"We're here at the site of our third—and final—challenge!" he declared.
Final challenge?I thought.
I wasn't the only one who was surprised. Everybody murmured in shock at what was apparently the end of the Games.
My heart flipped. Did Crimson choose to end them early because of me? That was... sweet.
"As you can see, we've gathered here deep in the forest," Gaius said. "This final challenge requires everything you've got. Strength, speed, stamina, and integrity."
I listened intently, but I also looked around for Crimson. He'd been nearby during the previous two challenges, so I assumed he was around for this one, too.
My sharp eyes caught a flicker of movement on top of the sharp boulder. A thrill ran through me when I saw Crimson standing on top of it wearing a deep hunter-green suit that blended into the forest behind him. Only the streak of red in his hair gave him away.
He met my gaze and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. I couldn't help but smile back. I still wasn't used to the way my heart fluttered whenever I looked at him.
A curt, impatient voice called out next to me, "What's the challenge?"
I flinched at Alaric's voice. When did he get so close to me? He must've snuck up beside me when I stared at Crimson. I noticed Alaric also staring at him. I felt a brief flicker of jealousy only for it to fade away. I wasn't threatened by Alaric at all. Crimson made it quite obvious he had no interest in him, but that didn't stop the cat shifter from craving it. I almost felt bad for him.
Gaius flashed an award-winning smile. "I'm glad you asked. Your final challenge is to hunt down a loose boar on the island."
My eyes widened in shock.
Poppy let out a small squeak. "A boar? Isn't that dangerous?"
Muzo snorted. "You're a wolf. Why are you scared of a little pig?"
"Boars aren't little," Poppy argued softly. "They're huge and have big tusks."
"Yes, they can be quite dangerous," Matteo interjected. "They're bigger than most of us here, including you, Muzo."
Muzo blinked. "Wait… They're that big?"
I sighed. "You're thinking of a barnyard pig. A wild boar is different."
Matteo glanced at me. "You're the only one here whose shifter animal can rival its size."
I mulled it over. It was true that a tiger could handle a boar better than most of the shifters here. Had Crimson chosen this task because of me?
As I glanced up to meet his gaze again, Alaric shoved past me to confront Gaius.
"That's it," Alaric snapped. "I have something to say to Crimson."
Gaius raised his brows, but was otherwise unruffled. He knew this kind of drama was excellent for TV.
"Certainly." Gaius nodded, then looked up to his friend. "Crimson, why don't you come down here?"
Crimson looked similarly surprised, but he didn't react as he leapt down from the boulder and landed gracefully on the ground. He patted off his suit.
"What seems to be the problem, Alaric?" he asked politely.
"Him," Alaric stated, thrusting out his arm to gesture at me. "This challenge is blatant favoritism. You know all of our shifter species by now. The only one capable of killing a boar is that tiger."
Nobody else would've noticed it, but I saw the barely perceptible flash of irritation on Crimson's face. He was annoyed that Alaric spoke of me that way. But his expression quickly returned to a calm, cordial one.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Crimson began. "But I never said anything aboutkillingthe boar. Only hunting it down. All of you are capable of that, right?"
Alaric's eye twitched. Despite his anger, he knew he was being filmed. This wasn't like our incident this morning when Alaric ripped into me while the cameras were absent. He knew he couldn't argue too much with Crimson without looking bad.
