My heart beat toppled over itself at the sultry look Matteo shot me. That man was going to get it in bed later.
“Oh, I know,” I said with a grin. “I wouldn’t give up a date with you for anything.”
Talon stomped up to the edge of the stage. I leapt over the edge of the platform and landed on the sand to face him. I crossed my arms, hoping to convey how pissed I was.
Before he could launch into his rant, I warned, “You know, this is the second time you’ve interrupted this particular date. Whatever you have to say better be worth it.”
Talon’s face twisted into a smug grin. “Oh, it will. Trust me, Thystle. You’re going to want to hear this.”
I didn’t like his tone, or the way he smirked in Matteo’s direction.
“Spit it out,” I ordered. Every second wasted on him was a second I could’ve spent with Matteo.
With a crazed expression, Talon suddenly reached into his pocket and yanked out a cell phone—something he wasn’t allowed to have. The screen was lit up with text and pictures. Talon thrust it towards me like some kind of checkmate.
I narrowed my eyes without really looking at it. For now, I ignored the fact that he had a forbidden phone, since I wanted to get to the point faster.
“What exactly am I looking at?” I asked.
“An article about the real reason TalonStorm broke up,” Talon sneered. “I found it online.”
I resisted the urge to curl my lip into a snarl. “And?”
Talon let the question linger in the air, letting it fester and draw attention to him. If he spent any longer beleaguering this point, I was going to snap.
Then, Talon raised his cell phone screen. It was opened to a skeezy tabloid article released just this morning. The sensational headline grabbed my eyes: FORMER TALONSTORM STAR APPEARS ON REALITY DATING SHOW...AGAIN!
Beneath the sensational headline, there were two photos side by side, clearly of the same person. One was in full performance costuming—the other was a normal man in everyday clothes.
My fated mate. Matteo.
A jolt went through me. Matteo largely went unnoticed in season one. He did too good of a job disappearing into the background. Season two hadn’t aired yet, but Talon had a cell phone. He was spiteful towards Matteo’s ease during the quiz show, so he played detective to try and drag him down.
The phone also explained Talon’s own suspiciously good performance during the quiz. He must’ve looked up widely-known information about me beforehand. Dirty cheater.
Regardless, I was mostly pissed Talon had outed Matteo against his will. It made me hate this bastard even more.
“The reason TalonStorm broke up,” Talon said conspiratorially, “is all because of Aquila. Or should I say, Matteo?”
Seventeen
Matteo
My blood rancold as Talon uttered those words. My stomach flipped and my palms turned clammy. Guilt I’d tamped down into dirt came rushing back. I felt like the last ten years of emotional progress hadn’t happened—I was thrust into the past, just as upset and broken-hearted as I was back then.
How would Thystle feel when he found out the truth?
My insecurities warred with my need to remain close to Thystle. I wanted to run. I wanted to stay.
My gut instinct saidstay.
You know he’s your alpha.
He will protect you.
I took a deep breath. Every muscle in my body wanted to run, to shift and fly away, but my heart opposed it. My soul believed in Thystle.
Despite the anxiety swamping my stomach, I forced myself to confront reality.
