Page 3 of The Dragon's Flamebound Mate

“All right,” I said. “Bring it on.”

“Perfect. He’ll be here this afternoon, and I’ll set up a meeting with the two of you. When the students arrive, I expect the two of you to be working in perfect harmony.”

Chapter 2

Ash

“Isthiscelebratory,orare we drowning our sorrows?” My friend, Laken, sat down on the stool next to me at the dimly lit bar that had no one in it but the two of us. It was a fair question given it was eleven in the morning on a weekday, and the only people who would be at a bar day-drinking were people who had a problem. And a problem was exactly what I had.

Settling my nerves, I picked up the whiskey glass I’d ordered twenty minutes ago and took a sip. I resisted the urge to down it completely and instead had been swirling it around, taking light sips. While alcohol was a solution, it was far from a good one, and I knew future me would thank me for being responsible. At least slightly responsible.

“I’m still trying to figure it out.” It was honestly probably both.

“Is it working?”

I couldn’t tell if he was attempting to be funny or not. “Not so much.”

He patted me on the shoulder. “You’re going to do great. Emberstone Clan is known for being incredibly accepting of all shifter types. I’ve always heard good things about their schools as well.” Gotta love a good hype man, but as great as he was at the role, there was hesitation in his voice.

I sighed. I knew all those things he said held truth. I’d been in the dragon flight games world for a long time. Maybe too long, if I was being objective about it. But having them be true and having the situation be good were two very different things.

“There’s never been a non-dragon Flight Leader. There are hardly any dragon teams that have co-leaders and none of worth,” I countered. Was I good enough? Heck yeah. But they didn’t think so. Not if they thought I needed a babysitter. I still didn’t understand the entire situation, but I got a strong feeling it was me they weren’t overly comfortable with. Which begged the question: Why was I, an eagle, accepting their offer?

Never mind the fact that I was technically half dragon. My alpha father was a dragon. I was the only one in my clutch who took after my omega father, so I was a golden eagle like him. I literally grew up among dragons. But to say I was one of them was a stretch and a half. And really, eagles didn’t consider me one of them either. I was stuck in a place of not belonging.

“And Flight Leader Zayne is one of the best.” At least I wasn’t paired with a newbie, right?

Laken snorted.

Maybe not, right.

“Not in the last few years, he’s not. He’s a bit washed up.” He was being dead serious. “I’m surprised they didn’t give you the job outright and can his ass.”

Laken wasn’t helping. Not one tiny bit.

I scowled at that. That wasn’t a kind way to think about how Zayne was doing. The man had clearly been going through some shit for the past decade, which was why his flight teams weren’t doing as well. That, and he had drawn the short end of the stick as far as talent goes.

Though, in his fifty-year career, he had been known for building up talent out of nothing. He could coach even some of the most uncoachable dragons, turn a team of misfits into champions. The world had seen him do it, it was how he earned his reputation. Sure, last year was different, but that didn’t undo his entire legacy.

“I... I’m nervous,” I admitted.

“Well, yeah, anyone would be. But you got this job for a reason, Ash. You’re talented.” He set his glass down, giving me his undivided attention. “You know what you’re talking about. It’s not like you’re a fish trying to teach these dragons how to fly. You’re an eagle. Flying is in your blood or... whatever the fuck. Something inspirational.”

I snorted. “You think that helps? Just saying ‘something inspirational?’”

“Listen, I don’t need flowery words to show my encouragement. You don’t need the words. You’re a skilled flyer and an amazing teacher. You know dragons. It’s not like you’re some rando off the street.”

“No, I suppose I’m not.” I sighed. “I appreciate your vote of confidence. It’s just... what if they don’t accept me? Don’t respect me? Not all dragons are accepting of outsiders on their teams.” And even those that were never saw me as an equal. It sucked, but that was the way it was. “They might not treat us different on regular things, but dragon flight games are a whole different thing. It’s serious.”

“You’re going to be co-leading with Zayne, right? If he doesn’t enforce respect on his teams and make sure that no one treats you any different, then he can go fuck himself.” Laken grabbed my shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “That’s not the way that school—that clan—has built up their reputation. So they’re either going to live up to that reputation or expose it as a sham.”

This was true. It didn’t change the awkwardness of the situation if I arrived and was immediately shunned for being other, but it meant things would balance out… eventually… probably.

They say never meet your heroes—they’ll disappoint you every time. I wasn’t sure who “they” were, but I needed them to be wrong on this one. I was finally getting the chance to meet mine, and the idea that he might be a jerk terrified me.

“It could be an incredibly great experience. Maybe this Zayne guy is super friendly and nice.” Laken sounded nowhere near as confident as I needed him to be.

I snorted at that. “He’s known for being a loner. He lives on the opposite end of the lake from the school, secluded from the rest of the buildings. He’s pretty famous for denying interviews or any sort of press interaction. Hell, he might dislike me on principle, since I was a member of that press for a long time.”

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