Page 25 of The Dragon, the Bear, and Their Sugar Glider Omega

“When are your men getting here?” he asked.

“As soon as Rome gets off work, I guess.”

He was only working the bar today, had gotten lucky with the afternoon shift, so in theory, he was going to be there soon. But in theory and practice weren’t always the same thing, and I had to remind myself to be patient.

My patience paid off a few minutes later. I sensed them coming long before I saw them. “You good to do the next few on your own?”

“Yeah.” Dez cupped my shoulder. “I’ve got this. You go find your mates. I’m glad Rome has you.”

I turned to face him. “I’m the lucky one.” When I turned back around, my mates were nearly to me.

“Hey, guys.” I kissed Armel first.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Rome asked, smiling playfully. He looked great for having worked a full shift on his feet after the work week he’d had. He looked a lot less tired than I was, for sure.

“Saving the best for last?” I shrugged, and Armel laughed as I kissed our mate.

“You need us to get out of your hair?” Rome was so used to the human bar. Sure, I needed to work, but I didn’t need to ignore them in the process.

“Nope. I got us a table.” I showed them to their seats and sat beside Armel and across from Rome.

“Aren’t you supposed to be training Dez today?” Rome asked, looking at him. I loved how he was looking out for his roommate and me at the same time.

“Yes, but also, he needs to start doing a bit more on his own. With me here, he has the freedom to do that without feeling like I’m looking over his shoulder the entire time. And, from my seat, I can see if he needs anything.”

“How’s he liking it?” Rome asked.

“He’s a natural, and everyone here already loves him.”

Objectively, he was doing great. And having him shadow me wasn’t really necessary anymore. It wasn’t like he needed as much training as I had when I got here. I’d been such a hot mess, and not once did anyone make me feel bad about it.

“Nice to see him fitting in here.” Rome grabbed the small menu on the table.

“It is. I’m thinking maybe we can...maybe… I want to offer him my apartment. When his lease is up, I mean.” I still didn’t know when that was.

“You want to give him your place?” Armel clarified.

“Yeah, then you wouldn’t be in the lurch.” I reached for Rome’s hand. “And you wouldn’t have to worry about him.”

Before we could continue the conversation, I noticed Dez looking incredibly confused.

“I need to go. Sorry.”

I hurried to the bar to find Dez trying to figure out which of the frou-frou drinks was which and gave him some tips, my eyes and attention never far from my mates.

Chapter Eighteen

Armel

My home was the only logical choice for us to live in, and we could make changes as we liked. Clay was living in his Animals’ apartment, and Rome shared an apartment with a roommate. I had the only actual house among us. We could easily move somewhere else if we chose later on, or remodel, and I already had an ADU planned for the backyard that could be an office or he-shed

I’d fallen in love with the Craftsman bungalow the instant it came on the market a couple of years before, and I was so glad that my mates also seemed to like it. The deep stone porch with its columns stood out against a home of mostly wood, and my bear felt like it had a forest feel about it.

Looking around on the day my mates were going to officially move in, I was glad I’d spent every spare moment for the past couple of weeks cleaning and organizing. I wasn’t too sloppy and didn’t have piles of things around, but as a single bear with an active career who was rarely home to do anything more than eat and sleep, things started to pile up. Paperwork, clothing that I wanted to donate in a box by the door, items past their expiration date in the pantry…nothing terrible, and my mates had certainly been here and seen how I lived, but with them moving in, my bear suddenly became den happy and insisted I make everything perfect for them. Since I agreed, I buckled down and made it happen.

The master bedroom now had brand-new bedding on the extra-large bed I’d commissioned. We still slept all cuddled together, but I wanted there to be plenty of room for anyone who might want to stretch out. The en suite had the fluffiest towels I could find, nice soaps and body gels and shampoo… I wanted them to feel welcome, and I’d snooped around a little to make sure I knew the brands they liked. Fridge was stocked, too, with everything I’d seen them enjoy so far when we ate together.

Getting ready for them to arrive was so exciting and although they were pretty much sleeping here every night already, on the date when they “officially” moved in, I was so excited I could barely keep from dancing around the place. Only the fact that a dancing bear, at least when it referred to this shifter, was more like a bear in a china shop kept me from doing that. It would just make extra work for me.

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