That was the final nail in the coffin. I was sorely outnumbered. Arguing with six brick walls would've been a better use of my time.
Yet I still couldn't let it go. Somebody had to be the voice of reason. Usually it was Jade, but he'd betrayed me by laying the positives on the table. Useless green lizard.
"Is anybody thinking about the logistics of this?" I argued. "For one thing, it sounds expensive."
"We have the money," Cobalt pointed out.
"Yes, buthoware we going to host a game show? Where will these omegas stay? Who's going to feed them? What if they make a mess of the island? What if—"
Aurum cut me off. "What if Crimson stopped throwing a temper tantrum like a dragonet?"
"I am a grown dragon, thank you very much," I snapped. "One who thinks the idea of finding your mate on agame showis 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 toget 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."
Saffron smiled cloyingly. "Aww, it's actually kinda cute how much of a romantic you are, Crimson."
"Yeah, relax, man," Aurum said, patting me on the arm. "We wanna find our mates as much as you."
I doubted that. Aurum and Saffron were too busy goofing around to think about mates. Me, on the other paw? It crossed my mind multiple times a day. It was an itch I couldn't scratch, and with the length of my talons, it should've been possible to scratch anything.
But then again, thiswasSaffron's idea. Perhaps I'd misjudged my brothers' intentions. Maybe on the inside, they were as lonely as me. That thought filled me with a scrap of sympathy, and guilt for insisting Saffron's suggestion was utter stupidity. Even though it was.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay. Who's going to plan and do all the paperwork and red-tape nonsense? Because I won't be roped into it."
Jade snaked his arm around my shoulder with a calming smile. "Relax, Crimson. I don't mind doing it."
Aurum snorted. "Yeah, don't you know paperwork is Jade's kink?"
Jade played along with a good-natured grin. "Oh, absolutely. I'm getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it."
I removed Jade's hand from my arm. "Great. Maybe you can go be horny about paperwork overthereand not right next to me."
Aurum, Jade and Saffron snickered.
As Cobalt stood from the table, we turned to look at him. He announced, "It's settled. We'll put Saffron's idea into motion. Prepare yourselves. Soon our island will be home to many omegas, all vying for our attention. If it goes well, we might even get a few eggs out of it."
A few of my brothers looked excited at the idea. I withheld the urge to gag.
"You're all missing something important," Thystle said with a disgruntled huff. "This...thing—"
"Game show," Saffron supplied.
"This game show needs a name. Something catchy. Otherwise, people won't be interested." Thystle crossed his arms. "Thisisgonna be televised, right?"
Dear Holy Drake. I hadn't even considered that.
"Oh, good," I mumbled. "Not only are we hosting an omega mating party on our home turf, we're actively broadcasting it for the world to see."
Everyone ignored me.
"Yes. It should be televised," Cobalt said confidently. "Dragons have been fading from the public consciousness for a long time now. The more eyes we get on us, the better."
In a supremely unhelpful manner, Jade chimed in, "Game shows run in multiple seasons, correct? It stands to reason that we should follow that formula."
Saffron gasped, leaping up eagerly. "Yeah! Like one of us per season! That way, we can really focus on the omegas."
