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Rorik

“Sir, could you please shift into human form? You won’t fit on the plane.”

I curled my lip, annoyed that a stranger had given me orders. I only took those from my clan alphas.

It was a small lizard-shaped humanoid thing that had spoken to me. A kobold, according to Sheba. She’d debriefed me on all the information she knew about the dragons and their island. She said the dragons’ private airport was staffed by the kobolds. That didn’t make it easier to stomach a three-foot tall entity bossing me around.

“No,” I said.

“Erm,” the kobold said. “When I say you won’t fit, I mean it literally. The seats are generous, but they’re not suited for a polar bear.”

“I will fit,” I insisted. I was used to being cramped into small places. How different could this be?

“Hey, buddy, you’re holding up the line,” an annoyed voice called.

Various omegas in human form stood behind me, queuing up to board the plane. Instinctively, I counted around thirty of them. It was part of my battle training to effectively gauge an enemy, including their numbers. They looked weak. None of them were a match for me.

Ignoring the outburst, I faced the kobold blocking my path.

“Let me in,” I said. “I will fit.”

The kobold scratched her head, examining me closer. “Wait. Where are your bags? You don’t have any carry-on luggage?”

“No.”

“Checked bags?”

“No.”

Now she seemed intensely confused. “Not even a personal item?”

“No,” I growled. “I brought nothing.”

As she blinked in confusion, I grew concerned about drawing too much attention to myself. The other omegas all lugged around their personal belongings. I didn’t even own personal belongings.

The kobold finally sighed. “Well, I guess that balances out. Come in and find a seat, sir.”

I entered the strange vehicle and did just that. Apparently, a plane was a weird metal tube with stiff horizontal wings. It was cramped, and soon to be crowded, so I lumbered to the back and nestled into a spacious nook.

The air was stuffy. I rubbed my paw over my nose. It was a weakness I wouldn’t admit, but all the novel scents overwhelmed me. I was used to snow, cold air, and the omega musk of the barracks. The new smells assaulted my nostrils—perfume, salty snacks, shampoos, and foreign scents of shifter animals I hadn’t known existed.

I pushed my feelings aside. They were irrelevant to the mission.

Step one was complete. I’d boarded the plane. Soon, I’d be taken straight into the dragons’ lair, and I’d move into the next phase: picking my target dragon.

Boarding the plane was simple. Getting off the plane was not.

I stewed in my impatience as every single omega grabbed their slew of items. How much crap did they own?

My capacity to wait was over. Growling, I got to all fours and stormed down the aisle, shoving aside anyone who happened to be in it. The storm of scents flooded my nose again—soap, airplane sandwiches, even the familiar note of wolf—but the plane made it impossible to get my bearings. I had to get out of there.

I broke free of the exit door and leapt off the top of the stairs, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

Then I immediately regretted it.

Tiny shards of burning glass pricked my feet. I roared in shock as heat scorched my paws. I stood up on my hind legs, kicking them back and forth. What was this horrible substance? Why was it everywhere?

A hearty chuckle laughed at my misery. “Hello, my friend! Is this your first time on sand?”

I snapped my gaze onto the man who’d spoken to me—then I regretted that, too. His clothing was an excruciating shade of yellow that felt like an ice pick to my eyes. I threw my paw across my face, shielding my eyes before I permanently damaged my vision.

“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad,” the man said, chiding but strangely friendly. What was his problem?

As I adjusted to the uncomfortable sand and the dazzling brightness of the stranger’s awful shirt, I recognized another major problem.

It was fucking hot.

My mouth dropped open as I began to pant. As a bear, I could only sweat from my paw pads, and they were already drenched. My thick fur—my protection from the cold—was now a curse. It weighed me down like an unwanted blanket.

“You must be Rorik,” the horrible-shirt man greeted cheerfully. “I’m Gaius, the host of the Dragonfate Games. I usually don’t introduce myself so soon, but…” He chuckled. “I couldn’t help but notice you struggling. Need some help?”

My head swam. I had to focus. Concentrate on the mission.

“How do you know my name?” I growled, still covering my face with my paws as I adjusted to the brightness of everything.

Gaius flashed a casual grin. “Oh, I know everyone’s name.”

I never asked questions back home, but this was not home. I had to gather all possible information, even if that meant breaking my own ingrained training.

“Why?” I demanded.

Gaius chuckled. He was oddly calm for a human speaking to a seven-foot-tall polar bear.

No. I remembered Sheba’s debriefing. He’s not human. He’s a shifter—some kind of creature called a gryphon.

I narrowed my eyes. Gaius wasn’t a dragon, but he worked for them. He was still my enemy.

“I peeked at all the contestants’ files,” Gaius said with a wink. “I was curious when I saw we’ve got a polar bear this time around.”

My muscles stiffened as I went on guard. I had a file? How much did he know about me? How much did the dragons know?

“What does mine say?” I asked cautiously.

Gaius tilted his head in thought. “Rorik, no last name listed, age twenty-four, polar bear omega… That’s all I remember.”

My shoulders relaxed. That was basic information.

“So, no last name, huh?” Gaius went on casually. “Is Rorik a stage name, like Madonna?”

I didn’t know what he was blabbing about. “No.”

An amused expression stretched over Gaius’s face. He wagged a finger at me. The gesture was strangely playful, not admonishing. “Ooh, you’re tough and serious, aren’t you, big guy? Don’t worry, I’ll get you to crack a grin by the end of this season.”

I watched him warily. What was he planning? I added Gaius to my mental list of suspicious individuals to watch out for.

“Let’s get you out of the sun before you bake alive,” Gaius said. “Do you know where the hotel is?”

My ears perked. Sheba had mentioned I’d stay in a tall building called a hotel. I hated to admit ignorance, but I shook my head.

Gaius seemed excited to escort me. “Come this way.”

I nodded dutifully and followed the weird man, though I was careful not to look directly at his eye-searing shirt.

“So, are you excited to potentially find your fated alpha?” Gaius asked cheerily.

His unexpectedly long-legged strides combined with the burning hot sand beneath my paws made it difficult to keep up. Determined not to look weak in front of this strange man, I dropped to all fours to quicken my pace.

Then I realized he was awaiting my response to his inane question about fated alphas. I opened my mouth to say ‘no’ before biting my tongue. My entire mission rode on this lie. I had to act like I believed it.

“Yes, sir,” I said instead, trying not to sound stilted.

Out of nowhere, Gaius guffawed. “Sir? Nobody’s called me that in—well, forever!”

He didn’t press the topic, so I assumed he’d accepted my answer. I relaxed slightly.

Although the hotel wasn’t far, the heat was disgusting. My poor ears were about to shrivel to dust. By the time we reached the building, I was open-mouthed panting, desperate to cool off.

“Welcome to the world of air conditioning, my snow-loving friend,” Gaius announced as we stepped into the lobby.

The cool air hit me like a beautiful slap in the face. I gasped in relief, nearly throwing myself on the cold tile floor to dispel the heat still clinging to my fur.

But I stomped down my needs and remained composed. I wouldn’t act like a fool.

Gaius shot me a curious look. “You know, most contestants shift into their human form to combat the tropical heat. Ever consider that?”

Not this again.

“No,” I ground out through my teeth.

“Whatever you say, big guy.” Gaius gestured to the front desk. “You can grab your room key over there, and take the elevator up to your floor.”

“Why are you explaining this to me?” I asked, suspicious again.

Gaius smiled. “Because you look lost and confused.”

“I’m not either of those things,” I snapped, louder than I intended.

Although I wasn’t actually trying to bite him, Gaius dramatically danced out of range of my huge fangs. My sudden outburst didn’t faze him at all. Was a gryphon—whatever that was—so powerful that he could easily relax in the presence of a polar bear?

I noticed with a pang of regret that I was being watched. Other omegas filing into the hotel lobby stared at me uneasily, as if worried I’d go after them next. Their gazes boring into my skull bothered me.

I needed to retreat to my room and calm down. I wasn’t here to make a good impression, but making a bad one could harm my mission. I had to blend in.

Which, as a gigantic polar bear, was impossible.

After concluding that a hotel was just a stupidly large, needlessly extravagant version of the barracks back home, I found my room. The first thing I did was turn the temperature down to freezing. The second thing I did was mentally prepare for the upcoming event that evening: a “meet and greet.”

Sheba’s debriefing was useful, but it hadn’t prepared me for the actual experience of being on the dragons’ island. I didn’t know what to expect. Everything—and everybody—was strange here.

When I arrived in my room, I found a printed piece of paper on the counter that detailed my schedule. As I scanned the paper, my heart raced with excitement. Just my luck—I already had an opportunity to come face-to-face with a dragon tonight. From there, I’d begin my plan of attack.

My heart ticked faster. My mission now felt dangerously real.

I strode to the huge window and scanned the beach below. Tables and decorations, doused in golden sunlight, were already set up for the event.

I balked at the idea of going back outside in that foul heat. Turning my head, I caught my reflection in a wall-mounted mirror. A white bear with tired black eyes stared back at me.

Recalling what Gaius said earlier, I sighed. I didn’t like shifting into my human form—it was weaker, slower, and less competent in every way—but it might be the only way to survive the heat.

The meet and greet started at seven. I would not be late. Bypassing the elevator—I didn’t trust that witchcraft-powered thing—I stomped down the stairs to the ground floor. With a grimace, I left the cool embrace of air conditioning, bracing myself for the heat, and trudged towards the beach.

Music blasted on speakers. Drinks and cups were available on every table. Omega shifters in human form mingled, chatting and laughing and shooting jealous looks at each other that weren’t as subtle as they hoped.

I regarded the gaudy scene from a distance, reluctant to join in. The frivolous excess was foreign to me. These people’s lives were wholly different than mine, and for the first time in my life, I felt like an outsider. The crowded beach was somehow lonelier than the sprawling, empty tundra back home.

But my feelings didn’t matter. I had to find the dragon.

Bracing myself against the unholy temperature, I loped towards the crowd. I was stubborn, and refused to shift unless the heat was literally unbearable.

Unfortunately, that choice made me stand out. Every other contestant was in human form. They dodged out of my path, parting like a flock of birds before I knocked into them with my massive shoulders.

As I looked around, I grew frustrated. I didn’t see anything. Where was the dragon? A giant winged lizard couldn’t hide, even in this crowd. As far as I knew, dragons weren’t shifters, so if one was present, it should’ve been easily visible.

As I scanned the beach, I noticed a tighter throng of people by the shore.

“What’s going on over there?” I asked the nearest omega, who poured himself a drink by the table. Judging by his scent, he was a large bear, but not an arctic one. Grizzly, probably.

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 I see him? 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 being anyone’s mate 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—

A young human man.

Sunlight-colored hair fell across his forehead. A matching yellow earring dangled from his ear. His body was lithe, fit, as sleek as an otter.

He was… not a towering, catastrophic reptile. He was small. Breakable. A single swipe of my paw would obliterate him. I could crush him into paste. I could kill him just by sitting on him.

Suddenly, a sweet, spicy scent tickled my nose. It was different than perfume or syrupy cocktails. It was thick and natural; bodily. It made the fur lift on the back of my neck.

As I stared at the golden-haired man, I felt breathless.

It was the heat. It had to be the heat.

“Talk about an entrance,” the blond man said, breaking into a grin. “Hey. I’m Saffron.”

My heart stopped for a beat.

That scrawny, insubstantial waif was the dragon I had to kill?