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Chapter 20 Hatcher
She wants us.That thought kept me going, almost putting a skip in my step. She really does want us.
This was a good thing, a really positive step in the right direction, and it proved to us all that we were wrong to worry about whether she wanted to be with us or not. Karly wasn’t crazy enough to want to walk away from something so special, I’d always thought so. But now there was a little bit of an added pressure on us because Karly wanted us all. She wanted us all to be as in as she was. And that was totally fair. The harem was so much better when we were all together, the feelings were stronger and the pleasure of just being together was more powerful, but none of us could answer yet because we had to be absolutely sure that all of us were together in this so none of us got our hopes up just for them to come crashing down once more.
We got back to the campsite pretty fast before we all started to engage in our own activities. Karly started up the fire so she could cook for us, she had insisted it was her turn, and Chase and Alek began to work out. Normally, I would be up for a hardcore workout, even after the walk, but I wasn’t really in the mood today. I had a lot circling through my brain and I needed to work it all out. Not that I was confused by my own feelings, I knew for sure what I wanted, but because I was a little worked up because I had to wait for everyone else. The suspense was killing me. I was starting to understand why Rory had his outburst before. I was possibly on the verge of one myself.
Do something, my brain screamed at me. Don’t just sit here, do something.
I spotted Rory kicking stones aimlessly. He wasn’t doing anything in particular, which made it the perfect time to go speak with him. Perhaps if I started with Rory, things would run smoothly from there. I was pretty sure I knew what Rory would say because his outburst suggested he was already head over heels in love with Karly, but I just had to check so we could get the ball rolling, hopefully towards our happy ever after.
“Rory, hey.” His eyes lit up when he spotted me. “How’s it going?”
“Hey, good.” He awkwardly stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Just a little bit on edge while we wait for everyone to make up their minds. I mean, it’s nice to know that Karly wants us, but it’s a little scary to wait for everyone else.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed with a low chuckle. “I definitely want to be with her, I want this harem, but we have to wait for us all to be in.”
Rory looked a little relieved to see me agreeing with him. His shoulders deflated a little bit. Clearly, he was just as worried as I was, but he didn’t need to feel that way about me. I was head over heels for Karly.
“I never came here to win the Astro Games anyway,” I told Rory with a shrug. “I knew I couldn’t do it. I just get so sick of being confined in the laboratory at the university. I wanted an adventure and I thought this would be so much fun. I didn’t come to it expecting to find love or anything. I just thought it would be fun, and now…well, now, my heart is all about one woman. Not the princess, though, she never managed to catch my eyes.”
“I don’t care about winning either,” Rory said. “Which is why I don’t care about coming last in this race. I didn’t make much of an impression on the leader board the last time either. That didn’t bother me before, but now that I’ve met Karly, it really doesn’t bother me.” His eyes travelled toward Chase and Alek, where they were working out. I knew exactly what he was getting at. “But those two…they have different expectations resting on their shoulders.”
I nodded seriously. As a Virgo, Chase was definitely expected to be next in line as the Bear King. And more than that, his father was Virgo alpha, so of course it was going to be painful for him to turn his back on what the clan wanted for him. Then there was Alek. Gemini alpha who, according to Karly, had wanted this his entire life. He wanted to prevent the Unaligned clan from changing everything. Even with his most recent setback, he was still a favorite to win. He could do it too. Even if he was starting in last place, I was pretty sure he was the one person who could beat Drew. Shit, that was actually a hard pill to swallow because it was a powerful argument against us all being together.
“We should talk to them,” I told Rory suddenly, my heart thumping in my chest. “We should find out what they are thinking.”
Rory didn’t look like he was ready for it, but he nodded anyway. “Yes, I agree. The sooner we figure out what’s going on, the better.”
We walked towards the little workout area Alek and Chase had set up, and interrupted their shadow boxing session. Both of them were dripping with sweat after working their assess off. It was almost a shame to take them out of the zone. But we had to, Rory and I needed to get some answers so we could work out where things were likely to go next.
“So, Karly today, huh?” Rory started, trying to act all blasé. “That was one hell of a statement, wasn’t it?”
Chase nodded. “Uh-huh, yeah, and it has me all kinds of messed up.” He punched the air some more, like he was trying to work something out of his system. “Because I have been wanting this so desperately, I’ve even been coming up with plans to make it work. But now…” He huffed loudly. “Now the reality is sinking in and I guess I’m afraid. I don’t want to be ostracized by my clan if they find out I lost on purpose. I keep thinking of all the people who will hate me for letting them down. It’s just a lot. I’m worried that I’m being selfish. And for something that isn’t a sure thing.”
I nodded slowly. “Maybe it’s not a sure thing, Chase, but nothing in life is.” He needed this speech, I could feel it. “You can’t deny the connection between us all. You can’t ignore that chemistry. It isn’t selfish to think about this because it isn’t just about you.”
Alek let out a weird little huff, reminding us that he was there as well. There was no denying that it would be even harder on him than the rest of us. We were going to have to approach him very carefully. “Is it selfish to only think about us rather than the whole empire?”
Rory and I exchanged a look before I responded. “I know this is hard. I get that. But you don’t have to take responsibility of the whole empire on your shoulders.”
Alek glared at me. “Is Drew the only one who understands? Is he the only one who gets it? I thought he was just threatening me for fun, but maybe it was a reminder. That I am the only thing standing in the way of anarchy. I’m the only one who stands a chance of beating him…or stood a chance of beating him before the Bear King took away all my points. It’s going to be harder for me now, but I do need to it. Or he will become the Bear King and everything will fall apart.”
There was tension in each and every one of his words, and I could almost feel the intense pressure shoving him down into the dirt. “So, Drew has been threatening you?” I asked.
“Yeah, basically. He’s been making it very clear that I’m the only person he considers competition. But he probably doesn’t think that anymore since he’s shoved me down to the bottom of the leader board.” Alek threw his hands in the air in frustration. “The fate of everyone seems to be resting on me, and that’s really hard. I know what I want, but I also know what I have to do. It’s like I’m torn between duty and love.”
He’d known Karly the longest, and had probably been in love with her forever. I didn’t envy him the position he was in. I wished I could find the right words to make him feel better, but this didn’t feel like something I could make right. It was a conclusion that he was going to have to come to on his own or he would later come to regret it. That was the last thing any of us wanted.
I didn’t get a chance to say anything else because an intense squeal alerted us to Karly, who was still leaning over the pot, stirring, while talking on the phone.
“Ben, are you for real?” She shrieked again. “This is insane. It’s…well, this is a story that’s going to make Astro Games history. I can’t even believe what you’re saying to me right now.”
“What do you think is going on?” I hissed to the other guys, but they just shrugged. None of us wanted anything bad to happen to Karly, that would be devastating. I couldn’t believe how much I cared about her and her fate. It was more than I cared about myself. If that wasn’t love, I didn’t know what was.
“Okay, okay, yeah, I understand. We’ll be back soon, I promise. I know, I know, I won’t leave you alone through all of this. I want to be there.”
We moved closer to her, anxiety zinging between us as she hung up the phone. Possible scenarios flowed through my brain, each one scarier than the last. A story that’s going to makeAstro Games history. What could that mean?
“Oh my God, guys, you are not going to believe this…” Karly’s eyes shone at us. “There has been a scandal. One involving Azariyah and Jason. You know, the Aries competitor. Intimate photos of them have been leaked. It seems like they are actually a couple, which of course changes everything. Apparently, it’s chaos at the arena. This is going to be a massive story. One I need to cover. I know we’re supposed to still be camping and everything, but after this meal, I might need to return to find out what the hell is going on.”
Everyone murmured their agreement, including me, but my mind was racing with exciting thoughts. Maybe this was the break all of us needed. How could the Astro Games continue after this? Talk of rule breaks and grey areas, this was the worst of all. Perhaps there would be some way for all of this to come to an end, to allow us all to be happy without anyone having to let down their clan…