it’s heard, anyway. He leans in and gives me a quick peck on the cheek before returning to his spot on the risers.
“Now, as you all know, the twins are a packaged deal. Which means Jedrik is safe this week, thanks to his brother, but I won’t be calling his name until we reach his spot on the leaderboard,” Mrs. Violet states, confirming what my whirring brain was already wondering. I search his face and find a tinge of relief before he wipes the expression from existence. His tongue darts out to wet his lips and all I can think about is what they felt like burning against mine.
Five more alphas are told they’re safe. One of them actually becomes teary-eyed, which hits me right in the feels, but there isn’t a connection between us. Obviously, mating with twenty alphas is logistically insane. I mean, who has time for all of that anyway? Or the libido. But that’s beside the point. This journey won’t be easy. I’ll have to keep walls around my heart if I want to come out on the other end without it breaking.
“Tenth on our leaderboard is our bad boy, Jedrik Hart, who jumped eight places on the leaderboards this week. Whatever you’re doing, the viewers seem to love it. Keep up the good work.”
My heart leaps to my throat as Jedrik steps through the alphas and crosses the distance between us in a few long strides. He patiently waits for me to pick out a cord for him and tie his knot. Fuck, why is the thought of actually being knotted by him so appealing right now?
A heat wave of lust bowls through me and I suck in a sharp breath, inhaling the slightly smoky scent of his maple. His skin brushes mine as I hand it to him and the contact has me wavering on my feet, instinctively trying to bring me toward him. Jedrik instantly notices something is wrong with me and reaches out an arm to steady me. “Whoa, you okay?” His voice is scarcely a whisper.
I clear my throat and straighten my spine, snapping out of... whatever the hell that was. Only to notice Kyle and Andrik are two steps behind Jedrik, concern written all over their faces. Okay, that little dizzy spell must’ve been worse than it seemed.
Not to be outdone, the rest of the alphas take a step forward and I immediately take one back because that’s a lot of focus on little ole me. Jedrik’s grip on me doesn’t allow me to go far. “Ver, I asked you a question. Are you okay?” he repeats in that deep tone of his that has my insides lighting on fire.
“Yeah, um, yes. I’m good.” Why does my head feel sort of fuzzy, though? A nervous laugh bubbles out of me. “I think the jitters of tonight are getting to me. I’m fine. Would someone mind grabbing me a bottle of water, please?” I pitch forward, but luckily, Jedrik catches me before I collapse.
A gasp rings out. “Excuse us while we take a short commercial break,” Mrs. Violet practically squawks and the red light on the cameras immediately wink out. “Someone grab Dr. DeLuca!”
“I’ll get your water, Verity,” Kyle says before bolting off set. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to go far as there’s a refreshment table in the wings and he returns shortly thereafter with a panic-eyed Ryland in tow.
My beta best friend reaches my other side and, with Jedrik’s help, leads me to a chair. “Ver Bear, are you okay?” I don’t immediately respond because I don’t know myself. One second I was fine and the other... I wasn’t. “What’s happening with her?” he addresses the grumpy alpha as Kyle hands me my bottle of water and I take a huge sip.
“I don’t know,” he growls. “But she looks like she’s about to pass out.”
“Verity.” The slight alpha sass coming from Kyle has me sitting up straighter because I’ve never heard that tone from him before. I can’t say I don’t like it either.
“I think my knees were locked,” I admit with a wince. “I feel better now that I’m sitting and got some water in me.” There’s no way I’m admitting Jedrik’s closeness almost brought me to my freaking knees. No way. Plus, I really do think they were locked. Ry even warned me what would happen, too. Shit.
Emmett bursts through the doors a millisecond later, his white coat hastily thrown on, and a med bag in his hand. He clears a path through the alphas crowding around me like lost hens. “Tell me exactly what happened,” he murmurs as he puts his stethoscope in his ears and listens to my chest.
“I’m fine, Dr. Em. As I already told the others, I think my knees were locked and made me almost pass out. Thanks to Jedrik catching me, I didn’t face-plant on live television.”
He listens intently to my chest for another second before taking off his stethoscope and placing it around his neck. His deep gray eyes meet mine and hold as he slips a blood pressure cuff up my arm. His focus shifts as he pumps the knob and inflates the device. The cuff squeezes and the slight bite of pain further serves to cut through the haze that took over for a second.
Once he’s finished, his gaze returns to mine. “Your blood pressure is a little high and your heart rate is slightly elevated, which is probably due to stress, but I need you to take it easy, okay?” His chest rumbles and he quickly breaks eye contact, standing to distance himself from me. My heart does a flip-flop and I glance away from him before anyone might suspect anything between us. I can’t be attracted to my doctor. And I certainly can’t make goo-goo eyes at him around this many people. “Make sure to bend your knees. I’ll see you at your daily checkup in the morning.”
“Got it, Doc.”
With a nod of acknowledgment, he leaves as quickly as he came.
