Page 66 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“WHAT?!” Valerius made a sound like a roar and a squeak with that one. “Don’t be ridiculous! I read histories--which are mostly wrong--and treatises and--”

“Serious books that would in no way let you know anything about Werewolf Shifter mate things,” Caden finished for him as he put the sauces down. “Have you seen some of the movies? LikeThe Alpha’s Mateor maybeThe Last Omegaor--”

“No, absolutely not.” Valerius stabbed the meat on the grill with extra emphasis and placed one of the spatchcocked chickens on a plate for him.

“Right. Sure.” Caden grinned so hard that his cheeks hurt from it. The earlier doubt and shame and fear were all still there, but they were fading into the background. Just being with Valerius was fun. “So, assuming you somehow got this knowledge out of the ether, what about what I said made you think we’re like those romances?”

Valerius’ cheeks were still on fire, which was completely hilarious when one compared them to his very stern expression as he speared onions. “The desire to see amatein one’s clothes and the smell of one’s mate being pleasing, calming and arousing all at the same time.”

“I didn’t say I was aroused!” Caden put his hands on his hips.

Valerius stared pointedly at the point between Caden’s legs where the tails of the shirt just hung past. His cock was semi-hard. It was always that way with Valerius even when he had hated the Black Dragon King. Caden tugged down the tails.

“I can smell your arousal so hiding it does not help,” Valerius said almost sweetly. This was clearly revenge for the discussion of Werewolf romances!

Well, two can play at that game!

Caden took the plate that Valerius offered him. In addition to the chicken, it had a thick steak and sizzling pork belly along with the knob onions, peppers and carrots. The sweet charred scent of the vegetables cut through the fatty, rich smell of the various meats. Caden loaded his plate with sauces too before sitting down on the ground by Valerius’ feet. He then stuffed half the steak in his mouth after slathering it with all the sauces mixed together. When Valerius laughed at him, Caden scowled.

“What?” Caden asked around a mouthful of steak.

“Slow down, my little anaconda. We can get more,” Valerius told him.

Caden swallowed the meat down and looked up at Valerius through his lashes. “Sorry, it’s just with Mom and Dad mad at me, I haven’t really had anything good to eat. Well, except for the picnic basket you left, but that wasn’t enough.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t.” Valerius was cutting his meat into bite-sized pieces while Caden considered how rude it would be exactly to just pick up the whole chicken and start ripping pieces of the juicy meat off of it with his teeth. He sighed and picked up his abandoned fork and knife as Valerius continued, “In general, Shifters need more food than humans, especially protein. You shouldn’t skimp on meals now. Iolaire will not feel well if you do”

“R-right. I’m responsible for Iolaire. I’ve got to be a good steward.” Caden’s head lowered. He was a poor choice. A poor steward. He had to do better.

Valerius put his fingers under Caden’s chin. “I was not criticizing you. I think you are doing a marvelous job with Iolaire. It seems very well adjusted and happy.”

“You think?” Caden’s smile was a little more wobbly than he’d hoped it would be and his voice a little more needy for some kind of proof he wasn’t too terrible at taking care of the precious Dragon Spirit.

Valerius’ forehead furrowed for a moment and he studied Caden’s face again in a way that told Caden he knew something was wrong but didn’t understand what it was. “Of course. But it is not something I think, but that I know. I can see it. These are facts.”

“Oh. Good.”

Valerius released his chin and they both went back to eating silently. Caden attempted to chew. He told himself that if he took smaller bites he would get more of the sauce in his stomach and that was worth everything.

“So…” Caden said after a particularly luscious bite of chicken with mustard sauce. “Do you know anything else about Werewolf mate stuff?”

Valerius was in the process of bringing a piece of beef loaded with horseradish sauce to his mouth when Caden asked that. His hand froze and a drop of sauce almost landed on his pants, but those lightning quick reflexes came in handy again as Caden caught the drop on his fingers and licked them clean. Valerius did not blink while he did this.

“I might. The better question, Caden, is ifyouknow anything,” Valerius pointed out as he finally brought that bite of steak to his mouth.

“Oh, yeah!” Caden nodded vigorously. When Valerius stared at him in bafflement, he explained, “There’s a lot of hot guys who are Werewolves and they are often without shirts. They strut around all angsty and stuff. Even when they do go with girls, it’s still fun, because there’s always some heated bromance that keeps my interest and--what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Valerius started chewing again, which he hadn’t been as Caden had explained his enjoyment of the Werewolf mating movies. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Caden narrowed his eyes. “Look, Tilly dragged me to the first one. I was like you and thought that they would suck. But they didn’t. Now she doesn’t want to go so I have to go on my own to the theater or wait until it hits a streaming service.”

“I see,” Valerius responded neutrally.

Caden’s eyes narrowedmore. “Don’t knock them until you try them!”

Valerius’ shoulders started shaking and then he was snorting and falling over onto his side on the couch, laughing. “I’m sorry, Caden! Really, it’s just I was imagining watching one of those with you while you ogled the Werewolves and--”

“That was before I got to see you up close with your shirt off, okay? But you have to admit that Werewolves arebuilt.” Caden took a huge bite of onion smothered in the tomato sauce. He could have been offended by Valerius’ reaction, but he wasn’t. It was so good to see Valerius laugh. And this time he had really let go. He was actually wiping tears from his eyes as he sat upright again and reached for his plate once more. “So in the movies, the mates always go into heat. But that’s because the couples are mostly opposite genders so…” Caden shrugged. “I guess that’s not going to happen here. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me about Dragon physiognomy.”

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