Page 20 of Luna Trials

“What?” It wasn’t like I’d broken the rules. She said no official interviews andtrynot to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to be rude to a kid.

“I guess we can add anotherone to the lineup,” Molly groaned as she powered up the tablet on her lap and started typing.

“Another one of what?” I asked softly, looking to Trenton and Stef when she didn’t elaborate. They both turned to their phones and ignored me. I knew we weren’t exactly friends, but we were pack. They could have at least tossed me a bone.

I sank into myself, feeling homesick already.

“Oh that’s just great.” Stef threw her phone into her purse. “You could have told us your plan.”

“My plan for what?” I had no clue what she was saying. Maybe I wasn’t the only one going a little crazy with all this chaos. Stef continued to glare at me.

Molly glanced up from her tablet. “Are we going for country bumpkin comes to the big city? Or sweet and innocent meets the big bad wolf?”

“Like a persona?” I asked. “I’m just me. I didn’t know we were supposed to be acting like anything.”

“Sweet and naïve it is.” Molly rolled her eyes as the limousine pulled onto the busy freeway, heading away from the airport.

“I’m not sweet,” I muttered under my breath. But no one was listening to me anyway.

*

Death by paperwork.

I was assuming this was what killed the contestants from previous seasons. We were an hour deep into signing contracts and NDAs and liability forms with no end in sight.

I barely saw any of the resort after the three hour drive up the mountains. It was dark when we arrived although the fountain out front was lit with multicolored lights and fake lanterns hung over the log beams on the entrance way. We were taken through a side door and brought to the conference room until we’d officially signed away our rights.

My stomach was growling. I hadn’t eaten much today besides a little pack of goldfish on the plane. Shifters needed meat. And I was two seconds away from crawling into the corner so I could take a nap. It was getting dangerously close to my bedtime.

I had to keep rereading lines on the documents I was signing, worried I was agreeing to something that would take my first-born pup if I ever decided to have kids. Trenton had long since checked out as he scribbled his name on each page. But I caught Stef reading through the fine print like I wasdespite the lawyers on the other side of the conference table explaining the different documents.

The wording seemed clear enough.

The show assumed no liability for our safety–wolves were dangerous–and we consented to audio and video recordings in all of the common areas of the resort for the duration of the show. On resort property, there was no full shifting for the safety of the staff.

That riled my beast a bit, but I eased her worries.We’ll find somewhere else to run.

Also, we had no access to WIFI or internet once filming started. The lawyers said something about spoilers to social media, but that didn’t make much sense when we were allowed to use our phones to make calls.

But I wasn’t the one running this show so I was in no position to argue. It wasn’t like I was active on social media anyway. Nuva Pack didn’t need accounts to know everyone else’s business.

All Luna candidates were required to participate in activities during the trials and leave the property immediately if voted off. Transportation would be arranged. Alphas must stay throughout the games after the Luna Trials ended. And the show made no guarantees that we would find a suitable mate during the season.

Fine with me.

I signed my initials.

“And this is your direct deposit form.” Molly yawned as she slid over the last stack of papers. “Fillout your bank information here unless you want to wait for a check in the mail.”

My eyes widened when I read the $5,000 base pay for participation on the show. There was a $10,000 bonus too, paid to each Luna who passed the trials and every Alpha who made it through the games. I glanced over at Stef’s and Trenton’s papers, making sure we were receiving the same amount.

Alrighty then.

I had no problem signing my name to that.

*

“You won’t have much time to get settled in.” For a human woman, Molly sure could powerwalk in those heels. “The other candidates have been trickling in over the previous week. You three were the last to arrive.”

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