Alpha Dragon's Tiger (The Dragonfate Games #1)

by Hawke Oakley

"Do you... want it to make your buttocks look fat?" "Yes! Big butts are all the rage, you know. And I must look good for my date next week."

Honestly, her assumption didn't upset me that much. At least, I tried to tell myself it didn't. Because of my powerful shoulders and stoic nature, I was frequently mistaken for an alpha. But the real reason my body looked the way it did was because I was a Siberian tiger shifter. Our animal forms were so muscular and strong that even omegas of our kind took on those traits. There was nothing I could do about it.

Muzo was an omega shifter, too. His animal form was a black-backed jackal, which meant his human form was lithe and wiry—and much smaller than me. He looked like a typical omega standing at a cute five-foot-five with narrow hips and a slight frame. But he made up for his size with his obnoxious personality and loud mouth.

Aurum smiled fake-sweetly at him. "How are you the most inclusive dragon in the world, and yet still the biggest asshole?"

"Thystle is correct," Jade pointed out calmly. "As you know, we share a common ancestor—Holy Drake. That is why dragons can breed with all shifters, regardless of species."

"I am a grown dragon, thank you very much," I snapped. "One who thinks the idea of finding your mate on a game show is vulgar and lowbrow." The golden twin waved me off. "Yeah, yeah. Keep complaining when we're surrounded by cute omegas, getting laid." By now I was fuming. "I do not want to get laid. I want my fated mate, the love of my life. And he's certainly not going to appear on a Drake-damned game show."

"The Dragonfate Games," Viol growled. "That's what we'll call it."

Yawning, I flipped through to the last page. I froze. At the very bottom of the page was the last contestant. His photo made my heart skip a beat. And that never happened to me. But a dragon's curiosity couldn't be contained. We were like giant, scaly cats.

None of them stood out to me—except one. The tiger. My breath caught in my throat when I saw him in the flesh. There he was, standing fifteen feet away. Broad-shouldered, powerful, stoic. He looked bigger in person, and he had a presence that the others lacked, a magnetic force. Try as I might, I couldn't look away from him. And then he looked back. Ferocious amber eyes locked on mine. In the golden light of the sunset, they looked like orbs of fire, hot and burning. He didn't blink. He stared—almost glared—like he had a bone to pick with me.

I fought off the urge to shift into my dragon form and thwack them away with my tail, but that was probably an OSHA violation.

Taylor stood right next to me. His clean white shirt was also covered in spilled soda. His scowl matched mine, deep and disappointed. But at the sight of him, something odd happened. My fury dissipated. My dragon soul quieted without a peep. I suddenly didn't care about my suit. Which was utterly deranged, because I cared about my suits more than anything. "Typically people apologize when they spill things on others," Taylor remarked dryly. That was the first thing he ever said to me. He was right, of course.

Taylor clearly wasn't thrilled to be here. He didn't even seem to give a shit that he was speaking to an alpha dragon. That intrigued me.

"Why don't you go talk to them instead?" "You don't seem to understand how this works," I said playfully. "I'm the alpha dragon you're competing for. You're supposed to claw your way to the top for my affections." Taylor shot a fierce glare my way, his burning eyes stabbing into me like shards of amber. It sent a shiver down my spine. I liked that he challenged me.

Standing off to the side was a haughty figure I'd recognize in any form. With pure white fur that matched his human form's hair, Alaric perched on the edge of the river as a domestic house cat. His perfectly groomed long fur was about to get ruined in the water. No wonder he had such an attitude problem. His shifter form was tiny. I could've batted him around like a soccer ball with one paw.

"What are you doing?" Alaric hissed. "Going to Blockbuster. What does it look like I'm doing?" That angered Alaric. "Helping your sad little friend won't help you win. If you were smart, you'd turn around and swim to the island." "Then I guess I'm not as smart as you."

Perhaps I should've paid more attention during the planning stage of the Dragonfate Games, because I surely would've spoken up about the utterly ridiculous "challenges" my brothers had thought up. Honestly, asking omegas to shift and swim across a river? Who came up with this nonsense? The worst part was that I was positive every challenge would be as idiotic as this one.

Aurum nudged me. "Yeah, you like 'em big and strong, with broad shoulders and a moody face." "Taylor does not have a moody face," I argued. "He's... stoic." "Yeah, he's so stoic that it looks like he doesn't even want to go on a date with you!"

As evening descended upon the island, my nerves were shot. I didn't particularly want to go on my date with Crimson, but I also didn't not want to... It didn't make any sense.

I loved showing off my clothes and my body to him. I felt like the world's most expensive stripper.

It was far too late to deny it—I was smitten with this big kitten.

"Should we be doing this?" Taylor mumbled. "Isn't the whole point of this show to find your fated mate?" The words were on the tip of my tongue: I've already found him.

"It would be unfortunate if you bumped your head and fell into a coma during filming." "Is that the only reason you're concerned?" "Of course not, you dumb lizard." My jaw dropped and I gasped loudly. "You did not just call me a lizard. When was the last time you saw a lizard fly and breathe fire?" "I haven't seen you do either of those things," Taylor said with a wry grin. "In fact, I haven't seen this so-called dragon form of yours at all. Maybe it was all a big scam to entice contestants."

"Once again, nothing is off limits," Gaius went on. "Climb, slither, crawl, fly, or hitch a ride—do whatever it takes to reach the top. Your reward is another chance at a date with Crimson!" The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I didn't want any of these omegas to go on a date with him. He was mine.

I'd watched the whole challenge from behind the scenes. Honestly, I nearly had a heart attack when Taylor launched himself off the cliff in order to protect Muzo. But I understood why he did it. Taylor's stoic exterior hid a kind, caring personality. It was one more thing I loved about him. Love… Yes, I was certain about the feeling now. It couldn't be anything else.

Seriously, Crimson? Getting horny on TV? This wasn't like me at all. I was calm. Collected. Taylor did something to me. I felt deranged over him.

“There’s no need to be upset,” he said. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” I blew out a hot, shaky breath from my nostrils. The force of it ruffled Taylor’s hair. Then I felt a gradual change in my body. My majestic, powerful dragon shrank back inside of me until I straddled Taylor in my human form. The beach was dead silent. For once, even Gaius didn’t have anything to say. The cameras still rolled. The look on Duke’s face told me everything I needed to know. They’d just struck TV gold. Taylor had tamed the dragon.

"Because the thought of you leaving nearly made me shift and destroy this whole building," he muttered.

"You have a bit of a temper, don't you?" "It's a dragon thing. When our mates threaten to disappear, we get... fiery." My heart stumbled over itself. "Your mate?" Crimson's expression was dead serious. "Yes."

dragon form earlier, I wasn't afraid. Startled, at most. As his massive, scaly weight hovered over me, I felt safe. Wanted. Needed.

"Did you want to fuck me on that beach?" I asked. Crimson's teeth grazed the shell of my ear. "Of course." I shuddered for multiple reasons. "Would you have, if nobody was watching?" "Taylor, I barely held back from breeding you while the cameras were rolling."

"I forgot you've never been with a dragon," he admitted with a grin. "Which is good. Because I would've torn him limb from limb." "Thank you for mauling my hypothetical dragon ex."

"I want you to be my omega. My mate. I want to worship you daily. I want to fulfill your every whim, every desire." His dragon's growl slipped into his voice again, making his chest rumble as he pressed against me. "Do you know how much it pained me to be apart from you last night?" I’d thought the discomfort was mine alone. "Yes," I said honestly. "I felt it, too. That nagging feeling that you should've stayed."

After many long hallways, we reached a pristine red door. Crimson opened it and gestured for me to enter. What I expected was—well, a bedroom. What I got was a massive, sprawling space the size of a penthouse suite. Calling it a ‘room’ was like calling a mansion a house.

Alaric rolled his eyes as he strolled closer. “Dear gods, you two are dramatic. Didn’t you hear a word Gaius said? We have an invitation to return next season. I’ll be here.” “I think I’ll return, too,” Matteo added, shooting an amused glance at the wailing omegas in my arms. “It wasn’t Crimson, but I’m not convinced my mate isn’t here on this island. Call it eagle’s intuition.”

With my urge to lick satisfied, I shifted back to human form to pick up my baby. It was my first time getting a good look at them, and they were just as beautiful as the egg they grew in. Their scales were a reddish-amber, like a mix of Crimson’s scales and my tiger’s orange pelt, but the most surprising part was the stark black stripes, like a tiger.