Page 11 of So I Dared a Dragon

Bibi let out a sigh. “Calista, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it. You can’t stay here. I’m so sorry.”

No. I couldn’t have heard her right. There was no way she could change her mind about this.

Stay calm. This will work out,my she-wolf assured me, like she had so many times in the past. Maybe this time she’d be right.

“Why?” I asked. “Did someone get hurt?”

“Not unless you count Hugo’s broken heart.” She closed her eyes for an excruciatingly long blink. Whatever reason Hugo had stormed off, it was clear she blamed herself for it.

Or, even worse, me.

I couldn’t take any satisfaction in her pain, even if Hugo had been a massive thorn in my side in this whole journey.

But now he’s out of the picture. My she-wolf, on the other hand, was delighted by this development.It was a lover’s spat. Make this work in your favor.

Bibi tipped her head. “Why did you ask if someone got hurt?”

“No reason.”Ugh!Why was I protecting these despicable beasts? I should have told her everything right then and there.

And Bibi knew me well enough to know when I was lying. She did a slight shimmy, like she was trying to shake the situation off and get back into character.

“Tina’s on the phone with the chalet to see if we can get your room back. We keep one on retainer for emergencies just like this,” she added.

No. I wouldn’t let her dismiss me.

“I can’t go back there,” I said.

Bibi cocked a brow. On my best day, and with a team of makeup artists, I’d still never get mine to be as perfectly sculpted. “Is there somewhere else you’d rather stay? And before you say here—again, I’m sorry—it’s simply not an option.”

I had to tell her everything right now or I might not get another chance. “I’m in danger.”

She gasped. “Why didn’t you say anything until now?”

“Because I figured you’d kick me off the show.” I wrapped my arms around my middle, but it didn’t make me feel better.

“Have a seat.” She motioned to the pink couch. “Tell me everything.”

I knew better than to think this invitation was a step into her life, but it might be my only chance to fix what I’d broken.

“Are we recording this?” I glanced tentatively at Bjorn, the bear shifter who stood behind the camera.

He nodded.

Tina seemed to magically appear with a glass of water. Of course she was here. Bibi adored her. My mouth felt like a desert, so I took a deep sip before baring my soul.

“As a contestant, you have final say over all edits,” Marissa said. “It’s never our intention to make you look bad. We know it’s intimidating to tell all, knowing millions of people will hear what your confession. We won’t let them get it twisted. But we like to film everything, because you might say something during this that ties everything together, and it would be a shame to lose that.”

I had to believe her and do something I hadn’t done in a long time. Trust that these people had my best interests in their hearts.

Where the heck did I begin?

“The pack went into upheaval after you left.” The beginning seemed like the right place. “We already had a hard time keeping an alpha because we were land hungry, money hungry. They gave credit for the little success we did have to the wrong wolves and used that logic to make even worse decisions. If anyone needed a fairy dragmother to come in and fix things, it was the Montana pack. Now, before you tell me they would’ve never listened, you’re right. But it didn’t mean that we didn’t desperately need you.

“As word got out you were gone, other bloodthirsty packs arrived, looking for revenge—”

“Of course they were,” Bibi interjected. “Our pack has done terrible things.”

There was no denying that. Even as I’d fallen into worse hands, more dire circumstances, it never made what our pack did better. And it never made me understand what their motivation was. As much as trouble loved me, all I wanted was peace. I envied Bibi for finding it.

---