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Instead of being taken aback, Von’s smile only widened. “Well, this is exciting, isn’t it? Nathaniel, you are allowed a physical fight to take his advantage or reward for yourself. As our long-time viewers know, this is called an Alpha Brawl. Very sexy and usually bloody, but…” He held up a warning finger. “Competitors are not allowed to kill one another in the Brawl. That’s the only rule, really. Nathaniel, is this something you would like to pursue?”

Nathaniel glared at me. “Hell, yes, I do.”

He obviously wasn’t used to not coming in first place. It was like he took personal offense that I’d gotten back before he did. This fucker had been laughing about Ryan’s death and happily handing over the winnings to Omar.

Gritting my teeth, I held Nathaniel’s gaze. “I accept,” I growled.

Nathaniel stared me down. He was trying to intimidate me and was probably used to getting other guys—even alphas—to bow to his intensity. All I did was stare right back.

“Fantastic,” Von said. “Before we get to the action, we should announce that our viewers back home have voted that Leif will receive immunity from the upcoming challenge. The young man put it all on the line and must have made quite the impression to get the lovely Kira to put herself in danger to help him. His pretty blue eyes must have cast a spell over her.”

Kira chuckled along with Von, perfectly playing the part of a hot girl who was free game to any of the alphas. It was as far from the real Kira as could be imagined. A part of my mind twinged with uncertainty. Why had she gone back to help him? Was it simply that she was a good person and had devoted her life to helping people and hunting evil? Or did she actually like Leif?

My mind was suddenly swarmed with unwanted images. Leif and Kira, naked and writhing on a bed of satin sheets. One of Leif’s hands clutching Kira’s breasts, the other working feverishly between her legs. Kira, her head thrown back in passion, gasping for breath and thrusting her hips toward Leif’s hand.

I bit hard on the soft meat inside my cheek. The coppery tang of blood filled my mouth, but I managed to keep my stoic expression intact. That was stupid. There wasn’t anything between Kira and Leif. They hadn’t even known each other for a full day. Was he even her type? Hell, she’d been fine with Jayson and hadn’t dated at all before getting paired with him. Why couldn’t a guy like Leif be exactly what she was looking for? I knew exactly what to do to get her to suck in a breath, moan, and quiver in bed, but I had no real clue what she was looking for in a guy. It bothered me more than I’d realized.

“Let’s go. I’m ready to wipe that fucking smile off this douchebag’s face,” Nathaniel said, pointing at me.

I didn’t even bother answering him. Instead, I stood and tucked my thumbs in my belt, holding his look and feeling a moment of excitement when his eyes wavered. They never looked away, but his discomfort at being stared down was obvious. I was itching for a fight. Any fight. Dealing with the walking, talking dickhead Nathaniel was exactly what I needed to blow off some steam.

“Hang on.” Kira came to stand between us. “They don’t need to be fighting.”

“Yeah, we do,” I said. “This guy thinks he deserves something, and I’m gonna show him exactly what he deserves.”

Kira shot a glare at me. I could see all the unspoken words she was trying to relay in that look. All I did in return was smile, raise an eyebrow, and wink at her. I was sure the cameras and viewers would love that. Kira, however, looked even more pissed.

“Come, come, everyone,” Von said. “We’ll have the Alpha Brawl in the amphitheater.”

We followed Von out the door and back to the path we’d taken the night before. Nathaniel walked at the head of the group, flanked by Kira and Von. I chose to stroll along at the tail of the pack. Kira kept glancing back toward me, but I didn’t meet her eyes. All I could do was stare at the back of Nathaniel’s meaty head in anticipation of the coming fight.

Other than me, Nathaniel was the biggest alpha on the island. Gods, it would be cathartic to take all my anger out on someone. A lot had happened in the last few days, and I needed to get it out of me before I exploded.

My best attribute was keeping my head when everyone else was losing theirs. In one day, I could see most of the others were terrible at that—too many emotions, tons of testosterone, and posturing. Most of them saw Kira as eye candy and a sweet ass they might get lucky enough to nail. My only goal was to get her out of this place alive and well. I never wanted to see her crying and covered in blood again. That image still haunted my mind.

The cameras whizzed overhead, taking up positions all around the amphitheater as the other alphas and Kira got seated. Von led me and Nathaniel to the center of the stage, then turned to the nearest camera.

“Good afternoon. Such exciting times here on The Reject Project. Already, we’ve had the lovely Kira defeat a feral tiger shifter, the group has braved the evils of the jungle, and one of our number has tragically met his end. And now? On only the second day, we have our first Alpha Brawl. Wyatt won a romantic night with the lovely Kira, but Nathaniel has chosen to challenge Wyatt for that most delectable prize.”

Von looked at each of us. I gave a curt nod to indicate that I was ready, and Nathaniel gave him the same sign. The other alpha cracked his knuckles and bounced on his toes. All for show. He was trying to intimidate me, and it wasn’t working.