Page 7 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

“I can tell you all about it on the way to the park.”

Both his son and son-in-law gave each other looks, then watched me as if I somehow held some sort of magical answer they needed. No pressure there. But also, in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about them; my every single thought was occupied with the alpha before me, the one that was so far out of my league that we weren’t even in the same division, the one who was old enough to be my father—heck, my great-great-great grandfather, the one who stole my breath away, the one I had no business wanting. Crap. This wasn’t good. At this rate, I was going to cross a line and be fired before I even reached my first paycheck.

The question remained: Did I care? Apparently not, because the next words out of my mouth were, “I can’t wait to hear it. Let me help clean up so we can go before the bugs come out.”

Was I making a huge mistake? Probably. Was the sexy dragon who was wrapped around not one, but three little fingers, worth the risk? My gut said yes.

Who knew—maybe we’d make it halfway to the park and I’d already be bored of him. That would be for the best, right? Who needs attraction and unprofessional feelings toward the boss’s father getting in the way of a good gig, anyway?

Chapter 5

Malric

Clanleadersinthepast had a lot more—or rather, a lotdifferent—responsibility. They met with other clan leaders in person, all of them bringing their strongest guards in case a fight broke out amongst the dragons. It was all a show of power and wealth.

The expectations included being dressed in our best furs or whatever the fashion at the time was. I’d gone through more wardrobes than any person had any business doing in my years, and none of them were for me. Nope. It was all to play the part. We even had props… guards who were there as a show of force to show our strength and not for actual protection. I was so glad we’d moved on from that.

Nowadays, we brought our lawyers and we wore suits. Any disputes were handled via Zoom meetings and other digital nonsense instead of wings, talons, swords, and flames.

It was great… but also way less exciting.

There were even times I almost missed sword play. It had been a long time since I attached a scabbard to my belt and carried a mighty sword around. If I showed up that way now, they’d accuse me of being on the way to cosplay at a ComiCon or heading to a Renaissance faire.

At least in today’s age, my role as clan leader was more about making sure my members were happy and healthy, rather than fighting over territory or settling other disputes with violence. We were much more civilized now. Or at least we pretended to be.

“Did you wish to attend the fundraiser next week, sir?” my assistant, Olivia asked.

I groaned. “Must I?” I understood the value of fundraisers and my presence at them, but they were boring, and I always felt like I was on display. Why was it I couldn’t just write a check and stay home again?

She grinned at me, that knowing glance that told her she liked this small bit of power she had. “Yes. And it’s been quite a while since you went with a date on your arm. Perhaps we can find someone suitable to accompany you?”

My immediate thoughts went to Ollie. If I had to go on a date, why couldn’t it be with someone like him? No, not like him—him.

But no. That would be inappropriate. I couldn’t take my grandchildren’s manny as my date to a fundraiser. He wasn’t even a dragon. Asking him to be in a room full of high-powered dragons was unfair to him. There was no way that would be a good time for him.

Not that these events were good times for anyone. My dates were always one of my advisor’s sisters or a close friend. They were never anyone that I was actually interested in.

I’d never attended events with my mate. We hadn’t been very high up in the clan hierarchy when we were first mated. We were simply normal dragons living a normal life. Times had been much simpler when he was alive. Warmer, richer, more vibrant. Living without my mate was like living in black and white.

Ollie wasn’t slated to attend the event. He wasn’t an official clan member. Though now that he worked for Tavian and Kier, they could petition for him to have membership. Would he want that?

I, of course, would approve that… or maybe I shouldn’t. No, I should. A strong clan leader didn’t allow themselves to be controlled by their feelings.

Sure, it was dangerous for me to be so close to Ollie. Something about him… I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew deep in my soul that I was drawn to him in ways I hadn’t been drawn to anyone before. Not since…

No. I couldn’t let myself think like that. It wasn’t good for either of us.

Despite knowing we could never become anything, every day that I was away from him, my dragon grew more and more restless. My beast was ridiculous.

He hadn’t always been. I wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for his strength. My dragon had remained stoic and uninterested ever since my mate passed. If he crumbled the way I had… things would not have… they’d be different and not in a good way.

What had changed? Suddenly, he was rumbling to life and causing all sorts of problems. All over an omega I had no right even noticing. Sure, he was attractive, but I’d met many good-looking omegas over the centuries. It had to be more than that.

“You should find a date, Dad,” Tavian said as he came into the room.

I hadn’t realized he was so close. That was how distracted I was. Had he been listening the entire time? Knowing him, he might’ve set the entire thing up. He didn’t like the fact that I was still alone, no matter how much I reminded him I wasn’t. I had him and his mate and my grandbabies. My life was filled with love.

Sure, it wasn’t the love of a mate, but fate had already given me that. I had that time in my life. Dwelling on the past was never the way to move forward.

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