Page 30 of So I Dared a Dragon

Bibi brightened. “Even fairy dragmothers need reminders sometimes. Get dressed, and I’ll make sure everyone’s ready for the best first dateThe Mating Gamehas ever seen.”

Once Bibi left the trailer, I locked the door and stood against it for a moment. I just gave her a camera-worthy pep talk, but the truth was I was terrified.The Mating Gamesecurity team might have more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese, but there was no way that should’ve happened.

Which made me wonder if it was an inside job.

The threats started long before you were offered an episode, my she-wolf reminded me. She was right, sick of my shit, and exhausted from working so damn hard for our survival. But I’d always been looking for Bibi.

I moved slowly through the trailer. It only had enough room for a table, a love seat-sized couch in the sitting area, a bathroom, and a changing area where my outfit hung, breaking my heart by looking so hopeful.

Nothing else looked off. So I got dressed in my leopard-print wrap blouse that made my cleavage look fantastic and dark jeans that fit like a second skin. I slipped my feet into the red stilettos and blew myself a kiss in the mirror.

A chill went down my spine when I realized they could be watching me. Just because they’d cut the cord on the official camera didn’t mean they hadn’t set up a secondary method of surveillance.

Let them. And while they were at it, they could kiss my ample ass. It might have seemed trivial to insist on going through with the date, but it wasn’t just about me. Aarix had suffered for far too long. And he was determined to make good on his promise of claiming me. The least I could do was show him it was worth it.

And Bibi needed to show the world she didn’t need any wolf by her side to pull off an amazing episode. I hated that she was going through this because of me.

I vowed to myself that I’d fix this, another mess in my long line of disasters.

This was my chance to be a better wolf, and I refused to squander it.

Instead of Bibi, I found Marissa waiting for me outside of the trailer.

“Is everything okay?” I didn’t want to alarm her, in case Bibi kept the security alert on the down-low.

“Everything’s great.” But Marissa was a wolf too, and I didn’t miss the hint of hesitation in her voice. Even if she hadn’t been briefed, she had to know something was off. “Bibi and Tina are in a last-minute production meeting, so I’m doing your predate interview.”

“Ask away.” I liked Marissa. She’d been the crew member tasked with babysitting before my episode started, when Bibi and Hugo went to Vegas for much longer than anyone expected. Her episode had become a comfort watch for me. She knew what it was like to be the outsider, the one who changed everything. It made me believe all this was worth it.

“How are you feeling right now?” she asked.

My mouth dropped, and my internal hackles went up, before I remembered this was the quintessential question of the show. For her to ask meant things were business as usual.

“Excited and nervous about my date.” I’d started to learn to ignore the cameras, but tonight I was looking at everyone on the crew differently. Maybe they weren’t the ones leaving me love letters, but had they helped the culprit skulk away without a trace?

She gave me a megawatt, camera-worthy grin. “I can tell you that Aarix is very much looking forward to seeing what you planned for him. This isn’t the first time you’ve been together. But your previous meetings were very different.”

I nodded.

“What can you tell us about them?”

“The Night God wasn’t all work and no play.” I had to be careful about how I spoke about this evil creature. Aarix said he wasn’t dead. He’d just been sent away to an undisclosed location until the equinox. “He charged admission to that mountain for anyone who was brave enough to play with a dragon. Looking back, I realize how cruel that really was. We could come andgo as we pleased, while Aarix and the rest of his thunder were trapped down there.”

“But you managed to form a bond with Aarix,” Marissa said.

“He made me feel safe. Which was crazy because those caverns were the darkest place I’d ever been—not because they had no light. They had no hope. But Aarix showed me even in the worst place imaginable, kindness and love still existed.”

Marissa put her hand over her heart. “Say no more. That’s the sound bite right there. Cut.”

The camera crew got ready to move, and Marissa turned back to me. “That was incredible.”

“Aarix is more than a sound bite or an advertising gimmick,” I said.

“Of course he is. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.” She gave me a sympathetic smile, then scanned the crew before stepping closer and lowering her voice. “Can I tell you something that will never make it to air?”

My heart started thundering all over again. “Did something happen?”

She shook her head. “Nothing new. It’s just that I don’t think any of this is a coincidence. Wendy quit the show and went back to her day job when she found the Hudaknocker. That stupid—I mean sacred—relic led me to Bjorn. I couldn’t even look at the bear without red-hot rage before that thing showed up. Then Hannah would’ve died if Lars, who claims to be older than time, hadn’t rescued her. While all this was happening, you were in the Smoky Mountains entertaining an ancient, imprisoned dragon. We might have come to this show as strangers, but there’s a definite tie between all of us.”

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