My.
Fucking.
Gods.
I wanted the secret boss from my video game to step out of the TV and incinerate me with a fire blast. And then encase me in ice. And then blow me away in a hurricane. I wanted him to tearme limb from limb, then reduce me to atoms. Finally, I wanted the atoms to implode.
None of that happened. I still sat on the floor, getting a lecture/forced dating opportunity.
“Do some research, son,” Dad said, clapping me on the shoulder before he stood up. “Watch a season or two. See what it’s all about.”
I’d rather jog around the block ten times.
“Oh, and dinner is in half an hour,” Dad called from the doorway. “Mom’s making special diet chicken and broccoli. She wants you looking your best for the show.”
I just nodded.
When Dad left, he mercifully shut the door behind him. Then I grabbed a pillow, shoved it over my face, and let out the biggest groan of frustration known to mankind.
This was awful. Nothing could be worse than this.
Suddenly, my heart stopped.
“Shit, the boss,” I hissed.
I scrambled on all fours to turn the TV back on. The controller trembled in my sweaty hands.
“Come on,” I whispered. “Please, please...”
The black screen awakened. The game was back on.
All my party members lay dead on the ground. The secret boss threw his head back in triumphant laughter. The words GAME OVER took up half the screen.
I dropped the controller and fell onto my back, staring listlessly at the ceiling.
Could it get any worse than this?
Actually, yeah, it could. Because soon I’d be on a private island competing against hot omegas for a dragon’s love—a scenario that would only end in total disaster.
Three
Aurum
“This is total bullshit,and you know it!” I snarled.
Jade sat at his desk, smiling politely like I wasn’t about to bite his head off. He stacked his papers and slid them into his perfectly organized drawer.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
I slammed my palms down. “The Games! The twin bachelor gimmick!”
Jade’s eye twitched. He pried my fingers off his precious desk.
“Why is it total bullshit?” he asked.
“Because it’s always one bachelor. And because... it’s stupid.”
He folded his hands together. “Riveting arguments. Do you have any more?”
