AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She waved her hand. “No need to flatter.”
I sighed. “I need the money, and nature docs don’t pay.”
“What do you need the money for? You could get any job and do the documentaries as passion projects.”
“My pack.” I realized I’d never said anything about them to anyone in production. Crews had a way of forming their own packs, and it was easy to forget anything that happened outside of the bubble we created. “I’m from Nord Norge. Northern Norway.”
“Viking country. Land of the Midnight Sun.”
I nodded. “Weirdly, the mountains here remind me of home. We have oceans instead of lakes and a lot more ice. At least, we did. The ice is melting, and the island that my pack called home is no longer habitable. All the packs in the area are scrambling, looking for land. Turf wars are breaking out. Bears are dying.”
“I’d think they would frown upon a big strong bear like you striking out on his own when they could obviously use your muscle.”
“All unmated bears have been asked to make money and find a place where the ice won’t melt.” I chuckled sadly. I was homesick for a place that didn’t exist. A pack that was now so different from what I remembered.
Bibi nodded. She didn’t talk much about herself or her past unless she was forced to. Something told me she could sympathize. “Tell me more about your pack.”
“There’s a huge amount of competition for mates. We don’t have as many females, and they have their pick of who they mate with. Mated bears have great status, and…”
“You have something to prove,” Bibi finished the sentence for me.
“Yeah,” I said. The magic of Bibi was that she always made people feel understood. She was a champion of the underdog and wanted to see them win. “The only way to gain respect in my pack is to find a mate or find a place for the pack to live.”
But this morning, there were a lot of things that had been left unsaid. I needed to clear the air. “Am I fired?”
She laughed. “No, you’re not fired. But I did come to ask if you might possibly be interested in a change of position. It could give you an opportunity to get the word out about your pack’s plight.”
My bear groaned inside me, wary. Didn’t matter how much sparkle Bibi brought to the table. Achange of positionsounded ominous. “I’m listening.”
“Actually, this could solve both of your problems.” She brightened. “I’d like to see you go on stage as a contestant onThe Mating Game.”
I needed more coffee because there was no way I heard her right. “You want me to compete for a mate?”
Wasn’t sure how my pack would feel about that. Other packs had turned to matchmaking services, but we had laughed at their mail-order brides, insisting the pairings weren’t true mate matches. But those bears weren’t traveling the world alone, pining over humans that hated them, and bargaining with their fairy dragmothers to keep their jobs.
Who was laughing now?
“Not just any mate. Marissa.”
My mouth dropped. “Marissa agreed to this?”
“Absolutely. She came to me immediately after the incident.”
“Incident makes it sound like a car wreck.”
“I’m trying to be discreet, Bjorn. Marissa told me everything. She also asked if she would be fired.” Bibi chuckled. “The truth of the matter is I owe much of the show's success to both of you. But it hurts my heart that the two of you can’t see past your differences.”
“They’re a little more than differences.”
“Marissa is a perfectionist who wants to please her family. You’re a good guy who wants to do the right thing and to please his family. I don’t think you’re that different. But enemies to lovers? Talk about the ultimate makeover.” She pressed her hand to her chest. Bibi had never met a makeover she didn’t fall head over heels in love with.
“And after the show, would I be able to go back to the camera? Wait, who would film if I starred in the episode?”
“Yes, and I already called Stephanie Manada fromThe Real Werewives. She said she’d love to come down from Sawtooth Forest and fill in for you on this episode if you say yes.” Of course, Bibi had everything figured out already.
“I’ll do it.”
The glittery goddess startled. “That’s it? You’re in?”
