Chapter 2
Poppy
After I read Jade’s text, I couldn’t sleep. My heart pitter-pattered all night, my chest a slurry of anxiety and anticipation.
The dragon brothers never messaged me. It was always their secretary Winnie who called in her chipper voice and invited me to return for yet another season.
So why had Jade contacted me this time?
I paced my kitchen. The time on the stove told me it was late now, past midnight, but I couldn’t put my mind to rest. My body buzzed with restless energy. Not even my earlier outdoor stroll was enough to tire me.
What if Jade wanted to talk to let me down gently? What if they didn’t want me to return for another season?
My heart lurched with dread. It was so bad I had to sit down. I slumped into the closest chair and pressed my palm to my thumping chest.
Breathe...
Breathing exercises helped sometimes.
Not this time.
The apartment felt claustrophobic again. Caged in on all sides by the human city, far from both the endless tundra and the sprawling tropical sea. The only time I felt able to breathe was when I was on the dragons’ island.
But if they didn’t want me back, then...
A puppy-like whimper escaped me. I didn’t want to think about that, but I also couldn’t stop.
I wished I could talk to somebody. My heart yearned for my old omega friends, Taylor and Muzo. But it was inappropriate to call them in the middle of the night. They had young children. They needed all the rest they could get. Besides, I didn’t want to bother them, or their mates.
The other omegas, too, had the same problem. Matteo, Mylo... Heck, even Alaric.
And now, too, my oldest friend, Rorik.
But as I thought about my comrade, I remembered the conversation we’d shared before I left the island.
Rorik had said Jade and the others would do everything in their power to ‘make it happen’.
To make their final single brother take his place as the bachelor.
I’d told him: I’ll be there if he is.
Rorik changed the topic after that, which now filled me with doubt.
I rubbed my arm as a fresh surge of anxiety coursed through me like ice water. Was I overthinking it? Did Rorik veer the conversation away from the Games as a courtesy? Or was there a different reason?
Did Viol not want to do it?
They couldn’t control him, or force him to participate. Nobody could. He was proud, wild, and free.
Yet in the back of my foolish mind, I’d thought... maybe... he’d feel differently if I was there.
But I’d been there the whole time. Six whole seasons. Six different dragons finding their mates. Six different times I’d waited patiently in the background, hoping in vain to catch his attention, or even a glimpse of him...
Gosh, I was pathetic.
I heaved a sigh, slumping deeper against the seat.
Fatigue weighed down my body, despite my racing mind.
My physical and emotional sides seemed disconnected like that.
I often felt like a bird flapping my wings as hard as I could, struggling against a weight that dragged me back to earth, never allowing me to reach the sky.
Dragons didn’t have that problem. They were free. They could go anywhere, do anything. Ever since I was young, I always admired their strength of will. That was something I never had. Never would have.
A chill ran down my arms. I hugged myself, but it paled in comparison to being held by a friend.
Or by...
I chased that thought away and clenched my eyes shut, rocking slowly back and forth in the plastic seat. I was good at self-soothing. I had plenty of practice.
As if trying to escape the dark aura of my thoughts, I stood abruptly and strode to my bedroom. The light was off. I kept it that way as I crossed the space toward my bed. But I didn’t climb in.
I turned to face the opposite corner of the room. A crumpled blanket lay on the floor. On top of it was an array of old and abandoned stuffed toys I’d collected over the years. It was their own little space. Their home.
Shedding my human skin, I slipped into my wolf form and padded into the cozy corner. The plush toys welcomed me with open arms. I felt like they were watching over me as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
After a string of disjointed and troublesome dreams, I woke up with the weariness of someone who fell asleep mired in anxiety.
The sunlight streamed in through my window, alongside the bustling city noise. I remembered where I was, and what happened last night.
With a burst of panicked energy, I ran to the kitchen and pawed the phone off the table before shifting to pick it up with shaky human hands.
The message was still there. I hadn’t imagined it.
I had to return Jade’s message.
A lump formed in my throat. I was never very good at talking on the phone.
Suddenly, I found myself in anxiety’s vise grip. I wanted to call Jade, but my doubts and fears sank their claws into me.
But if I didn’t message him back, he might think I wasn’t interested. He might forget about me and move on.
That fear was worse than the others, so I picked up the phone and met my anxiety halfway.
I texted him back: Good morning. I’m here.
Heart racing, I put the phone down like it was a bomb.
Seconds later, it rang.
I yelped, nearly leaping out of my skin. For some reason, I was afraid to pick up. What if he said something I didn’t want to hear?
I bit my lip hard, then picked up the loud, buzzing device. At least accepting the call would stop the noise.
My throat felt dry. “H-hello?”
“Good morning, Poppy.” Jade’s familiar voice put a small dent in my flailing nerves. “How are you?”
Whenever people spoke to me with such niceties, I never knew how to respond. It always felt fake, even though I knew I meant it.
“Um, I’m fine,” I said, forcing a smile so I’d sound like I was smiling. “How about you?”
“Fine, thank you,” he replied. His rhythm was friendly yet curt, ready to cut to the chase, which spiked my anxiety again. “I’m sorry to bother you. Are you busy?”
“You’re not a bother,” I said, shaking my head even though he couldn’t see it. “And, um, no, I’m not busy.”
With every silent millisecond that passed, my chest grew stickier with anticipation. Time seemed dilated because I was so nervous.
I heard a metallic creak that must’ve been Jade sinking into his office chair. “I’ll be frank with you, Poppy. We’re aware of some connection between you and Viol.”
My stomach lurched.
A connection? How did they know? I tried my best to keep it a secret. I’d never brought it up on camera. I never acted like I knew him. This whole time, I’d been scared that if they knew, they’d ban me from participating, as if I had some kind of competitive edge...
“Are you going to disqualify me?” I asked, terrified.
There was a pause before Jade chuckled. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”
I sighed, both relieved and a little embarrassed. I didn’t know why I thought a lot of things. My mind often jumped to the worst possible conclusion just to scare me.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m a bit nervous.”
“It’s all right. You can relax.” Jade’s calm voice resonated over the line, lifting a layer off my dread. “To tell you the truth, we want you here to help Viol.”
My stomach lurched again, this time in the opposite direction. I felt so dizzy, I had to sit on the floor. The cold kitchen tile felt jarring against my suddenly flushed body.
“Help?” I asked weakly. I didn’t understand what he meant.
“Yes. He’s been surly lately, more than usual. He exploded on us when we suggested he take up the mantle of bachelor for the next season of the Games.”
I imagined the scene in my mind and stifled a tiny smile. Surely it wasn’t pretty.
But Jade’s comment rerouted my anxiety back to its starting point.
“He doesn’t want to do it?” I asked.
“He declared as much in no uncertain terms.”
I wasn’t that surprised. Viol disliked being in front of a crowd. He liked to watch from the shadows, not be in the spotlight.
But if Viol refused to be the bachelor, that eliminated my chance of being on the Dragonfate Games. That meant no returning to the island... and suddenly, I’d lost my chance to be close to him.
I forced myself to speak past the painful lump in my throat. “So, what does this have to do with me?”
The chair creaked again, as if Jade had sat fully upright. “We don’t care about the Games. That’s not important. We only want our brother to be happy.”
Jade was cool as always, but I heard the disguised emotion in his voice. He really did care. That made the swirling pain in my chest hurt more. Sometimes it felt like my feelings were too strong for such a weak body.
I wanted to say, “I want him to be happy, too,” but I couldn’t get the words out past the thickness in my throat.
“If anyone can bring Viol out of his spiked shell, we think it’s you, Poppy,” Jade continued.
The floor swayed. I pressed my back into the cupboard behind me, desperate to stay grounded. This was a lot to take in.
“Why me?” I asked.
“Oh, just a hunch.”
I frowned. Had I made it obvious that I knew Viol? I’d tried my best not to show it. Rorik didn’t know the full story, so he couldn’t have told Jade and the others about it.
Unless... Viol was the one who let it slip?
I almost laughed. That was ridiculous. He’d ignored my existence whenever I was on the island. He couldn’t have been the one to imply anything.
Jade asked, “So, will you come to Chromatimaeus Island?”
“You said Viol wouldn’t do the Games,” I said, confused.
“If that’s the only condition, then there doesn’t need to be a Games.”
I blinked, even more confused. “Huh?”
“Viol refused to participate in the Games. He didn’t refuse visitors to the island.”
“What about the TV show?”
I heard the smirk in Jade’s voice. “That was to broadcast our existence and find us mates. Seeing as six out of seven found them, I’d say the Dragonfate Games were highly successful.”
I tried to wrap my mind around everything. Viol refused to be the bachelor, so Jade said he’d remove the TV show element. And now, he’d called to invite me to the island personally. He was going through a lot of effort to meet Viol halfway.
“But there’s always a big group of contestants. What about the other omegas?” I asked.
Jade snapped his fingers. “Gone. It can just be you.”
My heart thumped in an uneven rhythm.
Just me. And Viol. No TV show, no crowd of omegas vying for his attention, no spotlight, no theatrics...
Only the two of us.
But what if I accepted Jade’s invitation, and Viol still wouldn’t look me in the eye?
I didn’t know if I could handle that.
Anxiety prickled my skin. I clutched the collar of my t-shirt, desperate for any kind of comfort. Part of me wished to cuddle my pile of plushies, but I felt too shy to do it while on the phone.
“Poppy?” Jade prompted. “Are you still there?”
My chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.
“I... I don’t know,” I murmured. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course. Take all the time you need.”
I couldn’t tell if Jade sounded disappointed or not. It could’ve been my imagination playing nasty tricks on me.
After a moment, Jade asked, “Would it help if I said your friends all miss you?”
My breath caught in my throat, and tears sprung to my eyes.
“They do?” I asked quietly.
“I’m sure they’d love to spend time with you, even if you never speak to Viol.”
I rubbed my arm. Getting away from the human city might be good for me.
Besides, I did miss my friends, and the gentle calm of the island.
I always missed it when I returned to my apartment, and its pull only got stronger with each season I came home empty-handed.
The sounds of exotic birdsong and wind-rustled trees were nicer than honking cars and people shouting in the street.
I was going to see my friends. And if Viol happened to glance in my direction, that would only be a bonus.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it.”
“Wonderful! I’ll book your flight immediately. Can you be at the airport by tonight?”
Jade sounded genuinely thrilled. That made me feel better about my decision. Maybe this was a good idea after all.
“I’ll be there,” I promised.