Chapter 78

Kira

The glass holding my milkshake falls to the floor in an explosion of broken glass.

“You’re what?”

Ethan repeats himself. “I’m competing for Beta.”

“Are you insane?”

“Last time I checked, no.” He scratches his short beard. “But it has been awhile since I’ve had my head examined.”

“Oh stop it!” I hiss, trying to keep my voice down. “But you just found out Gowan wasn’t coming back! How the hell did you tell Eli that you were going for it?” I give him another look, and it registers. “Wait. You expected him to turn Justin down, didn’t you?”

He shrugged, glancing over his shoulder. We were in here alone now, Dina and the other kitchen staff on break between the lunch rush and dinner preparation. “I didn’t expect him to turn Justin down. Nor would I want that, thank you very much. He’s my mate and I never want to see him hurt.”

“But you knew somehow, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have said something to Eli if you were certain. What gives?”

He shrugs again. “I just had a feeling.”

“And I jus