Despite my lack of vision, I sensed Gaius winking at the cameras. I figured it was supposed to be playful, but it came across as conspiratorial. Did he plan that little comment because he knew I was in love with Alaric?
And if so, what did it mean?
Everything about this charade was mindless and illogical. This challenge served no purpose except to force me into proximity with the omegas, who weren’t evendoinganything. Unless we had a secret kinky contestant in our midst, I doubted their knowledge of rope work would be enough to guide me properly.
I steadied my breath. I’d get through this—one last obstacle before I could claim Alaric forever. Besides, I had more than enough experience tying and untying knots to make up for everyone else’s lack of experience.
What I wasnotlooking forward to, however, was cozying up to the remaining omega contestants. The idea felt grimy and wrong.
It’s official,I thought,my brothers are never running the Dragonfate Games again.
“Ready, contestants? Let the third challenge begin!” Gaius announced.
I rolled my eyes at the fact that he hadn’t askedmeif I was ready. Thankfully, the eye covering hid my rude behavior from view.
I had one simple goal: find Alaric immediately, and put an end to this.
As the challenge started, loud voices called out to me.
“Over here!”
“No, come this way, Jade!”
“My ropes are super loose. You can take them off easily!”
I stood still, fuming silently. Curse their cacophonous racket. I couldn’t hear Alaric’s voice among them. Was he even calling out to me? I focused, seeking his sweet and sassy voice among the noise... but it wasn’t there.
My dragon turned unruly in the confines of my soul, like an untamed stallion confined to a stable. He pushed the boundaries of our shared skin. I breathed hard, forcing him down. But when I ignored him, he roared hard enough that it shook my bones.
I shuddered. Yes, I was upset, but there was no need for my dragon to burst free. Alaric was safe.
Wasn’t he?
I paused, listening. I still didn’t hear his voice...
But what if he couldn’t speak?
Gaius’s words flashed in my mind. He said the contestants were bound. What if he didn’t just mean their hands?
My stomach clenched tight with fear. Suddenly, I believed my dragon instincts.
I forgot about the cameras and the TV show. Nothing mattered to me except holding Alaric in my arms, and knowing he was safe. I tore the black fabric from my eyes.
“Alaric!” I cried. “Where are you?”
My vision was wretched. All I saw were blurs of color.
But eyesight wasn’t my only sense. As I searched the beach wildly, desperate to find my mate, a note of baby powder reached my nose.
Hope flared inside me. Locking onto his scent, I whirled towards him like a feral animal.
And in the next second, Iwasa feral animal.
My rage and protective instinct coalesced into a supernova explosion of power. My dragon ripped free of my human body. The frantic shift barely took the blink of an eye; it was so impossibly fast the cameras couldn’t even capture it.
I breathed hard and ragged as I scanned the beach. Unlike my human form, my dragon vision was crystal clear.
I found Alaric in a heartbeat.
