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“Yes, they do,” I growled.
She was human, but she didn’t jump.
“Is the woman an actor, too?”
“No, she’s not.”
That was why Margaret wanted me to run, not walk out the door.
Stay, my wolf insisted. This job will change your life.
So that’s why he’d decided to make an appearance. The last movie I worked on had asked me to sign an NDA. If they ever told the truth about why they finished the movie with a fuckton of CGI, they’d owe me more money than they could possibly pay me in this or any other lifetime. They were probably thanking the moon that shifters had evolved out of their immortality.
Margaret was right. I needed to get the hell out of here, right now. But something about The Mating Game had awakened my wolf.
I’d never take the advice of a human over my own animal.
Maybe it was just shifters supporting shifters. We had to stick together. Humans accepted us, but they still considered us to be other.
The production assistant grinned as she opened the door. The scaffolding supporting the stage came into full view, and there were about ten other guys waiting for direction.
“What’s going on?” The way I’d understood things, I’d be one of three contestants on the stage. Not competing against a whole pack of wolves.
And they were all wolves. I recognized a couple of them as character actors, but none of them had the box office pull that I did.
One of them strode over to me, cocky as hell. “What’s the matter? Logan Mathis doesn’t think he can stand out against the competition?”
“Boys. Boys!” A drag queen with a pink wig and a sequined dress to match waved her manicured hands. “The only competition on The Mating Game is for Cindy Charon’s heart. Save the wolf fights for the forest.”
A few rumbles and growls, but no one dared challenge her. The drag queen was a shifter, too, and my wolf knew better than to push her limits.
“You all know our host, Bibi le Bonnet.” The production assistant swept her hand toward Bibi, who curtseyed at us. “In a moment, you’ll be following her onto the stage for the first round of interviews.”
“Will my mate be there?” one overly confident wolf asked.
My own beast growled. It would take some time to get used to him again.
“Not yet.” Bibi winked at him. “You have to get through me first. I’ll ask you three questions, and the audience will help me decide who moves onto the next round.”
She turned and headed up the stairs that led to the stage, and the production assistant motioned for us to follow.
This wasn’t what I agreed to. I had half a mind to call Margaret and tell her that...but she’d already told me to leave. What the hell was I worried about? Answering a couple of questions for Bibi would be a breeze. If she knew who I was, she didn’t let on.
That wasn’t what was bothering me. Rational me knew I should turn around and leave. There were nine other wolves here willing to compete for Cindy’s heart. One of them would sweep the she-wolf off her feet.
No.
The production assistant narrowed her eyes at me, waiting for me to head up the stairs.
I didn’t want to answer Bibi’s questions. I wanted to talk to my mate.
Fuck.
It wasn’t a coincidence my wolf had chosen today to make an appearance. He’d come to claim this woman named Cindy. I didn’t know anything about this woman but her name.
Yet, my wolf said. Soon, you’ll know everything about her.
The crowd went wild when they saw me. There was no script, so it couldn’t be that big of a deal if I went to the edge of the stage to soak in some of the love. My fans were the reason I’d gotten contract after contract, and soon, I’d have to tell them why there wouldn’t be any more.
“I love you, Logan!” someone called out from the crowd.
“Logan Mathis is my mate!” another yelled.
“Claim me!”
“Ladies, we’re taking applications for contestants for The Mating Game, so if you want to be on this stage and have a wolf claim you for his very own, make sure to check our website for more information.” Bibi commanded center stage, and the production assistants motioned for us to take our seats. The guy next to me sized me up, and I nodded to him.
Shifters recognized each other, but they all knew who I was.
“Welcome to our first episode,” Bibi continued. “And as part of our live audience, you have an important job to do. Out of these ten hunky wolves, only three will move on to meet the lovely lady who’s looking for a mate today. You get to help me narrow them down.”
“I’ll take Logan!” someone called out. A few growls emitted from the wolves in the lineup.
Bibi turned to us, and her gaze landed on me. “Looks like we have someone famous with us today. I’ve been watching Logan Mathis on The Wolf’s Moon and on the big screen for years, and it’s an honor to have him here. So my first question will go to you, Logan. What will make you a good mate?”
“I can tell you why he won’t be a good mate,” the guy next to me said, earning a chorus of boos from the crowd.
“Your last movie fired you. Finished without you,” he said. It took everything I had not to pull my phone out of my pocket and speed dial Margaret. “What do you have to offer?”
“Boys.” Bibi waved to the roaring crowd, signaling for them to be quiet. “There’s no reason to fight. We’ll let Cindy choose her true mate.”
