8. Mylo

Eight

My racing heartlodged in my throat. The first challenge was today, and I was so nervous I could pass out.

At least I wasn't hungover like Alaric.

He trudged alongside me and Poppy towards the edge of the beach, where the white sands changed to grass and forest. I was grateful the two experienced omegas accepted me into their little group. None of the other contestants gave me a second glance. If they were anything like the guy who'd been kicked off, they were too busy judging my appearance.

"Can somebody turn the sun down?" Alaric grumbled. A fashionable pair of dark sunglasses blocked his eyes.

"I don't think that's possible," Poppy said sympathetically. I got the feeling he would actually try to fulfill Alaric's request if he could. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should stay at the hotel."

Alaric sighed. "I'm fine. Just a headache. Besides, I have no reason to put in actual effort, so I'll take it easy today," he added, shooting me a glance.

So his drunken ravings last night weren't all drama. He really had given up on finding his mate with either twin this season. But if he still thought Saffron picked me as his mate, he was out of his mind.

"I dunno know what you're talking about," I told Alaric.

Alaric pushed the sunglasses up his thin nose. "We'll see."

The contestants gathered in front of Gaius, who was easy to find since his highlighter-yellow button-up radiated like a beacon.

Alaric shielded his face with his hand. "Dear gods, he's trying to murder me today..."

But it wasn't Gaius or his neon shirt I was focused on. Beside him stood the twin alphas. It was cheesy, but they were breathtaking. I'd never seen two more beautiful people in the flesh. I almost felt embarrassed to be in their presence.

Despite their identical outfits and appearances, my gaze kept sliding to the one on the right. I didn't know why. There wasn't a single differentiation—not that I saw, anyway. Yet I couldn't help my fascination with one of the pair. Saffron, he said was his name.

Then he caught my gaze, and his golden eyes flashed.

I held my breath. The same thing happened during the opening ceremony. But this time, we weren't strangers. He'd spoken to me. He knew my name. That made our locked glances feel... intimate? No, that word was too strong. Friendly?

"Welcome, omegas!" Gaius announced in his cheery, charismatic voice. "I hope you're ready for your first challenge!"

The crowd roared with approval. Poppy and I both winced at the loud noise. Alaric groaned, rubbing his temple to nurse his throbbing headache.

I glimpsed at the twins. I couldn't tell if they were excited or not. If I hazarded a guess, they seemed unsure. I had no clue how this show worked. Did the alphas know about the challenges beforehand, or was it sprung on them the day of?

"Fantastic, I love your enthusiasm," Gaius exclaimed. He strode towards the twins and clapped them on the back. "Today, we'll start off with a simple task. Using your experience from the meet-and-greet yesterday, your challenge today... is to figure out which twin is which!"

The crowd's hopeful excitement died like roadkill.

Gaius grinned, oblivious to the vibe shift. "See? Easy!"

Alaric scoffed under his breath. "He must be joking." A pause. "He is joking, right?"

"I don't think so," I murmured.

Looking at the twins, I saw a noticeable contrast in their expressions. The one on the left seemed as shocked and apprehensive as the crowd. Meanwhile, Saffron failed to stifle a grin.

Why? It seemed odd their reactions varied so wildly. Then again, they were two different people. I knew I shouldn't fall into the trap of always lumping them together.

"Aurum and Saffron will be split into two separate stations," Gaius explained. He spread his arms, noting the divided seating arrangements. They were far enough apart to be out of earshot of each other. "You'll have five minutes with each twin. No question is off limits, except their name, obviously. Afterwards, you'll write down who's who. The winners will have a group dinner date with both alphas!"

Alaric pinched the bridge of his nose. "Winners? Plural?" He scoffed. "Please. I'll eat my shoe if anyone wins this."

"Even if you're not sure, there's a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right," Poppy pointed out.

He fiddled nervously with his hands, which made me think he wasn't confident, either. Looking around the crowd, that was apparently a common sentiment. Everybody seemed confused.

"Dragons, you go sit down. Contestants, make two lines, please," Gaius announced. "All right, step right up! Let the challenge begin!"

The apprehensiveness evaporated. Omegas rushed to the front of the lines. They were all eager to talk to the alphas, regardless of who they spoke to. I didn't want to get trampled, so I stayed back and waited for everybody else to go first. Poppy and Alaric had the same idea.

I glanced at the staged area. Each side had two armchairs—one for the alpha dragon, one for the contestant. They were partitioned from the crowd, probably so people waiting in line couldn't see or hear the conversations for an extra hint. But the camera crew lurked on the other side to capture everything on film.

As the first two omegas in line entered the partition, I watched the twins closely. Despite Gaius's order to sit down, they hadn't moved yet. The wary one—Aurum, I guess—looked like he was trying to make the best of this challenge.

But the one I'd spoken to—Saffron—seemed excited. Remembering Alaric's statement, my stomach twisted. I knew it. The alpha dragon wasn't interested in me. If he was, he wouldn't look so thrilled about talking to all the contestants.

"Oh, by the way," Poppy began as we waited together. "I spoke to Taylor this morning. He said I remembered correctly. The twins usually do look different. But right now, they don't. Even he couldn't tell them apart this morning when he went to check."

The sunglasses slid down Alaric's face as he gasped. "What? So this is a purposeful stunt to confuse everyone?"

Poppy shook his head. "I'm not sure. Taylor didn't make it sound like that..."

"Ugh, will you stop giving everyone the benefit of the doubt? It's absolutely a stunt. I wouldn't be surprised if they coordinated this on purpose for the drama of it all."

It amused me to hear Alaric of all people calling others dramatic. But was he right about this being a purposeful trick to stir up intrigue? I couldn't put my finger on why, but I wasn't sure.

The twins finally assumed their seats in their separate partitions. Time dredged by as I waited for my turn—which, being at the very end of the line, took forever. By then, many of the contestants had finished their chat with the first twin and waited for the second. I noticed more hopeful expressions, like they'd figured out the mystery. I wondered if I would be able to do it, too.

After Alaric and Poppy finished, it was my turn with the alpha on the left side of the partition. Poppy was second to last, and he smiled and wished me luck as he joined the other line.

I swallowed the anxious lump in my throat.

Here goes nothing...

I stepped into the partition and took a seat in the armchair opposite the golden alpha. We hadn't even exchanged a single word and my palms were already clammy. The cameras flanking us didn't help. I tried not to think about this horribly awkward conversation being televised, otherwise I might pass out.

The alpha dragon looked tired, but offered me a polite smile. "Hey."

"H-hi."

He nodded, but wasn't in a hurry to talk. I bit my lip as silence hung in the air.

Which one was he? Saffron or Aurum?

Saffron was the one who'd spoken to me privately yesterday. He'd protected me from the cruel comment.

That meant Aurum was the one who'd showed up later, begging his twin for help with the overwhelming crowd.

The alpha in front of me had no strong familiarity in his eyes, not enough to ping anything. I met both twins last night, but only one sought me out—and I didn't think it was the man sitting across from me.

So, that meant he was Aurum... right?

Just to make sure, I regarded his face. His beautiful, full lips were something you'd see on a model. He had perfect skin, fluffy golden-yellow hair, and matching eyes. But so did his twin. Neither had scars or makeup or anything that would help differentiate them.

The alpha cleared his throat. "So, do you have any questions for me?"

My mind went blank. I asked the only thing I could think of: "Do you, um... remember me?"

The alpha paused, his brows knitting together. "Yeah. You were hanging out with—" He stopped short, his mouth making an ‘o', then he slowly said, "My brother."

That gave me pause. If I hadn't been focused on how gorgeous his lips were, I wouldn't have noticed it, but he nearly made the wrong sound. If this was Aurum, and Saffron was the twin I knew better, shouldn't this alpha have made an ‘s' shape with his mouth instead?

Or, I was reading way too hard into it. He could've been about to say something else entirely. I had to stop making assumptions.

"That's right," I said, nodding. "Saffron talked to me a bunch last night."

The alpha's eyes flashed so coldly it frightened me. Did I say something wrong? He masked it fast, but it didn't stop the anxiety pumping through my veins.

There was something else, too. The way he glared at me felt different than how the golden dragon stared at me during the opening ceremony. He seemed distracted, like he wanted this to be over so he could investigate something that was bothering him.

"So, what kind of shifter are you?" the alpha asked. His tone was brisk, and he seemed eager to change the subject.

That proved it. The twin I'd spoken to knew my shifter species already. This wasn't the knight in shining armor who'd protected me from callous remarks.

I rubbed my sweaty palms on my knees. "A black-footed ferret."

"Huh. You don't really look like one."

Ouch. That definitely wasn't the reaction I got from the other twin. It was weird how much less comfortable I felt with this one. Not that he'd done anything bad—I felt uncomfortable around 99% of people—but I didn't get that vibe with his twin. That one made me feel safe. And, for some reason I couldn't understand, he'd called me cute.

Since it seemed like me and the alpha across from me were in mutual agreement about skipping this conversation, I figured this was a good opportunity to scurry away and chat with the safe-feeling alpha instead.

Trying not to make a scene, I slowly rose from my seat. "A-anyway, thanks for chatting."

The alpha looked surprised but didn't stop me from dipping out early. I got out of my seat and left.

Well, I would have—except my clumsy foot caught on the bottom of the armchair and I tripped.

"Ah!"

My stomach lurched like I was on a rollercoaster. This was it. I'd already fallen on my ass, and now I was going to fall on my face. It was kinda poetic, actually.

But before I ate shit in front of the crowd for a second time, a strong pair of arms caught me.

I blinked, breathing hard with panic. I expected my nose to smash into the ground, but it didn't.

The person hauled me to my feet. When I saw his face, the air exited my lungs in a gasp.

It was the other golden alpha—the friendly one.

"Shit, are you okay?" he asked, his eyes shining with worry.

I was breathless. "Y-yeah, I think so."

"Geez, for a weasel, you sure are fucking clumsy," he complained warmly.

My heart fluttered. He remembered.

"Come here. Sit down," he ordered.

There was no room for argument, but I didn't mind. His strong personality was a comfort. He herded me to his side of the partition and sat me down in the chair. I'd essentially skipped the line, but there was nothing I could do about it. The alpha bent the rules, not me. I hoped the other contestants weren't too upset...

"What about everyone else?" I asked nervously.

"They can wait."

The special treatment made my chest squeeze. I wasn't dreaming, right? I bit the inside of my cheek.

Ow. Okay, not dreaming.

"So, you talked to my brother already, huh?" the alpha asked, leaning back casually in his seat.

I nodded. I noticed he was careful to say "my brother" instead of a name. When the other twin nearly slipped up, it made me suspicious.

What if Alaric was right? What if there was a twin-related schtick happening?

That little conspiracy theory already existed in the back of my mind, but it felt more real after Alaric brought it up, too. Wasn't this show popular enough without a gimmick? It didn't make sense to purposely confuse the viewers.

The alpha sat forward, watching me closely. Unlike the other twin, he seemed eager to chat. Maybe I'd have better luck squeezing a hint out of him.

"You good, Mylo?" he asked.

My skin tingled. Why did it feel good when he said my name?

I usually minded my own business and didn't normally poke my nose into things, but my ferret instincts were acting up. As a species, we knew shenanigans like the back of our paws. Something fishy was going on here.

That was it—I had to know the truth. Which twin was I really talking to?

"Yeah, sorry," I said, offering a shy smile to cover up my blaring anxiety. "I was just thinking about my time with Saffron."

Frigid, angry jealousy flashed across the alpha's eyes.

My heart skipped a beat.

Bingo.

That settled it. The alpha in front of me lied about his name. He wasn't Saffron. His real name was Aurum.

And, for some reason, he was so pissed I'd dropped his brother's name that he didn't even notice my sneaky motive.

Aurum dug his nails into the armrests. "Your time with—"

He stopped short, like his brain short circuited. I'd bamboozled him.

Slow and deliberate, he released his death-grip on the chair and clasped his fingers together in his lap. He exhaled a laugh.

"You mean Aurum, right?" he asked, forcing himself to sound casual. It might've worked on somebody else—and maybe even on the audience for whom this was being filmed—but not me. I'd literally ferreted out the truth, and there was no going back now.

I noticed that getting the question out took him a while. I wondered if he had trouble keeping up the charade.

"No," I said, determined to stay the course. "I mean your twin named Saffron."

Aurum's eyes flew wide open. An explosive mix of emotions stormed in his gaze as he stared at me, silent and intense.

A shudder ran down my spine.

Uh oh. Did I make a huge mistake by pissing off this dragon?

"M-maybe I should go," I said meekly.

Aurum suddenly frowned, like he'd been shaken out of a daze. He opened his mouth to object, but before he could, I launched to my feet—careful not to trip this time—and scurried off the stage.