Page 16 of The Dragon, the Bear, and Their Sugar Glider Omega

I lowered my head to the ground as Armel awkwardly stepped back. I stretched out my neck until he finally saw what I wanted. He could use his claws; they would never harm my armor.

He scrambled up and onto my back. I lifted and turned my head to look at both of them. Clay had crawled onto Armel’s shoulder. Now I had both Clay and Armel comfortably seated between my spine ridges.

I’d gotten my confidence back. This time, it only took me one graceful try to become airborne. I soared up, feeling my mates’ wonder and awe as we went above the treetops, the wind rushing.

I let out a cheerful roar.

Mates. Family. Life. Love.

Chapter Eleven

Clayborne

“Do you need to get back to work?” Rome asked after our shift.

I couldn’t remember a time when shifting had been that fun, where I didn’t feel like my beast was somehow less than, when I could just enjoy being in my fur and running around, when I could share that time with others who appreciated me. Our time as our animals had been everything I always wanted. But now it was time for us to figure the rest of this mating thing out.

We didn’t even know each other’s last names, where we lived, or anything really, and it was time to work on that. Sure I wanted to strip them both naked and beg for their cocks, but more than that, I wanted to get to know them. Fine, maybe not more than that, I was pretty darn hard. But equal to that, maybe.

“I do need to get back.” As much as I hated it, my shift was barely half over. “Except…hold on.” I fished my phone out of my pocket and messaged my boss, letting him know I found my mates and asking to not come back for the shift. I wouldn’t have felt bad, except it was the night of the big party.

My boss instantly replied, “Yes,” with a bunch of exclamation points, six hearts, and a cheer sign. I thanked him and then told my mates, “Nope, don’t have to work.”

“Who lives closer?” Roman asked.

I raised my hand. It didn’t matter where they lived; I was the winner on this one. “That would be me. I live down below.”

“You live at Animals?” Armel ran his hand down my back. It took me a few seconds to remember the question I was meant to be answering.

“Yup, they have staff housing. It’s one of the perks.”

“Lead the way,” Rome said, and I grabbed each of them by the hand and took them to my apartment. It was small, but we didn’t need a lot of space for what we were there for. All we needed was a quiet area to talk and if things went well, a bedroom to share. “This is it.”

“Wow, it’s so nice.” Armel slowly turned around, taking it all in.

“Yeah, they really take care of their staff.” It was one of the many things I loved about my job. “So, the reason we’re here: we’re all mates.”

I sat down on the couch, and the two of them sat on either side of me. “We should probably figure things out. I don’t know where to begin. This is hard.”

“I’m hard, you mean,” Rome teased.

“Yeah, that too,” I agreed. “In all seriousness, I meant that there are some things you need to know about me, and I’m sure there are things I need to know about you. But also, yeah, I just want to get you both naked and kiss you from head to toe and back again, slowing down in specific spots, of course.”

They both let out a groan. Later was going to be fun…really fun.

“Of course. Why don’t I start?” Rome let out a long breath. “You guys kind of lost the mate lottery with me.”

I found that impossible to believe.

“I’m financially not doing well…like, I am the poorest dragon that ever did dragon. But I work hard, and I’ll do what I can to be the alpha you need.”

I hated that he thought I’d care about money but also wasn’t that the same exact thing I’d been doing with pretty much everyone?

“Since we’re talking about money…” I braced myself for their reaction, but before I could get it out, Rome interrupted.

“I have a hoard, but it’s...pens.” He looked down. “I have a hoard of pens.” He made it sound like the worst thing ever. It was far from it.

“Pens?” I asked, intrigued.

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