73

Ignoring me, Leif leaned his elbows on his knees. “My reasons for being here aren’t typical. It’s all because of my blood test. You see, I was really looking forward to finding my fated mate. I did the test as soon as I was old enough. The problem was, I was matched with this female shifter in another pack. She was terrible. Like an absolute disaster of a person. I refused the mating.”

“That’s not weird to me,” I said. “If I had to do it again, I’d probably refuse my douchebag of a fated mate, too.”

Zoe sighed in exasperation. Leif chuckled and looked at her. “Is she always this oblivious?”

“On most things?” Zoe said, “No. I think her head’s a bit out of the game at the moment. The show’s got her so stressed, she can’t think straight.”

Heat crept up my neck. “Can you two please remember that I’m in the room with you? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I was hoping,” Leif said, “that instead of a female shifter, the blood test would pair me with a certain gorgeous male shifter. One who happened to get on this show.” He shrugged. “I sort of followed him here.”

“Oh,” I said. Wow, was I a dumbass.

Looking back on it, Leif had been the least flirtatious with me. His few attempts had seemed forced and awkward. Now that I knew, it made perfect sense. He had no desire to be with me. I felt more than dumb; I felt blind.

“I’m sorry, Leif.” I had no idea what I was apologizing for, but I was confused about how to proceed.

“It’s fine. I thought I’d been doing my best to fit in with the other guys. No offense, Kira, you are beautiful but not really my type, you know?”

I chuckled. “Right. So, who’s the lucky guy? Who did you follow here?”

Leif’s mouth snapped shut, and he chewed at the inside of his cheek. He looked like he was thinking about whether he should say anything.

Zoe gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth. “It’s J.D., isn’t it? That’s who you want to bang.”

Leif didn’t answer, but his cheeks flushed, and he winced in embarrassment. It was all the answer we needed.

“I knew it!” Zoe shouted in triumph. “I thought I saw you making googly eyes at him at dinner last night.”

Leif nodded. “Yeah. It’s him.”

I smiled at Leif. “That’s great, but why come out here? Everyone knows the show is super dangerous. The odds of two male alphas getting out alive are really low.”

“I understand that. Part of me coming on the show was to help make sure J.D. got home alive. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s kind of a goofball. He’s not built for this.”

Putting my back against the wall, I said, “I can’t promise anything, Leif, but you both seem like nice guys. I’ll do what I can to make sure you both get home safe.”

“Thanks,” Leif said. “I appreciate that. But don’t go out of your way for me. Worry about J.D. Going home would end pretty badly for me. Things didn’t, for want of a better word, go well with my pack when I refused my pairing.”

I shrugged. “That’s no reason to run off to your death. You could join an unofficial pack or be a lone wolf.”

Leif scoffed. “I think I’d rather take my chances on Bloodstone Island.”

I was getting irritated with his flippant rejection of the idea. I wanted to defend lone wolves and the outlier packs. I was about to retort when Zoe’s eyes locked on mine, the warning clear. She knew what I was about to say, could see it in my face. Except Leif didn’t know about my knowing Wyatt before the start of the show. Besides, there was really no use arguing. Hell, I’d had the same feelings toward lone wolves until…well…when had I changed my tune? Was it when Wyatt gave me the best orgasms of my life? Maybe. Probably.

I shook my head to clear it. “I need a shower.”

I headed to the bathroom and stripped off my dress. I sighed with relief as the steaming hot water sluiced over my skin, taking Wyatt’s scent with it. I hated to admit it, but washing his scent of me sent a twinge through my heart. Part of me wanted his smell on me. That made me a little uncomfortable, and I finished showering as quickly as I could.

After drying off and putting on a robe, I went back to the bedroom. Zoe and Leif were still sitting and talking.

Leif saw me and stood. “I should probably head back now. Maybe I can alleviate any concerns the other guys might have about Wyatt taking so long to get back.”

“Is it weird?” Zoe asked. “Staying in the same room with everyone? It’s gotta be like summer camp or something, right?”

Leif gave us both a pained expression. “To be honest, it’s kinda miserable. Most of the guys are annoying as hell, especially once the cameras stop rolling. Kira, let me tell you, you’ve got good taste. You’ve picked one of the few guys who makes it bearable here.”

He opened the door and waved goodbye to us. After he shut it behind him, Zoe rounded on me, pinning me in place with her stare.

“So,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Wyatt?”

Running a towel over my hair, I walked away. “We aren’t doing this, Zoe.”

“Correct. Because you’ve already been doing something else, or should I say someone else.”

“It was another mistake, Zoe. Simple as that. I was horny and needed to relieve some stress. Wyatt simply happened to be in the right place at the right time again.”

“Really? Would that story be the same if you’d been on a date with Leif?”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Of course not. He’s gay, Zoe. Mine isn’t the type of body to get him hard, if you know what I mean.”