The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 6

I know I shouldn't be smiling or feeling excited about Mister O. The beating of my heart and the warmth of my cheeks were foolish, a little girl flushed by casual banter and teasing.

But I wasn't a little girl anymore.

And I shouldn't be so easily taken by O, who is a known heart breaker.

He didn't have a lot of girlfriends back home. In fact, I don't remember seeing him romantically with anyone, but he was always a smooth talker yet also unreachable to all. A tease.

There was a surprising number of participants for the contest- with girls joining in as well, but it wasn't hard to see that O would dominate in it, for he strode towards the edge of the lake like he was made to be the winner. He was certainly the winner of every girl's heart as they preened and squawked to get his attention.

It wasn't surprising.

O has always been the pack's favorite that could do no wrong.

I wasn't always a fan, but I have to admit, sometimes- not all the time, he really was hard not to admire.

He is handsome, annoyingly so. The kind of handsome that makes everyone stare and gawk.

And when he smiled, his lips promised things that he didn't have to say.

It was all in the look.

A single look.

The look he was giving me right now.

Deep down, I know I have to keep my expectations for him on the floor. He is too unpredictable and if I didn't watch out, I would be just one of the many girls he's left crying. "Miss X?"

I suddenly realized the hundreds upon hundreds of eyes staring at me. The one that spoke, the organizer in front, curiously and expectantly looking at me as he stood beside the man I was just thinking about. "Yes?" Thankfully, the organizer is kind and understanding. "Mister O has asked to wear your bracelet for luck. Do you accept?"

My eyes found his then, smiling devilishly.

"I'll be needing your bracelet, Miss X." He says, gesturing to the decorative bracelet on my wrist. "Would you do me the honor?"

I stared down at it, tracing my fingers through the pink flowers woven into the fabric. Somehow, I knew that by giving this to him, it would break rules that I had set for myself. Because I have always been a good girl and good girls... they don't go for guys like O. But as always, he has a way of making me want to break the rules.

I was taking it off before I could even think, but he stood in front of me, his hands stopping mine and doing the work.

His hands moved quickly, slipping the bracelet out of my hands easily, but his long fingers lingered, almost interlacing them through mine and my foolish heart skipped a beat, the breath caught in my throat.

"Don't lose it." I found myself saying, in an attempt to break whatever had made my lungs stop working.

He smiled but it was a different smile than what he is known for. This one is small and thoughtful... genuine. It's the first time I've ever seen him like this. "I'm keeping this forever."

With his eyes still on mine, he took a step back, lining up with the rest of the participants. One by one, everyone chooses a bracelet to wear and it was there at the end of the line did I see Mister F, pushing his glasses up his nose.

He was looking at me, his eyes on my wrist where the bracelet was.

I waved enthusiastically, smiling and he gave me a sad smile in return before shaking his head when asked to choose someone.

In the crowd, I heard people whisper about it. How he didn't choose because no one would give them their bracelet anyway.

I shoot them a glare because how dare they assume?

He probably doesn't like anyone yet.

That's probably it.

Anyway, not everyone wore a bracelet.

Final rules are given and I get to watch as all the participants start kicking off their shoes, removing suits and unbuttoning their tops. I blinked, a little taken aback, and I don't know why, since they obviously can't swim with clothes on.

My eyes, as foolish as my heart, were quick to replace O and I was right on time as he impatiently yanks off his dress shirt, not bothering with the buttons as it breaks off. I watch the buttons fly away as he shrugs off his shirt, revealing a body that makes every girl in the lake have their lips part.

He was built powerfully, with bulk not just muscle, and he had hair across his chest and trailing down his stomach until... oh.

Much like the rest of the girls, the sight of this further halted my lungs, but I tried not to stare, keeping my eyes away from the taunt skin and his muscular chest.

"Is he your man?"

I forcefully had to peel my gaze away from 0 to face the girl standing beside me. She is petite but voluptuous, her curves showing from the tight white dress that she wore. Her eyes were kind and bright, her lips pulling into a smile that told me she knows many things.

She is pretty and stood in a way that made her taller than she really was.

I shook my head. "No. He's just the uh- he's just a guy from my pack."

"Well, he certainly doesn't look at you like he's just a guy from your pack." She wiggled her perfect eyebrows at me suggestively.

"Look at me like what?" I asked, but I was already glancing towards O, who was already staring at me.

"Like he's thinking about devouring you." She muses with a laugh. "Goddess, if I had a man who looks like that with the hair and the eyes and the chin, plus he looks at me like he wants to eat me? I'd already be on my knees."

I shrugged, knowing O and his teasing ways. "Don't think it special. He looks at everyone like that."

She didn't look convinced. "I've been watching him since he entered the Games from the maze and I'm telling you, he doesn't look that way to anyone else."

"Oh, E! You've met X." The ever beautiful Miss A joins us then, her ruby red lips grinning at us. She was holding an entire bottle of rum in her hands, drinking from it as if she was drinking from a champagne glass. "I've wanted you two to meet." "Gorgeous girls always catch my eye." Miss E says with a nod towards me. "It's my last year. It's your first, right?"

I realized just how much everyone here knows everyone. With almost all of them in their fourth or fifth years. "Yes. My first."

She claps her hands excitedly. "Oh, you're going to love it. Everything about this place is amazing and it's good to meet everyone from all over the world."

"Translation, E likes to taste everyone from everywhere." Miss A teased with a roll of her eyes. "She gets around."

Unashamed, Miss E sticks her tongue out. "I like to taste before I commit."

I remember the question that I've been dying to ask. "What happens if you don't replace anyone and refuse to choose in your last year?"

Miss E happily answers my question. "Originally, it just meant you would be single forever or mate with someone outside the Games, though it won't be official, but these days you can petition your Alpha for another year. The only catch is, an additional year is when Alphas will have to pay for it. And I hear it's very expensive."

The Games are free for everyone. Unlike how it was before when all Alphas are required to pay for each of their pack members that go to the Games, forcing the poor packs to replace a mate in their first year.

Now all five years are paid and fully funded by the sole sponsor; the City pack.

"No one really spends more than five years here though." Miss E continues, giving me an encouraging squeeze as she touches my shoulder. "Trust me, after the first night, things are going to get better."

"I mean, it's already good now." Miss A says under her breath as the topless, almost naked participants start to walk towards the lake.

O was already knee deep in the lake when he turned to playfully salute me, winking as he did.

"That guy looks like bad news." Miss A tells me. "Very bad news."

"That's when you know he's good in bed." Miss E retorts back, elbowing me in the side. "Is he?"

I flushed. "I wouldn't know."

Miss A frowns, looking at O as he plunged into the water. "He's a heartbreaker. I can tell." He is.

She was right about that.

"Well, I'm off to get wet." Miss E leans all the way down, grabbing the ends of her dress before pulling it off. She was completely naked underneath her dress, having no underwear on and looked incredibly proud of her body. As she should because she was certainly flawless.

All around us, the attendees that didn't participate in the games started running into the water, removing their clothes as they did and floating outside the lane that the lanterns lit. Immediately, the boats with the drinks and food paddled towards the attendees, handing over colorful beverages and finger food.

"You coming?" Miss A asked, removing her own dress and discarding it along with the other attendees' clothes. Unlike Miss E, she had n**e colored underwear.

I hesitated because of the way my dress was... I was not wearing any bra but all around me were n a ked werewolves who did not care who saw them, who did not care if people stared, so I braved it and nodded.

My hands reached behind me to pull the lace that tied my dress together while I attempted to even my breathing so I could calm down a bit. Once undone, I slip the straps from my shoulders as my dress spills down and pools at my feet.

Silently, I was thankful that my mother pushed for me to wear plain black lace underwear. And my hair was long enough that it hid my breasts slightly.

Just before I could overthink, Miss A took my hand and we ran towards the water along with the other attendees. Water splashed all around us and with Miss A laughing while we ran, I couldn't help but laugh as well.

I tried not to look as we got deeper into the water but my eyes found O in the starting area of the race... already looking. He had a look on his face as if he couldn't believe that I was actually doing this.

Right before I look away, he tilts his head in my direction, smirking at me.

Miss A took me towards Miss E who was busy aggressively flirting with a muscular guy by the boats. I tried to watch how she did it, her lowered eyes and the way her lips moved. Her hands were under water and I did not want to know what they were doing down there.

Back home, I've never been too close to guys. The only man I spoke with was my father and I don't think he counts.

The water is cool on my skin as I submerged my body all the way to my collarbone. Miss A hands me a drink from the boat and introduces me to the men around us.

But my attention was towards the race that was about to start, anxious as my eyes glanced between O and the golden wreath.

"A has won that wreath three years in a row." Miss E says, floating on her back, exposing her chest, which made me look somewhere else. "The prettiest, the coolest, the most wanted. Last year, nearly all the boys chose her during the choosing ceremony. Are we going to make it four this year?"

Miss A only shook her head. "I just want to leave with someone this year."

"It's starting!"

I didn't get to check who said it as my eyes immediately turned to where the participants were. O was in front stretching in the water, his muscles pulling and giving me an eye full of his body.

Girls were cheering for him loudly, lifting their drinks towards him or flashing him their exposed chests.

A slight pang of jealousy hit me and I shook it off like it burned me. I had no right to be possessive. O is only a pack member. He's the pack member and I shouldn't... I shouldn't...

"Miss X!" He's calling me, shouting over the girls that cheered for him.

I frowned at him, confused, and mouthed; 'What?'

They were counting down now, the race was about to start in mere seconds but he was still looking over at me and then he places a kiss on my bracelet right as the countdown ends and a horn blows as the race starts.

Right on time, O dove forward, his form perfect as he swam. All the participants were swimming really fast, a blur of shapes and splashes and arms as they finished their first lap. They tapped the dock, rocking it, before turning back for their second lap. The attendees around me were shouting and screaming in excitement. I was one of them, shouting incoherently.

My heart was beating wildly in my chest, the blood rushing to my ears as I watched.

I couldn't tell who was first, not with how fast they were going but I do know who's last for he wasn't as quick as the others and my eyes could easily see him.

Mister F.

He was struggling to catch up and was falling behind.

I spotted O and the others on their third lap now, but Mister F had just finished his second. Quietly, I cheered for him, urging him to swim faster.

But the other participants, particularly O, have already made it to his fourth lap. He was in front, I think. I couldn't be sure but people were chanting his name and cheering louder until the entire lake was shaking from how loud everyone was. And then, before I can even breathe, it's the final lap, the shouts much louder now.

The thing with my lungs was happening again, making it hard to suck air into them.

Crystal blue water showered all around us, shimmering in the air beautifully, the speed of the participants unlike anything I've ever seen before. The crowd watching starts to swim towards the docks, eager to see who will win.

I swam behind them, eyes on the last few feet that were left for participants to swim.

This close, I can see O. He's leading... he was so close.

Another horn sounds as someone touches the docks and I'm blinking away water that went to my eyes from how much people were splashing and I see him, hoisting himself up and walking towards the golden wreath. Only, it wasn't Mister O.

It was the handsome man with the sad eyes.