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“Thanks.” I hurried inside, closing the door in her face.
I frantically searched the room for the TV remote. I was on the verge of a breakdown when I finally found it twisted in the bedsheets that were still rumpled from my and Wyatt’s lovemaking this morning. Snatching it up, I turned the TV on to see what might be happening. Sure enough, Von had set the cameras to a special live feed for the whole world to see.
On the screen, Tate was chest to chest with Wyatt, chewing him out. The scene played on, and I worried that the fans might look at Wyatt the way Tate and Gavin were—like he was a problem that needed to be dealt with. It didn’t matter that we weren’t going anywhere. The fans could still make our lives difficult.
As things grew more heated, Wyatt finally made a heartfelt admission.
“Okay. I’ve been in love with Kira for years. She had no clue and basically hated my guts most of the time we knew each other. I had to live knowing she was fated to another. It made me miserable, but then, he rejected her. I thought it would finally be my chance to swoop in and steal her away. Except, instead of coming to me like I’d hoped, she tried out for this show.”
I gaped at the screen.I’ve been in love with Kira for years.Something about that sentence sent a warm, pleasant shiver up my back. Had he really admitted that to the entire world? To Kolton and the rest of my family, his unofficial pack mates, and every other sentient creature on the planet? The statement could never be taken back. Once something like that was out there, you couldn’t reel it back in.
The rest of the scene in the alpha den played out as expected. It looked like Mika and J.D. were firmly in our camp. Gavin and Tate looked like they would rather stab Wyatt in the back than look at him, and poor Abel seemed confused and turned around. The poor guy looked like he was having a hard time making heads or tails of the situation.
After Tate stormed out, the feed cut to a commercial for a luxury resort off the Sapphire Coast. While the ad break dragged on, I busied myself by making my bed. It was pointless and silly, but I had to do something other than watch a commercial for hemorrhoid treatment potions.
When the show resumed, Von was sitting opposite Chelsey. The other woman looked a little shell-shocked, but I had the sneaking suspicion it was because Von had stormed into her room for an interview, not from seeing Wyatt and me together earlier. Thankfully, Wyatt had been honest with her in the mating chamber the previous night. I’d have hated for her to see the footage while she was still pining for Wyatt.
“Well, Miss Rein,” Von said. “A very interesting day today, don’t you think?”
Chelsey’s smile was awkward. “I suppose it has been, uh, eventful.”
Von chuckled in that way that always made my skin crawl. “Indeed! Well, after seeing everything that transpired this morning, I have to ask: do you feel cheated in some way? Especially after the romantic evening you spent with Wyatt last night?”
Chelsey surprised and delighted me by shaking her head firmly. “Absolutely not.”
“No?” Von looked shocked.
“No. I mean, isn’t this how the show is supposed to go? You, I don’t know,play the field, so to speak? Find who fits with you and would make a good mate? And try to survive. I think Wyatt and Kira were only doing what they needed to survive. Honestly, I find it all pretty romantic.”
“That’s true, but the fact that they knew each other prior must give you some pause, no? That throws a wrench into the entire game, does it not?”
Chelsey grinned. “Well, there’s never been a second lead mate before either. I could say that me being here throws as much of a wrench into things as anything else.”
“Oh, I love you, girl,” I muttered to myself. It was nice to see she was also on our side. At least, she was acting like she was.
Von, looking uncharacteristically put off by her answers, went on. “How do you think this will all play out, then?”
Chelsey chewed on her lip for a moment. “I think—hope—Kira and Wyatt will keep watching each other’s backs. That’s one of the main things a mate is supposed to do—they protect. Everyone deserves someone like that. People deserve to have a person who loves them and watches over them. I hope I eventually find the same, even if it isn’t Wyatt. I’m never going to fault two people for finding love.” She narrowed her eyes at Von. “I mean, really, what kind of person would?”
“Very illuminating and romantic insight from Chelsey Rein, everyone. We’ll be back soon with our arena match. Before our commercial break, though, we have to remind everyone there are only a few minutes left to vote on whether Wyatt and Kira get to stay on Bloodstone Island. Hurry and vote. Don’t be left out of the decision.” A moment later, the screen clicked to a commercial.
“Thedecision,” I mocked.
This whole place was so fake, it might as well have been made from plastic. Sure, they let fans vote for things, but the big stuff? That was all decided by those bigwigs I’d met earlier. Now, I had to sit around until we were taken to whatever new hellish game Von and the others had cooked up.
I couldn’t sit still and worry about it. Jittery, I got to my feet and paced the room. Part of me wished that I’d never decided to come on this dumb show to begin with. If I hadn’t, then Wyatt wouldn’t have followed me and put himself in danger. The idea washed out of my mind almost as soon as it entered. How could I wish that, after everything that had happened because of it? Yes, Wyatt would have been safe, but if I hadn’t come here, I never would have seen Wyatt as more than my brother’s best friend. He was no longer my bossy and annoying coworker. He was… what was he to me, exactly?
Chewing at my thumbnail, I continued zig-zagging across the room, deep in thought. It wasn’t something I typically did, especially when Wyatt was involved. I’d built up all these walls over the years that it was hard to see over them or bust through. But soon it became pretty clear that I didn’t want to eventhinkabout a time when I might not have Wyatt. When I tried to imagine my life without him, terror and sadness welled up inside me. I didn’t want to lose him. I… I loved him.
The words echoed through my head and forced me to freeze in place as the implications of that one thought exploded in my mind. I loved Wyatt Rivers. The more I said it, the more the walls receded. My love for him wasn’t new. I’d loved him for a long time, but I’d been too stubborn to realize it, too angry and afraid of what I’d done during my first shift. That had left me terrified of allowing myself to feel any emotion for the boy who saved me—the one person who had pulled me out of that cave, calmed me, and kept my secret all these years.
In all my shame, I’d been blind to the fact that the one person whodidknow what I’d done had never looked at me like the monster I thought I was. Wyatt had never condemned my actions or looked down on me. All he’d ever done was try to stay near me and keep me safe. All I’d done for years was be an ass to the one person who I should have been able to confide in. Through it all, my feelings for him had grown, but they’d been shoved down deep inside, along with my inner wolf.
The revelation shattered me to my very core. Desperate to get my mind off it for a few minutes, I went to the closet and dressed for the arena match. As I dressed, I kept thinking of Wyatt and the way he’d cradled my bloody form when he carried me out of those woods. All the times he’d risked his life to protect me on the job. How it always felt like he was staring all the way into my soul when he looked into my eyes. And finally, the way his body made mine feel when we were together. The pleasure and connection was indescribable.
When the knock came at the door, I was so deep in my thoughts and emotions, I yelped in surprise. Hurrying to the door, I yanked it open to find the bloodsucker standing outside my door.
Von leaned over the threshold, glancing around. “Any naked post-coital alphas in here?”
