ChapterTwenty-Eight
Bibi
“We know this is a technicality, but the viewers don’t.” I stood in the middle of the stage, overseeing the construction of the big reveal. “This part of the episode needs to be special.”
“What should we do to create drama?” Marissa asked. “All the viewers will have to do is look at Cindy and Logan and know they’re a done deal.”
“We’ll create the tension through editing.” Bjorn shook his head from his bank of camera equipment. “This episode has enough drama without you manufacturing anymore.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course it does. But we need to keep the viewers guessing. What if we put the wall up again? Maybe Bibi could interview Cindy and Logan one on one before they promise themselves to each other?”
“That’s a great idea.” Don’t tell either Marissa or Bjorn, but sometimes I let their bickering go on a tiny bit longer than I should because when they tried to one up each other, they came up with the best ideas. “We can definitely put the wall back up. I can ask questions, or—I’ve got it—we can have the viewers come up with some fun, flirty questions they can ask, and then we’ll get down to business.”
“I love it.” Marissa had a tablet in each hand. “What will the stage design be? Should we make it fun? Romantic? Funky?”
“Make it fit their personalities,” Bjorn suggested.
Marissa’s mouth dropped. “What does that mean?”
He smirked. “You’ll figure it out.”
“That’s easy for you to say. All you have to do is film the magic. I have to make this stage say Cindy and Logan. The two of them couldn’t be more different.”
I grinned to myself as I walked off the stage. Our first couple did seem like an impossible match, at first. But that had proved to be the furthest thing from the truth. Cindy had conformed to her pack’s expectations, while Logan refused to do so, but they both had been deeply misunderstood. Maybe that was why I was rooting for these two so hard.
The thing I loved most about this couple? They wanted to take their experience and use it to make other wolves’ lives better.
After a quick makeup check, I headed into the control room. We’d set up a giant screen, and I was doing a little virtual press junket to get casual viewers excited about The Mating Game. Marissa and I pulled an all-nighter last night to supply them with a list of topics for them to ask about. It hardly seemed fair—we shot everything on The Mating Game unscripted, but we had total control over the promotional aspects.
“Hey.” I didn’t expect to find Hugo in the hallway. An earthy, wolfy, dare I say...hardly resistible scent rose from his body. “Did you just shift?”
“Can’t do my best work as a human.” His voice still had that feral growl to it. “You should join me.”
“This wolf only comes out in case of emergency.” Hugo was more comfortable in the forest, and I belonged in the spotlight. “Please don’t tell me there was an emergency.”
“Nothing pertaining to the episode. Well, not directly.” Hugo was a proud wolf, and it would take him a long time to get over the blow of his wolves turning on him. “I have a question about one of the new guys. Lars. He says he’s from the forest, but I’ve asked around. The lion and deer pride haven’t heard of him, and neither have the Mount Deception stallions. The Colorado Ranch wolves haven’t seen him around, either. Seems weird to me this guy has managed to evade every shifter in the council.”
“Maybe his pack keeps to themselves.” But the hair the back of my neck stood up.
“That’s the other thing. He says he’s got no pack. When I ask him what experience he has with shifting, he says he shifts, and grunts when I ask him into what.”
“So you’ve met someone more stubborn than yourself, and you don’t like it.” I grinned at him.
“I don’t believe he has no allies, and I’m hoping he doesn’t have any enemies.” The adorably grumpy wolf didn’t respond to my teasing. “Or that he’s associated with the wolves that have taken an interest in you.”
“You should have just said that.” He was trying to protect me. But we couldn’t afford to be blindsided for anyone’s comfort. “But you don’t think he’s a wolf?”
“Definitely not a wolf.”
That was a relief.
“I say we give him a chance. He’s big and strong, and if his story checks out, he’s got some serious survival instincts. And if no one in the pack has heard of him, he won’t take the wrong side in this never-ending pack war.” The red light in the studio started flashing. “The interviews are about to start.”
Hugo softened. “Bibi. Would you be my date at Cindy and Logan’s mating ceremony?”
My mouth dropped. “We’ll be working.”
“We have an amazing crew, and we won’t be working the whole time,” he reminded me. “There will be time at the party to relax. Have a little fun.”
“You’re right.” What was I so afraid of? It’s just a date. We’d both be there anyway. “I’d be honored to be your date.”
His face lit up as he nodded in confirmation. “It’s gonna be a good night, Bibi. For all of us.”
I floated into the room. Hugo’s concerns about Lars aside, things were amazing. I had a happy couple, an amazing crew, a date for the mating ceremony (!), a new pack that had my back, and on top of all that, I looked amazing on camera.
“Hey, all.” I waved at the camera when the faces appeared on the screen. “I can’t wait to answer your questions about The Mating Game.”
“How is this show different than The Real Werewives?”
“We give the ladies much more control. The men are here for them, where the Werewives recruited many women to match with a small pack of men. We’ve set parameters on how long they have to decide if the shifter they chose is their forever mate, and we’ve also given them a way out, which is what you’ll see on the live feed tomorrow.”
“How did you get Logan Mathis involved with the show?”
“It was a stroke of genius from my associate producer, Marissa.” A girl could admit when she was wrong. “At first, I was concerned. Logan’s an actor. Would we be able to trust that he wasn’t reading off a script? But when you see him and Cindy together, you’ll know this wolf is for real.”
“Does that mean we can look forward to our first mating ceremony of the season?”
It took everything I had to play coy. “You’ll have to tune in to the live broadcast, but you know we believe in love at The Mating Game.”
“We’ve received word that there was an issue with security on this episode. Do future contestants have anything to worry about?’
I waved my hand, but I couldn’t lie. The question unnerved me. But once we took those wolves off payroll, we had no control over them anymore. “Every reality show has its share of drama.”
“We received a statement from the leader of the Montana pack, who claim you as a descendent—”
“No one has any claim on me, sunshine.”
“They’re hoping to form an alliance with you. They claim they have things to offer. Are you willing to work with them?”
Damn it. The Montana pack usually kept wolf business between wolves. But when they couldn’t get their point across, they formed alliances with unsuspecting humans. These reporters didn’t know the difference between a good pack and one that would burn down the world for their own gain...even if they had no way to control the flames.
Destruction was their love language, but I had no love for these wolves. And I’d do whatever it took to protect the wolves and humans who’d put their faith in me to make their dreams come true.
“No. You tell whoever you talked to that The Mating Game is not up for grabs.”