My chest tightened as I scanned the group. It was easy to spot my target. There were only two white-haired omegas in the group, and one of them made my heart sing. Why did it feel so good just to see him?
As Gaius launched into his host spiel, I stood off to the side like a trophy to be won. Honestly, I didn’t enjoy the spotlight. I never liked being the center of attention. Growing up, I preferred to sequester myself in my library for hours on end, content with my books and my solitude.
Now I stood in the blasting rays of the midday sun, being stared at by dozens of strangers competing for the chance to win my affections. I felt more like a cheap carnival prize than a confident bachelor.
As my inner walls went up and my apathetic gaze travelled over the rest of the omegas, I locked onto the safe feeling of comfort that I sought—a mismatched pair of blue and green eyes.
Relief washed over me. Alaric’s gaze felt like home.
My throat tightened with emotion. Where did that come from? I blamed the flowery romance novels in my library.
“—and you guessed it, contestants. Your first challenge is all about reading!” Gaius called.
I tuned back into his speech in time to hear the crowd murmuring in confusion. I couldn’t help but smile. This was a reality TV dating show. They must’ve expected action, romance, adventure, drama... and now the host had asked them to read a book. At least my brothers had a sense of humor.
I scanned the contestants’ faces. Their expressions ranged from nervous to exasperated to flat-out annoyed. I couldn’t blame them. They came here for a chance to find a mate, not to write a book report.
Yet Alaric wore a different expression. He, too, looked irritated, but not for the same reason everybody else did. He met my gaze fiercely, drumming his fingers on the bench. His eyes burned with impatient determination, as if wondering why he had to slog through this challenge like everyone else.
A flicker of excitement coursed through me. Did Alaric know I wanted him to win?
Peeking at the identical hardcovers in front of the contestants, I suddenly realized I didn’t recognize the book. It was one I’d never seen before, which was shocking considering my almost encyclopedic knowledge of books. But there wasn’t even a title or author listed on the front cover.
My stomach flipped. If I didn’t know the contents of the book, how would I know if Alaric could win the challenge?
Gaius’s loud announcer voice cut into my thoughts. “You’ll have one hour to read as much of the book as you can, then summarize the themes. Whoever does so in the most succinct manner wins!”
The hardcover book was as dense as a brick. There was no possible way anybody—not even me—could read the entire thing in an hour. Apparently, the contestants shared my doubts. They began to complain, no longer bothering to be quiet.
I winced inwardly as the contestants frowned in my direction. Did they thinkIwas involved with this?
Please know I had nothing to do with this ridiculous affair,I thought miserably.
As Gaius began the timer, the beach fell into awkward silence, broken only by frustrated sighs and the aggressive turning of pages. I wanted to shrink away from embarrassment—and to rebuke whoever was responsible.
“Who’s foolish idea was this?” I whispered to Gaius, who stood beside me with a beaming grin.
“No idea, boss,” he chirped.
I turned my head like an owl to glare at Crimson, Thystle, Cobalt and Aurum. Silently seething, I stalked over to them, putting distance between myself and the contestants so they wouldn’t hear me chewing out my brothers.
“What is the meaning of this?” I hissed.
Thystle looked confused at my displeasure. “It’s a reading challenge. We thought you’d like it.”
“You’re all about reading books. It literally pertains to your greatest interest,” Crimson chimed in.
I was so frustrated I could’ve breathed fire on his well-coiffed hair. Instead I took a deep breath and pushed up my glasses. “First of all, do you think a live book report makes good television? Don’t answer that. Of course it doesn’t. Second, how do you think this challenge makes the contestants feel about me?”
“Uhh,” Aurum said.
I didn’t wait for an answer because there wouldn’t be a good one. “They’re resentful of this arduous busy-work, and thereforeresentful ofme. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them dropped out after this challenge.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Thystle asked. “Then you know the people who are left are really interested in you.”
I didn’t bring up the fact that I wasn’t interested in 99% of them. “What does reading and commenting on a dense, boring book have to do with me? Do you think that’s all I enjoy doing?” I grumbled.
“Hey, how do you know it’s boring?” Aurum asked, as if genuinely offended.
