Page 18 of Soar

Gathering up the list and Salem’s suit for the dry cleaner, he quickly made the rounds. He dropped off the suit at the closest dry cleaner and then grabbed a rideshare to a local market. It was tempting to load up on all the fresh fruit, veggies, and meat, but he didn’t want to overwhelm his skittish mate. Best to sneak in under his defenses.

He made one last stop to grab a Crock-Pot before zipping back to Salem’s apartment with his haul. The good doctor had presented him with a spare key this morning, telling him to lock the door behind him when he left to find a hotel. Like he expected Gregori to simply shove the key under the door and actually leave.

Nope. Now he had a safe way to come and go during the day while Salem was at work.

Back at the apartment, Gregori quickly put away all his goodies and threw together a hearty stew, which would fill and warm his mate when he returned from a long day at the hospital. The leftovers were easy to keep, allowing him to have it for lunch for a couple of days as well. Not to mention, it would bubbleand cook all day, filling the apartment with a yummy smell. Hopefully it would soften any grumpiness from Salem when he returned to find his dragon still staying at his place.

With dinner cooking and lunch set for Salem tomorrow, Gregori moved on to the next item on his list—making himself useful at the hospital. Not only would this prove he was independent and helpful, but it just might provide Gregori with more insight into his own mate.

He caught another rideshare to Mass General Hospital, where he strolled up to the reception desk with an easy smile, his hands shoved into the pockets of his long wool coat. Not that he was feeling the chill of the winter afternoon thanks to being an ice dragon, but he always received some very odd looks when he wasn’t appropriately dressed for the bitter cold.

The man with thinning brown hair and thick glasses blinked owlishly at him as he stepped up. “Good afternoon. Which department can I direct you to?”

“Hello, I am interested in volunteering a few hours several times a week. Who would I need to speak to?”

“Wonderful!” The man shuffled through some papers before finding what he was searching for. He placed a couple of sheets on a clipboard and grabbed an ink pen, handing it all over to Gregori. “We’ll just need you to fill out this information and I’ll contact someone over in human resources. When you’re done, they’ll run a background check and someone will contact you for a short interview. It usually only takes a few days.”

Gregori frowned. A few days wasn’t much, but he didn’t want to wait. He needed to be able to show Salem some tangible results of his efforts. “Would it be possible to get an interview a little sooner? Possibly today? You see, my mate, Doctor Salem Hunter, is a surgeon here, and I would very much like to support his work by entertaining the children in his care.”

The man’s brow furrowed a little. “Mate?”

Gregori nodded and smiled a little sheepishly. “Yes, my name is Gregori Valerii, and I’m an ice dragon from the Valerii Clan.”

The little man’s face paled and his mouth bobbed like a landed fish. For a heartbeat, Gregori wondered if he should call for a doctor to help him, but he finally found his voice and ability to breathe.

“A dragon? You’re a real live dragon?” the man said with a gasp.

Gregori shifted his eyes from dark brown to his dragon’s amber gold with the vertical slit for a pupil. His grin grew and he winked at the man. A high-pitched squeal left the man but was cut off when he slapped his hand over his mouth.

“Oh my god!” His words were muffled, but the sentiment came through loud and clear. Being a dragon was a good thing. The receptionist cleared his throat a couple of times and finally lowered his hand from his now flushed face. “You know what? Let me make some phone calls. Cecelia is the one who oversees all the volunteers, and I bet she could totally make some time for you today. If you could just take a seat over there and fill out the paperwork, I’ll give her a call.”

With a bow of his head, Gregori walked over to the seating area, biting back his own smug grin. He filled out the information as best he could, using Salem’s apartment for his place of residence. He also provided contact information for Dimitri and Rodrigo since they would be his best shot at getting a good reference. If Salem found out Gregori had called him his mate, Salem was more likely to skin him than recommend him as a volunteer.

In the background, Gregori could hear the receptionist’s harsh whisper as he talked to someone. It would peak with notes of uncontained excitement, only to drop again as he got himself under control. The call lasted only a minute. Another minutepassed before Gregori heard the clack of hard-soled shoes on the tile floor approaching at just short of a run.

He lifted his head after signing his name to find a woman standing in front of him, her lovely silvery-gray hair pulled up in a bun. Several strands hung down around her face, which was flushed from her fast walk from her office to the lobby of the children’s hospital.

“Good afternoon. Are you the gentleman who is interested in volunteering?” she said, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Gregori smoothly rose and extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Gregori Valerii.”

“Of the Clan Valerii, right? The ice dragons who live down in Brazil,” she chimed in the second he stopped speaking.

“Yes…” He shook her hand, trying not to smile at her growing blush.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve always been a huge fan of dragons,” she gushed, erasing decades from her face. It was as if simply meeting him was fulfilling a lifelong dream for her. “I’ve been closely following all the news related to the various dragon clans ever since King Alric of the Burkhard Fire Dragons announced you all were still alive.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you…”

“Cecelia. Cecelia Brandt.” She released his hand and motioned for him to accompany her. “If you would just come with me, Mister Valerii, we’ll discuss your application.”

The office was small but cheery, with lots of pictures that looked as if they’d been drawn or painted by the young patients at this hospital. The only dreary thing about the room was the view of the gray winter sky and bare trees. He slipped into a seat in front of her desk and handed over the paperwork. She glanced over it quickly, clicking her tongue softly in the silence of the room.

With a final nod, she set it down and looked at him. “Now, as I’m sure you understand, we must run a basic background check on everyone who comes to work at the hospital, even our volunteers. Just for the safety and well-being of the children in our care. As much as I would like to skip it for you…”

Gregori waved off her comments. “No, I understand. You must do what is best for the children. I would never want to put them in any kind of danger. I have put down contact information for the head of my clan, Rodrigo Valerii, as well as my boss, Dimitri Valerii. They would be happy to provide character references for me and answer any of your questions.”

“Wonderful. I’ll be sure to give them both a call this afternoon.” She paused, her smile growing a mix of giddy and secretive. “Now, Kevin at the front desk did mention you said our wonderful Doctor Hunter is your mate. I’m sure if he were willing to vouch for you, we could speed things along.”

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