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MOLLY

I screamed until my throat was raw.

A parachute deployed itself after a few seconds of free-falling, but I couldn’t stop screaming.

Heights—I didn’t like heights.

Not even a little.

My third-story apartment had been too high for me. I left the curtains closed 99% of the time.

Skydiving?

And without warning?

It was hell.

When my feet finally hit the sand, my legs were so shaky that my knees buckled and I crashed to the ground. It was soft and white, but I didn’t notice the color or feel of it against my spread palms.

My chest was rising and falling too rapidly, my panic so thick I could smell and taste it.

I heard someone land beside me, but couldn’t look over.

“You’re fine, Molly,” Rhett said beside me.

I wanted to tell him to go to hell.

Or claw his eyes out with my fingernails.

But I couldn’t manage to get myself off the sand.

“The other men will be arriving soon. You’ll want to compose yourself. The cameras are rolling, and there’s only so much they can cut out in editing.”

“Shut. Up.” I barely managed to grit the words out.

He did as I commanded, though.

I gave myself three seconds to stay where I was before I finally let out a slow, long breath and lifted myself to my knees.

My abdomen was so tight it hurt.

I let myself take three more breaths before I stood.

My legs shook.

There was sand plastered to basically all of my exposed skin. The unexposed skin, too.

But I managed to stand. The backpack on my shoulders was insanely heavy, though, making it hard to stay steady.

“There are three buckles on the front,” Rhett said. When I glanced over at him, I found him shirtless, with a pair of massive, wings spread behind his back. They looked like they were made of glass, and were entirely clear. He was a few inches taller, too. And thick horns protruded from his scalp.

My hands shook as I undid them. “You’re a real bastard. Who throws someone out of a plane?”

I stumbled forward when the weight crashed down behind me, finally leaving me free. He grabbed my upper arm to catch me before I could fall again. “Just following Society instructions.”

“You and the Society can both kiss my ass.”

“We’ll leave that for your mate.”

If I hadn’t already been sweating, my face would’ve flushed.

My mate, who I wasn’t really going to get to choose. Every other compatible human had free will when it came to their game show. They could choose any of the supernatural men.

But me?

I’d get three options.

The three who either outsmarted or outplayed the rest in some way.

In all likelihood, the three I liked the least .

“This is bullshit,” I said, brushing sand off my boobs, tiny bikini, and shorts, but barely making a dent.

Damn, I hated sand.

It was going to be a long month.

I really hoped there was some kind of a shelter built. Or at least some wood for the guys to build something with. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my nights on the sand.

Actually, the last thing I wanted to do was spend my nights snuggled between gigantic fae guys in a tiny shelter, on the sand.

Sure, they’d be attractive, but snuggling would give them ideas.

Maybe sand wasn’t that bad.

Another small plane made its way toward us, the sound getting louder as it approached.

“I could refuse to mate with any of these guys,” I said. “If the Society wants to play hardball by throwing me out of a plane and into a whole new game, I can just decide not to play.”

Rhett snorted.

It was the first sign of emotion I’d seen from him.

“You’re about to be secluded on an island with a dozen horny, lonely, dying fae males. Any of them could overpower you with little more than the blink of an eye. I’ve been assigned to protect you while you’re here, but if you don’t do your job, I’m under no obligation to do mine.”

My chest tightened. “You’d let me die?”

He laughed.

Loudly.

“No one coming here would ever let that happen. We need you. If I don’t protect you, you’ll end up at the center of a physical battle. The winner will claim you, permanently. And I can promise you won’t like him.”

I didn’t need his promise.

I was pretty damn confident of that myself.

Which meant I either had to play along, or accept a hellish mate bond that would literally last forever as it made both me and the other guy immortal.

Sand was actually starting to look nice.

“I want Cameron back,” I said flatly.

“He’s done guarding.”

Before I could ask what he meant, the plane flew over us.

My heartbeat picked up as I saw the first guy jump out.

He wasn’t in his human form.

His gorgeous, feathery-white wings were spread out behind him, his dark skin on display thanks to his bare chest. His head sported a pair of thick horns.

The second man followed.

His wings were gossamer, resembling glass like Rhett’s, but with a mixture of colors in them unlike my new guard’s.

The third came after him, then the fourth, and so on, until there were twelve men flying toward us and the plane was leaving.

“I’d like to quit now,” I whispered to Rhett.

“So would I.”

I started to flash him a glare, but the first man landed before I got the chance.

My head whipped back to that direction.

Toward the ocean.

Way too close to me.

I wanted to take a few steps back, but Rhett’s hand was still on my arm. As if he thought I might try to run away.

Yeah, right.

There was nowhere to go.

And even if there was, I had no doubt the dozen winged fae would catch me quickly. I wasn’t fast.

The rest of the guys landed one after another.

They were all in their fae forms, a few inches taller than their usual human forms. All of them had horns, though there was a variety of horn and wing shapes.

Hopefully that was what Rhett meant when he said horny, because I wasn’t interested in sleeping with half a dozen different guys like some of the Bachelorette chicks did. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to sleep with one .

I’d had sex twice before the world nearly ended, and it really hadn’t impressed me. My vibrator worked better than any man I’d ever met.

“Line up,” Rhett said.

His voice wasn’t raised, but the men followed the command anyway. The woman’s guard was always sort of the host in Bachelorette , so it seemed safe to assume he was taking that role in Survival of the Mated .

The men stepped into place, forming a line. All of them were bare chested, which seemed required with the wings spread out behind them.

In Bachelorette , they stayed in their human forms.

Just the sight of them with their massive sizes, wings, and horns was enough to make me fight a shiver.

I didn’t let myself look too closely at the line of them. Whoever I paid attention to seemed likely to become an immediate target, so I’d avoid looking at anyone until I figured out a plan.

“Welcome to Survival of the Mated,” Rhett said. “You all know the rules. No killing. No using magic on the female without her permission. And no starting a bond with her. Beginning a mate bond before winning is a death sentence.”

I bit the inside of my cheek.

That hadn’t been mentioned before.

How would a person even start a mate bond? I had an impressively small amount of information, considering my situation.

“Now, meet the female you’re competing for.” Rhett gestured to me. “She’ll introduce herself.”

I blinked.

On Bachelorette , there was no introduction. There were just… dates.

But I wasn’t on Bachelorette .

And I needed to figure out a way to get my head in the game. Whatever the game was.

Which meant an introduction.

So I let out a quick breath and forced myself to act like I wasn’t absolutely terrified. The more casual I could act and the more human I could seem, the more I hoped they would realize that I wasn’t just a prize to be won as part of their new game show.

“I’m Molly Maye,” I said. “I’m twenty-four. I have an accounting degree. It’s boring, but stable. Unlike this.” I gestured to myself, the guys, and the island. “I worked full-time before I was dragged here. I like to eat desserts. Don’t like to exercise. Also, I don’t like sand.”

One or two of the guys chuckled.

The sound was kind of familiar, but I figured that was just my nerves making me imagine things.

“The guys will introduce themselves after the game begins,” Rhett said. “The first challenge starts now. There are a dozen survival packs hidden in the jungle. Each of you can only retrieve one. The last one back loses the chance to vote the first man off the island tomorrow night. The one who finds the pack with the weapons in it spends an hour on a boat with Molly as soon as it ends.”

A moment of tense silence passed.

“Any questions?” Rhett asked.

It seemed pretty simple.

The guys had to find survival packs. The slowest one lost their vote. The one who found the right bag won a reward.

Me being the reward was shitty, but expected.

“Go,” he said, and hell broke loose.

Sand sprayed in the air as wings flapped and fae took off. I closed my eyes against the barrage, but was too slow. They were already stinging, and gritty.

When I opened them again, I could hear yelling in the distance. A few guys were flying in the air above the jungle.

One man was still walking there. His body position was casual, and there was something about his figure that I kind of recognized.

The golden wings on his back and horns on his head made me feel stupid for feeling that, though. Obviously, I didn’t recognize any of the fae.

“How long is this going to take?” I asked Rhett.

There were no chairs to sit on.

I spotted a camera drone flying off to my left, recording both of us, and resisted the urge to flip the Society off through it.

They probably wouldn’t see it if I did.

And all it could do was piss them off, which seemed pointless.

The camera drones were made with some kind of techy camouflaging that made them difficult to spot, but I’d read a few articles about how to find them.

“Depends how bloody it gets,” Rhett said.

I grimaced. “How bad do you think it’ll get?”

“Very.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Seems pretty simple. The man who spends the first hour with you will have a big advantage.”

“He’ll also be a target, won’t he?”

“It’s likely. But at the same time, they’re all going to be doing everything they can to win you over. Even if they make it to the end, they can’t win without you choosing them over the others. A reward with you will be the most neutral way to get to know you.”

“Lovely.”

“Yep.” Rhett stared out at the trees.

I did too.

I thought we’d have to wait a while, but it was less than five minutes later that the first man emerged. He was flying, with tan wings spread behind him as he soared toward us.

“Who’s that?” I whispered to Rhett.

“I’m not allowed to give you information or opinions.”

I sighed. “You’re useless to me.”

“Want me to hand you over to them?”

I scowled at him, but he continued staring out at the trees.

The man was basically a sarcastic brick wall.

Tan-winged guy landed. He had bronze skin, a gleaming white smile, and the smallest horns on any of the men I’d seen. Up close, his wings almost looked… furry?

Odd.

Another guy emerged from the trees behind him, but the first was already offering me his hand, like he wanted a handshake.

Despite my discomfort, I shook his hand.

His grip was too firm, but I managed not to wince.

“Nice to meet you, Molly. I’m Kaden. I also hate sand.”

“It sucks,” I agreed, not sure what else to say.

Another man approached.

He shot Kaden a narrow-eyed look before looking at me. His hair was white, his skin was pale, his wings were gossamer, and his eyes were multicolored in a way that made me feel like he was staring into my soul.

“Hello, Molly Maye,” he said. “I am Oren.”

“Hi.” Something about him made me uncomfortable, but I wasn’t about to say that aloud. Seemed like a sure-fire way to get him to the end.

Two more guys joined the group.

They were polite, but I forgot their names as quickly as they said them. Neither of them creeped me out, at least.

Kaden was chatting to me about his house—a huge beach house, which was truly ironic considering how he’d introduced himself—when I heard one of the other guys call out,

“Did you survive the dogpile, Cam?”

My body stiffened.

It couldn’t be my Cam.

…Could it?

He chuckled.

The sound was so familiar, it sent goosebumps down my arms.

“Didn’t bother going near it,” he said.

I spun around, cutting Kaden off entirely.

My brown eyes collided with a pair of familiar greens. It was Cameron, but… different.

Fae.

Really fae.

His horns were massive, his thick, golden wings spread out behind him. All he had on was a pair of basketball shorts instead of his usual joggers. His lack of a shirt revealed a few tattoos on his chest and shoulder that I’d never seen before.

“Cameron?”

I wasn’t sure whether to be stunned or angry. Either way, it caught me off guard.

“Hey, Lolli.” He flashed me a grin.

It was easier-going than the last one I’d gotten.

Lazier.

The words and tone settled my uncertainty.

I was stunned, but I was furious .

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded. “Did you know you were coming before I left?”

“I did.” He gave me a playful grimace. “Sorry.”

My anger rose.

Three more guys joined us, and though they were bleeding, I barely noticed them. Definitely didn’t greet them.

“You stood there and made me breakfast, knowing you were joining me on the island this afternoon?”

“Technically, it was yesterday.”

“I’m confused,” one of the guys behind me said.

“You and me both,” I snapped.

“I was assigned to guard Lolli for the past few years,” Cameron explained. “Got the letter last week that I was chosen for the game. Didn’t realize we weren’t doing the Bachelorette thing until then, either.”

“But you did realize and decide not to tell me,” I shot back.

“Did I?”

“Oh, fuck off, Cam.”

Thankfully, some big, burly bastard came swooping into the group with a loud “Whoop!” before anymore arguing went down.

“I’ve got the weapons!” he declared, wearing a massive grin as he strode through the crowd toward me. There was blood on his hands and splattered over his knuckles and chest. He was tan and blond, with big, black scaly wings spread out behind him. His hair was shaved completely on the sides but long on top, and I had a feeling it was usually styled perfectly.

I took two steps sideways in hopes of avoiding him.

The man had at least an inch on all the other guys, except maybe Rhett. He could absolutely squash me.

My movement was useless, because the guy just took two gigantic steps up to my side and grabbed my hand, lifting it in the air. The blood on his fists made my fingers slick.

I cringed and tried to lean away.

He just grinned wider.

“You’re mine for the next hour, Dolly,” he declared.

I flashed Rhett a desperate look.

The one he gave me back said the guy wasn’t hurting me in any way, so I was on my own.

“It’s Molly, Asshole,” one of the other guys grumbled.

I tried like hell to free my hand from Asshole’s grasp while he dragged me to the little speedboat Rhett had pointed out to us.

Rhett shifted into his wings and horns, the gorgeous, glassy appendages out behind him as he followed us overhead.