Chapter Six
Trace
I opted to drive back to Dragon’s Landing. While my dragon loved to soar through the sky with his wings spread, he despised human airplanes. He hated being cooped up while a machine was given the job he loved so much. I couldn’t blame him. And my human side didn’t love them much, anyway. I liked to not have my legs mushed for hours at a time.
The drive took two days, and I was beyond exhausted by the time I pulled up to the B&B. I hadn’t realized when I booked my reservation that it was at the same time as the Dragon Festival. I should have—my grandmother had mentioned it enough times in her notes—but for some reason, I hadn’t pieced it all together. And now I was here at the very worst time to try to accomplish my business.
The entire region was packed. I hit gridlock about a half hour out and it only got denser the closer I got. Country traffic was a thousand times worse than city traffic, where I at least could try to shave off time by hitting side streets. There weren’t any of those here until I reached town.
I considered stopping at the lawyer’s office before checking in, but it was downtown, and so was pretty much everybody else in the state. I’d have to deal with it in the morning, preferably before the events began. Or maybe I’d just call them. I was too tired to figure out any sort of problem-solving skills. Back burner was the best I could do.
Finally, I pulled into the lot. Just like everywhere else, it was jam-packed. They’d really done a great deal with the place. I remembered passing it the last time I visited my grams years ago. I wasn’t sure what it was at the time—maybe it was a different inn—but it had definitely gotten a facelift and was looking pretty good.
Once out of the car, I grabbed my bag from the trunk, and my dragon perked up. And not in a good way. He was on edge and panicked and thrilled all at once. It was not a good blend and, the closer we got to the front entrance, the more agitated he became.
What is your problem?
He didn’t respond. He rarely did. Pretty soon, he’d be pushing me to fly—that much I knew. Maybe I’d go out near my grandmother’s old place where I used to take to the air with her, but for now, I needed to check in. With this place so busy, being late to check-in would probably result in losing my room, and I didn’t want that.
As I reached the steps, I scented something delicious. Or maybe it was someone delicious. Whatever it was, it had me feeling all warm inside, and my dragon pushed me.
Follow.
Track.
As if I had a good nose. It wasn’t like I was a wolf or something. When I hunted, I went by sight, not scent. But try telling that to my dragon right now because all he wanted me to do was get to the source of that delicious scent.
Just pipe down. I need to check in. Then I’ll indulge you in whatever.
He did not like that. Not one single bit. And I didn’t like him being pissy. It was a lose-lose situation, one I’d remedy as soon as possible.
When I opened the doors, it hit me like a wall. That scent wasn’t something arbitrary. Nope. It was the scent that was going to change everything.
Mates.
Mates.
Mates.
My dragon kept pushing, and he was right. My mates were here. Somewhere.
I’ll take care of it.
I looked around and quickly spotted them.
One was a wolf, and his ass in those jeans made me think things I shouldn’t about someone I hadn’t even met yet. Gods. Fate was shining down on me.
And the other? A human.
I hadn’t been expecting that. I guess I assumed that as a dragon, I’d get a dragon mate. Instead, I got not one but two freaking hotties. Except, there was one problem.
They were actively trying to ignore me.
They weren’t rude or anything, but I could tell by their posture, by the way they looked away the second they saw me. They didn’t want me to scent them or recognize them. And as they sat down together to wait for their room, I understood why.
They were together.
Maybe they didn’t want a third. Maybe fated mates didn’t mean anything to them.
I wasn’t sure. My head was spinning. I didn’t even realize when the people in front of me had all gone and it was my turn—until the poor guy behind the counter practically shouted to get my attention.
“Hi, sorry. I got distracted.”
Understatement of the freaking year.
“My name is Trace. I have a reservation.” I tapped on my phone and pulled it up.
“I don’t see any—hold on. Could it maybe be for another date?” That was not good. It was very not good.
“Here.” I handed him my phone, and he typed in the numbers for my reservation. “Yeah, nothing.”
“I don’t understand—”
He called for his mate, who came up, a little girl in his arms.
“What’s going on?”
“Having trouble with this reservation.” Poor guy was beyond frustrated. I didn’t blame him. If my room wasn’t available, chances were others weren’t either. What a nightmare.
“Why don’t you go and watch the kids? I’ll handle this.”
He agreed and went back into what I guessed was the kitchen with the little girl on his hip.
“Sorry. I’m one of the owners. Let me guess—you used the app?” He closed his eyes, clearly unhappy. My guess was that I wasn’t the first of the day.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Been notorious for that.” He opened them and tapped away on the keyboard. “Yeah, you’re not here. But we recently had someone leave. Let me see about their room.”
I was pretty sure there was a story there.
He tapped away on his computer again.
“I’m so sorry. That got booked between then and now. We’re full. I wish I had better news for you, but I don’t know anywhere that even has a spot within a couple of hours.”
“It’s okay. I’ll find someplace.” I’d have to squat at my grandmother’s even if it wasn’t technically allowed yet, or maybe sleep in my scales—or my car. But it was fine. This wasn’t a vacation. I didn’t need luxuries.
“Wait, no.” The wolf stood up and came over. “Don’t leave.”
I was pretty sure there was nothing this man could ask of me that I wouldn’t do.
The owner looked between the two of us.
“Our room has capacity for three, right?”
The owner didn’t even bother to look. “If you want to have a third in your room, that’s fine.” He winked at the wolf.
Did the owner understand what was happening?
Did the wolf?
Did I?
One thing was for sure—the human did not understand. He was looking at his partner like he’d just lost his ever-loving mind.
The wolf…his beast was so close to the surface. Even if he didn’t fully get it, his animal did. That was a start.
But also, it meant he wasn’t asking out of kindness. He was asking out of need. And something about that had me agreeing to go with them. Letting him suffer because I wanted to figure out what was happening wasn’t going to fly with my dragon and it shouldn’t.
“Thank you. I can pay half.” I put my card on the counter, but he shook his head.
“No. Absolutely not. We need to talk anyway.”
I was going to stay in their room, and at least one of them had figured out what was going on.