Page 44 of Alpha Games
And this was why I’d never wanted a mate.
It was too complicated. I had enough going on with my own life and problems to want to drag someone else into this shit show.
I scanned the lobby for Trenton. He hadn’t been answering through the pack link and a part of me hoped it was because he knew what his dad was up to. He deserved to feel ashamed of his father even if he’d never do anything about it.
The line for the interviews moved forward. I took another step. Up near the fireplace was a fabric booth where the next Alpha stood getting hooked up with a microphone. I was near the end of the line behind a few of the quieter female contestants from less notable packs.
They were younger, eighteen or nineteen, and barely coming upon their second heats, but they still probably outranked me.
Ismelda from Yuma Pack was mouselike with silky brown hair cut into a straight bob and Kimberly from Neff had her long strawberry blond hair tied into two French braids. They were behind Amber and Danielle–the sisters from O’Neil Pack.
I was proud of myself for remembering all their names. It’d only taken me three weeks to getthem down. The females seemed nervous around me, but everyone did after the Opal situation. I tried keeping my distance, which was hard to do in line, but then I thought of Alpha Derek’s threat.
I stepped a little closer and tried to interject myself into their half-formed circle. I was a little taller than them so it ended up more of me awkwardly standing behind and peering over their heads.
“What favor did your uncle get from his win?” Kimberly asked Amber.
“Something about expanding our hunting territory into Illinois.” Amber looked to Danielle for confirmation.
The slightly older girl nodded. “I think that’s the only reason he came. We had to basically beg him to come with us and he hasn’t seemed interested in any of the female contestants. Except for…”
Her voice trailed off as her gaze darted to the camera crew in the lobby, but they were more concerned with filming the Alphas heading out to the pool wearing bathing suits with their muscles on display. I was super curious to hear what she was going to say, but the other girls didn’t seem to care.
“At least he got a favor,” Ismelda said. “We need more land too and I don’t think my brother Jeff will get the chance until they let them all fight.”
“Fight?” I asked, stepping after them as the line moved another inch.
The girls startled as if they hadn’t realized I’d been eavesdropping. Which didn’t give me much hope for their wolf instincts. Amber and Daniellestood closer together, but Kimberly looked up at me with pity on her face.
“You’ve seen the show, right?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. I’d already beaten myself up enough for it so I wasn’t going to start again now.
“How have you never seenMating Season?” Ismelda gasped. “Don’t you have a TV?”
“I do but I don’t watch it much.”
Apparently, that was code word for “charity case.” It worked. The girls moved to give me space in the huddle, adopting me into the conversation and eager to share their wisdom.
“There is always some surprise battle thing with the Alphas at the end for them to duke it out before the rut takes over,” Kimberly explained. “The first season was a survivor type situation where they dropped them on the east side of the Rockies from helicopters for the hunt.”
“Season three was cool,” Ismelda said. “They had a maze-like labyrinth thing with the poison traps and only one winner.”
Yeah, that sounded cool.
Not.
My eyes were bugging out of my head as Amber leaned closer.
“The funniest was the mud wrestling tournament in season four,” she told me. “Jordon almost killed Rockland for flirting with Kendra while she was wearing that white bathing suit with muddypaw prints on the butt. Then James jumped in and it turned out he and Kendra had a thing.”
“Didn’t Kendra’s Alpha die?” Danielle asked.
“No,” Amber whispered as if she’d bring us bad luck. “He decided to go home because he didn’t like any of the female contestants.”
I tried to focus on the facts instead of the drama while Derek’s warning kept ringing in my ears. “Why do the Alphas fight?”
“Why do any Alphas fight?” Kimberly looked confused. “Money. Land grabs. Females. Take your pick.”