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“Poor Jordan Darkham has lost so much, including his close friend Leif on this show, that our viewers are rooting for him to end up with a fated mate of his own.”
“I forgot his name was actually Jordan,” Mika muttered. He tossed his fork down and glanced sideways at Von. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
Mika was one hundred percent over the show and Von’s goofy showman antics. He hadn’t wanted to be here to begin with, and everything that had happened so far had only made things worse for him.
If Von heard Mika’s comment, he ignored it. With one last pat on J.D.’s back, Von turned to address all of us again. “As you all know, there will be an arena match tomorrow afternoon. However, this time, it won’t be one on one. The producers have decided to switch things up a bit and have teams. Very exciting, I know. As the challenges get more dangerous, more alphas will be eliminated, and at a much quicker pace.” Von winked at us. “Things are getting absolutely exhilarating now.”
If by “exhilarating,” he meant dangerous, sadistic, and gut-wrenching, then he was right. Kira was listening to Von with rapt attention, but her eyes were stormy with rage. She had the same opinion about all this as me, and it became harder by the minute to keep acting like we were good little boys and girls having a good time on the show.
“I’ve already informed Chelsey about this change. She needed a bit more looking after by the healers after yesterday, so don’t worry. She’s already heard the news.” Von smiled and then glanced at me, then at Kira. “We don’t want to leave our viewers wanting and wondering what could have been, so rather than waiting until tomorrow night for the second mating chamber date, we’ve done a quick remodel of one of the vacant bedroom suites and turned it into another mating chamber. Tonight, the two happy couples will be able to enjoy a night of wanton debauchery before tomorrow afternoon’s arena match.”
Von raised his arms, apparently waiting for us to applaud or something. When we didn’t react, he didn’t miss a beat. “This way, our fans will have a better idea of which alphas are, shall we say, masters of the bedroom domain. This will definitely spice things up. When our beloved alphas fall in battle during the challenges, it will tug at the heartstrings even more and might lead to some outbursts—catfighting, or even fistfights. We haven’t had to break up any brawls yet this season, so here’s hoping.”
“Sounds great,” Kira said in a strained voice.
Von clapped once. “I knew our leading ladies would be on board. I’ll leave you all to your lunch.” He turned to one of the cameras. “Until tonight, ladies and gentlemen. See you then. Grab your popcorn and get ready.”
Von rushed out of the room in deep discussion with one of the assistant directors.
“So, what do you think the arena match will be?” Abel asked once Von walked out of earshot.
Gavin scoffed. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll start with us all getting a full body massage, maybe even with a happy ending. Then? A leisurely stroll through a field of daisies, followed by catching butterflies, along with lollipops made of sparkles and sunshine.” He rolled his eyes. “More likely, it’ll be a swimming contest with a shark or something—with some raw and bloody meat strapped to our legs, of course.”
Tate leaned over in his chair to put an arm around Kira’s shoulders. “Well, whatever it is, I’ll be there to keep Kira safe.” He gave her a reassuring grin. “Don’t worry, babe. You’re safe when I’m around.”
I gritted my teeth and kept my eyes down, but every fiber of my being wanted to smash my fist into Tate’s nose. Once I had myself under control, I decided to play on the friends-to-enemies act Kira and I were putting on.
Pointing at her with my fork, I said, “Good luck with that, brother. This one will probably end up getting you killed for the trouble. She’s a pain in the ass andhasto be independent all the time, even when someone tries to help her.”
“Oh, Wyatt, don’t act all holier than thou. Like you were some damned white knight trying to save the damsel in distress,” Kira said scornfully. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. You want everyone here and back home to think you’re some big hero.”
“That’s not true. You just don’t want to admit that the way you always try to do things is dangerous. Damn annoying little brat.”
A red flush crept into her cheeks, and she pursed her lips at the use of my little code phrase. She cleared her throat and glared at me. “Well… you, uh, you—”
“You know what?” I said, cutting her off as I stood. “I’m done eating. You guys have fun. I need to rest up for the mating chamber tonight. Have fun with the annoying little brat.”
I handed my empty plate to one of the staff and walked out.
“You’re driving me fucking crazy, you know that?” Kira called out.
Once I was out of sight of the cameras, I allowed myself a little grin. She had to be telling the truth. It made me happy to know that I drove her as crazy as she drove me.
That evening, I dressed in the alpha den, preparing for my night with Chelsey. I was uneasy about the whole thing. Would she try to pull something? She’d made it clear that she liked me and didn’t try to hide her attraction for me. I really did not want to have to peel her off my body, but I would if it came to it.
“Excited for the big night?” Mika said as he strolled into the den, giving me a sarcastic grin.
All the other guys had gone to the game room to watch on the big TV. Thankfully, the chamber didn’t have camerasinsideit. At least the showrunners hadn’t resorted to broadcasting homemade porn. There would be some build-up, though—the men and women getting escorted down, plus probably some talk from Von about what everyone thought might be going down inside.
“Not really,” I said.
Mika flopped down on his bunk and pulled out a book. “Figured.”
“Staying in tonight?” I don’t know why I even asked. He always stayed in.
“Yup. I have no desire to watch this thing unfold. Have fun. Well, as much as you can without the woman you really want.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but a knock at the door made me turn. One of the half-demon security guys stood there.
