13. Aurum

Thirteen

What a fucking night.

Flying back to the castle in the night air cleared my head. Sort of. I still couldn't get Mylo and his adorable face out of it, but hey, at least my boner had chilled out.

The night's memories kept looping in my mind. Mylo's reaction when he opened his hotel room door and saw me was priceless. Maybe I should surprise him like that again.

I shuddered as I remembered everything else, too. The kisses, the touching, the feel of his soft tummy... Fuck, he was perfect.

It was late by the time I got back to my room. I pushed the door in with a stifled yawn. I didn't want to be loud since Saffron was probably asleep. The lights were off, but his door was slightly ajar. I stopped when I heard his voice on the other side. It was higher-pitched and giggly.

Was he talking to that man again? The hairs rose along my body. I didn't know why, but he gave me bad vibes, even though I'd never met or spoken to the guy.

Screw it. The door wasn't shut, so I peeked my head in.

"Hey, Saffron," I called.

He sat in bed with his knees tucked against his chest and the phone clutched tightly in his hands. He'd obviously been grinning and laughing before I came in.

"Oh, hey," he replied.

I heard an unfamiliar muffled voice say, "Who's that?"

My blood ran cold. Were he and that guy video calling on speaker?

"That's just my brother," Saffron said to the phone.

My lip curled. Just his brother? I was his twin, thank you very fucking much.

"Is that right?" The man sounded intrigued. "Well, come on, let's see him."

Ugh, why did every word out of that guy's mouth piss me off?

Saffron seemed hesitant to introduce us. "I mean, we're identical, so imagine me twice."

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that," the man teased. "I want to see both of you."

My skin crawled. He sounded like a damn creep.

I cleared my throat loudly. "Anyway, Saffron, are you gonna ask me where I've been?"

That got his attention. He furrowed his brow. "Yeah. Where have you been? I figured you'd run straight back here after the challenge."

My satisfaction died, because now I actually had to tell him where I'd been and what I'd been doing.

I tried to play it cool. I leaned against the wall with a nonchalant shrug. "I was with Mylo."

Saffron's eyes widened in genuine shock. "Mylo? The ferret?"

"That's the one."

He eyed me for a moment longer. I got the feeling he was pulled in two different directions—wanting to grill me for more info, or continue talking to his creepy phone guy.

But I knew Saffron, and the allure of gossip won out.

He flashed the guy on the phone a sympathetic smile. "Can I call you back later?"

"Aw, really? But we just started talking. And I haven't even seen your twin yet."

And you never will, douchebag.

The guy on the phone kept talking. "C'mon, Saffy, baby. Let me see you two together. Please?"

I nearly bit my tongue clean off. Saffy? Who the fuck did this guy think he was giving my brother nicknames?

"Okay, fine," Saffron conceded. He did a hand-waving gesture to summon me closer.

I stood there for a second, fuming. Seeing the man on the video was the last thing I wanted to do, but if it would get Saffron off the phone, I'd suck it up and deal.

I trudged into view of the screen with a scowl. The man on the other end was nothing special. He was a thin white guy with stubble and light hair. Big whoop. He was nowhere near as cute or sexy as Mylo.

Dammit, why couldn't I stop thinking about him? Now was so not the time.

"Aurum, this is my... friend, Billy," Saffron said.

I wasn't a fan of the suspicious pause before the word ‘friend'. I nodded stiffly at the guy.

"Oh, wow," Billy said with a smug grin, eyeing me up and down. "You really are twins, huh? I love that."

The skeeze factor of this guy was off the charts. I mentally added Saffron's phone to my list of items to burn, right after the rest of Mylo's badly fitted clothes.

"Can we talk now?" I asked Saffron.

He looked a bit disappointed that I didn't want to stay and chat with good old Billy, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"Okay, I'll call you back later," he said to Billy.

Billy winked. "Miss you already, Saffy."

Fucking gag.

Saffron giggled, waved goodbye, then finally hung up. He placed the phone down with a wistful sigh.

"Isn't he great?" he asked.

"Uh... sure," I said. "Does he always talk to you like that?"

Saffron smiled. "Yeah. He's so sweet."

I raised a brow. There was nothing sweet about that conversation. Billy sounded thirsty as fuck, and it came off as creepy, not cute.

"Should I be worried?" I asked.

Saffron blinked, startled. "About what?"

I couldn't articulate why Billy bothered me so much. It wasn't just that Saffron spent more time with him than me. Sure, I was selfish when it came to Saffron, but something rubbed me the wrong way about that guy.

"Is he a shifter?" I asked.

Saffron hesitated. "No. He's human." He shot me a defensive glare. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No."

"Then why are you annoyed at him?"

I grimaced. Of course Saffron noticed. I couldn't hide my feelings from the person who knew me better than anyone.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Maybe because he looks at you like a piece of meat."

Saffron frowned. "He does not. Billy cares about me. You just don't know him yet."

Yet? Did Saffron expect me to buddy up to this guy? I'd rather shove sandpaper up my ass.

"If you say so," I conceded, though I didn't believe it. I mostly wanted to change the subject before Saffron got upset with me.

He suddenly narrowed his eyes and sniffed me. "Hold on. You smell different." He gasped. "Did you fuck that ferret?"

I snorted at his word choice. "No. But we did... do stuff."

Saffron's jaw dropped. The information stunned him for a few beats. "Wow," he finally said. "I'm speechless."

I grinned. "There's a first."

He dropped his voice and gave me a serious look. "Aurum, are you... in love with him?"

"Hell no," I blurted out as quickly as possible. "No, no way, no how."

He arched a brow. "That's a suspicious answer."

"What? How?"

"You said four ‘no's when one sufficed."

"Whatever," I shot back, flustered. "Don't get the wrong idea. It was just handjobs. I didn't even fuck him."

Saffron side-eyed me. "Really? Why not?"

"Because he wasn't ready for it."

"So, you plan on doing it again," Saffron surmised.

Our conversation had snowballed out of control. My cheeks burned as I blurted out, "Maybe? I don't know. Why are we talking about this again?"

Saffron crossed his arms smugly. "You brought it up."

Shit.

"I am not in love with Mylo," I stated. As the words came out of my mouth, my chest randomly hurt. Did I have acid reflux or something?

"I believe you, but only because you've never been in love with anyone before," Saffron said, still eyeing me dubiously.

"Exactly."

"And you were so horny you had to break into his room and give him a handjob?"

"It sounds deranged when you put it like that, but yes."

Saffron shrugged and leaned back against his pillow. "All right. Well, I thought you felt the same way about Mylo that I feel about Billy."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. How could Saffron compare them? Mylo was adorable, funny, sweet, and caring. Meanwhile, Billy gave off major creep vibes and looked like a sentient shoe.

But Saffron and I were having an actual conversation without arguing for the first time in ages. I didn't want to shatter that by ragging on Billy. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad. Hard emphasis on maybe.

"Are you in love with Billy?" I asked, dreading the answer.

Saffron shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Maybe. We've only been talking for a short time, but..." He sighed wistfully. "He always knows what to say to make me happy."

It felt like ants marched over my skin. I knew Saffron wanted his fated mate, but was the man I saw on the screen really his destined partner? The problem wasn't that Billy was human—it was that he was Billy.

It was possible I wasn't giving him enough of a chance. But my instincts told me not to trust him, and they'd never steered me wrong before.

Mylo floated into my mind again. The same instincts urged me to protect him, and it felt good to do it. I liked him. Touching him. Smelling him. Just being close to him.

But that didn't mean I was in love with Mylo. I couldn't be. I didn't do that romance shit. I had to remind myself of that fact.

"Aurum?"

"Huh?" I said.

"You spaced out," Saffron said.

I shook it off. Thinking about Mylo for too long always sent me down a rabbit hole—or rather, a ferret hole. Speaking of which, I'd never actually seen him in his ferret form. He was probably so cute...

"Aurum," Saffron called again.

"Sorry. What?"

My twin shot me a doubtful look. "Anyway, it's late. We should both go to bed. We have another challenge tomorrow," he added, rolling his eyes.

My pulse quickened. Another challenge meant seeing Mylo again. The sooner I knocked out, the better.

But Saffron's tone made me hesitate. "Doesn't sound like you're looking forward to it," I said.

Saffron sighed as he nestled into bed. He gripped his phone in one hand and his dragon plushie in the other like a pair of comfort items. "I'm not."

I felt a pang of discomfort in my stomach. Once more, I was afraid of the answer.

"Why?" I asked.

Saffron shrugged listlessly. "None of these contestants are my fated mate."

"How do you know? You've barely spent time with them."

"Crimson, Thystle, and Cobalt all knew by now," he mumbled, staring at his blanket. "I don't have that magical feeling. The contestants are all fine, but none of them activate my instincts or whatever's supposed to happen." His face cracked and he slumped deeper into bed, hiding under the blanket. "I wanted it so bad, Aur..."

My heart broke for him. Seeing my twin in pain hurt like a knife in the chest. I snuck under the blanket and hugged him tight. It reminded me of when we were kids. Saffron cried during every thunderstorm, and hiding under the blankets was the only thing that made him feel safe.

"I know," I murmured.

Saffron took a few shaky breaths. When he eventually calmed down, he pulled down the blanket for fresh air.

"It's okay," he said, exhaling slowly. "I have Billy now. I'm not alone."

I frowned. Talk about a one-two punch.

"I don't know about Billy," I said, "but you've never been alone, Saff. You have me. You always will."

His eyes wavered like he wanted to say something. I had a feeling I knew what it was.

"I know we've been arguing recently," I admitted. "But you're the most important person in my life. You know that, right?"

"What about Mylo?" Saffron asked, more curious than accusatory.

"He's... different."

A smirk tugged at Saffron's mouth. He looked more like himself.

"So you're saying he's special?" he asked, his shit-eating grin widening.

I snorted and gave him a light shove. "What if I am?"

Mischievous curiosity lit up Saffron's eyes. I kept giving him more and more ammo to tease me about Mylo. But what was I supposed to do? Lie and pretend I didn't like him? Saffron already knew we'd fooled around, so that ship had sailed.

Time for Plan B—run away.

I yawned loudly and leapt off the bed. "Gee, I'd love to chat more, but I'm wiped. See ya tomorrow!"

He wished me goodnight and chuckled as I disappeared from view—and his suspiciously accurate interrogation.