Chapter Four
Ralph
The internet may have been lacking in information about this event, at least until you knew where to look for it, but that did not mean there was any lack of people showing up for the Dragon Festival.
“That was a lot of traffic from the highway to here,” Craig said as we parked in the small lot near the Dragon’s Landing B&B. “Almost felt like the city.”
“I guess nobody wants to miss the opening first thing tomorrow.” I got out and went around the back to open the hatch. “And I am guessing you don’t either.”
“No.” He bumped shoulders with me. “Not one minute of anything. Do you think there are real dragons here?”
“I think they exist, but I have never met one, so I’m not sure.” I handed him his duffel and backpack before extracting my things. “Need help with any of that?”
“Nope.” He slung the backpack strap onto his shoulder and hefted the other bag. “How about you?”
I shook my head and closed the hatch. “I got this. Let’s go see if our room is ready. It should be since check-in started a couple of hours ago.”
“We could have come sooner?” Outrage colored his tone, despite the fact he knew why we came when we did—and it wasn’t my fault. He’d asked for the whole week off but had to go in for a while this morning. Still, this was his birthday trip, and the idea of meeting real dragons or even just being surrounded by fellow dragon fans had him beyond excited. He’d been watching the GPS to see how close we were since we left the house.
I sure hoped there were some real dragons here.
“We did the best we could.” I held the door open for him and a few others who followed him into the crowded lobby area. “Wow, busy.” Taking our place in line, we prepared to wait while the man behind the counter checked in the guests ahead of us. Various parties headed up the stairs within a few minutes before a pair of women right in front of us stalled everything.
“But we asked for a room with a walk-in closet,” demanded the middle-aged blonde, pounding the counter with a fist for emphasis.
“And we informed you via email that same day that none of our available rooms has one of those. You could have canceled at that time.” He studied her closely, faint orange flames in his eyes offering a warning she either didn’t notice or didn’t care about. Not a true dragon fan or she’d never have missed them. “Or now, if you like.”
“Sure, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” her friend, whose hair was all the colors of dragon flame—but far more garish—snapped. “You already have our deposit and your policy won’t give it back to us.”
Another man appeared behind him and asked, “Everything okay, mate?” Interesting. This was a human and he was mated to the dragon. Since I’d been crushing on Craig for so long, human/shifter matings always caught my attention. This one wore a dragon scale on a necklace. A truly precious gift, if the lore was correct.
“Fine.” The dragon’s gaze softened as it landed on the man. “I hope the girls aren’t disturbed by all the noise out here.”
“No, they are banging on pots and pans in the kitchen.” The human’s grin was affectionate and wry at the same time. “I was hoping we weren’t bothering the guests.”
The dragon kissed his mate on the cheek. “No worries. I was just offering these ladies a full refund because we cannot meet the amenities they want.”
“We can’t?”
“No!” the blonde cut in. “And we want our deposit back plus 20 percent for our trouble.”
The human whispered something to the dragon who disappeared through the door the human had come in by, maybe leading to their private quarters or at least the kitchen where shifter hearing did allow me to hear the concert “the girls” were performing. I thought it was adorable, and since we were the last in line at the moment, nobody else was there to hear it at all. “Now,” the man behind the counter said, tapping away on the keyboard, “if you want to leave, we will issue a refund to the card used to book your reservation. It will show up on the account in three to six days, entirely depending upon your bank.”
“And our extra money?”
“There will be no extra money. We are breaking our policy by refunding the deposit in the interests of our other guests having a peaceful stay. Are you staying or leaving?”
In the end, they decided to stay and wandered away towing several heavy pieces of luggage up the stairs and grumbling loudly about poor service.
“If you can give me a moment, we will be right with you.” The host behind the counter disappeared into the back and the dragon returned to take his place. Interesting how they worked together. Smooth as glass. Mates all the way. Something I would never experience since I had realized there would be no fated for me years before.
The door behind us opened at that moment, and I was overwhelmed with the scent of mate—no, mates. Two.
I’d been so worried about my friend finding his mate or husband or whatever that I never considered that I might meet mine.
A glance over my shoulder revealed a dragon shifter moving into line behind us. Two dragons already. Craig was in for a great time. And I was going to have to not freak out because my world had just tipped on its axis. What would this mean about my crush on Craig? I didn’t sense any sign of it dissipating. But I had two mates.
Oh my gods!
My assumption that I couldn’t be obsessed with Craig if there were true mates out there for me were flying out the window. But I didn’t want to let him go. I’d cared for him for too long…what was Fate up to?
“Next.” We stepped up to the desk where the dragon stood, fingers poised on his keyboard. “May I help you?”
“Yes, please.” I dug out my phone and held it out to him so he could get the reservation information. “That was quite a situation a moment ago. I hope they aren’t typical of those who come to stay with you.”
He looked up at me and grimaced. “You mean entitled and awful? Thank the god that watches over the winged ones, no. My mate was afraid I’d flame them.”
Ah. He was clearly the alpha in their relationship, and I had wondered why his omega came in to handle things. “He has your back.”
“And all the rest of me, inside and out. He also reminds me that insurance does not cover singed guests.” His love showed when he spoke of his mate in the very best of ways. “But, you don’t want to hear about innkeeping problems. I assure you most of our guests are a pleasure, and you will enjoy your stay here. If there’s anything we can do to make it more enjoyable, just let us know.”
I relaxed at his words, leaning on the counter and waiting to get our keys. I had enough to think about knowing I had two mates here. Ah well, freaking out served nothing. Everyone was staying here at least tonight, so there would be time to figure it out.