MACKENZIE
Mackenzie
The afternoon sun sparkled off the water as our group crossed the upper deck. I barely felt like moving. Justice walked very close to Theo. His hand twitched like he was resisting the urge to touch Theo. Ren and I trailed behind. Even my brain was fuzzy and content.
“Food,” Theo whined. “I was promised food.”
We came to an abrupt stop. A crowd had gathered, blocking our path to the restaurants. Aria stood on a small platform, her violet dress catching the breeze.
“Welcome everyone to Bond Voyage’s first ever All At Sea Scavenger Hunt!” Her voice carried across the deck. The crowd clapped politely.
“Just walk through,” Ren said gruffly. “I’m not scared of her.” Theo and I traded a glance.
“Alright, big scary alpha, you do it then.” I motioned to Ren like I was giving him the floor. And then raised an eyebrow when he didn’t plow forward.
“The sex can’t be that good,” he muttered.
“The rules are simple,” Aria continued. “Teams will receive clues through the cruise app. Simply take a photo of your team with each answer and submit it for points.”
“Oh look, if it isn’t the sausage in the navy dress.” Rose’s voice dripped with false sweetness as she passed by with her besties, her eyes locked on Justice. “Good luck finding anyone desperate enough to be on her team. Losers.”
“That doesn’t even make sense as an insult. She has lost the plot,” Theo said.
“We don’t hit omegas, right?” Ren folded his arms.
“I’m an omega. I’ll hit her.” I took a step to follow in Rose’s wake. Ren snatched me back, laughing.
“Can I borrow your phone, Theo?” Justice, his voice deadly quiet.
“Sure. Why?”
“She can’t take a hint, and if I’m outwardly mean to her, it’s going to end up in the papers. But we need to beat her.”
“Absolutely.” Ren leaned over his shoulder to look at the screen. “Oh, right here. Team name. Type in Angry Flirt.”
“You… you want to do a scavenger hunt?” I asked, a little horrified by the idea.
“We’re defending your honor,” Ren added. “It’s an alpha thing.”
“We literally just had massages,” Theo protested. “I’m too relaxed for competition.”
“Too late.” Justice registered our team. “Our first clue just came through. ‘Where mermaids dance in crystal light, above the folk who dine at night.’” The deck erupted in conversation and little groups of people had their heads in their phones and started dispersing throughout the ship.
“Fucking riddles?” Ren groaned.
“Okay, so we have to find a mermaid?” Justice was tapping his bottom lip.
“Could be a metaphor?”
“Right. What do mermaids represent?”
“You two aren’t serious?” I looked between them like they were mad. “The Crystal Room, obviously.” They just blinked at me.
“How did you not see the big ass mermaid chandelier in the Crystal Room?” I replied. The two alphas just looked at each other. “The chandelier is literally in the shape of a mermaid.”
“They were too busy angry flirting.” Theo concluded.
“The Crystal Room is three decks down.” Justice was already moving. “If we cut through the casino…”
“No.” Ren’s voice was firm. “Service corridors. Follow me.”
“Are we allowed to use those?” I asked.
“Absolutely not,” Ren said.
“Oh, are we doing crime now?”
We wound through narrow passages, the industrial carpet and plain walls a stark contrast to the luxury of the public spaces. Ren moved, like he’d memorized every shortcut on the ship.
The Crystal Room was empty between lunch and dinner service. The enormous chandelier dominated the space, its crystals catching the afternoon sun streaming through the windows. Delicate mermaid figures were worked into the metalwork, appearing to swim through the cascade of light.
“How are we supposed to get all of us in a photo with that?” I asked, craning my neck to look up at the chandelier.
Justice started arranging furniture and discussing angles while Ren watched with growing impatience. Finally, Ren grabbed the phone, put it on the table with the rear-facing camera open.
“Thumbs up. Make sure it’s in the frame.” The chandelier took up the entire background. He stuck his hand in the frame in the foreground. “It says take a photo. It doesn’t say all our faces need to be in it.”
He logged our photo, and a banner popped up with our point tally.
Ren stared at Theo’s phone as the next clue came in. “It says “Truth or Dare”. If Aria designed this part, we’re all in trouble.”
The screen flashed: Share your wildest dream.
“I, uh…” Theo opened and closed his mouth several times.
“I want my own skincare line!” I blurted out. Everyone turned to look at me. “I mean, I know omegas don’t really start businesses. That’s more of an alpha thing. And it’s silly, probably. But I’ve been making my own formulations and…” I twisted my fingers together. “Never mind. It’s not really appropriate for an omega to…”
“How are we supposed to take a picture of that?” Justice interrupted my spiral, taking the phone back.
Theo leaned over his shoulder. “No, look. There’s a text prompt option.” He pointed at the screen. “Just type in what Mackenzie said.”
Justice’s fingers moved across the keyboard.
“Not that,” I protested. “Type something normal. Something omega appropriate.”
Justice ignored me and hit submit. The screen flashed green with a cheerful “Points awarded!”
Justice read the next clue aloud: “‘Clothes are shed, songs are sung, answer quick before the bell is rung.’” He frowned. “Remind me again why we are doing this?”
“Humiliation ritual.” Ren smirked.
“The theater!” Theo’s eyes lit up. He counted off on his fingers. “Clothes are shed? They had that burlesque show the first night. Songs are sung? The musicals. And remember trivia night? They rang that annoying bell when time was up.”
“That’s all the way back toward the front of the ship.” Justice was already moving.
“Look who’s competitive now,” Ren teased.
We wound our way toward the theater, passing other groups seeking out clues. They were on a mission and my shorter legs had trouble keeping up.
“Ew.” Ren groaned as we grouped together for another photo around the marquee for the theater. “We are not selfie-taking people.”
Justice held up the phone, studying the next clue. “‘We bring it to your door.’”
Everyone turned to Theo expectantly.
“What? I got nothing.” He held up his hands. “Gift shop maybe? Room service? What else do they deliver to your room?”
“Towel animals,” I added.
“Panties?” Theo said.
“Messages. Letters. Packages.” Ren was just listing things now. “Toothbrushes.”
“Toothbrushes?” I gasped and grabbed Theo’s arm. “The gift bag! Remember? It had a toothbrush in it.”
“You got gift bags?” Ren’s eyebrows shot up.
“Toothbrush is the answer?”
“No, the tote. With the logo?”
“Epsilon of the Seas,” Theo said, then looked at each other with wide eyes. “We bring the world to your door!”
“World is the answer. Okay, so we need a map or a globe or something,” Ren said, already scanning the room.
“There’s that huge map inlaid in the atrium floor,” Theo offered.
“There’s a globe in my stateroom,” Justice said. “It’s closer.”
We all looked at each other for a split second before breaking into a run.