Page 5 of Last Resort (Betas in Waiting #29)

P oppy posed with Myro and Breen outside the dance studio on the terrace.

Win laughed as she asked them to pose, and Poppy stood with her arms crossed and her eyes looking skyward as if unimpressed.

Win paused. Can we get a flirty shot?

Poppy paused and looked at the others. How flirty?

Win gave directions, and the guys clasped left and right forearms and then scooped her up until she was resting her hands on their shoulders. They were her throne.

Poppy crossed her ankles and shifted slightly to the side. They all gave the camera solemn looks, and Win was chortling in delight. These are great. I will do more after each challenge.

Poppy sat and started to swing her feet. Why?

Because time and exposure change things. Win smiled. You can set her down, gentlemen.

Poppy waited and waited. She drummed her fingers on their shoulders. Any time, guys.

Breen smiled at her. I vote never.

Poppy sighed. Veto. And hopped to the ground.

Myro chuckled. Now you are getting it.

She fluffed her skirt out, and Illu popped her head out. Gentlemen, you are going first.

The guys looked at her and went inside.

Estrya grinned and beckoned her over. Come on, Poppy. Time for your interview.

Poppy joined Estrya at a small table, and Thera angled her camera on the two.

When the music started up, Estrya lifted a finger, and the music was no longer audible outside the studio.

Poppy murmured, Nice trick.

Estrya grinned. I have moves you can t imagine.

Being serpent-based, I have no doubt.

Estrya looked at Thera. Okay, beginning interview now.

Poppy was amazed as Estrya nearly changed shape. She straightened and looked more intelligent somehow as she sobered her expression.

I am sitting and chatting with Poppy, the omega to Team Alpha.

Poppy waited as Estrya explained about the teams being picked from three gaming companies and this composite team being created to give folks an option to vote for all three companies, teams, or candidates.

Poppy blinked. Oh, that s what we are for. I thought it was just because the female betas keep winning.

Estrya grinned. Well, Poppy, you aren t exactly a beta, are you?

Nope. All omega. Every considerable inch of me.

So, Poppy, did you know what you were signing up for?

The games? Yes. I tried to avoid it, but I ended up being the only beta left that had ovaries. We were missing a beta and a female, so I was the only choice. Sityr Games has a lot of alphas. She smiled. I tried to be off on the competition days, scheduled appointments and such, but it was all for naught, and here I am. Hooray.

Estrya laughed. Yes, your enthusiasm is coming off you in waves. What do you think of the islands so far?

They are lovely, the people are wonderful, and since I rarely walk around in my actual form, it is fairly freeing, and the show has provided me with clothing that fits.

Estrya chuckled. What does your work entail when you are on the mainland?

Ah, well, I was a freelance coder, and a friend enticed me to Sityr so that I wouldn t have to scramble for projects. At some point, they required administrative help, so I ended up in the brain-numbing field of shuttling paper around all day, every day, with my fun work forever out of reach. So, you find me here in search of fun. She laughed.

I believe that can be acquired. Now, what about your other team members? Have you met them? What do you know about them?

Breen is from Aenocyon Games, does coding, and has been involved in the motion-capture aspect. I hear they have nice holiday parties. He s the bulkier of the two. Myro is with Tiberia Games. He s also in mocap and also codes. Aside from that, we didn t get a chance to talk about hobbies or anything. I know they are both very warm and make excellent breeze blocks.

Estrya smiled. So, what are you looking forward to most?

Working our way through the assignments and seeing more of the islands.

The host grinned. I have to ask, do you have any relationships with the organizers?

Friendships, but nothing romantic or related. It is easy to make friends with people around here. They are confident and friendly.

Thank you for the next topic. Have you heard of the infamous cuffs that are used in the islands and why they are used?

Poppy took a deep breath. Ah. Those. Well, the alpha population here on the island is rather high, and while the alphas could hit on every beta who crossed their shores, it was found that a cuff that could determine levels of interest was a very handy tool. Since the betas were travelling to-uh-interact with the alphas, the cuffs allowed the alphas to put a value on their interactions and to be paid accordingly. So, a white cuff is the payer, and a black is the recipient of financial benefit. Both parties can waive the fees if they are willing, but if the match isn t suitable, the cuffs can tell. It helps to match level to level.

What does that mean?

Poppy looked at the woman whose gaze was sparkling. It means that if someone likes to pursue one particular interest, they will match most strongly with the other half of that pairing. Hand and glove, foot and shoe, crop and butt.

Estrya laughed. Thank you. That was concise.

A minor match would be two hands that could still connect.

Got it.

Thera was chuckling behind the camera, and Orc was rubbing her back.

Oh, no, now I want to keep going.

So, Poppy, does your family know you are here?

Um, no. I am imagining that they are figuring it out now. Don t worry, folks, the Stronghold is down, and most of the surviving Elite don t have enough energy to open a tin of beans.

Estrya grinned. The same reason my scales are out and proud.

You are an omega as well?

Yes. For what? No clue. It probably has scales. There was a soft expression on Estrya s face.

Poppy said softly, So, have you tapped cuffs with anyone?

Estrya blushed. Right. No. Not on the islands. His life was suddenly filled, and there wasn t room for me anymore. She stroked her scales and said, The association became embarrassing for him, and I didn t even look like this at the time.

Poppy frowned. I am sorry. I didn t mean for the question to go there.

Estrya waved it off. I lost it for a minute. Very sorry.

It s all right. I am sure that they will edit it out of the final.

The host smiled. Back on track. So, are you going to follow your previous competitors footsteps and compete pregnant?

No. Absolutely not. I don t care how charming they are. The pants, skirts, swimsuits are staying on.

Estrya grinned. That still leaves a lot of leeway.

Zip it, madame host.

They sat and laughed. Poppy talked about living as an Elite omega and hiding from everyone. Estrya smiled softly, and Poppy knew that she had one of the rough lives.

Poppy reached out, touched the other omega s hand, and saw the past. Oh. Right. Yeah, that would do it. I am so sorry for your fight.

Oh, you are the time one. Right.

Poppy shrugged. Yup.

Estrya grinned. There is at least one more of us here, aside from Win. She s doing the incidental music and the main vocals for the promo videos.

Who is she?

You will know when she comes ripping into the space. She s a lot when she s excited. It doesn t happen often. Estrya chuckled. I think she s actually having fun.

Poppy smiled. Fun is a good thing. How long are the guys going to be in there?

Estrya lifted her finger again, and the sound of island music and drums filled the air. Almost done.

The music stopped, and Myro and Breen came out, sweaty. Illu looked around and grinned at Poppy. You are up next.

Estrya grinned and gestured to the small table with the chairs. You are up, gentlemen.

Poppy walked into the dance space that smelled mightily of overheated alpha and looked at Illu. You did that on purpose.

Illu shrugged. I don t know what you are referring to. Now, do you want to do something fast or slow? This will be the final challenge for you.

Fast.

Illu laughed. Right. Let s do this.

Poppy looked at her, watched her, and ignored the stationary cameras in the corners. Everything she did from the ferry until she went home was going to be recorded.

Dance basics came with the pearly skin. Illu just had to finetune her.

They worked at it for half an hour, and Illu was grinning. This is going to be a lot of fun. You will practice again in two days, and then this is the challenge for the last day. Thanks for coming this soon. It means I can get some betting in. The older woman rubbed her hands together.

You haven t met the other teams.

Poppy, some folks love dance, some folks live for dance, but you are dance. Just like Narro. He s a fun one to watch.

Well, I am glad that this is sorted. It s one thing off the list. Poppy stretched and spun, smiling as her skirt flared out. She really enjoyed that part. Her inner five-year-old just loved to play with skirts as long as she remembered not to lift them over her head. That would be dangerous.

Thank you very much for the instruction, Illu. It was helpful. She bowed and skipped to the door, pausing when she got there and slowly walking outside. No one got to see her having fun until she chose the moment. She thought of the cameras... or until the dailies were seen.

She walked out and looked at the interview. Both Breen and Myro slowly smiled as she walked into their line of sight.

She glanced at Thera, who did a slow pan toward her, and she smiled and shook her head.

Estrya beckoned to her with a tiny movement, so Poppy played along and walked up to the gathered elves and stood between Breen and Myro, one hand on each shoulder. So, guys, did you spill your guts? Give her the rocket formula? Maybe your secret recipe for cupcakes?

They were both quiet, and she realized that she was still sweaty. Oh, boy. They were in the same kind of ambience that she had soaked in in the dance studio.

She slowly removed her hands from their bare shoulders and said, I believe that is enough for now. I am going to head to the square and get the singing portion of the game over. She eased away and walked past the camera with a swing in her hips.

There was laughter, and she soon felt the warmth of them at her back. A quick glance confirmed it. Thera stood straight, and Orc was taking the tripod and camera.

They headed to the karaoke setup and signed up. Singing was on the to-do list, so if that was out of the way, she might actually get to do something on the islands that she couldn t with her cousin. Well, while being fully clothed.

* * * *

L ate that night, after the newcomers had gone to bed, Kekoa sat in the palace with his family and discussed the show s schedule with the investors who were staying on Wonder.

Gentlemen, as you can see by the initial footage, the participants are unique, and it is exciting that their first complete outing will be here on Wonder. I believe that the visual samples are promising. Kekoa chuckled.

The investors smiled politely until the moment Estrya walked onto the screen and started talking in that cheerful and throaty voice of hers.

The three men leaned forward, and Erol Rassan said, How long has she been here?

Estrya? She s been a citizen for eighteen months. She s an excellent tour guide when one is required. Everyone listens to that voice. Of course, she s smaller when she does the tours. This is the second time I have seen it. She s pretty tall, and the scales are a surprise.

Kekoa was shocked to see the burn in Erol s eyes. You know her?

He hissed and said, We have met. Where is she now?

At the bed and breakfast. Why?

To Kekoa s astonishment, the cold serpent king got to his feet and hissed, Which way?

The other two rose as well. Seviir was a ten-year citizen of the island, and Rizthan was his friend. The three of them were paying for all production and distribution costs.

Kekoa was stunned as he murmured directions. He looked at Haravin, who was sitting with a hand over her mouth, and Narro, who had covered his eyes. What just happened?

Haravin winced, smoothed a hand over her belly, and smiled. Mr. Rassan is acting like he knows, knows Estrya. The other two feel like some kind of serpents.

Narro chuckled. You can say that. They are both dark Elite with a serpent manifestation.

Kekoa blinked. Oh. So Seviir was... is a serpent and an Elite?

Dark Elite.

Right, so his sea snake-

Haravin s eyes gleamed. Oh, the jokes.

Kekoa grinned. Grow up. Wait. Did I just tell three serpent alphas where to find our host?

Alohi nodded. Erol hypnotized you. Just a little. I saw it happening.

Kekoa looked out the door. Should I go after them?

They are going to be in a building with Poppy. I wouldn t worry about it. Narro smiled. Not to mention Myro and Breen. But mainly Poppy. She s dangerous.

Kekoa sighed. And Serin and Deno are there as well. She will be fine.

He muttered it to himself. She will be fine.

He hoped he was right.