I felt dazed, like Alaric had thrown a bowling ball at my head.
Me? Aurum’s fated mate? It sounded like a cosmic joke. He was everything I wasn’t—thin, attractive, charismatic, confident. I was his polar opposite. How could he settle for somebody like me?
But at the same time, fire burned in my chest when I thought about him. The idea of him going home with someone else infuriated me, and I didn’t get mad easily.
I wanted Aurum. I wanted him more than the last copy of that video game. I wanted him more than anything I’d ever wanted in my whole life.
And maybe... he wanted me, too.
Hope sparked inside me. The fire in my heart blazed into a raging inferno.
I leapt to my paws. “Let’s go win this scavenger hunt.”
Alaric groaned. “Finally.”
“Yay!” Poppy said, his tail wagging.
I put a lid on the thoughts bouncing around in my head. I had to focus.
I stood up on my hind legs, closed my eyes, and sniffed the air. Somewhere in this forest were two articles of clothing. One belonged to Saffron—the other to Aurum. I had to find and correctly identify them both.
That part was simple. The problem was that my legs were short. I couldn’t cover as much ground as bigger animals. Would I make it before someone else won? Once the clothes were found, there was a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly. I didn’t like those odds.
But I wasn’t alone. In a move that still boggled my mind, Poppy and Alaric offered to help. I made a mental note to repay their kindness sometime.
“I’m pretty sure I smelled something over there,” I said, pointing to a nearby thicket. “Can you guys smell it, too?”
Poppy’s nose twitched, and Alaric’s jaws parted as he breathed in the air. The latter coughed. “Yes, that’s certainly the rank odor of an alpha... and not in a good way.”
“Huh? But it smells good,” I said.
Alaric sneezed, then wiped his paw over his nose. “Toyou.”
“There’s no time to waste,” Poppy urged. “Mylo, you lead us.”
“Okay.”
I followed my nose—and the fiery sensation in my chest—towards the source of the scent. The forest was loud with the sounds of animals crashing through the bushes and undergrowth. Poppy reminded me that time was of the essence. I couldn’t lose this challenge to another omega who worked faster.
My heart raced as I tracked Aurum’s scent. It was a beacon calling out to me. I flew over the forest floor and leapt over a rocky ridge. My nostrils flared as the scent got stronger and closer—I could almost taste it.
Then it suddenly disappeared.
“Huh?”
I dug my paws into the soil. I’d gone too far. But how? It was right there just until a moment ago.
Poppy and Alaric looked confused, too. They raised their heads, scenting the air in confusion.
“Where’d it go?” Poppy asked.
Alaric clicked his tongue. “Dammit. Of course there’s some kind of shenanigans. The challenges can never just be straightforward.”
My chest squeezed painfully. I fell to all fours, breathing hard. Was I too late? Had the scent disappeared because someone else already found the article and took it?
My whiskers twitched.
Wait...
