24

I nodded grimly. “She did.”

Kolton sprinted inside. Grudgingly, I turned and followed him. All I wanted was to go after Kira, but that would have to wait. Unless I could force Zoe to teleport me to Kira, it would take hours for me to get to Fangmore. By then, she would have already done what she’d gone to do.

“Zoe?” Kolton shouted.

I trudged into the house, but the sound of paws on gravel interrupted my stride. Looking over my shoulder, I saw two wolves sprinting down the driveway. Kira’s parents. Sighing, I followed after Kolton. I wasn’t in the mood to break the news to them.

I found Zoe and Kolton in the kitchen. If anything, Kolton looked even more tired and haggard. Zoe’s face was flushed with supreme sorrow. She’d obviously confirmed what I’d told Kolton. My friend looked a solid two decades older than he had a few minutes ago. He understood the dangers of the show. He was the only person I’d met who hated the show as much as I did.

Alpha Durst and his mate walked in. They looked irate. Zoe’s assumption that they had been trying to figure out who had vandalized Kira’s car was probably correct.

“What’s all this?” Kira’s father asked, his face going even darker.

Kolton looked up at him, a look of utter and complete devastation on his face. “Dad…Kira’s gone.”

Alpha Durst took a step forward, looking wary. “Gone? Gone where?”

Kolton looked like he was going to vomit. “She’s gone to Fangmore City. She’s auditioning for The Reject Project.”

Surprisingly—shockingly—Kira’s father’s face broke into a joyous smile. I frowned, horrified at his reaction.

“She did? She really did that?” The pride in his voice turned my stomach.

Kolton had the same look on his face that I had. Horror and disbelief. “Yes, Dad. Why the hell do you look so happy?”

Het shook his head. “She’s trying to bring honor back to us. I never even thought of it. If I had, I would have suggested it myself.” He pumped his fist like he’d won a hand of cards. “That’s my girl,” he whispered.

It took every ounce of my willpower not to slap the shit out of the man right then and there. Didn’t he understand that Kira was going to her death? If she got on the show, the odds of her returning were probably less than ten percent. It was the grotesque allure of the program.

Alpha Durst looked up at the three of us, obviously confused why Kolton, Zoe, and I looked somber. “Why do you all look like that? Aren’t you proud of Kira? She’s finally putting her pack first.”

“Finally?” Kolton barked. “She’s always putting the pack first, Dad. What the hell are you on about?”

His father nodded, but it was more a placating gesture than anything. “Yes, Kolton, of course. Still, if she’d tried to be closer to Jayson, tried to strengthen their relationship, he might not have rejected her.” His eyes flicked to me with a quick flash of irritation that he concealed quickly. I knew he was pissed at me, but he also understood that what happened had been caused by a drug and not through willing actions on my or Kira’s part.

I’d need to be careful around him for some time. That would be difficult, since it seemed like Kolton and I cared more about her safety than her own parents did.

“Things could have gone differently,” he went on. “Now? We’re a laughingstock. Totally gutted. Our influence has all but dissipated like crazy in the last week. If a war broke out among packs now, no one would align with us. We’d be crushed. This is her chance. Our chance. The power and prestige? The blessing of Heline herself? It’s all we could ever ask for.”

Kira’s mother looked much less excited. She patted his shoulder. “Yes, dear, but we have to remember that hundreds of rejected mates from all over the country will be trying to get on that show. She probably won’t even get picked. We have bigger things to worry about than the show.”

“Like what?” I said, my anger amping up by the second.

Kira’s father seemed to come back to reality, and his face went grim.

“Well,” Kira’s mother went on, “we need to comfort Kira when she gets home. We also need to figure out how to deal with the other Eleventh families. They’re all calling for her to be banished. It’s tradition. A rejected fated mate has always been removed from the pack. The other families think we are bucking tradition because she’s the daughter of the alpha.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I hissed and stomped out.

I couldn’t stand being in that house any longer. I’d always respected Kira’s father and had been grateful that he’d let my pack reside in his lands. But all that gratitude and respect vanished when I’d seen his greed and excitement at the prospect of his daughter participating in a show where the odds were good that she’d die. Yes, his pack had lost a ton of influence and would be in dire straits if the rumored war actually happened, but she was his only daughter.

My only option was to make sure Kira didn’t get on the show. Her mother was right—the odds were low for her to get chosen. The prize money, blessings, and fame that came from being on The Reject Project ensured tons of women would apply. But even so, the probability was low, not zero. And I knew that if she did get on that show, I’d have to do something just as crazy.

I’d spent years saving Kira from danger. No way in hell was I gonna stop now. If she managed to succeed with this psychotic venture, I’d need to be there to drag her butt back to safety. Like I had dozens of times before.