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Wyatt swallowed and waved his hand at me to stop. “Don’t do that. Don’t talk negatively about yourself. If I had to guess? This rejection sounds like normal pack politics. His shitheel of a father probably found him a better match in a higher-ranking pack, and then they cut you loose. You deserved better. Did you ever get the chance to confront this so-called mate about this rejection?”

I cleared my throat. Things were getting real. It didn’t feel like we were on a show. Wyatt sounded sincere. Did he actually believe these things? Ever since Jayson rejected me, all I’d experienced was shame. Shame, anger, and self-loathing. Nothing I said to myself ever got those emotions out of my head. A small part of me continued to believe that I was at fault, that I’d somehow ruined the mate pairing. Hearing Wyatt sticking up for me and trashing Jayson and his family should have been petty and childish, but it lifted my spirits and made me feel less broken.

“I never really had the chance,” I said, my voice softer than I wanted, but I couldn’t get myself to speak up. “I didn’t want to. After he rejected me and pretty much ruined my life, I knew I didn’t want to deal with him. Part of me realized that I would never want to be with a man who had never truly been there for me in the first place. I still feel some indignation, which I know I need to let go of, but…” I hesitated for a moment, again scared at how real this conversation was getting.

“But what?” Wyatt asked, his voice as soft as mine.

The words were already forming in my mind, and I understood what they’d mean when they came out. I didn’t want to say them. I didn’t need to, and it would make things weird, but there was no stopping it.

“But…I don’t need to linger on him. He’s in the past, and he never really wanted to be with me. Why should I pine for him when there are plenty of people in my life who would go through hell to be with me? To be near me. To protect me.”

I grabbed my wine glass with shaking fingers and looked at Wyatt over the rim. The look I gave him was soaked with meaning and intention. I couldn’t believe I’d said that. When he gazed back at me, I knew he’d picked up on what I was saying. His eyes lit up with fire and, possibly, understanding.

I hoped the cameras didn’t pick up the blush painting my cheeks.

Chapter 22

Wyatt

The entire dinner, I’d been focused on keeping things light and jovial. In a word? Easy. Kira and I were in a dangerous spot—any wrong misstep could spell disaster. I wasn’t really worried about the outside world, certain that our connection had already been figured out, but I didn’t want to let on to the other contestants that Kira and I were colleagues. As co-workers and acquaintances, it could be assumed that I had an inside track on getting Kira to fall for me. That could prove dangerous.

We all knew how dangerous this show was. If one of these guys got it into his head that he had no chance and was being screwed over, he might do something that got Kira killed to add a new female to the mix.

My main concern was to keep the conversation flowing and sounding believable. That was where my mind was when she’d said what she said. Then she started speaking, and all my thoughts and carefully planned acting flew out the window. Her words slammed into me, and I tried to figure out if she was being serious or if it was all part of the act. It didn’t help that she looked gorgeous. My mouth almost watered just from looking at her. My brain wasn’t working right with her sitting there like that.

I finished the food in front of me to give myself a moment to process what she’d said. I liked that she hadn’t felt real heartbreak over Jayson. That tool didn’t deserve Kira’s pain. He’d missed out, and it was good that she’d left him behind.

After a few bites, I looked at her and saw that she was looking back at me. She wasn’t giving me an expectant or questioning look. It was like she understood that I was trying to process everything and was fine with it. Was her meaning what I thought it was? Should I pursue that line of questioning, or should I do what I’d originally planned and talk about banal, simple topics?

Before I could come up with a plan of attack, Von and our waiter reappeared. I’d had enough of this vampire to last me a lifetime. Leaning back in my chair, jaws clamped in irritation, I gave him the biggest and brightest smile I could manage.

“How are things going?” Von asked.

I looked at Kira. “Seems to be going well. Kira?”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving my face. “Yes. I think so, too.”

“Pause,” Von said with a wave of his hand.

My bracelet suddenly stopped shining green and turned white. He’d turned the cameras off. They sat motionless in the air, waiting to be turned back on.

“This chemistry is wonderful,” Von said as the waiter cleared our plates. “But I think we need to give everyone at home a better look at it.” He glanced back and forth at us. “This whole sexy pining thing you two have going on hasn’t gone unnoticed. A huge contingent of our viewers has already started rooting for you two. You are totally getting shipped. It’s all over our message boards, our fan club page, and on social media.”

I frowned and shook my head, my smile faltering. “Um…I’m sorry? Shipped? What is that?”