21

There were always two options for the prize. The money and prestige and glamor were huge, of course. But Heline always offered the winner a chance to forgo the new fated-mate blessing and ask her to grant them one favor instead. The Moon Goddess, one of the most powerful magical beings in our entire world, would give you one wish.

“Has anyone ever taken the favor?” I asked greedily.

Zoe shook her head, a deep frown marring her brow. “No. Why would they? Anything they could ask for is already there in the winnings. You get, like, a dozen different benefits from taking that. Heline’s favor would be one thing, right? Why would anyone choose one thing over the very thing that got them on the show? Over having a new fated mate?”

“To shield your loved ones, stop a war, increase their pack’s standing? There are things more important than money or living in a nice neighborhood.” I explained.

“Well, none of that matters,” Zoe said in a tone that brooked no argument. “I’m not letting you do it. My gods, do you realize how bad the survival rate is on this show? It’s terrible. I’ll be honest, the female contestants usually fare even worse. I won’t let you get sucked into this. It’s not worth it, Kira.”

It sounded totally worth it to me. I could ask Heline for her blessing over my pack, basically making them untouchable, or I could ask her to stop any war that might be about to break out. The Eleventh Pack wasn’t strong, and the last war fifty years before had devastated us and dropped our station even further. Not only that, but preventing a war would also help the other lower-tier packs that would get gobbled up or destroyed in a war with the larger, more powerful packs.

This was my chance. If I could guarantee our pack’s safety, then Mom and Dad might allow me to take the lead and allow Kolton to continue his education and follow his dreams. Even if I didn’t win, simply doing well would help bring a little pride back to my pack after being shamed.

I had a hard time thinking I wouldn’t do well. Yes, some of the little games and twists the showrunners used were dangerous and life-threatening, but I was a trained Tranquility operative. Was there anything they could throw at me that I couldn’t handle? I doubted it.

The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I could do this. All I needed to do was get the show to choose me. From there? It would be smooth sailing.

I tuned Zoe’s voice out as she rambled on about all the dangers. My mind was made up.

Chapter 8

Wyatt

The way my mind kept drifting back to what had happened to Kira annoyed me. I really needed to get my head out of her problems. There was nothing I could do to help. On top of that, she’d made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want any help from me.

That didn’t stop me from remembering the absolute devastation on her face that day out in the forest. The mating ceremony had been the worst moment in her life. Far above her near death at the hands of the lion shifter or anything else that had happened before.

I had gone out on runs with my unofficial pack, hunting and sprinting to expend some of my angry energy. It hadn’t helped at all. If anything, I was even more furious after a run. Ready to rip Jayson Fell’s head off all over again.

Work was even less helpful at getting my mind off things. Every time I went into the office, I was met with Kira’s empty desk. To me, it was like a ghost was wandering the building. Kira was such a force of nature that her presence was still palpable even though she wasn’t.

Being at work only served to increase my rage at the situation. My superiors were so emotionless about the entire thing, it set my teeth on edge. They were treating it like business as usual, like every organization fired their best employee for reasons that had nothing to do with job performance. It was like a trash collector getting fired because he’d let his library card expire. Kira hadn’t done anything to warrant termination. Hell, she’d still been on council-sanctioned medical leave during the ceremony. They knew she’d been drugged. Yes, she’d gotten injured, and the suspect had gotten away, but that was usually followed by a stern briefing, a slap on the wrist, a pat on the ass, and words of encouragement to do better the next time. It was how things worked. Or had.

I’d always thought the council to be the pristine defenders of human and creature kind. Now I saw what they really were: corruptible, easily manipulated, and dirty. All it took was one family to make one phone call, and any of us could be out the door. The council was run on nepotism, money, and power.

The pencil I was holding suddenly snapped between my fingers. Glancing down, I saw I’d clenched my fist tight enough that it had broken in two. My thoughts had pissed me off so much, I couldn’t help it. A glance around the office showed no one had noticed. Carter was on the phone, and no one else was near. I needed to be careful. Everyone knew Kira and I had a tense relationship, but they also knew Kolton was my best friend. No matter how much I despised what had happened, I still needed the job. At this point, it was all I had.

“I’m heading out,” I said, pulling my jacket off the chair as I stood.

Shonda Makey glanced up from her cubicle. “For the day? It’s only one o’clock. You’ll need to put in PTO for the remaining hours.”