“Where’s Muzo?” I asked.
I heard a familiar grunt of effort before a pair of pointy ears popped up from between Poppy’s paws. Poppy unfurled his body to reveal a very dirty but living Muzo.
He shook out his pelt. “Okay, if there’s one thing I hate getting in my nose more than sand, it’s dirt. Blech.”
“Muzo,” I said, my voice breaking with heart-wrenching relief.
My mate grinned like he’d just had an amazing adventure instead of a near-death experience. “Hey, Cobalt!”
I reached my paw carefully through the tunnel to pick them up. Poppy happily climbed aboard, but Muzo stayed inside the red circle.
“Wait, wait. Check this out,” he said, pawing at it. “Red moss! Isn’t this what we were looking for?”
I did a double take. I’d been so worried about my mate I hadn’t even recognized the moss, but Muzo was correct. The substance beneath them was the rare red moss needed for the river snails.
I was still so shaken with relief I could barely speak. “How did you...?”
Muzo was all too eager to explain. “So, when the cave-in happened, Poppy grabbed me by the scruff and used his body like a shield.”
Poppy looked embarrassed. “You just told me you were pregnant. I had to protect you.”
I felt an immense rush of gratitude towards Poppy. I was lucky my mate had such incredible friends.
“But the blast from the cave-in sent us flying down this tunnel,” Muzo went on. “That’s when we landed on this bed of moss. Pretty nifty, huh? It’s like destiny or something.”
I let out a relieved laugh.
It was destiny, all right.
* * *
“What doyou mean you want to split the prize?” Muzo blurted.
He and Poppy were dressed in fresh clothes after being rescued from the caved-in tunnel. My dragon transformation had ripped my clothes into shreds, so I got a new outfit, too. Good thing I hadn’t worn Crimson’s custom-made suit today. His heart couldn’t handle any more clothing-related disasters.
The challenge was over. Everyone had gathered at the starting point to hear Gaius and I announce the winner of the coveted prize. I did my best not to glare at the trio of troublemakers who’d harassed my mate and his friend in the cavern. They hung their heads, their faces drawn with guilt. They looked like they were about to get the verbal smack-down of their lives.
Although they’d technically both landed on the moss at the same time, Muzo wasn’t participating, so Poppy was the true winner. That entitled him to the million-dollar prize.
Except...
“I don’t want it,” Poppy said firmly. “Not the whole thing.”
Muzo gaped at him like he had two heads. “Pops, it’s a million bucks! You’d be set for life.”
“I’m splitting it,” Poppy insisted. “It’s too much money for me. I’d feel better if it was distributed evenly.”
The other contestants stared at him in astonished awe. Not counting Muzo, there were fourteen remaining omegas—including the bullies. A million dollars split evenly among each contestant was still a handsome sum of money, and a nice consolation prize for competing in the Games.
“If that’s what you want, Poppy, we’ll make it happen,” I promised. Then I tapped the notebook in my pocket and murmured, “Just remember what I said earlier.”
But Poppy met my gaze evenly. “I want it split amongeveryone.”
I sighed. My inner dragon didn’t understand how this soft-hearted wolf could be so compassionate even to people who wronged him. But it was Poppy’s decision, and I’d honor it, even if I didn’t agree with it.
“All right,” I said.
Muzo heaved a sigh. “Man, you are way too nice for your own good, Pops.”
