20. Mylo

Twenty

The sandbeneath my feet felt softer than usual. The morning sun felt warmer on my face, too. I closed my eyes, basking in it, feeling its radiance match my own inner joy.

"Someone's happy," a smug yet friendly voice said.

I opened my eyes. Alaric and Poppy found me among the waiting contestants. The third challenge was set to begin soon, and by a miracle, Aurum and I had woken up on time. He was in no hurry to piss off Jade and be forced to roleplay as a horse again.

"Hey, guys," I said with a smile. There were fewer omegas present now than at the start of the Games—because they'd either been kicked off or given up to hang out in their hotel room—so I was glad my friends were still here.

Poppy's nose twitched as he sniffed. Even in human form, he had a keen sense of smell. As if realizing something, he smiled slightly, but didn't comment.

Alaric sniffed, too. Unlike Poppy, he was bold enough to speak his thoughts. "You smell like alpha," he remarked. "Am I correct to assume you've accepted the truth?"

I nodded. "You were right, Alaric."

He sighed wistfully. "Music to my ears."

Poppy's eyes widened with excitement. "Does that mean you're...?"

"I'm what?" I asked.

Alaric let out an exasperated sigh. "Spit it out, wolf. You two are both too shy to have a straightforward conversation."

Poppy gathered his courage. "Um... pregnant?" he finished, looking hopeful.

I blushed as memories of the other night's activities rushed back. "I don't actually know. Not for sure. But we did, um... You know."

"Have sex," Alaric supplied bluntly.

"Y-yeah."

Poppy did a happy little clap with his hands. "That's wonderful! You must be so thrilled."

A smile crossed my face. So much happened since our discussion that I hadn't thought about it, but since Poppy brought it up, I realized I was thrilled. If I was pregnant, then I was carrying our baby inside of me right now...

Alaric let out a good-natured snort. "Getting pregnant while still participating in the Dragonfate Games seems to be a recurring theme. Congratulations."

His tone was genuine, though I sensed a prickle of envy. I remembered his breakdown earlier about how badly he wanted to find his fated alpha mate. Now that I'd found mine, I understood his desire. It couldn't be easy to want something so desperately and not know when it would happen to you.

"You'll find your mate, Alaric," I said. "I know you will."

He lifted his chin haughtily. "I know I will, too. The waiting is the annoying part."

"At least we're waiting together," Poppy offered sympathetically.

Alaric flashed the wolf shifter a wry smile. "Yes, that is true."

Our attention was summoned as Gaius took the microphone and welcomed us to the third and final challenge. The back of the stage was blacked out by a large curtain, blocking our view of whatever lay behind it. I remembered last night's events, and how Viol promised to speak to Jade about changing the third challenge to be about video games. Was that what was behind the curtain? My heart leapt at the idea. I already knew Aurum was my fated mate, so I'd technically already ‘won' the Games, but the idea of a video game challenge lit a competitive spirit in my blood.

"Good morning, omegas!" Gaius announced. "It's a beautiful sunny day. What better weather to sit on the couch and play video games?"

On the last word, the black curtain drew back, revealing a huge projector screen and a wide loveseat. The projector displayed the main title screen of a popular fighting game, Cruel Combat, ready for players to take the controllers.

My heart skipped faster. It was really happening!

Jade might've intimidated his brothers, but I had to give him credit for setting this up on such short notice. He must've worked overnight to see it happen. He really did care about his family, including his alpha siblings and their omega partners.

My heart leapt again as two familiar golden figures waltzed onto the stage. Saffron and Aurum stood together, closer than I'd seen them during the other challenges. I was so relieved they'd patched things up.

Gesturing to the twins, Gaius resumed his announcement. "In your final challenge, you'll enter a virtual fighting tournament. The player who rises to the top will earn the right to challenge the bachelors in a final duel! If they're impressed by your strength, then we might have our winner of the Dragonfate Games!"

Alaric snorted under his breath. "Like he doesn't already know there's a winner." He turned to me. "I assume this preposterous challenge has something to do with you?"

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "Yeah. I'm a big gamer."

Alaric sighed. "Of course you are. The last video game I ever played was Solitaire."

"Did you win?" I asked, curious.

The unamused death glare Alaric shot me said enough.

"I'm no good at games, either," Poppy fussed. "Can I forfeit and let you win, Mylo?"

I smiled at his sweet offer. "Sure, Poppy. Most fighting games have a forfeit option."

He looked relieved. "Thank goodness. I don't like fighting..."

"I don't, either. Not in real life, anyway. Games are just make-believe," I explained gently.

Poppy's eyes turned big and puppy-like. "But the characters still get hurt."

Alaric groaned. "You're ridiculous, wolf."

"No, it's okay, I understand," I told Poppy. "There are other story-based games where I sympathize with the characters and their pain. It's like I'm really there with them." I clutched my chest, thinking about DreamHunt 14. "But fighting games are like... say, wrestling. The characters are playing a role. They're not really hurting each other."

Poppy nodded, less worried now. "Oh, I see. That's fun, then. Thank you, Mylo. I think I'll still forfeit, though."

I was glad to put him at ease. "No problem."

As we lined up to start the tournament, my heart pounded. I recalled how terribly anxious I was during the first challenge, but that felt like a distant memory now. I wasn't nervous anymore. This was what I was good at, and I knew regardless of the outcome, Aurum would be waiting to hug me in his arms.

Still, I wanted to show off my abilities to the world. I didn't spend hundreds of hours clacking joysticks for nothing. Hope filled me when I realized my parents would see this when the Dragonfate Games aired, and they'd finally understand that all those hours of gaming in my room honed an impressive skill after all.

A sudden tingle jolted across my skin. I glanced up to see Aurum watching me on stage, his eyes narrowed with warm pride. He nodded encouragingly. I smiled and nodded back. I wouldn't let him down.

The tournament began. The huge projector flared to life, booming with pumped-up music as Aurum navigated to the character selection screen. After that, he stepped back, letting the contestants take the stage. The first two in line took their seats and controllers. Whoever won the round progressed, while the loser was disqualified. I wondered how much effort the other omegas would put into this challenge. Were there other gamers here like me?

As the first round began, it quickly became obvious the two players had no clue what they were doing. They fumbled the controls, moved randomly, and could barely execute a combo. I winced. It was painful to watch.

Alaric noticed my pained expression. "You could do better?"

"Well... not to brag, but yeah," I replied.

The round ended quickly. Thank gods. I didn't know how much more of that I could take. The winner succeeded through sheer luck, which didn't continue to the next battle. He lost, though the winner wasn't any more skilled. This repeated for a while until it was Poppy's turn.

"Yay! I can't wait to forfeit," Poppy said. "How do I do that again?"

I imagined the controller layout. "Press the button in the middle, then scroll down and select forfeit."

"Thanks, Mylo!"

Poppy eagerly climbed on stage. He took my advice. The instant the battle started, he opened the menu and gave up. He flashed me a relieved grin as he left the stage.

Alaric huffed in amusement as he sidestepped out of line, not even bothering to get on stage. "He's special, all right. I've never seen a wolf with such little fight in him."

"You're not going to try?" I asked.

Alaric scoffed. "Gods, no. I won't embarrass myself. Go ahead and win the whole thing."

A burst of pride bubbled up within me. I was good at something that Poppy or Alaric weren't—and apparently, that none of the other contestants were good at, either. My heart raced as I took the stage. The other omega on the couch looked smugly up at me. He'd beaten the last three players, but not skilfully. He'd obviously button-mashed his way to victory. Given the inexperienced player pool, it wasn't difficult.

I sat on the couch calmly and took the controller. Muscle memory took over as my fingers fell into place. I spread my legs to get comfortable, crouched forward with my elbows on my knees, and focused on the screen.

I was ready.

"Good luck," my opponent sneered.

I smiled to myself, saying nothing.

"FIGHT!" the screen announced.

Years of playing video games led me to this moment. I smashed the joystick to the right, avoiding my opponent's initial predictable attack, then launched my character up to start an air combo. I spiraled into my opponent with a flurry of kicks and punches that drained his health bar.

The omega beside me cursed and sat straighter. He smashed the buttons furiously, but his button-mashing luck hit its limit. He didn't know how to fight back against my onslaught. I juked a few stray swipes of his sword, then counterattacked. It was all over in the next combo. My character stood victorious while my opponent lay KO'd on the ground.

"Yay, Mylo!" Poppy called from the audience.

I gave the other contestant a polite nod. "Good game."

He scowled. "You got lucky! Fight me again. One more round."

"Nah," Aurum said as he strode toward the loveseat. "That ain't happening. Mylo beat you, fair and square." He flashed a toothy warning grin. "If you've got complaints, tell ‘em straight to me."

The omega balked. "N-no, thanks."

He scurried off stage without making trouble. When he was gone, Aurum smiled and plopped down next to me. His golden eyes flashed, fiery with competition, but also warm with love. He sat so close that our legs brushed, sending a tingle along my skin.

"Ready?" he asked.

I clutched the controller harder. "Ready."

Aurum picked his character, took a steady breath, and hit ‘start'.

"FIGHT!" the in-game announcer called.

Everything happened lightning-quick. Our characters moved at blistering speeds, the pixels blurring on the screen. For experienced gamers like us, we understood every micro-movement and the meaning behind it, but I doubted anyone in the audience had a clue what was going on. It must've looked like total chaos.

Aurum was a talented fighter. To meet his level, my skills sharpened to a razor point. Every tap of the joystick and slam of the button was deliberate and precise. My character dodged Aurum's attacks by a hair's breadth, and Aurum ducked my counterattacks just the same. Our concentration was too sharp to even speak to each other. The feinting and punching went on until we were both straining with our controllers and sweating bullets.

Then, for a split-second, Aurum slipped.

I seized my chance. My character rushed forward and delivered a brutal sonic punch that sent his opponent flying across the stage. I dashed into a follow-up combo, catching the exact frame that Aurum's character would've recovered in, but I didn't let him. The attack I executed was difficult, almost impossible to pull off. It required hours of practice.

Good thing I'd done exactly that.

The final uppercut knocked out Aurum's character. His health bar plummeted to zero. The in-game announcer called, "GAME!"

We both collapsed back on the couch, panting and exhausted. My fingers were sore from the epic battle. It felt like the joystick texture was imprinted on my skin.

I turned to Aurum with a grin. "Good game."

He stared at me like I was some kind of deity. "I have to tell you something," he whispered, so quiet I barely heard him.

I tilted my head. "What is it?"

"I've never been so fucking hard in my life," he rasped.