“Nope. Sorry. Not happening.”
Despite all the drama,Rorik won the second challenge fair and square. That meant he was entitled to a fancy date with yours truly. From what I knew about Rorik, his life in the tundra had been practical and modest. He’d never done anything fancy in his life. This would be a whole new experience for him, and I wanted him to be comfortable, but also have fun.
When I asked Rorik what he enjoyed doing the most, he’d said, “Spending time with you.”
My heart melted.
“Besides that,” I pressed.
Rorik hesitated, then said, “Eating and sleeping.”
Oh, my sweet simple bear. He didn’t know that whenever Jade pulled the strings behind the scenes, the outcome was never half-assed.
The date was to take place in our castle’s new restaurant that evening. The entire room was renovated last season for one of Jade and Alaric’s dates, so it was the perfect place for a nice dinner. I just hoped Rorik wouldn’t feel out of place.
As I got dressed for the evening, I heard a knock at my bedroom door. It was a familiar one. I wasn’t surprised when Aurum waltzed in a second later.
“Yo,” he said, leaning against my dresser. He grinned at the two identical white button-ups laid out in front of me. “Wow. Tough choice.”
“Impossible,” I agreed.
When I glanced at him, I couldn’t stop staring at the bandage on his neck. It was a guilt-inducing reminder of how hard my journey on the Games had been.
“Knock it off,” Aurum said casually.
“Should I wear a neck bandage, too? Like I did during the challenge?”
He scoffed. “Dude, just ask Rorik to give you a big hickey instead. It’s pretty much the same thing.”
“Aurum,” I chided, laughing.
He flashed a grin. “What? It’s true. Mylo wassojealous that another omega nibbled on my neck like that,” he teased, obviously joking.
I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll stop worrying.”
“You say that, but I know you won’t,” Aurum complained. He knew me too well, as usual.
“Gee, sorry that I feel bad about my fated mate attacking my twin. Imagine if Mylo flipped out and lunged at me and I bled all over the place? How’dyoufeel, huh?”
Aurum considered this seriously for a moment. “Yeah, I see your point. But I still think you should relax.”
I was about to argue with him when he reached for the bandages and pulled them off. I braced myself for a horrible injury, but only two pairs of pale scars remained on either side of his neck.
“See?” Aurum said. “I told you it looked worse than it actually was. I’m pretty much all healed up.”
A shudder of relief ran through me. He was right. The reality wasn’t nearly as awful as I’d imagined.
“You know what the worst part about this is?” I said gravely.
Aurum dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “What?”
I leaned in further. “People can tell us apart now.”
Aurum gasped in horror. He mocked choking, then crumpled to the ground. “Oh, the humanity!”
I kneeled to join him on the floor. “We’re never gonna recover from this,” I mumbled, shaking my head.
As Mylo walked past my open bedroom door, he stopped and raised an eyebrow. The girls were perched on his shoulders. They giggled at the sight of their dad squirming on the floor.
