19

Zoe’s mouth dropped open. “Kira, there’s no way to fix it. Jayson, piece of shit that he is, rejected you. You’ve given all you could for your family and pack. You don’t owe them shit. Why do you even want to make these people happy? Honestly, the only people who seem to understand how hard you’ve tried are Kolton and Wyatt and his band of lone wolves. Everyone else is demanding a pound of flesh from you.”

I groaned at Wyatt’s name. He was where everything had gone wrong. I couldn’t even think about him without getting depressed.

I held a hand up. “Let’s please not talk about Wyatt. And let’s not discuss Kolton, either. He’s getting all these ideas about dropping out of school. He’s close to giving up his dreams of starting his own business to stay here and take over as alpha. You and I both know that’s the last thing he wants. He’ll shrivel and die inside if that ends up being his fate. Gods, it pisses me off and breaks my heart.”

Zoe’s face softened. “I know, but…” She shrugged. “Being alpha is really his destiny. It sucks, but maybe that’s what fate and the gods have planned for him.”

I shook my head vehemently. “No. I won’t let that happen.”

My drive to fix the situation ran deep into my soul. Fixing it was the best way for me to cope with all that had happened. I was driven by guilt. Guilt over what had happened, guilt that I should have seen it all coming. Jayson had never really wanted to mate with me. It had taken half a decade to get him to even discuss a date for the ceremony. Talk about red flags.

I felt responsible for everything. Unfair or not, I couldn’t help it. My career was over, my family had been shamed, all the packs were on the verge of going to war. Things had fallen apart around me.

I sighed. It would have been nice to have a white knight come riding in to save the day. I’d never entertained such fantasies in the past, had never wanted or needed to be saved. But right then, I would have welcomed it.

At that moment, I would have done anything to fix the disaster my life had become. Things would come to a head soon if I didn’t do something drastic. The odds were good that as a rejected mate, I’d get kicked out of the pack. My parents would fight against that, but how did you fight thousands of years of tradition? I didn’t want to go rogue or fall into some rag-tag group of lone wolves like Wyatt had. Although, it didn’t look like he minded it. I’d never talked to him about being a lone wolf. Come to think of it, I’d never spoken to him about any aspect of his past. The way things were going, I might be forced to pick his brain about how to survive.

“Hang on, I need sugar,” Zoe said.

I watched as she produced two bowls filled with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and toppings out of thin air. While she cast her little spells, my mind continued to spin through the issues to find a possible solution. Regardless of what my pack thought about me, it was my responsibility to protect them. I wouldn’t let Kolton waste away his life in misery, nor would I leave my family forever.

Every option was worse than the one before.

Zoe handed me one heaping bowl. “Here,” she said. “Let’s zone out for a little, okay? Get your mind off everything.”

The sight of the calorie bomb made my stomach rumble, and I gave Zoe a grudging smile. “All right, we can try that.”

Grinning, she went to flop down on the couch and grabbed the remote. “We can watch some trashy TV or something.”

I settled in beside her as she flipped through the dozens of channels. As I spooned ice cream into my mouth, I wondered how long it would be before my friend tried to convince me to move in with her again. I’d never lived outside the Eastern Wilds. I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself.

“Oh, here we go,” Zoe said.

She’d stopped on a channel. I recognized the guy on the screen immediately. Von Thornton, the vampire host of The Reject Project. He was dressed, as always, from head to toe in perfectly tailored designer clothes.

“Good day, everyone, “ Von said to a live crowd. “How are my darlings today?” He flashed a brilliant smile, the tips of his fangs glinting in the stage light.

The crowd gave a small cheer and a ripple of applause.

Von took a seat on a blood-red velvet armchair, the only furnishing on the entire stage. “Wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” he said. “Well, as you and the rest of the world know, it’s almost time for the next season of our favorite show. The Reject Project is returning for a thirty-first season, and I don’t know about you, but I am beyond excited for the drama.” He raised a provocative eyebrow, and the crowd twittered with laughter.

Crossing a leg over his knee nonchalantly, Von went on. “For those who may not know, wolf shifters are the focus of our little program. Unlike any other creature, wolves are the most delectable when it comes to their love lives. Their souls flutter through life, desperately seeking the match that will make them whole. Romance by fate. The fated mate is a lovely tradition that wolf shifters search for to fulfill their lives, as well as the lives of their family and pack.”

Von leaned toward the audience and put a hand to his mouth, pretending to whisper conspiratorially. “I, for one, enjoy playing the field.”

More laughs from the audience. The guy was a showman, but then, he’d had a few centuries to hone his craft.

“Our show delves into what happens when one of these twin flames burns out too soon. When one wolf falls out of sync with their fated pairing, a reject is born. It is rare, but as our thirty seasons can attest, not that rare. Our contestants come to us to fight it out and try to claim a new partner and get a second chance at romance. We offer a path for two lucky wolves to find a new mate with the blessing of the goddess. And as fans of the show know, things can get very intense.”