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 therewasa 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’tthis 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?
