Alaric ignored him. He jabbed a finger into my chest. "Listen, tiger. I'm in love with Crimson, so do yourself a favor and back the hell off."
I was stunned into silence for a moment. Then the hilarity of his statement hit me and I laughed out loud. This, again, infuriated Alaric, who was so angry that I imagined cartoon steam coming out of his ears.
"It doesn't mean anything that youfuckedhim," Alaric snarled. "This competition is about love, not sex. And since I love Crimson, I'll be the ultimate winner."
My humor faded, replaced by anger of my own. I'd learned to deal with Alaric's crap, but hearing him insist he was in love withmymate was over the line. My lips curled to reveal my half-shifted tiger fangs.
"You don't love Crimson," I stated. "You think you're in love with him because you want to win."
Alaric gasped, his jaw dropping open. He reacted like I'd slapped him.
"How dare you?" he demanded.
I leaned in, challenging him back. "Tell me I'm wrong. Name a single thing about Crimson besides the fact that he's an alpha dragon."
I saw panic flicker across Alaric's face before he shook it off, glaring at me again. "I don't need to play games with you. I know I'm right. Crimsonwillchoose me as the next winner. Mark my words, tiger."
"If you say so."
Alaric hated that I wouldn't rise to his bait. "I'm going to tell everyone about your trysts! Don't think you can hide it anymore!"
"Go ahead. I didn't even want to be on this stupid show," I told him.
Alaric looked offended that I’d insulted his precious Games. "Ugh. I'll never understand how a slut like you won Crimson over."
The nasty remark slid off me like oil on water. Alaric was grasping for straws, desperate to get under my skin the way I'd accidentally slipped under his. It was kind of sad. If he wasn't such an asshole, I thought we could've gotten along.
Murmurs came from down the hall as the other contestants gossiped.
On the other hand, Muzo made no attempt to cover up his obtuse rubbernecking. "The cats are fighting!" he called.
"Shut up."
Alaric and I had spoken at the same time. We looked at each other in surprise before Alaric glared at me and stormed off like an angsty teenager.
I sighed in relief. Thank gods that was over.
Except the day had barely begun. Now the real challenge was about to start.
* * *
The contestants were unusuallytense as Gaius led us to the third challenge. I didn't know if it was because half of them had overheard my argument with Alaric that morning, or if they were just eager to win this time.
Our destination was deep in the forest. The air was fresh and thick, and the earth was loamy underfoot. Birds cried out as they flitted overhead, darting across the canopy.
Matteo, the golden eagle shifter I'd met in the previous challenge, walked next to me. He was one of the only other omegas who didn't seem tense.
"Friends of yours?" I asked, nodding to the birds.
He gave me a good-natured smirk. "You and Alaric are both cats. Is he a friend ofyours?"
I snorted in laughter. "Fair enough."
Along with Matteo, Muzo was also eager to face the day. That wasn't unusual for him, though. I'd never seen him nervous.
Poppy, however, trailed behind us with an ever-present mask of anxiety. I felt bad for him. It wasn't my fault that Crimson and I had fallen in love, but I still felt responsible for dragging my friends into a no-win situation. Did they even know about my relationship with Crimson? I wanted to tell them, but it wasn't the time. Confessing in front of the other contestants would be awkward, if not flat-out rude.
After what felt like an hour-long trek into the forest, Gaius finally stopped in front of a huge jutting boulder. He smiled at us and raised his arms theatrically.
