5. Aurum

Five

"Are you ready yet?"Saffron called from his room. "We've gotta be on the beach by six."

"Just about," I lied. "Are you?"

He stepped into the main area wearing tight blue jeans and a black tank top. Honestly, his outfit was overly casual. But if that was what he wore...

Saffron saw my open door from where he stood. He peered in and furrowed his brow. "Dude, you're not even dressed. Put some pants on."

"I couldn't decide what to wear."

The truth was I wanted to match with him. Unique outfits made us easier to tell apart, and I wanted to avoid that.

He rolled his eyes. "And your hair still isn't dyed."

"I told you I couldn't find it!" That part was true. Seriously, how did hair dye just disappear?

I quickly threw on the same jeans and tank, then stepped out of my room.

"Okay, let's go," I said, hurrying past him.

He pressed a hand to my chest, stopping me in my tracks. "Dude."

"What?"

"Seriously? The exact same outfit?"

"We wear the same outfits all the time," I argued. That was true, so it wasn't totally out of character.

Saffron frowned, trying to formulate a response, but he was interrupted when Jade opened the main door to our shared space.

"It's almost six," he announced in a warning tone. "You know how I feel about tardiness on the show."

The matching outfit drama was forgotten. We hauled ass to the beach before Jade skinned us alive.

The place swarmed with omegas. Tables were set up with drinks and snacks to encourage people to mingle. That would've been awesome—except they were supposed to mingle with us.

No, thank you.

I tried not to visibly bristle at the crowd. Saffron looked fine, so I had to act fine, too.

"Well?" he prompted.

I glanced at him, confused. Wasn't he thrilled about this shit? Why wasn't he waltzing into the crowd and sniffing out his fated mate? Not that I was complaining.

As he regarded me, I realized something. He was waiting for my input because he cared about my feelings.

A tiny worm of guilt wriggled in my belly. Was this copycat crap a dick move to do to him? Yeah, but it was necessary. If he fell in love, we'd drift further and further apart. He'd become obsessed with his fated mate and forget about me. I wouldn't let that happen.

"Let's do it," I said.

Saffron nodded, but glanced one last time at my undyed hair before he dove into the crowd.

I lingered for a second to gather my patience. I was not excited to talk to thirsty-ass sharks who were either here for the screen time or to take a bite out of Saffron.

But I had to do it. So I sucked it up and got in there.

I noticed a couple familiar faces by the drink table and naturally drifted towards them. I felt zero romantic feelings towards Poppy or Alaric, but it was better than small-talking with total randos.

"Hey, guys," I said.

Alaric whirled around first. His fingers pinched around the stem of a wine glass. "It's about time you showed up," he said, mouth curling into a sly smile.

Gag. Not interested. C'mon, dude, take the hint.

Then I remembered I was supposed to act like Saffron. Shit. How would he react to these two?

"It's... Saffron, right?" Alaric asked, eyes squinting. "Or are you Aurum?"

Oh, right. I didn't necessarily have to act like Saffron because nobody could tell us apart.

Checkmate.

"You got it the first time," I said.

Alaric's face lit up. Poor guy. He had no clue I was lying to his face, but it was for the greater good. Still, I had to change the subject fast before Alaric got the wrong idea.

"Poppy, what's up?" I asked.

The timid wolf shifter looked surprised I was talking to him. He clutched an orange soda in both hands. "Oh, hello, Saffron."

I expected being called my brother's name to feel strange, but it wasn't. Good thing Jade couldn't hear my internal thoughts, otherwise he might try to psychoanalyze me or dissect my brain.

Alaric cleared his throat to summon my attention. "Enjoying your season so far?" he asked, batting white eyelashes.

Holy Drake, I had to get this cat off my tail ASAP. Good thing I knew just the thing to make him lose interest.

"It's been great! In fact, I sense my fated mate here already," I said sagely.

Alaric stood ramrod straight. "You do?"

I pointed my thumb randomly behind me. "Yeah, I feel him somewhere over there."

The excitement died in Alaric's eyes. His face fell, then he scowled. "Him?"

I didn't even know where I pointed, so I turned and followed my unseen trajectory.

Turns out there was a little dude standing directly behind me—and I'd pointed straight at him.

He was a short, chubby omega with tawny hair and big dark eyes. A pair of nerdy round glasses perched on his nose.

Wait a second. I recognized him. He was the guy who fell flat on his ass during the opening ceremonies. The one who held eye contact with me and didn't break away. The one I'd glared at because he was kinda cute and I didn't understand why.

He gawked. "Um, hi. Sorry. I just wanted to grab a soda..."

A tall, thin omega nearby overheard our conversation. He glanced at the chubby omega and guffawed. "Like you need one."

"Shut the fuck up," I snapped.

Everyone in the nearby vicinity went silent. Including me.

Whoa. Where did that come from? I didn't even know this omega. Sure, I had morals and values and all, but I'd defended him like a dog with a bone. What the hell happened?

Before I could comprehend it, another stream of angry words spewed out of my mouth like fire: "Get off my island. Now."

The tall omega scoffed. "Are you serious?"

I didn't even want to talk to this dipshit. I snapped my fingers, calling over the closest cameraman.

"Get security. I want this guy gone," I ordered.

Other camera kobolds flowed in, capturing the whole scene on film. I didn't care about that, or about the dude getting escorted away and kicked off the show. I turned my attention back to the chubby omega.

"Yo, you good?" I asked.

In the past five seconds, his face turned pale as a sheet. "Y-yes?"

"Good. Don't let people talk to you like that," I ordered.

"Uh... I'll try not to."

"What's your name?"

Everyone stared at us. The chubby omega looked like he might faint.

"Mylo?" he whispered.

I barely heard him. I leaned in closer, turning my ear. "What's that?"

"My name is Mylo?" he repeated, voice wavering.

Everything he said was a nervous question. Guess he wasn't used to a big crowd. They didn't usually bug me, but right now, I understood how he felt. It was too much, and I wanted to take him out of it.

"Um." Mylo paused as if summoning his courage. "What about you?"

"Aur—"

I cut myself short. Fuck. I had to remember the plan.

"Or, we can go talk elsewhere," I said, smoothly correcting my slip-up.

Mylo's pupils blew out. His eyes rounded wide as plates, sporting a thousand-yard stare. "Okay," he finally said.

As we passed by the drink table, Poppy waved goodbye with an encouraging smile. Meanwhile, Alaric scowled as if his favorite TV show just got cancelled for the fourth time in a row. He poured half the bottle of wine into his glass and chugged it.

I led Mylo further from the crowd of minglers, but stayed within range so Jade wouldn't come on set to yell at me for disrupting filming. Camera kobolds lingered in my peripheral vision. I could tell they made Mylo anxious. He shuffled his feet together and he licked his lips, eyes darting around like a gazelle surrounded by hyenas.

"Hey," I said. "Focus on me."

His warm brown-eyed gaze snapped to mine. His eyes were nice, even behind his glasses.

Since Mylo seemed too shell-shocked to talk, I took the initiative. "Sorry about the crowd," I said.

"Ah. Yeah. It's... big."

"Didn't you know that, though? It's been wild since the first season aired. Like, way more contestants applying each time."

He stared down at the sand, looking almost guilty. "I've never watched the Dragonfate Games."

He'd never seen it? That was weird. Then why was he even here?

"My parents signed me up," Mylo explained, sensing my unspoken question.

"Oh," I said.

Taking my surprise the wrong way, Mylo winced. "Yeah. So, I probably shouldn't be here."

"Dude, stop." My tone was unexpectedly firm. For some reason, that statement got on my nerves. "You deserve to be here as much as anyone else."

Mylo blinked. "I do?"

"Yeah, duh."

He fiddled with his little hands. His timidity reminded me of Poppy, but different somehow. It was uniquely Mylo.

"Thanks, um... I actually never got your name?" he said in that questioning tone again.

I took a second to compose myself so I didn't blurt out the wrong one. Er, the right one.

"Saffron," I said.

Except this time it was weird. Earlier, pretending to be my twin came naturally. When I lied to Poppy and Alaric just minutes ago, it felt good. Easy. Fun.

So why did lying to Mylo feel uncomfortable?

"Thank you, Saffron," Mylo said, a smile poking into his soft cheeks.

I smiled back and ignored the irritating buzz in my chest at getting called the wrong name. "No problem."

"So, um," Mylo said, chewing his lip. "You're a twin?"

"Yup." That weird sensation wriggled in my belly again. "My brother's name is Aurum."

Mylo nodded, since he had no reason to think I was lying.

"And you're actually a dragon, huh?" he asked.

Right. He'd never watched the show, so everything was new to him. The Dragonfate Games were so popular now that it seemed strange a fellow shifter would be shocked to meet a dragon. But I remembered back before it was a reality, one of the purposes of the show was to remind society at large that, yes, dragons did exist.

"Sure am," I said proudly.

"Wow," Mylo murmured. "I'd never seen a dragon in my life, then I saw you two on that stage. You were amazing."

I grinned. "Yeah, you were so amazed, it knocked you on your ass."

Mylo's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. He dropped his gaze submissively. "Right..."

Shit, did I hurt his feelings?

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean it like that," I said.

Mylo didn't look up. A shadow crossed his face, like he was caught up in a storm of bad feelings.

I knew I had to interrupt his spiral before it got worse. I put my finger on his chin and lifted it, forcing him to look at me. His brown eyes watered. Ugh, I didn't want him to cry.

"I'm not making fun of you," I promised. "Actually, I thought it was cute."

"W-what?"

"I said it was cute."

Mylo stared into space. Was he having an out-of-body experience?

"Um," he said hesitantly. "Is that why you were glaring at me?"

I tried not to wince. He'd noticed that, huh? I didn't glare at him because he'd done something wrong, or because I didn't like him. I glared because I was confused and annoyed at myself for finding a total stranger cute. But now that we'd spoken, we weren't strangers, so it was fine to think that about him.

But I couldn't explain all of that to Mylo. "I wasn't glaring at you. I had sand in my eyes," I lied. Again, that yucky sensation swirled in my gut. I had to change the subject. "Anyway, what kind of shifter are you?"

He shook off his daze. "Oh, I'm a black-footed ferret."

"A ferret? One of those masked little weasels?"

"Er, yes."

I would never have guessed by looking at him. Most of the time, shifters' human forms had some kind of tell about their animal species. Alaric kept his cat's odd eyes, Poppy had his wolf's fluffy white hair, Matteo had a hooked nose and sharp eagle eyes, Taylor was big and strong like a tiger...

Ferrets were long and slim, like furry tubes. But Mylo was short and chubby. I guess his dirty-blond hair kind of resembled the pale part of a ferret's fur.

Mylo blushed again as I looked him over. He shuffled uncomfortably. "I know, I don't really look like one..."

Shit. I had to stop making him feel bad by accident.

"Actually, you do," I argued. "Ferrets are cute. And you're cute."

Mylo stammered. I didn't know why he was so shocked. It wasn't supposed to be a huge compliment or anything—it was just the truth.

"Thank you?" Mylo finally managed to say.

I snorted in amusement. The way he turned everything into a question was cute, too. Dude was way too nervous. I hoped he would relax soon.

"You're welcome," I replied.

As the conversation lapsed into silence, I noticed blinking red lights in the corner of my vision. Geez, how many cameras were on us? I liked talking to Mylo, but this was more attention than I'd bargained for.

My plan flashed like a neon sign in my mind. I was Saffron. I had to remember that. The point of this scheme was to throw omegas off his trail so nobody fell in love with him.

But I didn't want Mylo involved. He seemed like a nice guy, and I didn't want to lead him on just for "Saffron" to break his heart.

"Yo!"

Speak of the devil.

Saffron—the real one—came running towards us. I hoped he didn't call my name. I didn't want to repeat the argument we'd had in front of Crimson.

Thankfully, he didn't. He came to a stop in the sand and blew out a breath.

"Hey, what are you doing all by your—" Saffron stopped when he noticed Mylo. A curious expression crossed his face. "Oh. You're not by yourself."

I guess he hadn't seen Mylo because I blocked his view. The omega was pretty short, after all.

Mylo froze like a baby deer. "Hello..."

I seized the chance to talk before Saffron could. "This is my twin. And this here's Mylo."

"Hi," Mylo repeated. Thank Holy Drake he was too shy to say the fake name I'd fed him.

"Hey, nice to meet you," Saffron said. He sounded exhausted, like he'd uttered that line a thousand times tonight. Maybe that's why he didn't notice I hadn't introduced him properly. Turning to me, he added, "Dude, I'm swamped. Can you come distract people?"

I held back a scoff. Now that he finally got romantic attention, he was overwhelmed by it. Should I feel guilty over my I-told-you-so attitude? Yeah. But I didn't.

"Hmm... How badly do you want help?" I asked.

I knew I was being evil. But hell, it was fun.

I noticed Mylo glancing between us. That tickled me, too. Nobody on this entire island could tell us apart. Why hadn't I ditched the hair dye sooner? This was awesome.

Except Mylo's shrewd brown eyes scrutinized me a little closer than I expected.

I shrugged it off as paranoia. No way could he tell the difference between me and my twin, especially since we met literally five minutes ago.

Saffron groaned. "Badly. Come on, please."

My heart clenched. Even if it was for something as meaningless as this, Saffron needed me. That was a good sign.

"All right, I'm coming," I said. "See ya, Mylo."

He weakly raised a hand. "Bye."

As we left, Saffron asked, "By the way, why did you kick a contestant off the show?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"There was a commotion near you that spread like wildfire. I heard people gossiping about it."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I did, and I'd do it again. Some fuckhead made fun of Mylo's weight."

Saffron's brows rose. "I didn't know you cared that much."

Honestly, I didn't realize I cared until that moment, either. It didn't matter that I barely knew him—I just couldn't stand hearing someone talk about him negatively.

Wanting to brush off the subject, I said, "I dunno, dude. Anyway, how much longer does this thing last? I'm hungry."

"We've got another hour of mingling," Saffron said. "And this time, you'd better stick by me."

Hope fluttered in my chest. My plan was already paying off.

"Don't worry about it, bro. I got your back," I promised.

And I meant it.