Page 6 of The Dragon's Flamebound Mate
But did I really learn the right lesson?
Instead of giving a boisterous welcome, as I should’ve been doing, I simply nodded. Hayden, who had been with me a long time and understood my moods, swept in to recover.
“Welcome, Ash. We’ll get the office situation figured out soon. For today, we thought it might be best to get to know one another and go over the profiles for the kids,” Hayden said. At least his brain was working and not hyper focused on the omega in front of me.
No. Not an omega. My Co-Leader. What was wrong with me?
“That sounds great to me.” Ash looked to me, as did everyone else, as if expecting me to say something. Do something.
“Let’s go to a conference room,” I said, my voice gruffer than I meant it to be. We really needed to get out of this small space so I could get some air that wasn’t filled with his delicious scent and get my head back in the game. “We can take notes all together, discuss what we’re working with. Hayden, call Kellen and tell him to meet us there.”
I grabbed my laptop, stood up, and walked out the door. I was being a rude jerk, I knew this, but for some reason I was in survival mode. I’d make it up to my new coworker later. Unless I already scared him away.
As I passed Ash, our shoulders brushed—and my dragon roared to the surface.
For what, I did not know. The creature had been quiet for so long. Seemed odd for him to start bellowing now. But then again, everything about this situation was odd and unsettling.
I just assumed that my team would follow me. And they did.
Our Commander must’ve decided it would be best to leave us alone, because it was just me, Ash, and the two trainers in the room when we got to work.
“I’m Kellen. My expertise is in combat aerial maneuvers, so a lot of my role is in that area. Hayden manages the strength and endurance training, as well as stats.”
Ash was already taking notes as he walked. He sat down at the edge of the table I was at. Did he know what his scent was doing to me? No, of course he didn’t. But still… how could he be so oblivious to how alluring he was?
“What about the students? Are they—” he asked.
“We’ll go over them right now.” I was glad for the distraction from his smile—his eyes. Talking about my team was something I could do on autopilot, at least the three returning from last year.
“Great. I—” His voice was calming. Intoxicating like the rest of him. I needed to not be distracted by him.
“We have five students on the team. Four primary flyers and one sub. Scott and Christa are our captains. Those two and Isaac are our returning team members. They’ve been with us for three years now. Jay and Susan are new.” I didn’t interrupt my trainers. That wasn’t my style. Yet I didn’t give Ash a chance to speak. I needed to maintain my focus.
I flipped on my laptop and plugged it into the projector so we could bring up the students’ information for of us to see.
Then I sat back and let Kellan take over. One by one we went through the slides, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each of the students we knew well and sharing the information we had on the new ones. He took notes, asking relevant clarifying questions as needed, and didn’t once try to take over the conversation.
Ash was going to fit in with my trainers perfectly. That was for sure. The only problem in this situation was me. I was the one thinking of my Co-Leader as an omega, loving the way he looked, and being completely distracted by his scent. I was the unprofessional one, and that needed to end. Now.
It would be so much easier if my dragon hadn’t picked now to start pushing at me. I still didn’t know what he wanted, but did it really matter? He had no say, especially not after being silent for so very long.
“I think we can all agree that Christa is the strongest leader out of our captains. I think we should make a conscientious decision to foster that while building up Scott’s skills.” Kellen cleared his throat and didn’t begin speaking again until he met my eyes.
Great. He noticed I was off my game, which meant the others probably did too.
Chapter 4
Ash
Agruelingfourhourslater, we were all still sitting inside the conference room. We weren’t talking about unnecessary things. That wasn’t it. But it was a lot to take in all at once, especially with the distractions, ones that should very much not be distractions at all.
Zayne had gotten up and walked around a few times as we each talked about the students we would be teaching. It was clear that he valued and respected his trainers and loved his students. I remained quiet through most of it, only offering my thoughts when I felt strongly about something and asking clarifying questions as needed.
Each time, Zayne just looked at me as if he could see right through me. He never outright ignored my ideas, but he didn’t embrace them either. It was like I was there, but not really. I didn’t get it. Was it because I was an eagle, or because he thought I was a threat, or worse, a burden? Maybe it was me being an omega. It didn’t really matter. The result was the same.
If this was how the entire season was going to go, we were in for a long one. I would persevere. This was my one shot at this, and I refused to mess it up or let prejudice stand in my way.
Finally, as the evening stretched on, Hayden and Kellan stood up, resolve across their faces. Well, that and exhaustion. It would be impossible for them not to have been.
