Page 37 of The Dragon's Emberlinked Mate
I had my family nest, as well, but it was in pretty rough shape. That tended to happen when you owned something for as long as I’d had it. I planned to offer it to him, but something told me it wasn’t the right nest for us.
All that to say, it wasn’t like there weren’t a lot of options, but these ones were special because he would customize them for your space. Hamel would also weave anything into the creation of them that you wanted. There was nothing else like it on the market.
I was excited I’d been able to snag an appointment with him today. I wasn’t sure if my mate would choose a custom nest or not, but I wanted him to have all the options spread out for him.
On the way there, we stopped for ice cream at a popular stand that was run by humans who had owned their own dairy. It always had a long line and was considered to be the best in the region. I had to agree with that assessment, it was quite delicious. I wasn’t a huge ice cream person, and before he waspregnant, my mate hadn’t been either, but now he was all about the ice cream.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going now, or was it just my coconut chocolate chip ice cream?” He licked another bite, distracting me for a second.
“Our adventure wasn’t just the ice cream, no.”
We reached the farm where the studio was located about ten minutes ahead of our scheduled appointment, the appointment my mate didn’t know about, and I drove to the back of the property where the barn that was his workshop sat.
“This is it.”
“And here is?”
“A surprise.”
As we reached the door, the owner greeted us. “Commander, it’s great to see you. I’m Hamel, we spoke on the phone and this must be your mate.”
“Yes, this is my mate, Rhythe.”
“I’ve heard so much about you,” Hamel said.
My mate looked up at me with a questioning glance.
“It wasn’t me.” I was one to brag on my mate. How could I not, but Hamel and I had only a few minutes to speak, and it was mostly about when we could come and check things out.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude. It’s just I know some people who work at the academy, and the staff all think very highly of you.”
I was happy someone besides me shared that with my mate. I wanted Rhythe to see how truly special he was in everyone’s eyes, not just mine.
“Well, come on in.” We stepped inside, and there were three nests-in-progress being created.
My mate froze in his steps, his eyes on the nests. “Wait, you’rethatHamel.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “The Hamel who makes those nests that are just… just everything!”
“I wouldn’t go so far to say they are everything, but yeah, that’s me. And today we’re here to talk about your nest.”
Next thing I knew, my mate tackle-hugged me so hard that I had to grab the beam beside me to keep us upright.
“You like your surprise?”
“I love it. I absolutely love it.”
Chapter 21
Emmen
Before I was mated, I never left work early, except for the time that my mate was injured and recuperating at home. I always spent the full day at the office doing work, even though I was fully capable of working remotely. Even now I was working a full schedule. If my mate didn’t spend as much time at the academy as he did, that might not be the case, but he did, and I accomplished more being present.
I took my position very seriously. There was a time when it came above everything else. That was no longer the case. My mate andour clutch came first, always. But that didn’t mean I’d half-ass my job. If the time came where I had to choose being present for my family or giving the quality work the academy deserved, I’d quit my job. It was as simple as that.
Okay, it wouldn’t be simple, but the choice was a given.
Many commanders traveled for their job. Part of that was the culture of the schools they were connected to or the time periods they were working there. Part of it was that some dragons needed to not stay in one place, it was part of who their beasts were. That wasn’t me. I tried to keep most of my work at home, yet something about today was forcing my dragon to drag me out of the office.
Around noon, my dragon was itching to leave. The timing was shit. We had a staff meeting after lunch, but no amount of logic would keep me at the academy. He wanted out, and now.
