37

One by one, men got out of the car, each as gorgeous as the last. Every one of them could have been a movie star or model. The crowd, especially the ladies, screeched as the men—all attired in tailored tuxedoes—waved.

I did my best to hear all the names as they were called out and file them away in my memory, but the screams, flashing lights, and my nerves made that impossible. I’d have to wait until later to try and get them all straight.

The men looked up at the stage and tried to catch my eye as I smiled and nodded at whatever the hell Von was saying. I didn’t really care for the intent and greedy way they looked at me. Like I was nothing more than a prize to be won.

After the eighth man stepped out, Von raised his hands and addressed the crowd. “We have a bit of a last-minute change regarding our tenth and eleventh contestants. The eleventh contestant was delayed and will join us on Bloodstone Island. And due to unforeseen circumstances, our tenth competitor had to drop out.” Murmurs of confusion rippled through the crowd. “Yes, yes. Very unfortunate. But we have filled that slot with a very eligible alpha from the Second Pack.”

A leg, clothed in black, extended out of the car, followed by a hand and arm. Von was beside me, calling out the name of the final contestant, but I didn’t need to hear it. The man looked up to the stage and locked eyes with me, giving me a cocky grin.

Wyatt Rivers’ intense green eyes gazed up at me.

Chapter 12

Wyatt

I would have given my left arm to have a camera when Kira saw me stepping out of that limo. Her face was priceless. There were about a million cameras catching her face, though, so I was sure I’d be able to find a good picture. Maybe I’d hang it up in my room for posterity’s sake. The combination of shock, horror, confusion, anger, and disbelief was something I’d want to look back on forever.

Taking my place beside the other guys, I straightened and smoothed out my tuxedo. Unlike most of the others, I ignored the flashing lights, screaming fans, and general chaos of the premiere. I was focused on Kira and what was about to happen to her.

On that gigantic gaudy stage, Kira was still looking at me with wide-eyed bafflement. I could practically hear her brain short-circuiting. No matter what kind of shitshow this ended up being, I at least had this one moment where I’d one-upped her in a way she’d never expected.

I cocked an eyebrow and gave her the cockiest grin I could manage. Her face clouded. But she was a good actress, I’d give her that. That beaming, perfect smile of hers reappeared a moment later as Von Thornton put his arm in hers. I hoped she knew I was doing this for her. After everything that had happened, Kira had to realize I wouldn’t allow her to throw herself to the wolves—literally and figuratively—without me being there to pull her from the fire.

It had surprised me that my uncle had gone along with my request. He was fairly high up in the network’s chain of command and one of the main executives at The Reject Project. He had the power to pull any strings he wanted. I’d assumed I’d have to give a kidney before my family would even consider talking to me after we’d been estranged for so long. The warmth with which my uncle and my aunt had welcomed me was strange, but I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Uncle Rob had been hesitant to put me on the show and confused about why I was all gung-ho about it after all the years I’d spent decrying the show at every turn. I’d given him a line about wanting to bring some respectability to my name…and mentioned that I might know the new female lead.

“Well, that makes things spicy, doesn’t it, Wyatt?” he’d said.

“Can you do this for me, Uncle Rob?”

“All right. If there’s anyone on Earth I can be sure about getting out of this thing alive, it’s you, Wyatt. But if anyone asks, I had no idea you were going on the show, got it? I’m not gonna be answering uncomfortable questions at Thanksgiving.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

That had been that. A few days later, I was whisked off to Fangmore City to be prepped for this moment: the reveal of the eligible alpha bachelors. Now, I watched Von Thornton lead Kira back to their seats in the center of the stage.

She looked stunning. It reminded me of how she’d looked that night. Beautiful and amazing, asking me to do things I’d only thought about doing to her in the deepest recesses of my mind. As the other male contestants walked up the red-carpeted steps to join her and Von on stage, I wondered if she was remembering the same things I was. My blood ran hot at seeing her, but I had to keep my cool. Gods, I hoped she wouldn’t tell Von she knew me.

Plenty of people watching the show would know we were colleagues and had a history. Uncle Rob had made sure the network would sweep most of that under the rug, but if worse came to worst, it would add another element of drama. That was fine, but if that revelation happened, I wanted it to be once the show had truly gotten underway. There was still a chance, however small, that other executives might step in and remove me, but their hands would be tied once the actual filming started.