49

“Don’t get cheeky. It’s a little early.” She swatted my arm playfully but hard enough to sting.

Nathaniel glared at me, but I gave him an easy smile.

Leif spoke up. “How old are you, Kira?”

“Twenty-three,” she said.

That started a cascade of personal questions from around the room. What did she do for fun? Where did she go to school? Did she play sports? What was the Eleventh Pack like? It went on and on. I got a bit bored since I already knew everything about her. Kira answered everything politely and asked questions in return.

“Any siblings?” I asked, wanting to get back into the conversation.

Kira turned toward me and gave me a half smile. “Yes, actually. I have an older brother. His name’s Kolton.”

I grinned at her, sweeping my hand dramatically toward one of the floating cameras. “Well, say hi. I’m sure he’s watching.”

Several other alphas laughed, and Kira went a bit pink in the face again. She turned to the nearest camera and gave it a sad little wave.

“Hey, big brother.”

As much as Kolton hated the show, he’d be glued to the screen for every episode until his sister was home safe. He was probably sitting in the hotel right now, glaring at all these other alphas like I was.

Ryan, one of the nicer guys and from the Tenth Pack, spoke up. “I’m sure your brother is really proud of you.”

“Yeah,” J.D. added. “Anyone I know would be proud as hell of me for fighting and beating a tiger shifter in my human form.” He put a hand to his mouth and called out. “Yo, Von! These little canapés are fine, but I need real food. Can we have dinner or what? It’s almost eleven.”

Von appeared, his bright smile looking as shimmery as usual. But if I wasn’t mistaken, he gave J.D. a dark glance for trying to summon him like a servant. Vampires did not like being belittled. I commiserated with that. If some kid whose great-grandfather hadn’t been born yet when I was in my second century of life tried to tell me what to do, I’d be pissed, too.

“Come, everyone. Dinner awaits,” Von said.

Dinner was probably the fanciest thing I’d ever had in my life. Sea bass, truffles, foie gras. There were even specialty dishes that had elements from creatures across the world.

One dish came out with pan-fried kappa eggs. I’d helped take care of a kappa infestation on the outer edges of the Eastern Wilds a few years ago. Staring at the jiggling eggs on my plate, I recalled the humanoid reptile-like creatures crawling out of the water and mud to attack us. Grimacing, I pushed the plate aside.

“Problem, sir?” one of the servers asked.

“I’ll…uh…save room for dessert,” I said, trying not to look at the eggs again.

“Of course. Very well.” The server swept the dish away.

While I waited for the next course, I noticed my bracelet had changed. The green light was flashing instead of solidly on, then a moment later, it changed to white. The cameras floated away. All around the room, I watched everyone relax a little at having a break from the cameras. None of them looked as relieved as Kira. She was hiding it well, but she was absolutely exhausted.

As dessert was served, Von returned from feeding in another room. I didn’t want to think about what he’d been feeding on.

“Well, well, we have had a busy evening, have we not?” Von said. “Once you are done with your meal, our house stewards will see you to your quarters for the duration of your time on The Reject Project. I think it would be good to try and get to bed soon. There will be”—he tilted his head, obviously thinking of the right word—“noises outside. They typically start around midnight, sometimes as early as sundown, but nothing to worry about. The sooner you get to sleep, the better, though. The noises can keep you up.”

There were smatterings of conversation when everyone stood, but I only had eyes for Kira. I was desperate to get a moment alone with her. We needed to discuss everything that had happened since getting to the island. And I had to explain what I was doing here. But the other guys were sticking too close to her. Mika and Tate had Kira cornered in a conversation. Kira was tired and irritated, but she kept up her act.

I stood at the far end of the dining room, watching her talk to the guys. She never once glanced in my direction. She’d been through a lot, and I didn’t want to push things any more than I already had. Leaving the dining room, I found one of the stewards to take me to my room.

The room was large and held eleven beds. All the alphas would be sharing. So much for privacy.

I sat on the bed and took a moment to finally let things set in. I was on Bloodstone Island. This was really happening. And both Kira and I were in terrible danger.

I wondered if I’d ever get any sleep. Maybe I’d stay up until every last one of these guys fell asleep. That might give me a chance to sneak out and find Kira.

Chapter 17

Kira

“Here’s your room, dear,” the witch said as Zoe and I walked down the hall.

I skidded to a stop and turned to see what she was talking about. My room was at the very end of the hall. The woman was looking at Zoe, not me.

Shaking my head, I said, “No way. She’s staying in my room with me. She’s my friend. My stylist. It’ll be fine.”The witch gave me a placating smile but didn’t back down. “Unfortunately, only the female contestant is allowed to sleep in that room.” She held a hand up to hold off a question, even though I hadn’t even opened my mouth.