Page 10 of So I Dared a Dragon

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Calista

To be completely honest, this wasn’t the first time I’d been to Bibi’s house. After bingeingThe Real Werewives of Coloradoand the existing episodes ofThe Mating Game, it was easy enough to find. How many times did I dream about knocking on the door, surprising Bibi, and magically everything would be back like old times? Every time in the dream, she was thrilled to see me and welcomed me back into her life with open arms.

In reality, I came face-to-face with Hugo, looking like an angry bull who’d seen too much red. Much like he did now as he stormed out from the back of the house. The first time we had this encounter, he promptly escorted me off the property and told me if he caught me here again I’d be having a sleepover in jail.

Jail would be a walk in the park compared to some of the places I’d spent the night.

My heart pounded preparing for a repeat of that meeting. This time, I had every right to be here. But I didn’t even think he realized he had company.

“Hey, Hugo—” Marissa didn’t bother finishing the rest of the sentence.

He made a beeline for his truck and kicked up a cloud of dust as he gunned it out of his parking spot.

“Is he ever in a good mood?” I asked, trying to lighten the moment and realizing I once again made a mistake when it came to this wolf.

“Hugo’s a sweetheart.” Marissa was still frowning at the spot where his truck had been parked. “Something must be wrong if he left in that much of a hurry.”

Tell her, my she-wolf pleaded with me.Tell her about all the love letters you have tucked into your brand-new suitcase from the beasts who’ve vowed to make your life a living hell.Maybe she can get Hugo to help you.

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Marissa had been so patient and accommodating while Bibi was in Vegas, making sure I wanted for nothing while we prepped for my episode. I’d lost count of how many times she tried to let me down easy, showing me the pictures of Bibi and Hugo living their best lives on the Strip. It was obvious they were in love, but damn it, I was in love with Bibi too, and I needed a chance to prove it to her. So every time one of those nastygrams got pushed under my door, or delivered under the cloche of my room service tray, or—most horrifyingly—wound up on my pillow while I’d been indulging in a spa appointment, I was too afraid to say anything to the production team.

If anyone knew how much trouble I was in, they’d never let me have an episode. My plan had always been to tell Bibi everything. Even after all these years apart, she was still the person who knew me better than anyone. She’d understand the choices I had made. At least, she did every time I played out the scenario in my head. In my dreams, she fought for me. And if I couldn’t convince her to spend forever with me, there would be another shifter ready, willing, and able to claim me.

Of course, I’d have to come clean about everything before them before the episode was over.

It would take a lot more than these cute red suitcases, some hot new outfits, and a spa appointment to give me a total life makeover.

Marissa pulled her phone from her bag and frowned at the screen for only a second before giving me the brightest, fakest smile she could manage. Something was definitely not right.

“Let’s head in,” she suggested.

I hoped I was half as good an actress as she was, because I was lowkey freaking out. Hugo could’ve received a hot tip from those beasts who were after me.

Or…what if they attacked someone else as a warning? Was it time to take them seriously?

There were a bunch of cars in front of Bibi’s house, but I had no idea who they belonged to, so there was no way to do a preliminary headcount, to know who was here and safe. Except for the vintage Firebird that obviously belonged to Bibi. She’d always had a penchant for fast cars, and I could smile at its commanding presence, because she’d checked a major item off her vision board. The memories it brought back—I used to listen to Bronson go on about muscle cars for hours, even though I had no idea what he was talking about…I missed those days.

“How are you feeling?” Marissa asked. Maybe I wasn’t such a good actress after all.

“Excited.” I was still gonna give it my all, because I couldn’t tell her the whole truth. That I was terrified of whatever sent Hugo running. While I’d been waiting for my episode, I’d met the local pack. While none of them had volunteered to become my new BFF, they’d been kind, probably because there was a possibility—hell no, a certainty—that I was Bibi’s mate. But they were also cautious, because I was Montana pack, and my packmates had caused the locals nothing but grief. And therewas no way I was vibrating at anything less than the frequency of chaos.

“Good.” Marissa seemed satisfied with my answer. “Your episode has been a long time coming, but I promise you, it’ll be worth the wait.”

She knocked on the door, but didn’t wait for an answer before she opened it. I’d seen Bibi’s bungalow many times on the show, so the hot pink couch, the fuzzy throw pillows, and the leopard print accents were no surprise. But nothing could’ve prepared me for how it would feel to walk in here.

Like I was finally fucking home.

Bibi sauntered into the living room. She wore a vintage black-and-white polka dot wiggle dress and a thin red patent leather belt, with impossibly high red stilettos to match. Her hair was platinum blonde today, no doubt a wig, pulled into a high ponytail that cascaded almost to her waist. Her red lips were perfect, but twitching at the corners with the vibration of the distress signal that pulsed through the bungalow.

“I can’t believe I’m finally here,” I said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of this moment.”

Bibi didn’t say anything. I tried not to let it devastate me, because something had her on edge. I wanted to hug her, to make all the bad things go away, but something stopped me.

“I love what you’ve done with the place. It’s so you.” I kept talking, saying anything, trying to get a response. “I didn’t even know you could buy a hot pink couch. I can’t wait to see what you did with my bedroom.”

I cringed. That was way too forward and completely ineffective.

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