“You're sure?” Alpha Tinsley asks, picking up a pen.
I nod. “I am.”
“Okay,” he says, blowing out a breath and writing my name on the sheet. “I think you'll have a few challenges. How many will you accept?”
“No more than three.”
He raises his brows. “How about two?”
“Whatever you think, but more than two will sign up.”
He nods. “Probably. Drew has had some attention.”
I push down my irritation. “Yes. He has.”
Sighing, he leans back in his chair behind the desk. “Alright. Now for the prize, with the verbiage we laid out, I think it's acceptable. You know...” he pauses, looking at me over the top of his glasses, “I wish... Never mind. This is fine. I will speak to him personally if things go the way you think they will.”
“Thank you.”
I leave his office feeling a little more optimistic than when I walked into it. He completely understood why I asked for a night of sleep. He might not understand why I don't just march into Drew's room and demand it without going through the whole ordeal of Middle Ground, but he absolutely understands why I'm happy to face the she-wolves who have been basically presenting themselves to Drew for the past month. That has added another level to my soul-deep exhaustion that I didn't realize was there until I was talking about it.
Then Parker comes up beside me. He'd be handsome if he wasn't such a dick.
“You put your name on the list, didn't you?”
I glance up at him for half a second. “It'll be posted in the morning. I guess you'll find out when everyone else does.”
“Why?” he asks.
“Because that's when they're going to post it.”
“Genie,” he says my name, grabbing my wrist to stop me from walking away from him. “Why did you put your name on the list?”
I look down at where his hand is wrapped around almost half of my forearm. “That's none of your business.”
“Who do you expect to challenge you? You know somebody will.”
I tug against his grip. “I have a list. Let go.”
He doesn't let go. “The ones who are all over Cross, right?”
I glare up at him, tugging again. “Don't worry about it.”
“What prize will you ask for?”
“None of your business, Parker. Let me go.”
“What are you going to ask for?” he asks again, eyes narrowed.
“What would you ask for?”
He stares down into my eyes, his fingers tightening just enough for me to feel it. “Cross.”
I jerk my arm away, twisting hard until he's forced to either let go or cause a scene. “Maybe that's what I'll ask for then.”
I stalk away from him, trying to rub off the heat his hand left on my skin.
“Genie!” He calls after me and I almost don’t stop, but my curiosity gets the better of me.
