“Um, what are you two doing?” Mylo asked.
“Lamenting,” we said simultaneously.
“Oh. Er… okay. Have fun,” Mylo encouraged. He held an old game system in his arms I recognized from Aurum’s collection. “I’m gonna play the originalCreature Crossingwith the girls. Wanna join, Aurum?”
Aurum didn’t move from his silly position. “Ugh. You know I’d love to, but Jade told me I have to join the dinner tonight. All dragon bros have to be there.”
“What?” I asked, surprised. “I thought the dinner date was just for me and Rorik.”
Aurum smirked. “Methinks Jade has an ulterior motive. He wants everybody else to kiss and make up with Rorik after what he did to me.”
An instinctive twinge of jealousy curled in my stomach. “Well, nobody’s kissing Rorik except me. But as for making up… That would be nice. As it stands, I can’t imagine Crimson, Thystle, Cobalt, and Viol have anything nice to say about Rorik. Though Jade seems to have gotten over it.”
Aurum nodded, his face more serious. “He must sympathize with the guy. Remember when Jade went feral and almost killed us when we accidentally hurt Alaric? It’s not exactly the same, but Jade knows people do stupid shit sometimes.”
I groaned at how stupidwe’dbeen back then. “Tell me about it…”
Mylo cleared his throat, then smiled. “For what it’s worth, Saffron… I’m looking forward to knowing Rorik better. Maybe we can throw an omega’s night with him sometime.”
My chest warmed. If Mylo wanted to hate Rorik, he was pretty damn justified. But he didn’t. He was willing to give him a chance, and that filled me with hope.
“I’m sure he’d appreciate that, Mylo. Thanks,” I said, then hauled myself to my feet. “Now, I’d better pick a freakin’ outfit before I’m late to my own date.”
19
Rorik
Suddenly,arriving on the island without any personal belongings was a huge problem.
I had no clothes of my own, only borrowed outfits from Cobalt—who, despite his cold generosity during my interrogation, certainly despised me by now. Besides, I couldn’t show up to a date with Saffron wearing his older brother’s clothes.
But what choice did I have? My size wasn’t exactly common. I couldn’t borrow from anybody else, and I didn’twantto. I refused to be the helpless, ignorant outsider anymore.
These were the thoughts running through my mind as I arrived at the castle doorstep in bear form.
Hey, at least I wasn’t naked.
But as I stepped paw into the front hallway, a figure I’d never seen before stood waiting for me. He was tall, with relatively broad shoulders, a stern yet warm expression, and an expectant look on his face. He smelled vaguely like a cat, but stronger.
“Hey, Rorik,” he said. “I’m Taylor, the first omega winner of the Games. Crimson’s my mate.”
I winced internally. I’d only met Crimson once, and he was definitely not a fan of mine. Did Taylor hate me, too?
“Nice to meet you,” I said, dipping my head respectfully.
Taylor glanced me over. “Heard you have a bit of a fashion problem. Come with me.”
“What about my date?” I asked.
“Trust me. This won’t take long.”
I didn’t want to make Saffron wait, but Taylor was already walking upstairs. I loped ahead to catch up with him. As we ascended the staircase, he led me to a new room. It smelled like cat and dragon inside. No doubt it was Taylor and Crimson’s bedroom. I felt guilty for even being there.
“Shift, please,” Taylor instructed. As he spoke, he pulled a measuring tape out of his pocket and stretched it out.
Something about Taylor’s no-nonsense attitude felt comforting. Like me, he was an atypically large omega with a serious personality. I relaxed as I shifted into human form and let him take my measurements.
Trying to make conversation, I asked, “You made Saffron Jr, right?”
