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When this stage had doubled as my home, I’d spent many hours on the forums. At the time, it was my only connection to Hannah. But I’d gotten familiar with the regular posters. The ladies who frequented this site were funny, knowledgeable, and often knew major details of events as they happened. We were all in shock, too close to the situation, and probably thinking too linearly.
As long as we led the conversation to the right places, the regulars might give us the insight we needed.
Or the plan could backfire horribly.
Problem was, once we went live, there was no controlling what happened next. The forums were already buzzing, with the comments moving so fast they were impossible to read. Marissa, Tina, and a team of assistants had been tasked with trying to flag any important information.
Hannah looked gorgeous. The glam squad had given her a touch up, ringed her eyes with dark liner and glossed those delicious lips. But it did nothing to take away her fear.
“Why do I feel like this is the last time I’ll see you?”
“No. Hell no.” I took her hands in mine. “I’ve done all of this to be with you.”
“I don’t want you to resent me for that.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “If Tanyth is back, she’ll need you. She’s your mate. I won’t keep you from her.”
“It won’t come to that.”
The door to the studio opened hard enough to bang against the wall. Everyone in the room glared. The little red light that said we were filming was on, and that meant no entry and no exit.
The energy was so strained I thought some of the shifters would combust into their natural forms.
“Sorry,” Wendy mouthed. Laura was right behind her. “We’ve found a spell we think that the wolves might be using—”
“Five! Four! Three!” Bibi counted the last two beats on her perfectly manicured fingers. “Welcome to this special, and shall I say, unusual live chat exclusively onThe Mating Gameforums. I’m your host, Bibi le Bonnet. Tonight I’m joined by Hannah and Lars, our latest contestants. Our hope tonight is to have a conversation with all of you about this very unprecedented episode, and give you a sneak peek of what you might see.”
Bjorn panned the camera to us.
“Thanks for having us, Bibi,” I said. I expected Hannah to talk next, to be her bright, bubbly self. Instead, she gave the camera a little wave.
We had so many things to talk about. Things I didn’t have answers to. Sweet moon, what would I do if Tanyth was alive? I had strong feelings for Hannah that I hadn’t had for any other soul since she’d left me.
“Lars, for many of our viewers, the only time they’ve ever seen you was on stage, in your natural form.” Bibi knew how to fill the awkward silence. “And they might be surprised to see you—not because you’re human, but because Hannah didn’t pick you—”
“That’s right.”
Oh no. Oh for the love of the moon, no.
“She chose me.” Armand strode confidently between our chairs and the camera. “And I have some questions. Why has Lars had two dates with Hannah, when she didn’t choose him, and my request for a second date was denied? It was my understanding that there would be three dates before I claimed you. So my question is, when is our next date, Hannah?”
“No. You don’t get to barge in here and make demands.” Hannah rose from her chair.
I reached for her arm and growled. He wouldn’t lay a paw on her.
“I believe I do.” Armand crossed his arms in front of his chest. He was dressed impeccably, in a suit jacket and a button-down shirt open enough to reveal a hint of his muscular chest. In some ways, he was everything I wasn’t. Smooth, polished, and not the least bit willing to work with modern society. “You’ve broken our agreement, Hannah.”
“Like hell I did. I told you I’d give you one date. You got that.”
“The Mating Gamepromises three dates.” He gave her an oily grin. “The viewers will wonder why Lars is getting more dates than the wolf you actually chose.”
She tipped her head. “If I were to agree to that date, where would you take me?”
What the fuck? Another growl slipped from my throat, much to Armand’s amusement. Hannah turned to me and winked.
“Hannah, I’d like to remind you that we’re live streaming this interview. Even if this is not what we had planned,” Bibi said, her voice on the edge of her very own growl. She was at the edge of her seat, ready to pounce if need be.
“I know.” Her voice, her whole body, shook. “I asked the big, bad wolf a question. Seems like he’s not as comfortable being on the hot seat.”
He scoffed. “I’d show you what it was like to be amongst true royalty, instead of running and hiding every time there’s a problem.”
