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“Well, come on then. Mr. Thornton is going to be very angry.”
Biting my tongue, I stopped myself from saying something I shouldn’t and followed her. Instead of worrying about Von, I enjoyed the hope that surged within me, knowing my message was on its way back to Zoe. The thought that the plan Wyatt and I were implementing might actually come to fruition filled me with an excitement I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
When she led me into the room, Chelsey and the other alphas were already there. It was all I could do not to stare at Mika. I was as calm and collected as I could manage until I noticed that Wyatt wasn’t in the room.
Chelsey beckoned me to sit next to her. When I did, I whispered, “Where’s Wyatt?”
“Don’t know. We were waiting for you both, and Von got pissed and stomped off to find him and sent the witch to get you.”
“How the hell did you know what time to come?” I hissed.
“They mentioned it during breakfast, but you didn’t come down, and I guess Wyatt left early.” She shrugged in apology. “Sorry. I assumed they said something to you guys separately.”
A few minutes later, Von and Wyatt hurried in. Wyatt immediately caught my eye and gave me a quick, almost imperceptible nod before sitting next to Mika. We didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.
Von snapped his fingers at one of his staff. “Are we ready?”
The guy tapped at a tablet and gave Von a thumbs-up. “We’re good, sir.”
“Penelope? Cameras?” Von barked at the witch who’d fetched me.
The witch waved her hand over two cameras sitting on a table beside her. The devices buzzed to life and rose into the air. One stayed pinned on Von, and the other floated around to get different angles.
The frazzled, frustrated look on Von’s face vanished in the blink of an eye. The ivory smile, the fangs, the charm all appeared so fast, it made my head spin.
“Good afternoon, all youReject Projectfans. I know you’ve been looking forward to today. Our team has been collecting the best and brightest questions from our social media pages, our fan site, and our texting lines. Now that those questions have come in, it’s time to pose them to our sexy, sizzling cast.”
He waved a hand toward all of us, the cameras following his gesture. One camera buzzed by us, getting a good shot of each of our faces. I couldn’t help but wonder if the lens picked up my wariness. After getting a shot of each of us, the camera returned to Von.
“I hope everyone is excited to see how fun things get over the next few days. We have some really fun challenges coming up. For now, though, questions and answers—nothing dangerous. There are simply too many questions to get through. As much as I’d love to add a little danger, that will have to wait until later this afternoon.”
That was a relief. He probably wasn’t joking, either. If there was a way to add danger to something, Von would do it. He could turn a baking class into a bloodbath if given enough time to prepare.
“First one,” Von said, pulling a note card from a stack on the table beside him. He read from the card, “We all know the changeling disguised itself as Kira. Who did youwantit to be?” He gave the camera a scandalized smile. “Intense. Okay, Tate, how about you answer first?”
“Uh, I didn’t really have a preference,” Tate said. “But I guess one of the other alphas. I don’t like the idea of hurting a woman. Even if it’s only a thing thatlookslike a woman.”
Oh, that was a bullshit answer. The second Tate had found out Wyatt and I knew each other before the show, he’d been done with me. I had no doubt he’d have loved to jam a knife into my throat, but from what Chelsey told me during our hours-long drunken convo, he’d been backed up against a wall, scared shitless like the rest of them while Wyatt dealt with the changeling.
Von asked every contestant in turn, getting mostly canned answers. Wyatt did stir some drama when he said he wanted the changeling to be Gavin, and of course Gavin answered that he wanted it to be Wyatt. It was all quite silly, in fact.
Von snapped up another card. “Oh, this is a good one. Should get a lot of people heated up back home.” He cleared his throat before asking the questions. “Which of the twelve packs is the best?”
Even as tense as things were, most of the contestants chuckled. They thought it was an easy question. One that any wolf shifter could answer from the time they were old enough to talk. Obviously,yourpack was the best, and you’d always think so.
As Von went around the room, things went pretty much as planned. At least they did until he returned to Gavin and Wyatt.
“Wyatt? What’s your answer? You originally hailed from the Second Pack, correct?” Von asked.
“I did,” Wyatt answered. “But like many of the upper packs, the Second Pack is corrupt. To tell the truth, all the traditional packs are. I have to go with my unofficial pack being the best.”
“Bro, that’s not a real fucking pack,” Tate said. “It’s a bunch of mongrels who aren’t fit to be in real packs.”
Wyatt didn’t seem fazed. “My unofficial pack is the largest in all the pack lands. We watch out for each other and are more of a family than any other pack. I stand by my answer.”
Von raised his eyebrows and leaned in close to the camera. “Well, well, well, folks. A bit of intrigue, no? Do you all think any of the unofficial packs wandering around out there constitute real packs? Let us know. Our social media page is live for your comments.
“Last but not least, Gavin. What is your answer? Which pack is the best?”
