I lifted my head and blinked to clear the sleep from my eyes. Immediately, the spines along my neck lifted like hackles.
Those weren’t stars. They were airplane headlights. I saw the damn hunk of metal, clear as day, sitting pretty on the runway by the beach.
Jade, that bastard—he’d listened to my input, then said ‘fuck that’ and did it anyway.
How many poor guys were on that plane? How many contestants had Jade dragged here, ignoring my wish to be left alone? How many fucking omegas would I have to disappoint?
Dammit, I hated when I had no choice but to act like a dickhead for other people’s own good.
Flying down to the beach to confront the new contestants wasn’t worth it. I’d only freak them out, or make them feel like shit, or both. Instead, I pinpointed my anger on the manresponsible. I flew straight to the castle, found Jade’s lit office window, then barged in by shifting halfway through the window.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” I demanded.
The words left my mouth before I registered the scene in front of me. Jade was blindfolded in a chair, his bound hands folded neatly in his lap. Alaric stood a few feet away holding a black silk rope in his hands. He raised a pointed brow at me.
“It’s rude to kink shame, you know,” Alaric said snidely.
My lip curled. “I’m not talking about that. You know damn well what I mean, Jade.”
My older brother sighed. “I see we’re going to have this conversation despite usclearlybeing busy...”
“I don’t give a shit. Start talking.”
Alaric untied Jade’s hands and removed the eye covering, glaring at me the entire time. When he was decent, Jade stood and perched his glasses back upon his nose.
“Now,” he said, “what would you like to discuss?”
I jabbed my finger towards the window. “Why is there aplaneoutside?”
Alaric examined his perfectly manicured nails. “Typically, that’s where planes fly.”
My eye twitched. I was never one to shout at an omega, but if anyone made it difficult to keep that vow, it was Jade’s sassy pet cat. Still, I ignored him and focused my anger on Jade alone.
“I told you I’m not doing the Games,” I ground out through my teeth.
“I know,” Jade said casually.
His calm threw me off. “What?”
“I respect your wish not to participate as the bachelor,” Jade went on. “Therefore, there will be no Games.”
My brow furrowed in confusion. If he was telling the truth, why was there a damned plane outside? That was always howthe omega contestants arrived—and where contestants existed, so did the Games.
Alaric snorted. “Oh, I see. You didn’t investigate before coming here to yell at Jade.”
“Investigate what?” I snapped.
Alaric ignored my question, clicking his tongue. “I even got Taylor to babysit for this, and you’ve ruined our evening with your lack of curiosity.”
I was not in the mood for Alaric’s antics. I was still mulling over what the hell he could possibly mean when Jade replied, “It’s not ruined, kitten. Viol will leave shortly.” He shot me a sharp glance. “Won’t you, Viol?”
It was a command, not a question. Holy Drake, he pissed me off. How dare he boss me around after he’d stabbed me in the back?
Jade removed and folded his glasses. That was a clear indication our conversation was over. Scowling, I turned on my heel and stormed towards the window. If they wouldn’t answer my questions, I’d answer them myself. Unfortunately, that meant interrogating some poor schmucks who were promised a chance at love on an island getaway. Except they were promised a lie. I hated being the bearer of bad news, but at least I could pin the blame on Jade.
Without saying goodbye, I launched out the window. My dragon form ripped free from my flesh, and my wings spread wide to catch my fall. I gained momentum before banking towards the runway. If I caught the contestants before the plane left, I could still stop this disaster before it started.
But as I flew, my heart sank. I watched in horror as the plane slowly circled round and taxied in the opposite direction. I swore under my breath, pumping my wings faster. Ihadto make it in time. I had to tell those poor fuckers there wasn’t anything herefor them. If they spent even a single night on the island, they’d get their hopes up for nothing.
