Page 25 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

Chapter 14

Ollie

Asfarasthebenefit event went, I had no idea what I was getting into, except that my mate invited me, and he was important, and I knew it was important for me to stand by his side. It was difficult to agree to going tux shopping with him. I didn’t want to feel like I owed him money. But he was right, we were mates. We should start acting like it, even if it was only in these small ways. We’d get to where we needed to be eventually. It was just going to take some time.

I’d never been to a store as high-end as the one he took me to. We were offered champagne the second we stepped inside, and I was treated like royalty. I didn’t even have to get items off the rack and hit up a cramped changing room. Instead, they measured me, gave me some style and fabric options, and told me to come back in a couple of days. Malric literally had a tux made for me, and when I put it on for the first time, I felt like a million bucks. And for all I knew, that was exactly what it cost.

He looked so proud to have gotten it for me, and I accepted it as the gift it was intended to be and pushed the inequity of our finances aside. I’d never been one to worry about money before and starting now was a piss-poor idea. I had enough other things to worry about, like how I would fit into his world given his position.

I desperately wanted to ask someone what it meant to be the clan leader’s mate, but I knew no one in the clan except Kier and Tavian. And while Kier could give me a perspective of what it was like as a non-dragon shifter in a dragon clan, I wasn’t sure if he was the right one to ask about this specifically. He was the son-in-law of the clan leader, not the one standing by his side. The expectations would be different. At least that was the case with wolf shifters, which was my only frame of reference, and that was based on a college friend venting, not actual firsthand knowledge.

Tavian was totally on my side regarding this mating, and for that, I was incredibly grateful. He didn’t look at me as less-than, not for being the help and not for being a mate. He didn’t even make comments about me potentially leaving the position, which most families would’ve in my experience. Goddess, he even played protective father when my mate came calling with his tail between his legs. I was so lucky to have Tavian and Kier on my side.

Tavian seemed to want his father to be happy above all else. He was a great son. And I was determined to make Malric happy. Rocky start or not, I was all-in and would move mountains for the alpha who stole my heart. Well, maybe not mountains, I was only a mouse, after all. But I would move a book or two.

Tavian was my boss, but also sort of my stepson? It was complicated and a little weird. Fine, it was a lot weird. He was also a hundred and twenty-five years older than I was. Still, I was in it for the long haul, and if I needed to learn on the job, that was what I would do.

Another thing that we had not discussed or figured out how it would work was where I would be living. After our date, I had stayed with Malric and commuted to work. It didn’t seem fair to Tavian and Kier, being that they had hired a person to live in and be available whenever they needed. Yet, after just a few weeks on the job, I was contemplating moving out, but it wasn’t as if I could leave my mate.

And then there was that other thing—newly mated individuals were highly likely to have a clutch of their own. Would we? Would Malric want that? I was sure it had never occurred to him that he would have additional children. He had children that were fully grown. How would they feel about having an additional clutch in the family?

All of it gave me a headache and caused anxiety, none of which I wanted to deal with at that moment, so I locked it up in a little box and set it aside for another day’s problem.

“Are you ready?” Malric asked.

He leaned against the door frame to the massive en suite bathroom that was attached to the primary bedroom, looking like a gift that needed to be unwrapped. Not that we could do that now, not with the event counting on his presence. But later… later I was going to enjoy every second of stripping him bare.

His home wasn’t far from Tavian’s, though it was larger. If I understood it correctly, this home was meant to host visiting clan members or other clan leaders when they were on our territory. For that, it was the perfect home with its ten bedrooms, two formal dining rooms, and I had lost count of the number of bathrooms. I was so beyond grateful someone came in to wash those or really keep the rest of the house in order. It was ginormous and a full-time job in and of itself.

Thankfully, he had a staff of individuals whose job it was to manage all of the household things. They were all really nice and seemed to like working for Malric. I could see why. Not once had I witnessed him treating them as anything less than an equal.

“I am ready,” I said. “How do I look?” I twirled around.

His tux was not unlike mine. If I had been picking out a tux for a different type of event, I’d have gone for a pop of color, but I didn’t wish to embarrass my mate or commit any faux pas I was unaware of, so instead, I went with something that was more classic, suitable to what we were doing… something more aligned with my mate’s ensemble.

“You look amazing,” he said. He lifted up his elbow, and I linked my arm into his. “Almost too good when we have places to me,” he whispered close to my ear, and I let out a small groan.

“Tell me about it.”

There was a driver waiting for us. Malric tended to work on the go whenever he could, so he had a driver most of the time. I’d never realized just how much work went into being the clan leader. He made it look easy, but there was never a time when he wasn’t on call or available for questions—his phone constantly going off, him putting out fires, dealing with people, other dragons. He wasn’t a slacker, that was for sure.

“I do plan on introducing you as my mate today, Ollie. I hope that is all right.”

“Of course,” I said. I was glad he hadn’t given me too much warning on that. I’d have overthought it to death and back again.

“We may have a more formal introduction to the rest of the clan, maybe even a celebration that is totally about our mating. But for now, this will have to do. People will know by our scent.” And there was that.

“Do you anticipate any issues since I’m a mouse?” It was my biggest worry lately, and it lived so close to the edge. I hated that I had to ask. It shouldn’t have been a consideration, yet it was, and I needed to know what I was up against.

He held my hand, his fingers lacing into mine.

“I won’t say that there will be none. After all, Kier had issues when he and Tavian announced their mating. Before then, I would have said absolutely not. We’re a very accepting group, and we are—but that doesn’t mean that someone might have something to say.”

My stomach dropped. A mate was supposed to make their lives easier, not harder.

“What is important for you to know is I will not tolerate any disrespect or prejudice.” He brought our joined hands up to his lips and pressed a sweet kiss on mine. “Anyone who has anything to say unkindly toward you will deal with me.”

From the growl in his voice, I doubted those people would last long once they faced my mate’s wrath. I hadn’t known I was into that, but it was kinda hot. Okay, it was very hot.

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