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“Um, well…” I began, hating that my voice was already shaking. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Actually, that’s why I requested dinner with you. I was hoping you could give me some advice about the Contention.”
She gave me a small smile. “Feeling in over your head?”
My cheeks heated. “I guess you could say that.”
“Hmm,” was all she said as she picked up the dinner menu the staff had placed on the table.
Oh God, she hates me, was all I could think as I stretched out a shaky hand for my own water glass. I glanced around the room, hoping someone would come in soon to check on us. This was beyond awkward, terribly uncomfortable. Was Willow offended that she wasn’t the lead coordinator for this Contention?
I wouldn’t blame her. She’d pulled off an amazing feat in the last one. With talent, skill, and grace I could only hope to aspire to one day. In fact, she was my inspiration. It was an honor to have received her position once she stepped down after Holden became alpha.
But now, I wondered if she resented the fact that a new generation was coming up, replacing her. If nothing else, perhaps she was offended that I hadn’t reached out to her for help during the transition.
“Willow,” I tried again, nearly losing my nerve when she cut sharp eyes on me. I took a deep breath. “I need your help.”
She smiled, a knowing gleam in her eyes. “Do you now?”
She wasn’t going to make this easy. “I do. I’ll admit it… I’m overwhelmed, in over my head. I don’t even know where to begin with organizing the events for the incoming contestants.”
Slowly, she took another sip of water, set her glass down, pushed the menu aside, leaned forward, and rested her forearms on the table. “First of all, you need to recognize that I never tried to take on an event on my own. Especially the Contention. It was the biggest event of the decade, and I spent over a year with my team in preparation for it.”
I gulped. Over a year? I knew she’d put her heart and soul into it, which had shown in everything from the big picture events down to the tiniest details, but I’d had no idea how much time it had required.
Quietly, I said, “I don’t have that much time.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Clearly. The women will arrive within weeks. Tell me, what have you done so far?”
“Not nearly enough,” I admitted. “Even though I’ve been working night and day. I’ve arranged assistants for the women, loosely planned some dates, and spoken with the game makers about the types of challenges I’d like to see. I wasn’t afforded the luxury of time in this case. Holden ran with the idea. Unfortunately, I’m working on his timeline.”
“Yes, that is unfortunate for you.”
I blinked back tears, my throat burning. Willow was tough, at times a hard ass, but I’d never known her to be cruel. “Please, Willow. I didn’t ask for this. Holden insisted I run the Contention, even though you were clearly the better choice. But I didn’t have a say. Which is why I’m asking you now—help me. Please.”
Willow studied me for a moment, her beautiful features unreadable. Finally, she sighed, her posture relaxing somewhat. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a bitch—”
“I didn’t say that,” I hurried to interject.
She laughed lightly. “My words, not yours, dear. Listen. Do I feel a bit shafted and overlooked because Holden didn’t ask me to run the Contention? Perhaps.” She shrugged. “But I can see you’re a good person with good intentions. I won’t allow you to fall on your face and embarrass yourself on your first large-scale event.”
It wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence, but at least she wasn’t glaring at me any longer. “Thank you so much,” I breathed. “Please. If you’re willing, I want every bit of advice you can possibly give me."
Mollified, Willow leaned back in her chair, her demeanor slightly less intimidating. “Here’s the thing, Jessica: The Contention is so much more than getting a bunch of girls together to dress up, play games, and compete.”
I knew that firsthand. The Contention was an elaborate game of both physical and mental acumen. The purpose was to find the single best-suited woman to be the alpha’s—or in this case, the beta’s—lifelong companion. The winner had to prove herself capable of handling any physical challenge thrown her way, along with showcasing a political and social skillset becoming of a high-ranking lady. To complicate matters even further, the rules often went out the window, every woman out for herself. The very fact that challenges to the death weren’t just allowed but fairly common made the entire affair a real-life nightmare. At least, that had been my experience.
“Like I said…” Willow continued “… I had a full team of people helping me with every aspect. Every contestant will need her own personal assistant to keep her on schedule, dressed, and ready for each event. Every breakfast, lunch and dinner will need to be planned down to the very last detail. Each class, training, and competition will need to be organized in advance. And a daily schedule must be created so that everyone remains on task and following protocol. Not to mention enlisting the game makers, who will create the details for the physical challenges.”
I took a deep breath, my already overwhelmed brain going into overdrive as the sheer enormity of the tasks ahead of me fully hit home.
“On top of coming up with all of this…” Willow said, her sharp gaze taking in the rapid rise and fall of my chest “… you will need multiple assistants to run the games, the dates, the design and decor teams. Everything will need to be created with the end goal of showcasing the contestants’ strengths and weaknesses. Garrett needs to see every aspect of these women to make the right choice—after all, he’s choosing his mate. You’ll need to come up with the perfect dates, making sure to balance group dates with one-on-ones. Oh, and don’t forget, you need experts to train and teach the girls, helping to mold them into future council members and leaders.”
Panic seized me. How had I not realized what all this would require? I felt as if I’d wasted so much time already, even though I’d been working my ass off. I felt so behind.
Tears welled in my eyes, and Willow reached across the table to pat my hand. “I know it’s a lot.”
“You have to help me,” I practically begged.
“Holden wants you to do this,” she countered.
