I opened the cabinet, tossed the dye inside, and forgot about it forever.
Eighteen
Mylo
Against all odds,we made it.
Barely.
With under a minute to spare, my alpha was sixty seconds away from being turned into a valuable dragon-skin rug.
My alpha... I couldn’t eventhinkof that word without feeling jittery and warm. My fated mate.
Aurum.
My brain still hadn’t wrapped itself around this whole experience. It was too surreal. Part of me assumed I’d wake up from this fantasy at any moment and return to my old miserable life. But it never happened.
After Aurum and I got dressed, we found Saffron waiting outside the room for us. He acted as our ride, shifting and flying us to the shore. He’d flown me to the castle earlier, too, but the whole concept offlying on a dragonhadn’t sunk in yet. I wondered if it would feel different to fly with Aurum. I hadn’t seen his full dragon form since the opening ceremony. My heart fluttered excitedly at the idea.
Two figures awaited us at the beach. One of them was Gaius. The other was a tall figure with glasses and long hair tied up in atidy ponytail that trailed down the front of his chest. Judging by his noble aura and the streaks of green in his hair, I figured he was the dreaded alpha brother, Jade.
“Welcome,” Jade greeted us as we landed.
I had no clue how his tone managed to be both wonderfully polite and icy-cold. I thought Aurum was joking about his threats, but maybe he wasn’t. Was the lurking camera crew the only deterrent to Jade biting the twins’ heads off?
But the crew wasn’t filming yet. Like the other alpha dragons, Jade remained off camera, but since Aurum constantly worried about his wrath, I assumed the green-haired alpha managed everything behind the scenes. Then he must’ve been here to instruct—or scold—the twins.
My suspicion was confirmed when Jade narrowed his eyes and they both gulped.
“You’re not quite late,” Jade said with a thin smile, “but you were close.”
“Hey, we’re here, aren’t we?” Aurum offered.
Saffron nodded. “Yeah. Even though I’m not actually sure whyI’mhere.”
Jade arched a brow at him. “You’re not off the hook yet. Contractually.”
“Huh?”
“This season is meant to showcase both of you. Not just Aurum. And don’t think I’m unaware of your littleinvolvementduring the second challenge,” Jade reproached.
Saffron and I exchanged mutually guilty looks. He did technically cheat the challenge by personally handing his item to me.
“Oh, please don’t worry, Mylo, you’re fine,” Jade assured me with a smile. A second later, he turned a venomous glare onto the twins. “It’s these two who’ve been naughty.”
“What didIdo?” Aurum complained.
“I assume that whatever nonsense you two get into, you do it together.”
A beat passed, then Aurum and Saffron smirked at each other. There was an affectionate gleam in both their eyes.
Jade crossed his arms with a mischievous expression of his own. “And if you’re going to engage in such horseplay, then so be it. You’ve forged your own fate.” He smiled at me warmly. “Good news, Mylo. Your moonlit date will be an evening of horseback riding.”
The twins cackled.
“Oh, no. Jade’s finally lost it,” Saffron said.
Aurum snorted. “In case you forgot, there are no horses on the island, bro.”
