“Marissa vetted everyone carefully,” Bjorn said. “Especially after she went on stage and realized what it was like to be a contestant. If this guy is who you say he is, he must have had one hell of a good cover to get past her background check.”
There was no arguing with the bear about his mate. He beamed with pride at just the mention of her name. Completely smitten. I ached with jealousy for that feeling, which had just slipped through my fingers and shattered on the stage.
I growled. “When our village thrived, Armand did everything in his power to stop it. My brother cursed him for interfering with his plans. Now he wants revenge. He shouldn’t have a say in any of this.”
Bjorn raised a brow. “What did he do?”
“He challenged Leif every chance he got. The wolves were power-hungry, but they couldn’t sustain a village on their own. They wanted to introduce humans to their pack, and my brother was convinced that would make us weak.” So many times I’d closed my eyes when I looked out from my mountain and seen the valley as it had been. A thriving village full of every kind of shifter. “We didn’t have individual packs back then, but the strongest creatures were the ones with the power.”
“There were enough of your kind to be the dominant species?” Hugo held up his hands when my eyes widened. “Not that I’m doubting your power. You have it. It’s just that now, it’s only you.”
“Yes. We were the biggest, the strongest, the most cunning. We never thought it would come to this.” I shook my head and chuckled sadly. “After my brother cursed Armand and his wolves, his power had weakened. It was like they’d gotten the last laugh from that stone. One by one, our kind perished. In the end, my brother was taken down by humans. If he could see this show, he’d hate it.”
“But you’d still fight for Hannah, if he was alive.” Hugo’s statement wasn’t a question.
“Absolutely.” I didn’t even hesitate. “That’s why I need to get out there and fix this.”
“Marissa’s texting me. Hannah’s freaking out.” Bjorn didn’t look up from his phone. “She’s really upset about this. Feels like she’s made a huge mistake. She thought she was picking you.”
“Good.” I rose from the bench. “We can forget this ever happened.”
I was fooling myself, thinking Armand would walk away from Hannah, especially since he knew she belonged to me.
Bjorn shook his head. “Not so fast.” He squinted at the screen. “Marissa says that Bibi wants Hannah to go on one date with Armand, and then a date with you. Then she’ll let her choose again.”
“What?” I let out another roar, shaking the walls, startling the guys. “Bibi couldn’t have said that. She said she’d help me claim Hannah.”
“She told you this was a possibility—Lars!” Hugo called after me, but I’d already put my hand through the door. I didn’t mean to destroy it, but I wasn’t used to handling these modern contraptions. They were flimsy, made to be forgotten.
I couldn’t stay here. I didn’t belong in this world that moved too fast. Where humans followed rules that weren’t in their best interest.
Humans stopped dead in their tracks, staring at me with wide eyes as I rambled down the narrow hallway. My fur brushed the walls, and I had to duck to get through the doorways.
A throng of people waited outside the main door.
“Lars! Can we ask you a few questions?”
“How many of you are there?”
“Where do you live?”
“Is it true that you already have a relationship with Hannah?”
“Have you ever been human?”
“Don’t answer any of them,” Hugo growled. I expected him to be wolf when I turned around, but he was still human. “Come on, we’ll bring you back to the mountain.”
“I’d rather go on my own. Clear my thoughts.”
He shook his head. “These guys will follow you all the way back to the mountain, hoping to pick up one piece of information to get the story before anyone else. You are breaking news right now, my friend. That might be a foreign concept to you, but let me just say, it’ll be a while before it’s just you and your thoughts.”
I hated to admit I needed help. But I didn’t know the rules of the human game. I nodded, and Hugo’s face brightened. I appreciated what he and Bjorn were doing for me. It had been a long time since I felt like I could trust anyone. It was still debatable if I could—Bibi insisting that Hannah go out with Armand was a kick in the gut. They could be doing it because they were more loyal to their jobs than me. Right now, I was a problem that needed to be solved.
Bjorn was already in the driver’s seat, looking at his phone.
“What’s the word from backstage?” Hugo asked as we got settled in the van.
“Tensions are high. Hannah’s not happy. Armand is telling them that Lars isn’t who we think he is.” Bjorn dropped his phone in the center console and carefully backed the van out of its spot. The reporters were closing in on us, without any regard for their safety.
