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There was no coming back from this and we both knew it. That friendship had ended the moment I’d left without a word.
My horse whinnied softly in my head but didn’t pressure me for once. She valued those she loved as much as I did, but clearly I had a shitty way of showing it. I hoped, one day, I could reach out to them, fix things, but it wasn’t a guarantee.
“Let’s go,” he urged gently, guiding me to the elevators. I glanced around to see a few onlookers but ignored them as he pulled me on the elevator as soon as it opened.
He gave me space to process what just happened. There wasn’t enough money in the world to force me to face this right now, though. Instead, I opened my own packet of papers and scanned the pages.
“You weren’t kidding about the sponsors,” I said, showing him the last two pages that were loaded with logos.
“They said there’s an information table somewhere that has free gifts from the sponsors. But we can check it out later, I’m starving.”
“I agree,” I said absently as I flipped to the contestant pages. “Ew, where did they find these pictures?” Zath was one of the most attractive people I’d met and even his headshot looked awkward and weird. They had to have chosen the worst of the worst they could find.
Honestly, they did us dirty.
Zath snatched it out of my hand in horror.
“Oh my God, they did. Maybe this is their way of putting us all on equal footing…pick the most awkward pictures around,” he scoffed. “They deserve to be fired for this, though.” His lips twisted into a grimace as he stared down at our photos. Mine was odd, as if it were taken in passing. My mouth was hanging open like I was talking, my wavy hair was frizzy and a mess, and it was slightly blurry.
Then something hit me.
“Oh shit, that means Bandit’s Taphouse is here, too,” I squeaked, flipping the pages and scanning the information until I found them.
“They’re younger than I expected,” Zath said as he looked over my shoulder. “But honestly, they’re hot as hell.” I’d also expected them to be some surly, old men for some reason.
“They're not attractive,” I grumbled. He snorted, knowing it was me just being stubborn. They were every bit as good looking as he said. Riven was the main competitor and had the whole dark and brooding thing going for him. His brown hair was perfectly styled, short and swooped to the side as he glared at the camera. There was nothing awkward about this headshot at all.
His partner, Eldon Hayes, was also handsome. Instead of glaring, he had a cocky smile and his arms crossed, like he was daring someone to challenge them. He had auburn hair and was slender whereas Riven was bulky.
“You know lying doesn't suddenly make it not true,” Zath said sarcastically. “No more looking for you.” He plucked the papers out of my hand and tucked them under his arm, giving me a petulant stare.
I sighed, realizing that I probably had been the biggest pain in the ass to be around. Even before we ran into my old friends, the drive was tense and I was moody. Zath was a fucking saint for putting up with me.
“I'm so sorry about being a brat. It's just hard being back here. I thought I was over this bullshit, moved on, but every moment that we've been in the city, he's just been in the back of my mind like an old wound that doesn't want to close. Now this confrontation…gah, I’m a mess.” I groaned and leaned against the wall.
“That's because heartbreak doesn't just cure overnight. It's been a year but you and I have one thing in common, the ability to push things down and never process them. And if you don’t process it, the trauma just comes back to bite you in the ass. This is an enormous pot-kettle situation but this might be your opportunity to take a second and let it hurt, then move on finally.”
Before I could say anything the elevator opened on the fourth floor.
“You've got to be kidding me,” I said when it opened, blurting the words out despite not meaning to.
Riven and Eldon were staring back at us. From the indignant stare on Riven’s face, they knew exactly who we were.
“Don't let us stop you,” Riven said sarcastically, waving his hand like he was going out of his way to be kind. The attitude was enough to have me gritting my teeth. I brushed past him, not caring that I was knocking into him.
The moment we brushed against each other, I knew I’d found another mate. HIs scent was strong and my horse was practically bursting out of my skin to get to him. The instant connection locked into place and even the annoyance I had lessened in the face of my mate.
Riven cursed as he came to the same conclusion. Eldon just breathed in and barked out a laugh, clearly finding fate a lot more amusing than I did as his presence did the exact same thing to me.
My horse was prancing excitedly in my head letting out excited huffs. She was acting like this wasn’t the worst possible scenario.
Our rivals were my mates…bothof them.
“Nope. No. Absofuckinglutly not,” I burst out. My horse was ready to shift and claim them because I wasn’t. She’d reacted similarly when I found Zathrian, but we came together in much less ridiculous circumstances. She was out of her mind and so was I.
Seriously. What did I do to the universe to deserve this shit?!
There was some absurd irony in the fact that the town that I had been broken in, is the town where I found two more mates.
