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The scroll went from hard to read to impossible. Every single forum regular had dreamed of being the one on stage with Bibi, asking the questions. Getting claimed.
“Whoa. Okay, looks like I’ll have to go over these later and pick the best ones. But keep the suggestions coming! I love them.” I’d had a whole script planned for this live, but did I write it down? Of course not. I thought I’d remember everything, but as I was looking at myself on the screen, all my thoughts were a jumble. “I haven’t met with the wardrobe team yet, but if you have any ideas about what I should wear on stage, drop those in the comments too. I want to make this our episode. I wish I could have every single one of you with me here in Sunset Springs, but through the magic of this forum, I hope these videos can be the next best thing.”
I gasped at the knock on the door. That cadence could only belong to one very sparkly shifter.
“Okay, Bibi is here, so I’ve got to go. I’ll be back ASAP to give you updates, and I’ll be seeing you soon on stage!”
Clicking the “stop recording” button was a relief. It was far from the first time I’d gone live in the forums, but definitely the most nerve-racking. And it was nothing compared to opening that door.
Because now I was officiallyThe Mating Game’s latest contestant.
Bibi stood on the other side of the door in all her fairy dragmother glory, holding a bouquet of flowers.
“I love your purple hair!” I slapped my hand over my mouth but didn’t manage to contain my squeal. Her wig was purple, of course with matching eyebrows, and the most delectable purple lip. She’d have to tell me the name of that shade because it was a must have. “You brought me flowers?”
“Yes, well, not exactly. I’m delivering them for Lars, who brought you flowers. Are you up for a quick interview session?”
Only at that moment did I realize I’d been clutching the door, death-grip style, like I’d expected a serial killer to be on the other side. When would these nerves take a hike?
“Of course.” I moved aside to let her in, followed by Marissa, Tina, and Bjorn. They quickly got to work on their filming setup. Normally, I would have been over-the-moon excited at that prospect alone. But something was missing. I looked in the hallway, searching for the creature that my heart had been craving ever since one very snowy evening. “Is Lars here?”
Bibi shook her head. “He picked these for you. I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of putting them in a vase.” No surprise she pronounced itvaaahz.
There was an elephant in the room, a poor substitute for a sasquatch. “Is something wrong? Is Lars okay?”
“No! Lars is fabulous,” Bibi exclaimed, but then put a purple fingernail on her chin. “There is a slight complication. He’s still in his natural form.”
Marissa and Tina glared at her.
“And?” I asked. That wasn’t cause for alarm. Lars had been in his natural form when he’d rescued me. When I did a striptease to thank him for saving my life and he’d reciprocated by introducing me to the wonders of his tail and other things that shouldn’t have fit inside me but—thank the moon—did.
“It does complicate the episode,” Bibi said as she sat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. The other one still had my laptop and filming light set up around it. Totally busted on going live. “The Colorado Ranch pack members could hardly believe their eyes when they saw him in The Village. What will humans do when he takes the stage?”
“Who knows, but he’s been in solitude for so long, it hardly seems fair to keep him there any longer.” I pushed aside my amateur filming equipment. “Lars will never tell us he’s lonely, but I think he is. I know, humans will lose their minds over a confirmed Bigfoot sighting. So we’ll capture the imagination of a bunch of bored, middle-aged dudes. But maybe we can show them he’s not that different from us. Just much bigger and fuzzier.”
“If only it could go so smoothly.” Bibi sighed.
“Tell her the rest,” Marissa urged. “And I’d like to preface this by saying it’s not my fault.”
I furrowed my brow, waiting for an explanation. Bibi groaned. This was gonna be juicy.
“Lars may or may not have had a run-in with some ancient wolves who insist his brother is alive.” Tina filled in the blanks for me.
“They claim they were awakened by the discovery of the Hudaknocker,” Bibi added. “Lars seemed very unsure if he’d dreamed this or if it was real. We need to take this warning seriously, but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to change course for the episode.”
A chill ran down my spine. “Is Lars in danger?”
Maybe the better question was,am I?
“The security team will be monitoring the situation closely.” Bibi rose from her chair. “There’s no denying the two of you shared something special the night of the avalanche. I thought about having you see each other before you meet on stage, but that could be considered fixing the show. You know better than anyone else what the viewers want. Those raw, real reactions simply can’t be staged. Our plan is to have you meet on Saturday afternoon, in front of a live audience, unless you have any objections.”
“Should I?” I cocked a brow. I had a tendency to jump into anything that excited me headfirst. Looking was for suckers.
“Lars may never shift this season,” Bibi said. “Humans could reject him. These ancient beasts could pose a real threat. I know better by now than to think any episode will be smooth sailing, but this could be bumpier than most.”
“Lars needs me. He needs us.” There wasn’t much I could do on my own. I was a lover, not a fighter. Barely five feet tall, and it had been a minute since I’d graced the inside of a gym with my presence. “All these bullies are counting on him being on his own. Having no one to turn to. Sunset Springs andThe Mating Gamecrew welcomed me with open arms. Let’s show him the best of what we have to offer.”
Bibi beamed at me. “I love this for all of us.”
