"I'll tell you more when we reach the challenge area," Gaius said, winking. "Follow me."
The group trailed Gaius deeper into the island. It was our first time exploring anywhere except the beach right next to the hotel. The sand turned to earth beneath our feet as we entered a small forest. The canopy was sparse enough to see the sky above.
"Our shifter forms!" Muzo exclaimed, bouncing on his heels. "I'm so stoked. I haven't shifted since—well, I do it at home, duh—but never in public."
"We haven’t forgotten," I assured him. "It's instinct."
I cast a curious glance at the rest of the omegas. What kind of shifters were they? I'd been friendly to the others in passing, but didn't make a serious effort to get to know them since they kept their distance from me. I noticed cliques had already started to form, with the big crowd splitting off into smaller ones, but one person was noticeably absent of any sort of friend group. Alaric walked by himself, speaking to nobody. I found that odd since he was so willing to insert himself into other people's business. I supposed everybody else found it as annoying as I did.
Gaius finally stopped beside a wide, rushing river. In the center was a small, grassy island. I paused when I saw Crimson standing there. Even from the side of the river, there was no mistaking that fancy suit and black-and-red hair.
I huffed at the sight of him. What made him so important?
Gaius raised his voice to be heard over the rushing water. "All right, omegas! Here we are at our first challenge. Your task is to cross this river and reach Crimson in the center. As a dragon, Crimson needs a mate who can keep up with him, through brains or brawn or something else entirely. There's no wrong way to win the challenges. Creativity is key!"
"Woohoo!" Muzo's voice overpowered his. "Finally, we're on a private island and we get to swim!"
Poppy fussed beside me. "We have to cross the river? The water looks fast..."
As a wolf, Poppy should've been a decent natural swimmer. But he was anxious about everything, including this. I put my hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"I'll be right next to you. Don't worry," I said.
Poppy frowned. "But you should be trying to win. I'll slow you down if I can't keep up."
"I don't care about that."
That wasn't the whole truth. In the very back of my mind, I did care, for some strange reason. Maybe I was more competitive than I thought. But it was overpowered by my urge to protect my friend.
Gaius looked ready to start the challenge. "Any questions, omegas?"
"I've got one," Alaric announced. He stood at the river's edge, not yet shifted but clearly ready to go. "So the first contestant to reach the island—and Crimson—is the winner?"
"Not quite," Gaius said. "Any contestant who reaches Crimson has achanceto win. I'm sure plenty of you are strong and determined enough to make it across the river. Ultimately, it's his choice who wins."
Alaric looked slightly peeved. "All right. ThenifCrimson chooses us, what do we win?"
Gaius grinned. "A dinner date with the dragon himself."
Alaric's eyes widened, flashing intently. It was obvious he'd do anything to win that date. I'd think he was pathetic if some secret part of me didn't also want to win.
"What happens if we don't make it to the center island?" Poppy asked.
Gaius gave him a warm, sympathetic glance. "Unfortunately, any contestants who don't complete the challenges will be disqualified."
Poppy's shoulders slumped. "Oh."
I hated seeing Poppy like that. Growling softly, I lowered myself to his eye level. "Hey. Don't give up when it hasn't even started yet."
"But the water's so choppy and fast, and I'm not the best swimmer..." Poppy rubbed his arm. "If you and Muzo make it and I don't, they'll send me home. I'll be all alone..."
"Youwillmake it," I assured him. "I won't let you be alone, Poppy."
He took a deep breath. My promise calmed him down a bit.
Alaric snorted. "If you need a pep talk on the very first challenge, you're not cut out to be a dragon's mate."
I held Poppy's gaze so he couldn't look at that asshole and give him the satisfaction of getting attention.
