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“Indeed, sister,” the second fae said. “Feast on his power. Take the delicious shifter man. Long life you want? Long life we give.”
The third fae slithered across the stones to join her sisters. She grinned up at me and clacked her black teeth together. “Suckle it, we would. Pleasure, we would give. Spell, we can cast. Then bite it off, we will. Blood will end it at last. Like us, you can be.”
I took another step back. “I’m, uh, gonna have to take a rain check on that, okay? It all sounds, um, delightful, but I’ve got to go. I’m not a big fan of the whole biting-the-dick-off thing.”
The three fae women chattered in some mad language like chittering locusts, then the lead fae stood to her full height. She extended her hands to her sides, claw-like nails raking at the air.
“No magic? Useless, you are. Food, you will be. Play with your body, we will.”
The three women lunged forward like they were made of water, writhing and slithering, the red veins crossing their flesh glowing with inner magical power. I screamed, shifted, and ran. Around me, trees exploded as the fae sent spells after me. The manic screeches of the women were the only thing I could hear. I sprinted, hoping to lose them.
Ahead of me, the ground sloped drastically into a ravine. Pushing myself, I increased my speed, then leaped. Wind rippled through my fur as I propelled through the air. The landing would be rough, but it had to be better than whatever those freaky fae had planned for me.
Half a second before I landed, I tucked my head and hit the forest floor, rolling madly. Thankfully, the ground was thick with rotting palm fronds and ferns. Instead of feeling like I’d been beaten with a sledgehammer, it felt more like a couple of guys had kicked me a few times.
Coming to a stop, I flipped over and looked up. The fae hadn’t followed, but I couldn’t bank on them staying put. I shifted back into my human form and began to run. The ravine led back to the path, and within minutes, I came to an obstacle—a large wall covered in barbed wire. I breathed a sigh of relief that I’d at least made it back to where I needed to be.
The wall proved easy to climb, but it wasn’t my body that worked overtime, it was my mind. Kira. Was she okay? Had she finished the course without getting hurt? My thoughts took a surprising turn when I began to worry about the others, too. J.D.? Mika? Were any of them dead? The idea made me queasy. I’d initially come on the show to protect Kira, but now I saw things from her point of view—or started to, anyway. A lot of the guys here didn’t deserve to die on this island. In my mind, Mika, J.D., and Abel all deserved a happy ending, a chance at life away from this hellhole.
That kind thought didn’t quite extend to Tate and Gavin, though.
Thirty minutes later, soaked with sweat and with a few more bumps and bruises, I jogged out of the jungle into the mansion’s courtyard. Cameras flocked toward me as I almost keeled over in exhaustion. Off to the side, Von started clapping, and my gaze tracked over to see Kira, Abel, and Gavin.
Kira’s eyes went wide at the sight of me. Oh, thank the gods, she was alive and safe. Relief flooded my entire being at the sight of her. It took everything I had to keep my composure. We still had an act to follow.
“My, my, my, Mr. Rivers, you gave us quite a scare,” Von said. “We were certain you’d been turned into hamburger meat by some terrible beastie. Welcome back. You do have a flair for the dramatic, don’t you?”
“Water,” I gasped, waving to one of the support staff. “Water.” I’d never been so thirsty in my life.
Kira took a few steps closer, concern blazing in her eyes. I wiped the sweat from my brow, crooking my fingers as I did to make a gesture like the peace sign but with the index and middle fingers bent and the thumb between them. It was a common hand signal for operatives. Basically, it meant,All good, debrief later.
Kira nodded almost imperceptibly. One of the witches brought over a crystal pitcher and glasses. I bypassed the glasses, yanking the entire pitcher off the silver tray to guzzle the water.
“How very masculine,” Von remarked as he watched me gulping down the water between gasps of breath. The icy liquid poured down my mouth and the front of my shirt. It felt amazing as it cooled me off, but it tasted even better.
Finally done, I handed the empty pitcher back to the witch. Von stepped over, that ever-present camera hovering behind him. He threw an arm around my shoulders. “You know, it’s difficult to impress a vampire. We live such long lives, and we’ve seen so much, yet here you are, shocking the pants off me. I was certain you’d been eliminated. Tell us, Wyatt, how did you get out of that jungle alive? The fans back home must be positively drooling to find out how things went for you. And, of course…” Von gestured back toward Chelsey, who had emerged from the mansion. She was a little pale, but it seemed she’d fully healed from the wolfsbane tea she’d drunk earlier. “Our lovely Chelsey must be beside herself now that she knows you are okay.”
“A rough day, for sure,” I said.
Seeing that was all he was going to get out of me, Von cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t say. Very verbose, aren’t you, Mr. Rivers? Anyway, don’t let me hold you two kids up from being reunited. We all know you are Chelsey’s top choice. Come, my lady, and say hello to this strapping alpha.”
Chelsey looked uncomfortable as all the hovering cameras turned their lenses on her. Flicking my eyes, I saw Kira watching her as she stepped forward. Chelsey opened her arms and took me in a hug. As I hesitantly embraced her, I couldn’t help but wish it was Kira’s body nestled against my chest instead. I still felt nothing for this woman. Chelsey had a kind heart, beauty, and from everything I’d seen thus far, a sharp mind. But there was zero chemistry between us.
I wanted Kira.NeededKira.
“I’m so glad you made it back,” Chelsey said as she broke our embrace.
“Glad to be back,” I said, giving her the best fake smile I could muster.
“Okay, Wyatt, enough tiptoeing around the subject,” Von said. “How on earth did you get so far off-track out there?”
He wasn’t going to give up until I gave him something. Deciding to be as vague as possible, I gestured toward the forest. “Hard not to get really turned around in there. Trying to survive those traps and obstacles, you know? I ended up off-trail and lost my way. Simple as that.” Deciding to throw in a bit of truth, I added, “Three dark fae almost got me, and I fell down a ravine. That led me back to the course.”
Von’s eyes brightened. “The Three Sisters? Very interesting, aren’t they?”
“Uh, yeah. Lots of rhyming. Not a fan.”
Von chuckled and punched me lightly in the shoulder like we were buddies. I smiled, but my anxiety was eating at me. I wanted to find out what the hell was going on here. What had happened to Leif? Kira stood right there, less than fifteen feet away, yet I couldn’t talk to her. It was maddening. The ever-present cameras had become even more of a nuisance than before.
