Chapter Thirteen
Jimryr escorted the clueless dragons home to a modest four-bedroom house on the outskirts of town.
They’d kept the place reasonably clean for fledglings, though he’d be willing to bet “they” in this case meant the omega.
He carefully avoided looking in closets or under beds, afraid to discover his own method of a quick cleanup.
Two older, no-nonsense betas arrived a few hours later, came through the door, and promptly started issuing orders before they’d even set their bags down.
One extremely aggressive growl shut down the “But I’m an alpha!
” protests. Not a moment too soon. Jimryr had heard enough whining to last him a lifetime.
If Clay played a certain annoying song one more time… .
Before leaving, Jimryr cornered Brian. “Look, little dude. I know you’re an alpha, but one of your biggest responsibilities is to set a good example for the others. The guardians were sent here for a reason. Listen to them.”
A muscle twitched in Brian’s jaw, but he didn’t turn away.
Jimryr continued, “And for the love of the Goddess, stop pretending to be Elouan Thorne. For one thing, he’s older than you.
For another, he’s better able to defend himself.
You’re painting a target on your back. You’ve not been involved with court politics, but trust me, your pretending could get you hurt. ”
Brian countered, “But—”
Jimryr threw up a hand to silence any protests. “No buts. It’s not only you that enemies will come after, but your friends too. Alphas have an obligation to others in their court. If you want to be a leader, you've got to lead by example. Don’t put your own life or anyone else’s in danger.”
The usual arrogance slowly slipped from Brian’s face. “I understand.”
Jimryr placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on Brian’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. Dragons your age would have learned their roles by now in Adrakus. Your new guardians will help you, but you’ve got to listen to them.”
“I don’t even know them. How can I trust them to take care of us?”
Brian might just make a leader after all, for thinking “us” and not “me.” “Now you’re thinking like an alpha. Rest assured, my alpha chose them, and I trust her with my life. She’s also from the same court you’re from, so you might be kin.”
He approached Clay, and a beta named Louie.
“You’re betas. Your job is to protect the court, and you should’ve begun your training years ago.
Listen to your guardians. They’ll teach you what you need to know.
” Jimryr handed Louie a card from the garage where he worked.
“If you need anything, call this number, ask for Zorah or Jim.”
Lastly, he located the omega who’d make an excellent spy, scowling and extending a hand.
Denise gave a faux innocent expression. Jimryr growled.
She released a put-upon sigh, dug into her back pocket, and handed over Jimryr’s wallet.
He’d have to tell the guardians to keep an eye on her.
He liked her style, but she needed to use her sneakiness for good.
He checked inside his wallet, then held out his hand again. With another sigh, plus an eye roll, she dug into another pocket and handed him a twenty. “I’d tell you to behave, but you wouldn’t listen, would you?”
Denise poked out her lower lip. “The leather was for my hoard.”
Jimryr worked his Harley key off his keychain.
Her face lit up when he handed the scrap of leather over. She squealed and raced off to what must’ve been her room.
He closed the front door behind him on an indignant, “What do you mean I have to share a room with Louie!” from Clay.
Thank the Goddess, they weren’t his problem anymore. He still might check on them from time to time. His dragon gave him the equivalent of a “good beta” head pat.
Jimryr checked his email on his phone before hopping on his motorcycle to find an itinerary and e-tickets for connecting flights to Anchorage, Alaska. Fen had come through once more. Efficient to a fault—unless one of her many lovers distracted her.
He rode to the Atlanta airport, parked his bike in short-term parking, and boarded his flight.
A few other dragons sat interspersed throughout the coach section of the plane, though they didn’t acknowledge each other and wouldn’t until they reached their destination.
The first week of October should be late enough in the year to be safe once they landed.
All the dragons on the flight caught the same connection in Chicago, further convincing him they shared a destination.
From Anchorage, he and the other four dragons took a helicopter to the remote wilderness. Signs of many footprints through a thin layer of fresh-fallen snow said they weren’t the first to arrive.
“I haven’t had this many passengers in quite some time,” the pilot said. “This is my tenth trip in the past few days. You guys on some kind of expedition or something?”
“Something like that,” Jimryr replied, though none of them carried any gear other than backpacks with a change of clothes or two and toiletries. They’d learned to travel light. Dragons needed little in the way of creature comforts as they’d spend most of their time in scales.
All five of them turned to each other with broad grins the moment the pilot left.
“Jim! Good to see you, man!”
Jimryr shook hands with a squad leader, Mal, then greeted the others.
“It’s been a while,” Mal mused, falling into step beside Jimryr as they trudged through patchy snow into the woods. Her long blonde hair shone in the bright sunlight, and her magenta puffer coat nearly matched the color of her scales. “What have you been up to?”
“Ah, you know.” He waggled his gloved hand back and forth. “Same ole, same ole. Recruiting mostly, though I think we must have most of the able-bodied dragons in the country by now.”
“Any idea when we’ll get to use all these skills we’re practicing?” Mal bumped her shoulder against his, an inside joke about his fighting style.
“Not sure, but if the mage is waiting until we’re ready, then he should be here already.”
Mal laughed, a joyful sound. “Don’t I know it.” She came across as lackadaisical at times but put the playful nature aside when training. She’d prove deadly in the sky as one of the few dragons to have actually seen combat. Heavy clothing and her coat hid her battle scars.
They came to a group of cabins hidden in the trees. Zorah approached, a broad grin on her weathered face. “Y’all are the last uns. We’re cooking out tonight, catching up, and then we’ll try some night maneuvers.”
“I don’t see why we can’t join in the actual fighting,” came a grumbling voice from behind Zorah.
A man approached, deceptively youthful appearing for thirty. Jimryr recognized him as an omega dragon he’d met before.
Zorah tousled the man’s hair. “You have your role to play, and you do it well. Dylan, show these betas to their quarters, please.”
“Come with me.” Dylan turned, heading for the cabins. They appeared small at first glance, enough space for ten dragons, but as they topped the hill, more cabins spread out around them, as well as hundreds of dragons in human form.
“How many are here?” Jimryr asked.
“Counting the five of you, four hundred this trip, about all we could fit.” Dylan waved to the odd dragon they passed. “Funny, I didn’t think there’d be so many of us.”
A larger contingent than Jimryr had ever seen since coming to live among humans, but nothing compared to the courts of old, when six of the larger courts controlled all the lesser ones.
Dylan trudged toward one of the smaller cabins. “This holds six, but there’s only five of you, so you get extra room.” He led them inside, but the interior didn’t vary from other cabins Jimryr had stayed in over the years. He might even have shared this one before.
A fireplace stood against one wall, with a fire crackling in the hearth.
The scent of pine permeated the place, which had exposed logs on every wall.
The low ceiling likely helped preserve the warmth.
One large picture window, blinds raised, gave a stunning mountain view.
Tourists likely paid big money to stay here when dragons didn’t claim the place.
“Thank you, Dylan,” Jimryr said.
The moment Dylan left and closed the door, multiple thumps sounded around the living area as backpacks hit the floor. Two of the betas attacked each other, mouths and bodies melded, the woman pushing the man against the wall.
Jimryr heard not one word of complaint.
“Don’t mind us,” Mal quipped, “just find a room.”
One of the two betas nodded, grabbed his partner by the collar, and hauled her into the closest bedroom, slamming the door with a resounding thud.
Jimryr, Mal, and the remaining beta stared after them. The gesture reminded Jimryr of his night with Griff. Had he done wrong in not at least offering Griff a chance to join them?
Griff. Was the man Griff, or Daire Fucking Thorne, son of an assassinated king? If he really had been the dragon Jimryr tried to help, someone nearly assassinated him too.
Time to put personal feelings out of his mind for now, with more pressing matters to attend to. Jimryr checked out the other bedrooms, each with two double beds. “I’ll take this one. I don’t care who gets a single room. Bunk with me or not.” He threw his backpack onto the nearest bed.
Mal turned an alarming shade of pink. “Um…I think he and I will share,” she said, tossing her head in the other beta’s direction.
Suited Jimryr. Hookups were normal at these gatherings when dragons reunited after time apart.
Some became permanent couples, while others took advantage of proximity to other dragons.
The third bedroom door slammed before he even registered movement.
The DeKalb County Dragons could only train about four hundred here at a time, so they rotated, ensuring they’d all fought with each other and knew what to expect. If only they were back home, free to fly whenever they wanted, with nothing but open sky.