How many new faces had I seen today? Definitely more than all the people I’d known in my entire life. I’d already forgotten most of their names, but a few stood out. The omegas from season one, I remembered hearing about from Crimson and Taylor. Alaric, that haughty cat; Poppy, the meek wolf; Muzo, the whimsical jackal...
Among the new faces, there was Talon, the snappily dressed sea eagle. Admittedly, his name intrigued me more than his personality. Was it just a coincidence that it was half of TalonStorm? He had brown eyes, too, like Aquila.
But Talon’s eyes... they weren’t right. The shape and color were correct, but something was missing, asparkthat only Aquila ignited in me.
I sighed, rolling over on the recliner. My hand dangled in the sand. I drew little circles in it as my mind wandered... and landed on Matteo.
My hand froze. I’d drawn the shape of a golden eagle.
I sat up as my heart snagged, throwing in a few extra beats. Could I not eventhinkabout him without my chest getting all fluttery?
I turned towards the hotel. It was late enough that most contestants should’ve been asleep, especially considering the long day they’d had. But a good chunk of the rooms were still brightly lit. I guessed they were partying to make the most of their vacation. That’s all this was to them. An all-expenses paid vacation. And honestly, I didn’t even care. Let them party. I felt nothing towards most of those omegas except a mild annoyance that they were here, but that was my fault.
But there wassomebodyin the hotel who called to me. The urge simmered, then overflowed into a boil. It was impossible to ignore.
I stood up and took a slow step towards the building.
It wasn’t the party crowd I wanted to see.
It was Matteo.
But how was I supposed to find him? I couldn’t go in and ask the front desk, since I technically wasn’t supposed to talk to the contestants after filming hours, and the thought of asking the partygoers made me shudder. Knocking on every door and waking everyone else up until I found him obviously wasn’t an option, either.
I pulled out my robust flip phone. The twins made fun of me for being stuck in the past—ten years ago to be precise—but I didn’t give a crap about their opinions.
A weary, familiar voice answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Taylor,” I said. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
He yawned with his tiger’s growl slipped into it. “No, I’m making sure Ruby doesn’t yank Crimson’s suits off their hangers. My mate would have a conniption fit.”
I snorted, wishing I was there to see it.
“What’s up?” Taylor asked. In the background, I heard Ruby’s babbling and the rustling of coat hangers.
I shuffled on my feet. “Do you remember what Matteo’s room number is?”
When Taylor spoke, I heard him grinning. “In the hotel? Sure, it’s 328. Why?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. Nothing got past him. But Taylor’s knowledge that I liked Matteo was a small price to pay for his room number.
“Thanks, gotta go, bye,” I mumbled hurriedly, then hung up.
Third floor. My gaze flew to the third floor on the outside of the building. All the rooms were brightly lit, their windows open and rowdy voices streaming out... except one. That must’ve been Matteo’s room.
Magic flowed through me as I shifted. I slipped into my dragon form for a few moments to fly to his balcony, then promptly changed back to remain hidden. Nobody made a fuss. They must’ve been too busy partying to notice a giant purple dragon outside their windows.
Matteo’s room was dark. His sliding door was slightly ajar to let in the night breeze. I felt bad for him. How could he sleep with this surrounding racket?
I quietly opened the door just enough to slip through. As I took my first step into Matteo’s room, I paused.
Was this creepy? Yes.
Did I care? No.
Was that a bad sign? Maybe.
I didn’t want todoanything weird to Matteo. I just wanted to look at him a little.
