He grinned and kept going.
Good thing I wasn’t actively eating or I would’ve choked.
I clutched my fork in a death grip like it represented my remaining sanity. Aurum was ruthless—and reckless. Was this even allowed? What if someone noticed? We could get in trouble, and I didn’t want to cause any problems.
But Aurum wasn’t just any man. He was an alpha dragon. He’d ejected people from the island without a second thought. He had power and authority—which he used to protect me.
Did his status give him lenience to bend the rules? Or did he just not care?
My train of thought flew off the rails as his shoe crawled higher up my leg. I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t yelp. These baggy jeans were a massive blunder. There was too much space between the denim and my body. It allowed Aurum to sneak right in and touch my bare skin.
And nobody at the table knew.
“So, Saffron, do you know what the next challenge is gonna be?” the dark-haired omega asked.
Both twins perked up. The actual Saffron reacted faster. He turned his head a few split-seconds before Aurum did the same.
“I don’t know,” Saffron admitted. “They didn’t tell us about the first challenge, either.”
The omegas were clearly confused that the ‘wrong’ twin responded. When they turned to Aurum expectantly, poor Saffron looked annoyed and dejected.
Come on, people. It’s not that complicated,I thought, feeling sympathy for him.
“No clue,” Aurum confirmed. “Guess we find out at the same time you guys do.”
They seemed disappointed. Maybe they wanted an edge on the second challenge. It was a lost cause anyway, since they’d unknowingly burned bridges with Saffron, and Aurum ignored every contestant except me.
That made me feel weirdly special. I couldn’t believe it, but I felt confident in this competition. I could tell the twins apart, and I knew their correct names. It was rare for me to have an advantage at anything besides video games.
After dinner wrapped up, I saw Aurum pull Gaius aside and whisper in his ear. Gaius nodded, then escorted the omegas back to the hotel. I wondered why since the hotel wasn’t far, and it’s not like the walk was dangerous. He even got in the elevator with us, whistling cheerily as the other omegas got off on their floors. I was the last one in with him.
“Um, Gaius?” I asked.
“Yes, Mylo?”
“Why did you come back with us?”
He grinned, leaning in to speak in a conspiratorial whisper. “Well... let’s just say a little birdie told you this.” He winked. “But Aurum told me to accompany the group back to the hotel, to let me know if he needed to kick off another troublemaker.”
Was Aurum worried that the other two omegas would insult me while we were alone and he wasn’t around? That was way too kind.
“Oh, um... thank you,” I said.
“You’re quite welcome. Ah, here we are,” he added when the door dinged and opened. “Have a good night, Mylo.”
“You, too.”
My mind felt jumbled as I pulled out my key card. So much had happened, and the Dragonfate Games had barely started. It was all too surreal.
I sighed and entered my room, ready to sleep.
Then I stopped dead in my tracks.
It wasn’t empty.
Aurum was inside, sitting on the edge of my bed.
Eleven
