Page 6 of Escaping Rejection

Von turned back to his lead camera and smiled his shimmering grin at the world. “Well, I have to say, I’m surprised and a little disappointed that we didn’t have any additional eliminations for this challenge. I’m sure you folks at home are saddened as well. We all love drama, am I right?” He held up a finger. “But do not worry. There are still some juicy moments coming up. A special arena matchandtwo lucky couples get to enjoy the use of the mating chamber. We’ve decided to have the chamber dates on two separate nights. Better to draw out the sexiness, yes? I’m sure you all agree. Until next time. Remember, everyone loves an underdog.”

Once he signed off, the lights on my bracelet changed, and the hovering cameras all zipped back toward the mansion.

“Well, kids, it’s been fun, but I’m famished,” Von said, then licked his lips. “A delectable young stud has been dropped off in my room for me to partake in. I’m sure you’ll understand if I make haste.” He winked at Chelsey. “Don’t worry, I won’t drain him dry. I want a little fun afterward.”

The host hurried off toward the mansion. Chelsey shuddered. “That’s creepy, right?”

I imagined male and female volunteers offering Von their necks for food and their bodies for pleasure. Bile rose in my throat at the thought. If it was just sex, who cared? Do what feels good with whoever you want. The whole sucking-blood-from-your-neck part was where I drew the line.

Kira stood off to the side, talking to Gavin. I needed to talk to her, but even without the cameras, we had to be careful. How the hell would I get her alone?

“You look like you could use this.” I turned to find Abel offering me two bananas.

I glanced at the fruit, hunger clawing at my stomach. “Thanks,” I said, taking the bananas and tearing one open to devour the flesh inside.

“I’m going to go get changed,” Chelsey said. “Are you all right?”

The concern in her eyes and voice made my heart hurt. All this woman wanted was someone to love her, and she’d set her eyes on a man who didn’t desire her. I nodded and smiled at her, doing my best to be cordial. “Yeah, I’m fine. You go ahead.”

As Chelsey walked toward the house, Abel nudged my arm. “How bad was it? Out there, I mean?” He nodded toward the jungle.

“Lots of bad shit out there. Those dark fae were the worst, though,” I said as I chewed the banana. “Crazy as hell. I couldn’t tell if they wanted to eat me, use me as an ingredient for a spell, or have sex with me. Super creepy and gross.”

Abel chuckled. “Well, at least you were able to shift. I’ve never had to go through something like that without relying on my inner wolf to come out and help. I don’t know how Kira does it. Gods, it’s really impressive. I’m glad I stumbled on her when I did. Otherwise, I don’t think she’d have made it.”

Warning bells screeched in my head, and I turned to him, the second banana forgotten. “What happened?”

“Basilisk in a tunnel she had to crawl through. If you took a certain route through the course, that was the only way to advance. I pulled her out, but it got its teeth into her. Gavin and I basically had to carry her back. It looked painful.” He furrowed his brow. “I think it messed with her head. She acted like she didn’t want to cross the finish line. Almost like she didn’t want to leave the jungle.”

My inner wolf was raging. Kira had been bitten and shot full of venom. From the sound of it, she’d nearly died. It pissed me off that I hadn’t been there to help her.

Pushing the rage and sense of impotence down, I schooled my face into a mask of disgust and scoffed. “No surprise there. Kira’s always in some sort of trouble.” I raised my voice so everyone could hear me. “She’s basically a walking disaster, barely scraping by. She’ll end up getting someone killed if she isn’t careful. That’s not something I have to worry about with Chelsey.”

“Oh my god, Wyatt,” Kira snapped from across the courtyard. “Get over yourself.”

“Was I talking to you?” I asked. I was laying it on thick, but it was all part of our cover. “I think Abel and I were talking privately, weren’t we? Maybe go back to what you were doing and leave us alone. How about that for an idea?”

We’d done this so often over the years that falling back into the pattern of bickering was no different than putting on an old, comfortable coat. At work, at her house—anywhere—we’d always squabble. The only difference this time was that the fighting wasn’t real. We were putting on a show that would hopefully help keep us both alive.

Kira took a few steps closer and jammed her fists into her hips. “Yeah, you weren’t talking to me, but you should maybe keep my name out of your mouth if you don’t want me to speak up. Surely you can’t be so dumb to think I wouldn’t say something. Or maybe you are.” She shrugged. “You tell me.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Gods, you’re so full of drama. You probably get off on all these people watching you on TV. It wouldn’t surprise me.”

“I don’t. Honestly, if anyone enjoys it, it’s probably you, Wyatt. You keep bouncing from girl to girl. Poor Chelsey could do so much better.” She glanced pointedly down at my crotch. “She could find someonebetter and somethingbigger, if you know what I mean.”

Abel, eyes wide with surprise, backed away from me, obviously not wanting to get pulled into Kira’s tirade. Behind her, Gavin had a shit-eating grin on his lips. Mika, however, stared at us in disbelief. He knew the deal, yet our show must have been so believable that it surprised even him.

“You know what, Kira?” I said. “Stop trying to keep the attention on yourself. Maybe head back up to your room and get somebeautysleep.” I looked her up and down and sneered in disgust. “You fucking need it.”

Her face went red, and she looked for all the world like she wanted to tear my throat out, but her eyes revealed the truth. She was fighting back a laugh. To cover the smile that threatened to spread across her face, she bared her teeth as though she were enraged.

“You are an asshole, Wyatt Rivers.”

Chapter3

Kira

I bit into the side of my cheek to keep from laughing, hard enough to make my eyes water. A nice touch, if I said so myself. Having wet eyes really helped sell the whole thing. Wyatt was laying it on thick, maybe even too much.

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