Page 33 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

I was enthralled. And my dragon was, too.

“I want to see you fly. And maybe one day we could build something so that you could fly with me… maybe a basket.” And he chuckled at the image of that, but the second it came out of his mouth, I was already planning to make that happen. I could think of nothing better than flying with my mate.

“I’m gonna go sit over there so you don’t yell at me for standing too much when you get down.” He winked.

I didn’t yell, but I would be worried, and I would shorten my flight.

Once he got in his seat and was watching me, I took to the air. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t showing off. I 100% was.

I tried to think of every fancy move from the Dragon flight Games that I could accomplish, and I did every single one. Up and away I went as he stared up at me in awe. I couldn’t help but wonder how the goddess deemed me worthy of such a mate.

But I was ever so grateful that they did.

Chapter 18

Ollie

Ihadtraveledwiththe triplets before, so I thought that I knew what I was doing. Load them up, be on our merry way, come back and unwind. Easy peasy. Only it wasn’t easy peasy at all.

I’d failed to anticipate the amount of attention that they would get the minute we walked into Dragon Headquarters, the unofficial name of the Emberstone Clan’s headquarters building. Sure, they never went unnoticed when we went to the park or for a walk. How could they? They were absolutely adorable. But that paled in comparison to when they entered dragon spaces, especially being Lord Malric’s grandchildren.

I wondered if things would be the same, or possibly worse, when our clutch arrived. Worse wasn’t the right word… overwhelming, possibly. But this was much and adding to it… if this was a glimpse of my future, I needed to be prepared.

The building itself wasn’t new to me. The first time I’d been here was for my interview with Tavian. The difference this time was my mating Lord Malric and bringing along three little ones. I couldn’t recall a single person even noticing me that first time I walked through these doors. My, how things had changed.

Turned out, when you were the clan leader’s mate and you arrived with the clan leader’s first clutch of grandchildren, people took notice. When you were a lowly mouse coming to see about a job, not so much. I had a feeling there were some days in the future where I’d want that anonymity again, but it came with the territory.

Kier usually worked the reception desk, but since being mated to Tavian, he’d been promoted to a different role, one I didn’t quite understand. The receptionist now was a young dragon who gushed over the three kids. If they had their way, we’d have hung out with them the entire day. It was sweet, but also awkward having to say good-bye multiple times.

I pushed the massive stroller that managed to hold all three babies into the building and still make corners with ease into the main area and was immediately met with a flock of people oohing and aahing over the children. They all gave me big smiles, introduced themselves, and welcomed me into the clan. More than one of them slipped me a business card and requested meetings with “my people.”

I didn’t have people. I didn’t want people. I was confused as to what they would even want with me, but I accepted them graciously. What else was there to do?

No official announcement had been made about Malric and I, but apparently, news traveled fast. Plus, I was sure that they could smell Mal on me. A part of me wondered if they’d heard through negative gossip from that jackass at the gala or if it came from someone like Vlad who was thrilled I was part of Mal’s life.

I supposed it didn’t matter since they were all being kind. Of course I had the buffer of the babies with me. No one would risk upsetting them. It wasn’t just Lord Malric who would take care of them if that happened.

I navigated the stroller to the daycare center located on the first floor. It was a great benefit for them to have. I understood why my bosses preferred having their clutch with a manny most of the time, but that didn’t deter from my understanding of just how amazing this facility was.

I settled in with the children, letting them play. I spent a good deal of time talking with the main teacher, Alice. She opened up about the struggles they had with accommodating all of the children and how they needed more space. I could see that. The clan was growing, and mannies were expensive. Add to that being able to visit your children throughout the day—no wonder this was a popular place

“When we first opened the headquarters building, I thought the space was too large. I never imagined we’d grow so big! But we seem to be having an influx of clutches lately. Which is a good thing. That’s what happens when a clan has a strong leader. We could use twice as much space, honestly. And double the staff. I’d love to get our teacher-to-child ration lower.”

Five minutes into the conversation, I finally realized that she was not just venting to me. She was telling me all this because, as the mate of the clan leader, I was expected to do something with that information. I totally could, and I realized very quickly that I wanted to be a part of this.

The children were our future, as corny as it sounded, and we needed to provide for them in the best way that we could. The daycare had outgrown the space that they had allocated in the headquarters building. Perhaps it was time to start thinking about where else they could expand to—perhaps a second location? I’d have to talk with Mal to see what our options were.

“The kids are having a good time with the others. If you wanted to run upstairs and see your mate, you totally can.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” I said.

Alice smiled. “You can have a break and go see your mate. I remember what it was like to be newly mated.”

I grinned. It would be nice to see Mal’s office. “Thank you. I won’t be long. I’ve actually never seen where he works.”

“Have him give you a tour of the whole place. He designed headquarters to be comfortable and functional. There’s a gym, with a sauna and a hot tub. Plus, the game room and cafeteria.”

I checked in to make sure that the children were set and then went to the elevator. I knew where Mal’s office was, but I hadn’t been there before. His assistant smiled when they saw me.

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