Ready For Midnight

"You are done with the tour," one of the random guys in the house insisted. "Until you are officially part of anything, you can't come in." He was antagonizing them.Greyson wasn't actually upset about it. It was almost time. Most of the lights were out. They had less than fifteen minutes from being in there. It would be better though, to get in their places. There was no telling what any of them might be up to, now that the rules were changing.

Mattie stepped forward. "Are you a darling, dear, or bastard?"

"A dear," he insisted.

"Okay, I trust that. If you let us all in now instead of making us wait until the stroke of midnight? You'll be the first guy I date."

Well, that was one way to get in. The guy didn't just move out of the way, he led them in and showed them where their rooms were. Guards stayed near the women they were guarding, and the women themselves were grouped together all on the first floor.

"This is your room," he insisted to Mattie. "Zoan will come soon with the key, Sweetheart."

"Thanks. So we gotta wait for keys anyway?" Mattie asked.

"Oh yes. You don't want the wrong person sneaking into your room," he warned her. "No, no, no. The women's rooms are one of the few places in Home Sweet Never Home that don't have cameras. They are everywhere. No one can get away with anything."

Anything that didn't seem to matter to them. Anywhere else, Greyson was pretty sure people wouldn't lock up a kid. Hell, even when he and Billy were cops, he doubted if they saw a child wolf of any kind they'd have the nerve to do that. Tied up like a pet. Devin had some good nerves to handle all of it.

Not that he got a choice. As for Greyson, he'd probably focus on watching Jill like he was supposed to, and beating anyone up messing with him. Anything that helped the ratings go higher. "Six months of this is about to begin."

"Six months?" The guy leading them around was confused. "What do you mean, Sir?"

"The show lasts six months," Greyson said. "150 days. Right?"

"Oh?" The man just chuckled. "Oh no, we have season breaks as well as specials. You'll have chances to get away throughout the year. Mid-season break is the longest."

Year? "It's a whole damn year?"

"Yes. Probably more, dens take time to find the right one for the female." This Mister Slick just smiled at Mattie. "Let alone a date right off the top. Anywhere special you would like to go? We can leave anywhere on a date."

"Leave anywhere on a date." Well, that was a way to sneak in news about what was happening between everyone. "Can guards date?"

"Of course guards can date," the man continued. "In fact, you probably have a much better chance to end up with a lovely lady as a guard." He was very near to Mattie. "I have a personal jet, just for us. Champagne and romantic music into the night as we eat out wherever your heart desires."

"Wow, private jet is impressive," Mattie said, "but I don't think I want to go that far on a first date."

"You can go as far as you want on a first-"

Grey watched Zoan come around the corner, grab the guy and tossed him further down the hall.

"Hell no, Bastard!" Zoan warned him. "There's no way you are hooking up with anyone under my watch."

Bastard? Well, looks like they were allowed to lie on camera.

"She promised a date!" The bastard yelled back.

"It's not midnight yet," Zoan told him. "Yet." He waited a few more seconds. "Now it's midnight, and you made a deal before the contracts started. Leave."

The man cursed something awful and ran as Zoan threw something else at him.

He glared at Mattie. "Do not be stupid. This isn't a paradise. There's no rules that they can't lie about who they are, you have to remember who they are. That's why you have these." He brought out several nametags. "There are more in your room. Now, giving him a name that reminds you of who he is, is a smart way to proceed tonight."

"I'll fetch him," Devin insisted.

"No, I will, if she wants to label him." He gave her a nametag. "Only you, the other women, and the guards are able to stick names on them. They have to wear it at all times around the house. If they get caught without one once assigned, they are automatically out."

"Don't like that guy. Didn't get a good vibe from him," Mattie said. "I'll just call him Liar. How come no one else has nametags?"

"They weren't official to give out until the contract started."

"Can we name our guards?" Lily asked as Zoan gave her one. "Can we change names later too?"

"Yes, everyone can be named," Zoan said as he gave some to Jill too. "There are more than enough in each of your room. Yes, you can change names any time."

Lily filled one out and gave it to Billy. "Clasp that on, Mister Guard."

"Mister Guard?" Billy looked at it. "Mister Guard. Why'd you name me that?"

"You get insensitive and mean to me again, and I'll change it to Eggface," she told him. "Be nicer, and I'll name you something nicer."

Billy stuck the nametag on.

"Okay, Mister Guard, your room is right over here," Zoan said as he gestured to the room beside him.

"Do you have to call me by the stupid nametag?" Billy asked.

"Yes. It's the rules," Zoan said. "I suggest you stay on good terms with the woman you are guarding. If something happens to her while you are on duty over her, you'll be killed."

What? "Really?" Grey asked.

"Yeah, there is no simple getting kicked out for a guard. They have the best spot to be near a woman. All the time." He unlocked the room. "You are with each other. There are no rooms in your room. The guard is the most respected place, because if you mess up, you're dead. If the woman comes out of the room and claims you hit her, you are dead. If you argue and she doesn't want you as a guard anymore, you are dead. If at anytime she says anything against you and wants you replaced, you are dead. No proof is needed."

"Crap," Billy muttered as he looked in the room. "I guess we better learn to get alone Miss Sunny Side Up."

Greyson just shook his head. Billy needed to be more careful, or he would end up in a worse situation. Luckily Lily just groaned and went inside.