89

Ignoring my question, he said, “You know, all these years, I always thought you were hunting Kira. I never thought you’d go this far to win her over, though.”

I growled. “We aren’t talking about me. I asked you a question. What are you doing here?”

“None of your business. Besides, I should be asking you the same thing. You’re a lone wolf. No official pack. I thought every alpha had to be aligned with a pack to be cast.”

“It’s not an official rule, more a guideline they can overlook when they want to,” I said with a shrug, hoping he didn’t press for more details.

Gavin sneered. “Well, isn’t that lucky.”

Stepping even closer to him, I looked him in the eye. “You know, I’ve never liked your family. The Fells have always acted like they were better than they are. You guys pretend you’re as important as the First or Second packs, but you’re out there in the Eastern Wilds, just like Kira’s pack. Your family ruined Kira’s life out in the real world, and I’ll be damned if I let you ruin her chances here. Do you understand me?”

Gavin took a step back and raised his hands. “I get it. She got screwed over. I understand that.”

I narrowed my eyes. I’d never thought Gavin would admit to any wrongdoing by his family. I kept my mouth shut, waiting for him to explain.

“You can drop the whole protector act, Wyatt. I’m not here to hurt Kira.”

“Really?” I waved back toward the dining room. “You didn’t make things much better for her in there. It looks like you’re trying to hurt her.”

That struck a nerve. I watched his eyes waver, and a wince of embarrassment flashed across his face. “That…was a mistake. I fucked up, okay? I assumed everyone would know. I didn’t out her to be a dick. I’ll apologize to Kira about that. I’ll even apologize for the shit my dumbass brother pulled. She and I can hash it all out when I get some time alone with her.” His cocky smile returned. “Which I am really looking forward to, by the way.”

Gavin kept grinning at me as he took a few backward steps, then spun on his heel and walked away. The asshole whistled as he went.

I stood, rooted in place, as he vanished around the corner. He’d left no doubt in my mind that I’d have to watch out for him. Things were getting more dangerous by the second. Omar and Tate were bad enough, but now I had a member of the Fell family here, planning to do gods only knew what to Kira.

My mind was going a thousand miles an hour as I finally started walking toward the den. I needed to get my focus back. My anger at the others couldn’t cloud my judgment when it came to Kira. Whatever challenge they cooked up for us tonight, I’d need to be on point. Kira was pissed at me for not going home, but the more I saw, the more I realized I’d made the right decision. No matter what it took, I’d keep her safe tonight.

Chapter 29

Kira

I was seething. Slamming the door behind me, I stomped into the room and collapsed onto one of the couches, covering my eyes with my arm.

“Looks like things didn’t go well at lunch?”

I moved my arm a fraction and looked at Zoe, who was sitting in a chaise lounge beside the dark fireplace. She put aside the book she’d been reading and walked over to me.

“What happened? You look pissed.”

“You could say that,” I said.

“Is the new guy a dick? I saw the helicopter arrive a little while ago, but I couldn’t get a good look at him.”

I let out a defeated and desperate sigh, then said, “It’s Gavin, Zoe.”

“Gavin?” She frowned at me, then her jaw dropped. “Jayson’s brother? That Gavin?”

“The one and only.”

“Oh, holy shit.” She gasped. “Are you serious? He’s the last contestant? That can’t be. No way your luck is that bad.”

I laughed humorlessly. “Thanks, I appreciate that. But my luck is that bad. He also told the guys I don’t shift.”

“Whoops. How’d that go down?”

“About as well as you’d expect. Pretty sure Omar’s gunning to get me killed so he can get a new piece of ass on the show.” I put my arm back over my eyes. “This is a disaster.”

Zoe put her arm around me. “It’s okay. You’re strong. Screw those guys. If Omar wants you dead, then make sure he kicks the bucket first.”

I let out a laugh that sounded perilously close to a sob. “Is that what it’s come to? Is that what I am now? I’m going to go out there and actively try to kill people? All I ever did as an operative was try to help and save people. It’s not in my DNA to do something like that.”

Zoe nodded. “Okay, true. You aren’t the type. Maybe what I’m saying is that if there comes a time when you have the chance to, say, save either Omar or Wyatt, you mosey on over and save Wyatt and let Omar fend for himself. Something like that.”

“That might happen sooner rather than later.”

“What do you mean?”

“Von walked in and saw Omar, Gavin, and Wyatt at each other’s throats. It gave him some big ideas to change the original challenge for tonight. He’s going to come up with something that lets the alphas get their aggression out or something. If I had to guess, it’s gonna be dangerous as hell.”

Zoe’s eyes bulged. “Holy shit, they really are looking for ratings. The Arena Match was already announced on previews today. If they change it up at the last minute, viewership is gonna skyrocket.”

“I’m very happy for them,” I said flatly.