Chapter 0005

There’s a pop and confetti fills the air. “Ladies and gentlemen!” the announcer shouts, “for the first time ever, we have a tie for the win of Quiz Nation!” The twins jump in the air, shouting amongst the noise, while the two contestant podiums display the same final answer written across their fronts.

The announcer presses his finger to his ear, listening to his tiny earphone. “I am told,” he says, “that according to the Quiz Nation handbook, that we are obliged,” he pauses, letting the crowd cool down to listen, “to award the Quiz Nation title to the returning champion!”

Half of the crowd cheers while the other half boos, clearly rooting for Alvin and Ian. I boo along with them, disappointed for my boys.

“The rules state that in the rare case of a tie, the team with the smaller number of players wins! As Alvin and Ian are a pair, and Jim played individually, he is our winner! All of this knowledge coming from one brain instead of two is just a more impressive feat.” The boys’ faces fall in disappointment.

“But we worked so hard!” Ian shouts. “And we’re so young -”

“But that’s not all!” he announcer says, interrupting him. “In recognition of their great accomplishment, today Alvin and Ian Ortega are being awarded the rare People’s Choice award, to honor them for winning our hearts! Congratulations, boys!”

I laugh as the boys begin to jump and cheer again, their sadness easily wiped away. I guess any trophy is just as good to them.

As the boys rush forward to wave to the audience, I slip out of the room, hoping to get a bathroom break before I meet the boys backstage. All that coffee was a mistake.

On stage, Alvin and Ian shake hands with the winner and come forward to receive their prize. A tall man comes forward from the left stage wing, carrying two trophies. He hands one to the victor, shaking his hand, and moves forward to chat with the host.

“Do you see him?” says Ian. “He’s so tall. He looks like me!”

“He looks like us,” Alvin corrects, staring at the man with the trophy with wide eyes. “Wow. I wish he was our dad, that’s what I always imagined he looked like…”

The man finishes his conversation and turns towards the boys, ready to present them with their prize. When he sees them, though, he stops dead, the blood draining from his face. He hunches his shoulders instinctually, a predator, and comes towards the boys, scenting the air between them.

The boys stand stock still, not afraid, but cautious. When the man gets a whiff of them, he gasps and the trophy slips from his fingers to the ground, breaking into three pieces. The man stumbles back, staring at them, and then turns, storming towards the wing. The boys watch him go, not even caring about their lost prize. In their hearts, they know what they have found.

Victor paces back stage, mind-linking to his Beta, demanding that he come heel immediately.

The boys were his children – there was no denying it. But how – where –

He runs his hands through his hair and grits his teeth. Where did they come from?! How did he not know?!

His Beta arrives with a quick salute. “The boys, who won the competition,” Victor spits out, the Beta nodding, “find whoever brought them here. Bring her to me, immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” The Beta is gone in a flash.

There is a blur of motion from the stage area and suddenly Victor feels two small somethings crash into him. Looking down, he sees a little boy attached to each of his legs, their arms wrapped around him like tiny koala bears. One boy even slips to the ground, wrapping his legs around Victor’s ankle, determined never to let go.

“It’s so nice to meet you!” That one says, beaming up at him. “We’ve waited our whole lives!”

“We know you’ve been busy, we understand,” says the other, smiling up at him and revealing a missing front tooth.

“We got our wish!” Says the other, his eyes shining with joy. “Because we worked so hard, and won the competition! We wished for our dad, and we got him!”

“It’s our prize!” Says the other, burying his face in the side of Victor’s suit jacket and sniffing deeply, learning his scent.

For a moment, Victor freezes, not knowing – for the first time in his life – precisely what to do next. But then, he feels a warmth in his stomach, an instinctual urge, and he places a hand on each child’s head, caressing them.

“If you won a dad, then I won the better prize,” he says softly, “I’ve been waiting a lifetime to meet you.”

Victor stares down at the boys, feeling both delighted and overwhelmed at once. They were such an utter surprise – so handsome, energetic, smart and – well, so much like him. He could smell it on them, and see it on their faces – they were of his body, he had no doubt.

Exhaling a big breath he didn’t know he was holding, Victor shakes his head at the boys, marveling that a life’s dream could come true in such an unlikely fashion. He had been longing for a child – hoping to have one with Amelia, his beloved mate and the future Luna. But she had put him off year after year, wanting to accomplish other things first.

His family, too, had begun giving him sidelong glances at holidays and making hints about grandchildren and heirs. The newspapers as well had to begun to make sneaky jibes about infertility and look elsewhere amongst the pack’s Alpha population for the heirs to the line. All of it had filled Victor with anxiety, with rage.

But here, suddenly, were the solutions that put all of that to rest. And made his hopes a reality. Two boys, even – what a blessing. But where…who…

The sound of frantically clicking stilettos fills the room as a woman turns the corner, anxiety in her voice as she calls “Boys!? Boys!” The Beta strides around the corner just after her, working to keep up.

Evelyn stops mid-step, frozen, staring at the image of her boys wrapped around the legs of…of…

“You,” rasps Victor.

“Oh my god,” says Evelyn, at the same moment. “It’s you.”