Page 17 of The Dragon's Stormwoven Bond

“No, you had eyes for only one thing.” He leaned in close. “I suffer from a similar affliction.”

My cheeks heated.

“I’m Ash,” he officially introduced himself.

“Pep,” I said.

“I have a feeling we might have a lot in common.”

I raised a brow.

“Well, you’re also quite a bit younger than your mate, as am I to mine.” If I were to guess, Ash was older than me by a few years.

“Yeah, it’s… different.” Not bad or good. At first, I thought it might be an obstacle, but the more time we spent together, the more I saw how well matched we were.

“You get used to it.” He chuckled.

“Valen is one of my dad’s closest friends,” I admitted. I wanted someone to talk to about this, someone that wasn’t my family, and if anyone might understand, my guess was it would be Ash. Zayne and Valen were catching up on whatever the heck they had to talk about, so the timing was good.

Ash’s brows shot up. “That must be different.”

I laughed. “Yeah. We haven’t exactly told my parents yet.”

“Oh goodness. That… Good luck with that.” He slapped my shoulder. “For what it’s worth, my friend Ollie is in a similar age gap, and he met his mate while he was manny for their grandkids.” He chuckled. “At least you didn’t steal your father’s employee.”

“Were they mad?”

“They were thrilled their father found his new mate. How could they not be? Family wants what’s best for theirs. At least good ones do.”

Please let my parents feel the same way. I was starting to suspect that the longer our mating was kept from them, the worse it was going to be. If only I’d seen that sooner.

Chapter 10

Valen

I loved that my old friend wanted to get together for dinner. One thing about being as old as I was, people came in and out of your life. And while that was to be expected, there was something about those that stuck with you across the years.

Part of the reason that I wanted to move back closer to the clan and work at the academy was so that I could catch up with old friends. I’d spent too many years gallivanting around the world without building relationships. It had been a lonely existence,even if it was by choice. I was ready to be around friends, have family dinners, to be a part of a community again.

I just hadn’t expected Pep. He came out of nowhere and flipped my world on its head. I loved him and couldn’t imagine living without him by my side, but it did put a damper on my original intent for moving back here. At least for now.

I’d been ready for a mate, without even knowing that was why I’d changed. It had been a long time since I even hit on another omega, much less taken one home. It wasn’t until I met Pep that I understood the reason. My dragon knew before I did. Wasn’t that always the way.

Now that I had a mate, the emptiness that had been my life until I met Pep looked like a gaping cavern.

Pep wasn’t coming with me to this dinner with his mom and dad because his dad still had no idea that we were mated and oddly they hadn’t invited him like they did last time. I assumed it was because he no longer lived at home and that he was giving him space and that his brother would be there, but that was all speculation.

I told myself that it would be just this dinner, and then tomorrow, Pep and I would sit down and figure out a way to tell his dad. One thing was for certain, we couldn’t keep things going this way. When we’d agreed not to tell him two weeks ago, I had never imagined that it would go on for this long. I’d wrongly assumed it would be until he moved out or possibly until he got adjusted to the idea of having a mate.

Two weeks was just a blink of an eye to a dragon as long-lived as me, and his parents for that matter, but it had felt like an eternity when secrets were involved. Thankfully, work had kept us busy. And other things that tended to distract mates. But we weren’t distracted enough to not have it weighing heavily on us.

There was a last-minute change of plans, and I met Eryx and Katrina at a restaurant instead of their home. Pep had told me how good it was when I let him know. I wished he was with me now—always, but more so now that I knew he enjoyed the place we were dining at. I needed to make an excuse to get a meal to go and surprise my mate.

I caught sight of my friends as I walked in. My steps faltered though when I saw they had an omega I’d never met at the table with them. It would be one thing if it had been one of their kin, but he wasn’t. He bore no family resemblance whatsoever.

It took all I had to force a smile as I approached. Nothing about this felt casual. If anything, it felt like a set-up—possibly a blind date. My mate would not be pleased at that. I wouldn’t be either.

“Eryx, Katrina, good to see you.”

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