The Mating Game

Unexpected

A/N: Filler chapter. No editing done. 

The Mating Game

Chapter 9

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Bailey was finding it frustratingly hard to find each object. Though the objects were laid out for her clearly on the map. It was the actual process of finding them that had her nearly pulling her hair out of her head. The fork had been conveniently hidden within a pillow, on the bed, within the guest room. Bailey  had not expected that and in her rush to find it, it took her almost ten minutes to discover its hiding place. 

Bailey was able to find two of the objects on the map, but as she lifted yet another couch cushion within the living room she almost cried. Now where in the hell would a plate be hidden in a living room? The cup was easy to find and the fork was yet a few seconds in comparison to the hour she'd spent looking for the plate. The living room/dining quarters the map had lead her into was surprisingly junk-filled. She couldn't help but wonder if this was the forbidden side of the house where the alpha resided. If so she couldn't be far from the forbidden kitchen she'd been having meetings with Lee in. It was around that time she typically would go to grab dinner. He would no doubt have something prepared for her. He'd gotten so accustomed to her that he would have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her. 

Lee may not have been an extremely vibrant individual and he may have also suffered from being intimidating and brooding majority of the time, but something about his spirit drew her to him. She was tempted to see him and perhaps get one last goodbye in case she was leaving, but it was stupid to do so. She needed to cut her infatuation with the powerful man. 

Bailey reinstated her game face and continued to look for the plate. The last thing she needed to be doing was thinking of Lee during the last game of the challenge. 

 The riddle nor the map lead to any hints as to where the plate could be or , for the matter, what it may have looked like. The cup was easy enough for it was the only cup around during the time, but there were plenty of plates scattered around the junk-filled living room. Along with pizza boxes, candy wrappers, etc. Bailey made a mental note with herself that if she were to mate the man she'd give him a few lessons on keeping clean. 

Getting on her knees, crumbling two chip bags in the process, Bailey's eyes roamed beneath the couch. There were plenty of miscellaneous items, but what stuck out to her hazel eyes was the sight of porcelain placed conveniently on the edge of the couch's end. 

Bailey quickly grabbed the plate, excitedly placing it within the purse she collected from her room in order to hide her objects inside. 

"Okay, plate...fork...cup...one last thing one last thing." Her heart was pounding in tune with her excitement. She may not have known if she were the winner or not, but at least it was all over. At least she would be out of the competition and on her way to see her father. 

On the map, unlike the prior images that showed her exactly what she was looking for, there was no hint for the last object. She scratched her head in irritation, wanting badly to pull the strands out of her very own head. Sure she'd cheated her way to all of the other objects and the challenge was practically given to her, but she didn't want to waste time searching for the answer to another stupid riddle. 

Whipping out her index card full of riddles Bailey read the last riddle aloud, 

"Secrets are not always secrets and when the pains of emptiness hit you at night I was there. Who am I?" 

All the blood drained from Bailey's face as she read and reread the riddle over and over again. It seemed so blatantly obvious to her  as to what the riddle was hinting at. Pains of emptiness? And then all of the objects she'd been collecting, they all revolved around food. The plate, fork, and cup were utensils utilized for eating/fulfillment. 

But how would anyone know of her late night trips to the kitchen? Her meetings with Lee? 

Did he inform Dylan and Ryder of what she'd been up to. And if so she was definitely going to get kicked out of the games. She deeply regretted her nights spent flirting with the male and accepting the meals he'd offered her. She'd given up everything for a couple of bites and with dread she started to make her way to the kitchen where she was sure she'd find Lee. 

He'd probably be wearing one of his infamous smirks. 

She growled at the thought. 

She felt a little guilty though that she felt a small amount of excitement about seeing him. Although he probably ratted on her to his cousin, Dylan, and Ryder she actually felt a little relief. Sure she'd lost the games and disappointed her father. But at least she didn't have to mate Howl, it wasn't as if she knew him or anything. There wasn't any real lose except for, for her pack. Bailey realized she was just trying to dull her failure. 

It seemed during her mental ramblings she reached the doors of the kitchen all too soon. She could smell that there were other wolves behind those doors. She could pick up on the scent of the Black Moon pack clearly. There were at least three presences that she could sense. 

She gulped slightly raising her hand to push the door before quickly recoiling it back towards herself. She didn't understand her own fear. She'd wanted so badly to be done with the games, but now that it'd come time for that she just couldn't bring herself to push that door open. 

She took a deep breath as though to prepare herself for entering the kitchen.  

"Come on, you got this." She chanted to herself. 

And with one last deep breath she pushed the doors of the kitchen open. Standing in front of the doorway was a grinning Dylan. 

As soon as she entered the room there was a loud popping noise before a rainbow of confetti came raining down on her head. She hardly had time to think about how annoying the confetti was nor that she was the winner. 

She was half expecting for someone else to have finished faster than her. It took her two hours plus to even finish. Were the riddles really that hard for the rest of the competitors? 

Bailey stood there wide-eyed and confused. 

"Congratulations Bailey, you're the winner of the mating games!" Dylan cheered. A smirking Lee standing behind him, his arms crossed across his chest, and a pensive Ryder also grinning at her. 

Bailey wasn't sure how to respond to this. Sure she'd won, there should have been some excitement rolling through her blood, but instead all she felt was confusion. Could Howl not attend this the last game? God she didn't want to mate a man who could care less about who he was mating. 

Dylan turned his head to Lee with a shit eating grin on his face, "SO Howl what do you think of your mate?" 

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A/N: Getting a little better with the updating. The next few chapters will be longer. Normally i don't post chapters that don't have a minimum of 4,000 words but I've been lenient with that since those typically take longer to write and I've been slow enough with updating already. Hope to have the next chapter up some time today or tomorrow. I'm aiming for two chapters a week.