Page 39 of Rejected Mate

What kind of person would do that? I watched him carefully as he approached. For some reason, he was inserting himself now. I wondered if it had anything to do with my kidnapping and Ares’s drunken rant. Had William found out somehow? Judging by the way Ares acted, William might have the entire place bugged.

William stopped about three yards from us and clasped his hands behind his back. He always carried himself in a way that suggested he was in control of everything and everyone. I knew the other vampires deferred to Ares, and Ares deferred to William, so maybe he was the one I needed to talk to about being allowed to see my grandfather. Somehow, I didn’t think he’d be inclined to grant me that wish.

“Ladies, thank you for joining us this evening. Tonight, we have something special for you. A little contest where both groups will be competing. This time, we will see how you work together in pairs.”

Some of the girls whispered to each other. Violet’s small hand slipped into mine. I could tell she was nervous about the event, but there wasn’t much I could do other than squeeze her hand back and hope for the best.

William continued, his trim eyebrows quirking up. “To entice each pair to do their best, we will be offering the winning two-some a private suite and luxury spa treatments.”

The girls “oohed and ahhed” while I wondered what the hell spa treatments had to do with this insane situation. Regardless, I still wanted to win. Winning would show all the viewing audience that my pack was still strong, and might make them doubt the rumors about our weakening line, something I needed to focus on specifically now that my grandfather, the source of all our strength, was sick. Also, I couldn’t forget that he’d asked me to do well.

Besides, I wanted to rub it in Laurel’s face just to see her smug smile fall.

But who would I be paired with?

William began to read off names: Nanette paired with Jason, Loba paired with Henri, Silvia paired with Callan.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was worried we’d be paired together again. I wanted to win, and I was afraid he wasn’t the right candidate for that, since he was pissed at me. Besides, he liked to cheat, and that wasn’t my style.

Next, William read Laurel’s name. I watched her brighten and her eyes lock on Ares.

“Laurel will be paired with… Emilio.”

Her shoulders slumped as another of the vampire suitors stepped forward. A jolt of happiness shot through me, though I told myself it had more to do with seeing Laurel let down than the fact that Ares was still eligible. I didn’t care about that. I didn’t…

“Wren will be paired with Ares.”

I bit the inside of my cheek as a tornado of emotions spun inside me.

William watched my reaction closely, so I did my best to show none. The rest of the names were called, leaving all the vampire suitors taken. Much to my sadness, Violet wasn’t called. As one of the three females not chosen, she let go of my hand and dragged her feet toward some chairs off to the side. I gave her a sympathetic look, but my focus had to be on the game.

And Ares.

He walked stiffly toward me, his jaw tight. When he stood by my side, he gave me a curt nod.

Awkward!

I tried not to stare at his muscular arms, the powerful biceps that seemed as smooth as marble under the torchlight, or the perfectly shaped pecs that stretched his tank top. The male was delectable and made private corners of my body tingle. I crossed my arms over my breast as they got perky like little soldiers. What the hell?!

“Um… what are we going to have to do?” I said, just to break the silence and take my mind off my two-soldier battalion.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he answered. “I’m sure William has devised some sort of fresh hell for us. It’s one of his specialties.”

As we spoke, his dark eyes surreptitiously scanned the length of my body. He bit his lower lip, one fang showing. When he caught me watching him, he coughed and pretended to glance at the moon.

From the far end of the lawn, vampire guards pushed in wheelbarrows stacked with large barrels, drawing my attention from Ares. Fresh hell, indeed.

“Teams, you will be working together to stack barrels. The team that stacks the most within the time limit will win. Simple. Easy.” William’s face looked smug, as if he knew this was neither simple nor easy. The barrels were huge and stacking them higher than two or three would require not only strength, but teamwork, communication, and an act of God.

“So,” Ares said, stepping closer beside me. “Plan?”

“As in, do I have one? Of course.” Though, did I? Not really.Stack barrelsdidn’t sound like a plan.

“I’d love to hear it,” Ares said, his tone skeptical, and a devilish smile starting to stretch his lips.

It made me want to dig my heels, an attitude he brought out in me the way the moon brought out deep howls from lone wolves. “Look, just do what I say and we’ll be fine.”

“Do whatyousay?” he said, raising an eyebrow. He lifted an index finger and shook it in my face. “No,youdo whatIsay.”

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