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LAUNA

I hit the button to replay the last episode of the fourth season of Survival of the Mated for at least the hundredth time. Boxes containing everything I owned were stacked neatly in the kitchen, but I was focused on the show.

Did I have it memorized?

Yes.

Was I going to watch it again anyway?

Also yes.

It wasn’t a comfort thing. I didn’t feel a shred of happiness in watching the reality game show that centered around fae men competing to vote each other off for a chance to win a compatible mate at the end of the game.

No, it didn’t make me happy.

But it did prepare me.

Because I was going to be the compatible mate in Survival’s sixth season.

And unlike all of the other women who had played, I had asked to be put on Survival instead of Bachelorette.

Repeatedly.

Until they finally gave in and swapped me out for the sixth season’s planned compatible lady.

I’d seen every episode of the show, again and again. I knew most of the men who were playing, thanks to watching.

And I knew which one I wanted to spend my life with, since marriage and mating were required at the end of the game.

The guys who played on Bachelorette were basically a different breed from the Survival guys, and I didn’t want them.

So, I was willingly walking into Survival of the Mated.

Stupid decision?

Probably.

But it was better than the alternative, and I was confident my plan would work.

Mostly confident.

Fairly confident.

Confident ish .

As long as the guy I wanted hadn’t quit or gotten mated during the fifth season, which I hadn’t seen yet. It would’ve just finished filming. And though the Society gave out early copies of the episodes to the women who would be playing soon, they didn’t give them out that early.

So, there was some amount of going in blind.

I hoped it would work out anyway. I didn’t really have a backup plan, but I knew which of the guys were the kind I’d be comfortable mating with.

I was prepared, though.

I was going to get to the end of the show with the fae male I wanted to mate with, end of discussion.

“It’s time, Launa,” my fae guard said.

He was big and burly, with tan skin and curly hair tied up in a man bun. His name was Alfredo, and though he was pretty, he was about as interesting as a box of dried pasta. I had no idea what kind of fae he was, or what magic he possessed, but I didn’t care.

Unlike the guard for Molly, who was in Survival’ s first season, Alfredo definitely wouldn’t be competing for me. Even if he did, I’d never choose him. All he ever talked about was the gym. It drove me damn near insane. Thankfully, I had books to occupy my time.

So many glorious books.

“Give me two more minutes,” I said, wanting to watch the conversation that was playing out between two men on the screen.

I knew how it would go, but I didn’t want to miss something.

Not when my future was on the line.

Being a compatible mate made living as a human pretty difficult, but getting stuck with whichever guy made it to the end, without having input?

Infinitely shittier.

Alfredo sighed, but didn’t argue.

He’d been tired of me since the first hour we met.

I didn’t really blame him. I could be a lot to handle. I wasn’t the kind of girl who did anything without finding out why and establishing whether or not it mattered to me.

Which is why I knew which guy I wanted and needed.

Kyle was going to be mine. He just didn’t know it yet.