I let Miles lead me toward the deliberation room. The photos of Lilah, Ben, Tyler, Chad, Tamika, Willow, Hailey, and Blair line up in two rows of four. I am drawn to Lilah’s, in the white dress she wore the first day. Her hair in loose waves. Pink lips and blue eyes. There’s a sadness deep inside her eyes I didn’t see at first. But I see it now. It’s where her walls come from. The pain caused to her by a different alpha. I’m no better. Obviously.
Turner follows us in, and Elliott joins us shortly after. The cameras are already set up to capture every breath we take in this small room.
“We are going to keep Lilah, Chad, Willow, Tamika, and Tyler,” I say, glancing at Turner. “Ben and Blair can’t handle our musks. Hailey needs to go. I don’t care about the show or what will make for good TV, you are messing with my future keeping her here.”
He grasps his hands behind his back and tilts his head tothe side, studying me. “As Thomas already stated, Hailey stays until three.”
“No!” I growl. “It’s giving her false hope.”
Turner narrows his eyes on me. “False hope? This show is all about false hope. What did you think you were signing up for?”
Elliott clears his throat and steps forward. “We signed up to find our match.”
Turner chuckles. “And how many packs and their chosen omega are still together now from previous shows? Two? Out of twenty seasons…that isn’t very good odds. Just play out the show, none of it matters too much in the grand scheme of things. If you find your match and it works out, that’s great, but this show is clearly for entertainment purposes only.”
My stomach bottoms out, and Miles reaches out and squeezes Elliott’s shoulder. Turner is only saying everything I tried to say from the beginning. But now that my scent match is in that ceremony room, it changes everything.
“Scent matches are rare and fragile at first. She can reject us,” I say. “We have to send Hailey home.”
“Someone get Thomas—” Turner barks out, clearly impatient with me and my demands.
I feel so helpless, and that’s not a normal feeling for me. And looking at my pack mates, I’m sure they feel the same.
Thomas strolls into the room—like a bomb isn’t ticking ready to blow—and moves to stand next to Turner. “What’s the problem?”
“They want to send Hailey home,” Turner clips out, rolling his eyes for good measure.
“This again? I thought we had it settled last time.” Thomas turns his attention to the three of us. “It’s the perfumes and musks, isn’t it? It always throws a wrench in things.”
“I’m starting to think you aren’t listening to us. We’ve stated over and over—from the start—that we wanted her gone,” I say, tugging my fingers through my hair. The image of Lilah’s hurt expression playing over and over inside my head like my own personal torture.
“I assure you we are aware of your opinion.”
My jaw works, and he’s lucky that Miles and Elliott are between us. Turning away, I prowl to the door, ready to walk right out. The idea of finding Lilah and throwing her over my shoulder caveman style and being done with this whole show is beyond tempting.
As it is, my stomach is churning, and I feel like I’m losing something precious because of this.
“Remind us what happens if we break contract,” Miles says. How is he so calm?
“You will be responsible for the loss of revenue, which at this point equates to just over ten million—each. You will also be paying for all ads that were scheduled as well as the losses they will incur, per our agreements with them.” He shrugs and clasps his hands together. “And if you continue a relationship with any of the contestants, you and your ensuing relationship will also be dragged through the tabloids. But that isn’t it, with the non-compete clause, Rafe will be unable to act for ten years. Not to mention the possibility of other things.”
I gulp down a breath of air. He’s so nonchalant as he lists the terms of our agreement.Did I sign that? Fuck. I don’t remember any of that, but it has to be true. He wouldn’t threaten all of that if it wasn’t. Right? It’s like a trap, they’ve boxed us in and forced our hands. The show’s going to try to ruin our lives.
“We get it,” I say, defeat weighing my shoulders down. Either way this show can destroy what we have, but at least continuing on won’t also destroy Lilah’s life. “Hailey stays.”
Even her name on my lips is bitter. But it can’t be helped. Maybe I had the right idea at first. Staying away from Lilah and not making my feelings known would have been better for herand me.
CHAPTER 35
Lilah
My stomach twists painfullyas the guys appear. Miles carries a small tray of gifts into the room and places it on a table. None of them look at me for more than a few seconds, and my palms start to sweat. My perfume leaks off of me in a sickly sweet nervous wave, and Tyler sniffs next to me, telling me it isn’t lost on him.
Smoothing my hand over my stomach, I inhale a slow, measured breath as I attempt to get my hormones under control. Was it only an hour ago that I came undone on a sink in the bathroom? It feels like eons ago.
Their voices are white noise to my racing thoughts. I can’t bring the words into focus as they call up Willow. Following quickly with Tyler and Chad. The sound cuts in and out. My head feels light. Spots appear in my vision. I’m suffocating. Then I’m falling. Blackness drags me down.
I blink open my eyes and somehow Elliott holds me, my head in his lap. Miles and Rafe hover nearby. And production’s a flurry of motion of getting the film, I guess. It’s all fuzzy.
