Page 4 of The Dragon's Flamebound Mate
Although even as I said the words, I didn’t quite believe them. He was shy or private or whatever, but he didn’t have a reputation for being a dick. He might look at me as a burden—who wants a Co-Leader—but I didn’t think he’d hold disdain over me because of my career path.
“Yeah, but you know how the media likes to twist things. They just like the drama and sensationalizing the coaches.” Laken reaffirmed my initial thoughts. Good. Maybe I was right.
“Indeed. I’m nervous about being an omega on an all-alpha team.” Not as much because of Zayne, but because of the younger dragons. Things had gotten better over the years, but in a lot of ways, omegas were still thought of as objects to many. Depending on his current crew, some of them might be part of that many.
Our crew. I needed to stop thinking of it as his. We were going to be Co-Leaders, and until I embraced that fully, I wasn’t ever going to be an equal in anyone’s eyes, especially my own.
“You’ve been in all-alpha spaces before.”
“Yes, on an eagle team.” Which I supposed wasn’t that different. Not really. “But I am the first Flight Leader who’s an omega and a non-dragon in the whole division.”
“Shit, really? Damn. I didn’t realize that.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be a trip.” Please let it be a good one.
“What do you think’s been going on with this Zayne guy that he’s done so poorly the past few years?”
I bristled at that for reasons I didn’t understand. My friend wasn’t wrong. Zayne’s teams had done poorly, and just like their winning streaks were a reflection of their coaching, so were their losing streaks. But bringing it up like that felt like a dig, and Zayne deserved better than that.
“I don’t know. It’s possible something’s going on with him personally. Or maybe its the chemistry of the crew. Or maybe it was a thousand things.” And at the end of the day, the why didn’t really matter as much as the how to prevent it from happening again. “His coaching staff has remained the same, but he’s had new team members over the years. This year there are two new team members.”
“And you’re going to walk into that madness.”
“Yep.” I took another swallow of my drink, bigger than my previous sips. “Sure am.”
“When do you have to be there?”
I checked my watch. “In three hours.”
“You’re going to arrive smelling like whiskey.”
Crap. I hadn’t considered that. Way to make a good first impression.
I pushed the drink away. “Well, not now, I’m not.”
My friend laughed. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
He threw a twenty down on the bar, which would cover my drink, his drink, and a tip. Loved this place and was going to miss it. Some human bars charged more than that for one drink. Yikes.
“Let’s get you some real food. I can even help you move into your new place.”
“I have two duffel bags. That’s it, but I’ll take you up on the food. I could go for a burger about now.”
“No kidding? Two duffel bags.? You moved halfway across the country, and that’s all you got?” Why did he seem so shocked. I’d never been a big “stuff” kind of guy.
Moving halfway across the country had me reducing the few items I did own. Who wanted to deal with transporting junk from one place to the next? Minimal belongings worked much better.
I shrugged. “Yep.” It wasn’t worth explaining, and he probably only mentioned it so he could change the topic of the discussion. I’d been wallowing, and that wasn’t a good way to start off a new job.
“I know you winged shifters are weird, but set down some roots, man.”
“Yeah, yeah. Maybe someday.” Roots were not my priority. For now, I’d settle for fitting in. “But first you promised to feed me.”
“I did, but only if you promise to let me snatch one of your fries.”
“Why would I give you my fries? Get your own.”
“Nope. I’m getting onion rings… and some of your fries.” He stuck out his tongue. “Take it or leave it.”
