Page 14 of The Dragon's Stormwoven Bond

I’d been a Flight Trainer before at a different academy. That was many years ago, and things had changed since then. In many ways this would be all new to me, even without the new title. I’d also worked in the games several times in various capacities, including as a judge, an announcer, and an analyst.

This was my first time being a Leader of a team. I would only be coaching five students this semester. They competed in two-person teams with one alternate. But regardless of the size of the team, my role was important, and I was incredibly excited about it. This school had a well-earned reputation for excellence in the games, and I aspired to add to that tradition.

“I have a break between eleven and one. Would you like to have lunch?” I asked him before we left the house. He and I planned to walk together to work, but we hadn’t discussed what would happen there.

“Is it a good idea for us to be seen together so much? After all, our mating is sort of a secret,” my mate said, and I felt so deflated.

I tried and failed to ignore the twist in my heart. I didn’t want to hide my mate—not ever. But the fact of the matter was, we hadn’t been truthful with his dad, and the dragon community was not large. If people here knew of our mating, it would get back to his father quickly. Having him live with me was already a risk. Not for the first time, I wished that I’d told his fatherover lasagna. It would’ve been ugly and potentially bloody, but at least I wouldn’t be hiding my relationship.

“People are going to know, Pep. They’ll see us together on campus, and you’re living with me. Plus, we will smell like each other. We won’t be able to hide it.” And I didn’t want to.

“Technically, I didn’t put in the paperwork to switch my housing. I just never checked in to get the keys to my apartment.”

“Perhaps you should do that.” It was difficult to hide my hurt. I completely understood why my mate felt the way he did, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I very much did not.

“It’s on my list of things to do today,” he said.

I linked my fingers into his. We were on the trail that ran along the lake, and we weren’t the only dragons heading off to work, though others were in their dragon form flying above us. “I don’t think I can be around you without it being incredibly obvious that you’re mine.”

He raised a brow. “Possessive much?”

“Like you’re not,” I said.

He laughed. “Indeed. It’s not like my dad is around the academy much anyway. We will have to figure out how to tell him. Soon.”

“I know,” I said. “But not today.”

“Exactly. Today, we have enough on our plate.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “And I likely won’t be able to meet you for lunch. I figured I would get as much set up today as I can. I have a lot to do.”

“What is it exactly that you’re doing?” I didn’t know all that my mate’s career choice involved. Long gone were the days when the libraries were filled with books and newspapers, nothing more. Now they were entire information centers, one that tapped into the world, no longer holding only what was enclosed within its walls.

He grinned. “My official role is media specialist, and that’s all you need to know.”

“What?” I stopped and tugged at his hand until he was facing me. “What does that mean?”

He winked. “It specifically states in my contract that the nature of my job isn’t public knowledge. But it does state that in the event that I become mated, I don’t have to keep my real responsibilities from my mate.”

That surprised me, the part about his job being someone secret, not the share-with-his-mate part. It was normal language for contracts with dragon shifters to have anything “private” to only have that privacy extend outside of his mating.

“Wait, so does your family know what you’re doing?” I loved my old friend, but he was controlling in many ways. I found it difficult to believe he was comfortable with his son taking on arole he couldn’t know about. And then there was his twin. Those two knew each other to an extent I couldn’t pretend to fathom.

“My brother does because I can’t lie to my twin.”

I’d have been shocked to hear otherwise.

“I’ve never been able to.”

“What is all this super-secret stuff? I’m confused.” Granted, we hadn’t talked much about what his job entailed, but we had talked about his college work and the previous internships he’d had while in school. He did computer stuff. Unfortunately, that was the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

“It’s not as exciting as you would think. Essentially, I’m just helping the clan to beef up their security from the digital side of things, so that way we can keep our servers and all the things secure.”

It surprised me that was secret. I’d have thought the school would’ve bragged on this step. They had always prided themselves on being at the forefront of modern technology.

“The exposure risk is just as severe virtually as it is in the physical word. And clean-up is a lot more difficult than putting safety nets in place initially. My job is to make sure we’re secure. Also, part of my role is coming up with a playbook to handle if an exposure happens.”

My eyes went wide. “That’s a lot.” My mate was smart, I knew that already, but this kind of smart was a whole level.

“It is a lot, and it’s very intense and also why it’s top secret. The likelihood that we’re exposed by our own kind or another shifter is just as high as humans using the same technology.”

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