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“It’s buzzing a lot. Want me to grab it?”
“Not really.” I laughed. But then I realized we were in the middle of the forest, and all hell had been breaking loose in Sunset Springs when we left. “Maybe you should.”
There were dozens of texts. Missed calls. Messages on the forum.
“Oh shit.”
All from Destiny. Hell of a time for her to reemerge.
Is Zoe with you? I haven’t seen her.
Please answer. I’m scared something really bad has happened.
The guys aren’t answering my questions. I think they’ve done something.
Hannah, I’m scared. No one knows where she is. This isn’t like Zoe. I think the guys might have given her to Lars’s brother.
thirty
Bibi
The last thing I expected was for Hannah and Lars to come running out of their yurt, half dressed, with news that Zoe was officially missing. No longer ghosting, but gone without a trace.
It had been a minute since I’d pulled an all-nighter on a Mating Game date, and I was a little groggy.
“Get all the information you can from Destiny,” I instructed Hannah. There was no way she was thinking clearly either, especially with that post-orgasmic glow.
There was no reason to be coy about it. Everyone had heard them. And I was thrilled. Hannah and Lars had both had doubts about this date. That they wouldn’t be able to recapture the spark of their unexpected encounter. I’d never doubted their chemistry for a second, but I was still delighted to be right.
Not that any of us had any time to bask in it.
“What do you need to know?” Hannah asked.
“If anything seemed unusual before she disappeared. No detail can be too small. What she and Cardell did last.” I tapped my finger against my chin. “Anyone else have anything to add to this?”
“Ask if anyone said anything about gathering flowers, especially borage and goldenrod,” Marissa added. “Laura and Wendy sent a list of spell ingredients they found in the ancient texts.”
“Probably worth asking if she’s seen my brother.” Lars shoved his hands in to pockets of his jeans and grumbled. He hadn’t bothered to put his shirt on. “Wouldn’t surprise me if he had something to do with this.”
“And maybe, if there have been any other women, or humans, in the house?” There hadn’t been any more notes from Calista, no contact, no sign of her, but a girl could remain hopeful.
“We need to make a move soon,” Hugo said. There was no missing the growl in his voice. I didn’t have to mention Calista by name. This episode was far too hectic for the two of us to sneak off on a getaway, but we would soon. Before the next episode. I hadn’t chosen the next contestant yet.
“These wolves—and Leif—are pushing us as far as they can. They did this to make a statement. Destiny won’t stop at telling Hannah Zoe’s missing. She’ll tell the rest of her friends, and I would be shocked if this news isn’t already on the forums.” Hugo paced back and forth. So wolf. It was hot. “And that means the reporters will pick it up any minute. It’s only a matter of time before they figure out what Armand and Leif are actually up to.”
“If we’re right,” Hannah said, holding up her hands when everyone glared at her. “What? There’s a chance we aren’t.”
“There’s nothing on the forums,” Marissa swiped at her screen. “Not seeing anything when I do a search of the groups, either—”
“There are secret groups,” Hannah said. “Subsets of the original forums. That’s where we take the real talk.”
Marissa looked up at her. “We know.”
Hannah’s mouth dropped.
“We have to be able to monitor every aspect of the community, for reasons like this,” I explained. “Before we invited you to join us, we fully vetted you to make sure you were a good fit for the show.”
“Standard procedure. It was in your contract,” Hugo added. “We’ve been monitoring your conversations for information. But most of them have been about your friends’ very active sex lives.”
