So I Married a Werewolf

ChapterThree

Logan

“This job is career suicide. You can’t do it.” My agent, Margaret, didn’t even wait for me to say anything when I picked up the phone. I’d missed a half dozen calls from her and hadn’t had a chance to check my texts before she called again.

“I’ve already gone through wardrobe, hair, and makeup. Only an asshole would walk out now.” If Margaret was so concerned with my career, she never would have booked me on this job in the first place. “What’s going on?”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I need to be honest with you. Since the incident, it’s been hard to book jobs for you. They all want you to, you know...”

“Shift.” I finished the sentence for her. “It’s not a dirty word.”

“No. No, of course not.” Margaret was human, but she had the biggest supernatural client list in the business. Production companies loved us because we saved them a shit ton of money on special effects. Why fake a werewolf shift when you could have the real thing? So I’d let myself be typecast. I worked constantly, mostly on a long-running series called The Wolf’s Moon, with a few movies fit in during breaks for good measure.

That was, until the incident.

“I’m booking different projects for you. A reinvention of sorts. If you play a human, you have to go all the way, Logan. These are bigger, higher-profile roles.”

Of course she’d think human roles were better roles.

“Last week, when you begged me to take this job, you told me it would be the easiest money I’d ever make. Or was it the easiest money you’d ever make?”

“Very funny. I’m trying to save your career. Things are changing. It’s a moving target, knowing what’s right for you now.” Her tone changed. “I’ve been getting my hands on some great scripts. But when I pitch you as a potential audition—”

“Audition?” I hadn’t auditioned in years. I had reads, but most of the time, directors asked for me. The Mating Game might have been easy money for Margaret, but she’d been riding the gravy train with me for years.

“This is a whole new world, and you’ll have to prove yourself all over again.”

“I don’t have to prove anything,” I growled.

“You do, and you need to put that giant wolf ego of yours aside if you want to keep acting. It’s getting out that you’re tied to this dating show. It’s not a job that an actor at the very top of his game would attach his name to.”

“Let me get this straight. Last week, you thought I was a has-been, and you figured this job might be the last money you’d ever make on me. But now, you have a script on your desk and stars in your eyes, and you want me to bail.”

She had the nerve to laugh. “When you put it like that, it does sound pretty terrible.”

“What else is getting out?” I asked, my gaze shifting around my small dressing room. My giant wolf ego expected that the show would want to catch every moment they had with me. Whether my career was on the skids or not, my name was recognizable to both humans and shifters, and this was a brand-new show with a lot to prove.

“No one knows why The Wolf’s Moon is on hiatus,” she said. “It’s run for ten seasons, and some critics think the time has come for—"

“I don’t know what your human clients do, Margaret, but I’m a wolf. Let me tell you what wolves do. They don’t bail on their commitments just because something better came along. They see things through to the end and they make them better than they were before.”

“It’s very admirable.” Her tone was far too sarcastic. “We’ve made mistakes with your career. We pigeonholed you, and this is an opportunity to take things to the next level.”

“You made mistakes. I gave every role my absolute best. Why don’t you take things to the next level and figure out how you’ll get my next job after I complete my commitment to The Mating Game? That’s what I’m paying you for.” I was a gentleman, and it was the most professional way I could tell her to kiss my ass.

“Logan,” she said. I was about to hang up on her. “I’m still getting plenty of scripts for wolf roles. They’ll do pretty much anything to get you. You need to make a statement. Tell them why you can’t be a part of their project. They won’t understand why you’re on this show, but you won’t take their jobs.”

I sighed. “I will. When I’m ready.”

“Please reconsider. What will your fans think if you’re on a reality show?”

“Now it’s about my fans?” She was grasping at straws. Once I was done with The Mating Game, it was time to find a new agent. A shifter this time.

“I can handle the unpleasant part of this for you. Let The Mating Game down easy. All you’d have to do is get in your car and go.”

“I’m not leaving. I said I’d do this show, and I’m a wolf of my word.”

A knock on the door startled me, and a production assistant poked her head in. “It’s time. We’re ready for you.”

“The paparazzi loves these shows like a fly loves shit. If you go through with this, you’ll have to make a statement sooner rather than later. Whether you’re ready or not.”

She was right. But I was a grown-ass wolf, and I didn’t need anyone to tell me how to save my reputation. I was going on that stage.

“We’ll deal with that when I’m done with the job.”

I winked at the production assistant as I hung up. Margaret was still talking, but I’d made a commitment, and I wasn’t going back on it just because it would make my agent’s job harder. She’d just booked this job for me less than a week ago. Said all I’d have to do was go on stage, play to the camera, and answer a few questions.

She knows something she’s not telling you, my wolf said.

Wait a minute. I shook my head. I waited for him to say something, anything else. Tell me what the hell he needed from me.

The production assistant had started down the hallway, and now she stood waiting for me with her head cocked.

I wanted to tell her my wolf had just talked to me, when I thought he might never do it again. Wanted to hug this human stranger and have her celebrate with me. But I couldn’t tell her this was the first time he’d talked to me since the incident. If all went well, she’d never know about the incident. Playing it cool would be the biggest role of my entire career.

“We’re excited to have you on The Mating Game, Mr. Mathis. I’m a huge fan of The Wolf’s Moon. I know you’re no stranger to shows like ours, but this is what will happen next,” the production assistant said as she led me down the hall. “Our leading lady, Cindy, will ask the contestants a series of questions before she chooses her mate. There will be a wall between her and the contestants, so she’ll be choosing her mate sight unseen. If that mate happens to be you, then the production crew will pull out all the stops to make sure you’re a match before the mating ceremony of your dreams.”

Mating ceremony. Wolves mated forever.

I waited for my wolf to say something now, but he was just as shocked as I was.

If I got picked, that was what was on the line. A little more serious than the go on stage and answer a few questions I got from Margaret.

Which was exactly why she wanted me to leave. There was no way I could be picked for this...

“Is there a script I can take a look at?” I asked. Usually I got one in advance, but they’d hired the best wolf in the business. I’d make the magic happen.

The production assistant turned and gave me an incredulous look. “We don’t do scripts here. We want your honest answers.”

My wolf stirred inside me. No more words, but the beast had some life in him yet. “So when you say forever, you mean forever.”

“Yeah.” She scoffed. “Isn’t that what wolves do?”