The grizzly man finished taking a sip. “Isn’t it obvious? Saffron’s over there.”
Saffron.
The name lit up in my mind like an aurora on a pitch-black sky. He was one of the seven dragons—and the bachelor for this season.
He was my target.
But why couldn’t Iseehim? Why wasn’t he towering over the crowd, wings flaring, tail lashing, fire blazing from his mouth?
I shuddered at the memory—acrid smoke, burning flesh. I promptly shook it off. Now was no time to get bogged down by the past.
“But uh, don’t bother checking him out,” the grizzly continued, downing the rest of his glass in one gulp.
His comment wrenched me from my memories. “What do you mean?” I asked.
The grizzly smirked. “He’s mine. I know it.” He thumped his chest. “That golden smile… It’s gorgeous. He’s like a model.”
I felt the urge to roll my eyes. No dragon had a golden smile. Their wretched mouths were full of fangs and smoke.
“Okay,” I said.
The grizzly looked me over, apparently pleased with my neutral answer. “Since you’re a fellow bear, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Kaskian.”
“Rorik.”
That was enough of an exchange for us. Bears didn’t shake hands or do elaborate greeting rituals. We were simple and to the point.
But something about Kaskian rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t like that smug glint in his eyes. Maybe it was the searing temperature putting me in a bad mood.
“What did you mean when you said Saffron is yours?” I asked.
He can’t possibly be here to kill dragons, too… can he? Because there’s no way I’m letting a grizzly from a different clan take my glory.
Kaskian snorted. “He’s my fated mate. Trust.” He poured a second drink and downed it. “So, uh, you can look, but don’t even think about touching. Got that, Snowflake?”
I snorted, too. The idea of a dragon beinganyone’smate was ridiculous. All they did was destroy. This grizzly was out of his mind if he thought a dragon could fall in love with him.
“Sure,” I said.
Kaskian grinned wider. “Nice. We’re on the same page. Then, uh, mind losing a couple challenges for me?”
My mission was to kill dragons. Reality TV challenges were unimportant. All that mattered was getting up close and personal with Saffron so I could end him.
“Fine,” I mumbled, disinterested in talking to Kaskian anymore. I had to focus on my task.
“Love to hear that,” Kaskian gloated. “Well, see ya, Snowflake.”
I left Kaskian and hurried towards the crowd by the shore. They stood in a tight circle, as if surrounding someone. But as I approached, I became confused. Kaskian told me Saffron was here, yet I saw no giant winged reptile towering over the omegas. Maybe he was lying down. That would explain why I couldn’t see him past the crowd.
Where is that damned dragon?
Growing impatient, I barreled into the crowd, shoving a few people aside.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” one omega cried indignantly.
I ignored their complaints and the hot grains of sand that buried painfully into my toes.
In the center of the circle, I saw—
