10. Mylo

Ten

I was goingto have a heart attack and die. That was the only explanation for the relentless, violent pounding in my chest. Or I was going to burn to death, since my cheeks were so hot they could toast marshmallows.

I took a few stabilizing breaths. Finally, my head stopped spinning and I could breathe again.

Aurum was here. In my room.

Comforting me.

Holdingme.

I couldn't even think about it without my mind going haywire. How did this happen? To me, of all people?

I splashed my face with cold water. When I was a normal temperature again, I stared at my reflection. As the droplets streamed down my pink chubby cheeks, I grimaced. Now that I was alone, I was too aware of my appearance. The mean comments I'd heard earlier rang in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to look different when I opened them.

It didn't happen. It never did.

But then, as if sliced by a blade, the bad feelings were cut short.

Because Aurum stood up for me.

My heart skipped with joy. Aurum punished those who were cruel to me not once, but twice.

Why? He could've acted like everyone else. It was easy to dogpile someone who was inferior, and unworthy...

Unless he didn't think I was either of those things.

I scoffed out loud. Of course he did. Aurum was so handsome. There was no way somebody who looked like me was on his level.

I sank against the counter with a heavy sigh. Oh, why had my parents signed me up for this stupid TV show? Didn't they realize how difficult this was for me? I hated being the center of attention because any attention I'd ever received had been negative. Being constantly filmed while surrounded by conventionally attractive bodies put my every insecurity on blast.

But there was no running now. I'd already won a challenge, and the dinner date approached fast. I had to put on my big boy pants and deal with it.

Not that spending time with Aurum was hard. Actually, I looked forward to it—provided I didn't pass out from nerves first.

The sky was a dyingorange that faded into streaks of purple and pink. Silver twilight stars sparkled overhead, complemented by the warm yellow string lights from the stage set up on the beach. In front of me was the world's fanciest dinner setup. There was a table draped in a crisp white tablecloth. On top of it were golden plates and cutlery, and golden candles lit up with flickering flames.

For a guy who only regularly ate out at burger joints, this was a lot.

I wiped my clammy palms on my pants. I made a conscious effort not to wear sweatpants tonight. If my mom saw me wearing a pair of old sweats to an elegant televised dinner, her spirit might leave her body.

Instead, I wore a baggy pair of jeans and a button-up shirt that was too long for me. I rolled up the sleeves, but there was so much excess fabric that they kept unrolling, so I gave up trying to fix it.

I was terrified. But my one solace was the lack of onlookers, thank gods. Tonight it was only the alpha dragons, me, and whoever else won the challenge. I'd forgotten their names when Gaius listed them, but there were only a few. Hopefully I wasn't too dumpy-looking in comparison.

Gaius greeted me as I approached the stage. His usual neon shirt was replaced by a waiter's outfit. "Good evening, Mylo! You're right on time. Come this way."

I followed him up the steps like a clueless baby duck. Everyone else was already at the table, so I died of embarrassment as they watched me awkwardly shuffle towards my seat. Ugh, this was just like high school again.

Then Aurum caught my eye and his face lit up. He nodded at the open chair next to him. I was relieved to sit there, since he was the person I knew best, but it also made my heart race.

"Hey," Aurum whispered, not even trying to hide his grin.

"Hi," I said.

I couldn't help noticing Saffron sitting on Aurum's other side. He regarded me silently. His expression was harder for me to read. It wasn't disapproving, but it wasn't exactly friendly either. It baffled me how anybody struggled to tell the twins apart when they were so different.

"Beautiful. Now the gang's all here, and we can begin!" Gaius announced. He handed out luxurious menus to all five of us. "Feel free to catch up and mingle. Just holler when you're ready to order."

He waltzed away, leaving the table in awkward silence. Or maybe I just felt it was awkward since I barely knew the other three people present. There was Saffron, of course, who I'd at least exchanged words with before. But I didn't recognize the other two omegas. They were both tall, fit young men who'd never talked to me.

Saffron frowned and did a verbal head count. "Wait, wasn't there another winner? I thought Gaius listed four omegas."

"I wonder if it was the guy I kicked out this afternoon," Aurum said casually.

Saffron stared at him. "What? Again?"

"Yeah. Another dickhead. Don't worry about it."

"What happened?" one of the other omegas asked.

Aurum's eyes flashed sharply. "He insulted Mylo. So, he went bye-bye."

I shrank in my seat as both winners glanced curiously at me. They were probably judging me in their thoughts.

Something tapped my shoe. I thought I'd accidentally bumped into the table leg, since I was fidgeting nervously, but then it touched me again.

Was that... Aurum's foot?

I went utterly still. My temperature shot up.

He nudged me again. And again.

What was he doing? Trying to distract me from my nagging thoughts? But how did he even know?

A slight smirk nestled in the corner of Aurum's mouth. He knew I was flustered, and he kept doing it.

Thank gods other people were at the table to pick up a conversation. I worried my flushed cheeks were obvious, but nobody else seemed to notice. They ignored me, chatting about the food and the challenge with Saffron.

It was actually a huge relief. Whatever Aurum was doing, it did distract me from comparing my body to other people's. I cleared my throat and picked up the menu, though I couldn't fully concentrate on the dishes while Aurum's foot nudged mine. It sent weirdly pleasant tingles up my leg.

"S-so," I mumbled to Aurum. "What're you gonna get?"

"Huh?" He sounded genuinely confused. "Oh, right. Dinner. I dunno. What are you having, Mylo?"

It was never easy talking about food with thin people, but Aurum counteracted my anxiety like a warm blanket on a cold night.

"Um... maybe the chicken linguini?" I said.

He nodded. "Can't go wrong with meat and pasta. I'll take mine with extra chicken. Where's Gaius?"

"Dude, people have barely had a chance to look at the menu," Saffron pointed out. "Give us a minute."

Aurum sat back in his chair. "Sorry."

It wasn't that he was being rude. He genuinely didn't seem to notice anybody else. All his focus was on me... especially his feet.

I tried not to make any noise as Aurum's shoe nudged mine from every angle. He was relentless. What was he doing? I wished I could telepathically beam the question into his head, but I lacked the magical skills, so I was forced to sit there while my cheeks rose to a thousand degrees.

"So, fellas," Aurum said, addressing the two other omegas. They sat upright and gave the alpha their full attention. "How'd you win the challenge, anyway? Can you really tell us apart?"

That piqued Saffron's interest, too. He waited expectantly for their answer.

The blond omega squared his shoulders. "Oh, yeah, obviously." He pointed at Aurum. "That one's Saffron. We met during the meet-and-greet. There's no way I'd forget."

"Me, too," the dark-haired one agreed.

Oh no. Aurum lied to them, and they actually believed him? I guess I couldn't blame them. I was confused by Aurum's deception at first, too, but it didn't take long to realize it was a ruse. Though I still didn't know why he'd pretended to be his twin brother in the first place.

"Guys, I'm Saffron," Saffron growled.

The blond omega nodded. "Yeah, he said you'd say that."

Saffron looked gobsmacked. But he didn't have time to correct anybody as Gaius waltzed back to the table.

"Time's up! The kitchen is burning up with the need to cook your orders," he said while fanning himself.

After Gaius took the other omegas' orders, he strode towards our end of the table. "And for you, Mylo? Dragons?"

Saffron sighed, thrusting his menu at Gaius. "Whatever he's getting."

He meant Aurum, but went out of his way to avoid his brother's name. Was he so annoyed at the omegas that he purposely went along with their misinformation? I guess that meant he wasn't interested in them romantically.

Aurum grinned. He seemed pleased that Saffron wanted the same dish as him. "Cool. Three orders of chicken linguini. Extra meat for me. Actually, toss more in for Mylo, too."

Gaius snatched up the remaining menus. "Coming right up!"

I was about to question Aurum's spontaneous gift of extra food—but then his foot lifted the hem of my jeans and grazed across my bare ankle. I bit my tongue. The unexpected touch sent a sizzling jolt up my leg and coalesced in a warm pool beneath my stomach.

I crushed my thighs together. This was bad. If Aurum kept teasing me, I wouldn't be able to hold my arousal back...

Aurum didn't stifle his smug grin. He liked teasing me. Normally that would've sent me into a negativity spiral, but he wasn't teasing me in a cruel way, not like the strangers who insulted my weight. Aurum teased me in a fun way. It was inclusive, a secret we shared together.

Aurum watched me with mischievous eyes. I felt pinned like a butterfly beneath his golden gaze, too enraptured with him to even struggle. Everything else melted into the background. I lost track of Saffron and the other omegas. This moment was all Aurum.

And the naughty, sneaky way he tormented me.

By the time our food arrived, I was officially hot and bothered. My heart raced and my hands were sweaty. I was surprised my jeans didn't catch fire from friction the way I constantly wiped my palms against them.

Gaius slid the deep porcelain plate in front of me. "Enjoy!"

The tantalizing scent of food filled my nose. The chicken was expertly grilled, the linguini was fresh and appetizing, and the creamy sauce made my mouth water.

Then my stomach growled loudly.

Oh, gods. I was utterly mortified. Did I have to be such a stereotype? A fat guy whose belly instantly reacted at the sight of food?

But Aurum laughed warmly. "That hungry, huh? Good thing I got you extra."

Suddenly struck with emotion, I turned to look at him. Some downtrodden part of me still expected to see judgment on Aurum's face... but it was never there.

"Don't wait," he ordered, picking up his fork. "It's gonna get cold."

"O-okay."

I hated eating around other people—especially a group of all thin strangers—so this extremely public dinner date should've been my ultimate nightmare. Yet sitting next to Aurum soothed me. It was like his presence forged a mental barrier against all my worst thoughts. When I was with him, I could actually focus on my meal and enjoy myself.

Holy shit, the food was good.

Aurum wolfed down his meal. I took my time savoring each bite, so he finished before me. That was a mistake—because now he was free to tease me again.

As I raised a fork full of pasta to my mouth, Aurum's shoe wriggled beneath my pant leg and shimmied up my calf.

I froze, shooting him a bewildered glance.

He grinned and kept going.

Good thing I wasn't actively eating or I would've choked.

I clutched my fork in a death grip like it represented my remaining sanity. Aurum was ruthless—and reckless. Was this even allowed? What if someone noticed? We could get in trouble, and I didn't want to cause any problems.

But Aurum wasn't just any man. He was an alpha dragon. He'd ejected people from the island without a second thought. He had power and authority—which he used to protect me.

Did his status give him lenience to bend the rules? Or did he just not care?

My train of thought flew off the rails as his shoe crawled higher up my leg. I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn't yelp. These baggy jeans were a massive blunder. There was too much space between the denim and my body. It allowed Aurum to sneak right in and touch my bare skin.

And nobody at the table knew.

"So, Saffron, do you know what the next challenge is gonna be?" the dark-haired omega asked.

Both twins perked up. The actual Saffron reacted faster. He turned his head a few split-seconds before Aurum did the same.

"I don't know," Saffron admitted. "They didn't tell us about the first challenge, either."

The omegas were clearly confused that the ‘wrong' twin responded. When they turned to Aurum expectantly, poor Saffron looked annoyed and dejected.

Come on, people. It's not that complicated,I thought, feeling sympathy for him.

"No clue," Aurum confirmed. "Guess we find out at the same time you guys do."

They seemed disappointed. Maybe they wanted an edge on the second challenge. It was a lost cause anyway, since they'd unknowingly burned bridges with Saffron, and Aurum ignored every contestant except me.

That made me feel weirdly special. I couldn't believe it, but I felt confident in this competition. I could tell the twins apart, and I knew their correct names. It was rare for me to have an advantage at anything besides video games.

After dinner wrapped up, I saw Aurum pull Gaius aside and whisper in his ear. Gaius nodded, then escorted the omegas back to the hotel. I wondered why since the hotel wasn't far, and it's not like the walk was dangerous. He even got in the elevator with us, whistling cheerily as the other omegas got off on their floors. I was the last one in with him.

"Um, Gaius?" I asked.

"Yes, Mylo?"

"Why did you come back with us?"

He grinned, leaning in to speak in a conspiratorial whisper. "Well... let's just say a little birdie told you this." He winked. "But Aurum told me to accompany the group back to the hotel, to let me know if he needed to kick off another troublemaker."

Was Aurum worried that the other two omegas would insult me while we were alone and he wasn't around? That was way too kind.

"Oh, um... thank you," I said.

"You're quite welcome. Ah, here we are," he added when the door dinged and opened. "Have a good night, Mylo."

"You, too."

My mind felt jumbled as I pulled out my key card. So much had happened, and the Dragonfate Games had barely started. It was all too surreal.

I sighed and entered my room, ready to sleep.

Then I stopped dead in my tracks.

It wasn't empty.

Aurum was inside, sitting on the edge of my bed.