“So you were hurt, but let’s not talk about your real feelings. Continue.”
“As I was saying, I pulled him to the side to talk, but we both saw Marcus and Wills walking down the hall. I transported both of us into a room so we could eavesdrop on their conversation. But it didn’t take long before someone else entered the room. Dimitri used his shield so the other person couldn’t detect us. The room was also dark enough to hide.”
“That person was… Owen?”
I nod.
“What were Marcus and Wills taking about?”
“Nothing important. Marcus was bitching about one of the Northern A Alphas boasting how he didn’t need to try very hard because he already felt a connection. They were just Alpha shaming a bunch of the smaller territory Alphas and the Northern A group. That’s when Jessica snuck into the room.”
“Let me guess. She didn’t notice the audience already waiting in the darkened room.”
“No, not until Owen made himself known… and kissed her.”
“Okay. So he kissed her. What’s the problem?”
“She kissed him back. She allowed him to touch her.”
“I see. He always did like her, maybe even more than like her. I told her, all those years ago, on her eighteenth birthday when he bought her that infinity necklace.”
“Infinity necklace?”
“Yeah. Back then, it was equivalent to an engagement ring for teenagers. Not that they could afford it. The stupid thing costs an arm and a leg.”
My brows pull together. Why does that sound familiar? “I’m fucked. I’m so fucked.” I run a hand through my hair.
“Why don’t you just tell Jessica what you’ve been doing for the past six years?”
“I’m in too deep. There are things I still can’t tell her. Not yet… I just want her back.”
Her mouth sets in a thin line. “What I say next might hurt, but just hear me out. You realize that she has been with other men. Right?”
“Yeah. Thanks for the reminder, Sixes. I already know that. At one point, half of her life was posted on every news channel and social media outlet.”
She holds up her hand. “My point is that it’s been a long time since you two were together. I’m sure you had other women, too. So just tell her the truth. Start with a clean slate.”
“You know better than anyone that my marriage to Emily was a piece of paper honoring our contract, and our children were brought into this world through surrogacy. There were no other women. Just her!” I snap, disgusted at her insinuation that I would ever lay a hand on anyone else but Jessica.
Her eyes widen in surprise. “No one else? Oh, Shadow, now I understand why this is so hard for you.” She tilts her head and studies me for several seconds. “I miss the old you.”
“The old me?” I scoff. “The cardboard cutout version of me?”
“No. I mean the version of you that hung out with us for a week after Jessica’s seventeenth birthday, the one who used to sneak around to meet Jessica at night when you thought everyone was asleep. You used to lurk in the shadows near the music room to listen to her sing. You made her smile, and her eyes brightened whenever she talked about you.”
“Hate to disappoint, but that version of me is gone.”
She frowns and shakes her head. “I think he’s still in there, tucked away.”
“He’s gone, Sixes. I don’t want to be him, not anymore.” Because it hurts too much.
“Well, that’s too bad because I think that version of you would give the rest of the contestants a run for their money. I also think that’s what Carmen asked of you to stay in the game.”
I groan in irritation and turn away from her to finish getting ready. That damn interview put me in a mood, and I still need to do this second introduction. “Sixes, as much as I like you, I don’t want to get dressed in front of you. As I already told you, I’m a one-woman kind of man.”
“Yeah, I know. I caught your scent all over her bedsheets. Fucking savage. Fucking alone won’t get you points in this game. She might have an ulterior motive, but at the end of all of this, she still needs to choose a mate. So, you need to jump on thisbandwagon or eat dust because the men she’s meeting tonight will be your biggest competition.”
I stop, absorbing what she just said. My Alpha energy starts to leak through my pores. I spin around, ready to bite her head off.
