“Yes?” Gaius said.
“What does that mean?” Alaric asked. “Will the one with the most points automatically be deemed the winner, like in the first challenge? Or is this like the first season, where the bachelor gets the final say?”
Thystle spoke up before Gaius could respond. “I choose.”
Talon sniffed, squaring his shoulders. “What’s the reward for this challenge? I didn’t get anything last time.”
“You got an after party with Thystle and Matteo,” Alaric pointed out.
Thystle looked confused. He didn’t know what Alaric was talking about, since Talon had made that up.
“I’m sorry for not being there for the first challenge. I’ll make it up to the winner later,” Thystle said, giving Talon a quick glance. His tone made it obvious that was a hassle he didn’t want to deal with.
Talon didn’t seem to notice. For him, any attention was good. He sat up straighter with a smug grin, eager for his reward. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Whatever he thought would happen between him and Thystle was a fantasy.
There was no mistaking the predatory glint in Thystle’s eyes when he looked my way. It was enough to make me hard, sitting there in the crowd. I shifted my legs so it wasn’t obvious.
“Alaric makes a good point,” Gaius said, nodding. “What’s a challenge without a prize? For today’s challenge, the prize is... a moonlit beach date with Thystle!”
Excited murmurs sprang up among the crowd.
I leaned closer to the edge of my seat. This time, I wasn’t going to let Talon or anyone else steal it from me. That date wasmine.
Fourteen
Thystle
It tookevery last atom of my willpower not to stare at Matteo. It was like trying to ignore the booming foghorn and blaring brightness of a lighthouse while standing right next to it. Almost fucking impossible.
I had half a mind to call this whole thing off, declare the Games over, and jump Matteo’s bones right in the middle of everybody. But though that’d make great TV, it wasn’t a great look for us dragons. The world only just found out we still existed at all. Making us all look like horny devils on national TV wasn’t the play here. I had to bite my lip and bide my time until this stupid challenge was over. Then I’d take him home and fuck his brains out all night long.
He was Aquila. I was positive of that now. He stared me in the face this whole time, yet a couple black eyes had obscured the truth. Not anymore. I knew that sexy scream and those golden-brown eyes off by heart.
You can’t run from me, Matteo.
“...the first round! Please welcome to the stage… Poppy Faolan!”
Gaius’s announcer voice yanked me from my daze. Ugh, of all the times to be thrust in front of a crowd and camera crew. All I wanted was to pin Matteo to the ground and claim him, but I had to get through this shit first.
I plastered a smile onto my face. It edged closer to being genuine when I saw the meek omega climb on stage. His blond hair was so pale, it matched the coat of his Arctic wolf form. I felt bad for Poppy. He looked like he wanted to be on stage just as much as I did—which was to say, not at all.
“H-hello,” he said on the opposite edge of the stage.
“Hi there,” I replied.
Gaius guided Poppy to the podium, since the omega looked glued to the floorboards in fear, then gave him a reassuring pat.
“Don’t be nervous. This is a great opportunity to test your knowledge,” Gaius said to Poppy, then grabbed the mic. “All right! First question. I’ll throw you a bone, kiddo. What color is Thystle’s dragon form?”
Poppy trembled. The poor guy looked like he was about to faint.
“Um... uh,” he whispered.
“Don’t forget the microphone,” Gaius reminded him with a smile.
Poppy instantly forgot about the microphone. “Erm, ah... it’s... purple?”
Gaius gave a slight nod, trying to encourage him. “Gotta be more specific. What shade of purple?”
