Page 2 of Heat & Hard Candies

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 inSurvival’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 didanythingwithout 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.

two

KYLE

“Last season before break,”Kaden whooped, slapping me on the shoulder. A few of the other guys hollered with him, bumping elbows and slapping each other on the back.

“I need to double my weight in our month off,” Jim grumbled. “I’m a fucking stick.”

“So is Kyle.” Ed, the new guy, bumped his elbow against mine.

Because he was a new contestant, he knew I’d helped some of the other guys win. He’d pulled me aside earlier to tell me it had been a good move, and that he agreed with me.

The women had wanted them, not me.

And I wasn’t particularly confident that it was even possible for a human woman to like me at that point.

Which didn’t exactly make me excited for the final season.

Of course,Survivalwould go on after all of the men took a month off to recover. There were too many unmated bastards left to end the game. And enough compatible mates to go around, as we were discovering.

But for me, season six would be my last.

I only had two or three months left in me. After I helped one last bastard mate with his perfect female, I was going to spend the final days of my life with my family. I’d be home in time to help set up for the wedding, and watch my little sister get married. After they went off on their honeymoon, I’d play board games with my parents and a few close friends until my final hours passed.

It would be a good way to go out.

“He’ll still beat us in every damn physical challenge,” Jim complained. “It’s not fucking fair.”

“You just need to try harder,” Nate said, slapping him on the leg. He’d been last season’s new guy, and was too nice forSurvival.

Then again, maybe I’d become too nice forSurvivaltoo, considering I’d spent the past four months starving while fighting for other bastards to be with their mates.

I’d been holding out hope that a human female who might like me would appear, but hadn’t had any luck.

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