“Yes,” he spat.
I smiled. “Then you would be wrong.”
My blatant refusal stunned him. His jaw dropped before his face twisted into a sneer. “I can’t be wrong! Look at me—I’m a perfect omega.”
I took his invitation to run my gaze over his body. Pinpricks of heat sizzled across my back, making me shudder.
He wasn’t wrong about that. I thought he looked perfect, too.
“There’s no reason I shouldn’t have found my alpha by now,” Alaric hissed. “But I haven’t. I knew after the fourth gods-damned time that something was suspicious. You’re the one messing with everything. I know it’s you pulling the strings of my downfall!”
I couldn’t help but smile at his dramatic flair. He was just so charming.
“So it was after the season in which Aurum, my most irritating younger brother, was the bachelor that you felt compelled to speak up,” I said.
Alaric faltered. “I didn’t wanthimto be my mate in particular.”
“But you just said it was suspicious that you didn’t win.”
He huffed. “I didn’t mean Aurum, or any particular dragon, I meant—”
“Ah, so you broke into my office and invaded my privacy simply to vent your frustrations. Which, I should remind you, is a major violation of the rules and grounds to terminate you from this season.”
The blood drained from Alaric’s face as he realized what he’d done. Then suddenly, he crossed his arms and spat back, “Oh, so it’s okay when alpha dragons break into omegas’ rooms but it’s suddenly a problem when I do it?”
My smile widened. I was enjoying this argument a little too much.
“The hotel is our property,” I explained. “Technically, we’re allowed to come and go as we please. However, this castle is our home and pointedlynota fixture of the Dragonfate Games. If you’d like, I can show you exactly where it’s written in your contract. The one you signed, remember?”
Alaric slowly narrowed his eyes and scowled. “Youarea bastard.”
That made me laugh out loud. “You could call me that,” I said with an amused shrug. “You’d be correct, since I don’t know my father.”
Alaric wasn’t amused. His catlike glare continued to stab me.
“Oh, come now, kitten. I thought that was funny,” I remarked.
Every inch of Alaric bristled as he spat, “Kitten?”
“You’re a cat shifter, are you not?”
He looked ready to claw my eyes out. Apparently, I liked that in an omega.
“Don’t act so smug, dragon. Yes, I broke into your office.” Alaric’s sneer curved into a smug grin. “But I saw your secret.”
I stopped laughing. There was no bluff in that statement. He had no qualms about revealing what he’d seen to anyone andeveryone—and that was an outcome I wanted to avoid at all costs.
“All right. Then we’re at a standstill,” I said calmly. “I could disqualify you from the Games...”
“And I could ruin your pristine reputation,” Alaric provided, just as calm.
I sighed in amusement. “What a predicament.”
The cat shifter’s eyes flashed with determination. “I’m not going home. I don’t know who the bachelor is, and I don’t care. Iwillfind my mate on the Dragonfate Games.”
I kept my expression steady to hide the flicker of surprise running through me. My brothers had organized the Games, so I had no idea what was going on. Had they kept the bachelor’s identity hidden, even from the contestants? A cheap tactic, certainly, but one that worked for building suspense and intrigue.
If that was the case, Alaric had no idea he was currently speaking to this season’s bachelor.
