Page 6 of Overbooked at Dragon's Landing

“Me too.” He leaned back and crossed his ankle over his knee. “I was hoping they would decide to leave.” He grinned. “Or that they’d push just a little harder and the hosts would throw them out.”

“They make a good team, don’t they?”

“They do.” Across the room, the shifter host was looking down at his screen and typing, shaking his head. “How do you suppose his partner knew he needed help?”

“The mating bond can be like that.”

“Like mind reading?”

“Can be, sort of,” he replied. “Some mates, in rare cases, can speak to one another without saying a word. Whole conversations.”

“Wow.” If Ralph had chosen me…would we have had telepathy together? I would never know. He’d never once looked at me the way he was fixated on the shifter who was currently waiting to get his room assignment.

I couldn’t be jealous. I would be a good friend and be happy for him. If he and that shifter hit it off, they’d be a stunning couple. And I hoped very happy.

But that couldn’t quite silence the voice inside me crying out,Why couldn’t it be me?

“Not every couple has that level of communication, though. There are all kinds of ways the mating bond can surface,” Ralph went on. “Some just love each other and hate being apart.”

“Like human spouses,” I put in.

“More intense than that, I think, although I am no expert. And sometimes, the mates get what is more like feelings. For example, the omega who was in the kitchen with their little girlswho were creating what had to be a very loud sort of music with the pots and pans might have had a sense that his partner needed him. And experience would have shown that a difficult guest could raise his mate’s temper.”

“He said his mate was afraid he’d flame them…” My chest tightened, my heart rate speeding up. “It wasn’t an expression, was it?”

Now, my friend turned to face me. “No.”

“Is he…is he…” I lowered my voice, as if saying the words might make it not be true. “Is he a dragon?”

“You can speak up.” Ralph ticked his chin toward the desk. “Both of those dragons can hear you either way, and they aren’t likely to consider being called a dragon an insult.”

“Two dragons? We haven’t even been to the festival yet!” I threw my arms around Ralph’s neck and gave him a hard squeeze. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“Even better than your party at the club last year with all our friends?”

“It’s not like there were dragons there,” I scoffed.

“Lots of shifters, though, and despite your obsession with them, I’d be careful in front of the others about implying dragons are better than the rest. Some of them might take it amiss.”

I let go and sat back, aghast. “I didn’t mean that. Your wolf is the best. He’s gorgeous and furry and smart and runs like the wind.”

“He isn’t upset. He knows he’s the best and recognizes your over-the-top fandom for what it is. Also, he’s pretty fond of you, so you would have to try a lot harder than that to make him feel anything negative toward you.”

“Are all shifter animals like that?”

“They’re all different, just like people. But I can think of a few of our acquaintances whose animals are on the stuck-up sideand would bite before accepting what they thought might be an insult.”

“You are a complicated group,” I sighed, watching the profile of the dragon guest as he spoke with the dragon host.

“You said it, but I have often felt the same thing about humans.”

Chapter Six

Trace

I opted to drive back to Dragon’s Landing. While my dragon loved to soar through the sky with his wings spread, he despised human airplanes. He hated being cooped up while a machine was given the job he loved so much. I couldn’t blame him. And my human side didn’t love them much, anyway. I liked to not have my legs mushed for hours at a time.

The drive took two days, and I was beyond exhausted by the time I pulled up to the B&B. I hadn’t realized when I booked my reservation that it was at the same time as the Dragon Festival. I should have—my grandmother had mentioned it enough times in her notes—but for some reason, I hadn’t pieced it all together. And now I was here at the very worst time to try to accomplish my business.

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