Page 54 of Rejected Mate

Flustered, I followed them into my bedroom and watched as they arranged a chair near the fire and set their camera up opposite it.

The director was tall with dark, curly hair and a thin, pale face. I didn’t like him. How could I? I had no idea what he was doing to the footage he shot, twisting me into something he wanted me to be, and to what end? To make me seem desirable? Or was it the opposite? Make me seem like a shrill harpy? Either way, none of it could be the real me. I hadn’t been the real me since our limo pulled up front almost a week ago.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be filmed live,” I said, turning toward the director.

“This will be recorded and edited before being shown to the public, so if you have any ideas of shouting out secrets, there’s no point. They’ll all end up on the cutting room floor.”

I frowned. I hadn’t planned on shouting secrets. I had no secrets to reveal, but the idea of my words being edited solidified my worst fears. Still, I had no choice, did I? It was “Play the game” or “Leave.”

I sat in the chair and stared at the camera. The large, dark lens made me feel as naked as I had been on that rope swing.

“Now, tell us how excited you are to be going on a date with Ares. And don’t be afraid to elaborate, to gush.” He gestured forward with his hands as if miming emotions gushing out of his chest.

I furrowed my brow at his words. “Gush?”

“You need to smile, too. Smile.” He pulled his hands across his mouth in an upward motion as if I had never heard of the term before.

Smile. Be charming. Act. I didn’t like any of these things, but, again, it was all part of their game.

I pressed a smile onto my lips that I hoped looked original and took a deep breath.

“Tonight, I have my first date with Ares,” I said slowly and deliberately. “And I’m very excited.”

“Cut, cut, cut.” The director waved his hands. “You don’t sound excited, Wren. You sound like a sloth that just woke up.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You know Ares is the most eligible bachelor in the Northern Hemisphere, right? There is no other vampire, shifter, human, or whatever that comes near his level of wealth and power.”

“So people keep telling me.” As if reminding me of all that would make me less nervous.

“Okay, so act like it. And, rolling.” He pointed at me.

I tried again. “I have my first date with the most eligible bachelor in the Northern Hemisphere, and I’m very excited.” I smiled and batted my eyelashes. “And nervous. I’m very nervous.”

The director shook his head but kept the camera rolling. “What would it mean to you if you were matched with Ares?”I blinked at him, my words running dry. What would it mean? DidI,Wren Ravenmoon,want to be matched with Ares Raith? Could I overlook what he was? Could I ignore his strange behavior? Would we be together as partners forever? Or just until we were able to miraculously produce offspring? What would that even look like?

My hands balled my dress into knots.

“Cut. God!” The director pushed his hands through his hair. “We’ll just work with what we have. Let’s go.” He turned, and the camera crew began following him out.

That certainly hadn’t gone well. I could only hope the date with Ares might turn out better.

An hour later, I was sitting in a candle-lit dining room, waiting to find out how the night would unfold.

After the interview, guards escorted me to the small dining room. I was grateful not to be in the massive dining room where we’d eaten before. This room had a table set for two, a warm fire glowing in a fireplace, and soft music playing from speakers overhead. They’d outdone themselves with the place settings. Everything glittered as if it had been touched by Midas himself. And I could smell roasted vegetables and something sweet wafting from the kitchen on the other side of the far door.

Everything seemed perfect. There was just one problem.

Ares was nowhere to be found.

I’d been sitting for almost an hour alone, sipping wine and going over everything in my head.

Over and over.

Yet, he still wasn’t here.

It was one thing to be fashionably late. I could deal with that, but then twenty minutes passed, and then half an hour. He was really pushing me. A power move for sure.

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