2
Farren
A yawn overtook me as I tied my hair up into a ponytail. Tightening my usual red bandana into a headband, I called it good for the morning. It was way too early to put much effort in. I couldn’t find it in me to care that my green eyes and auburn hair looked dull today, the fog from the mountains casting a gray shadow over the room.
My second alarm went off, the one I set just in case I couldn't drag myself out of bed at five, which was often. My boss West’s tirades could go on for hours, so I did anything I could to avoid them. Today, I was up before my alarm, my lingering nightmares making sleep damn near impossible. It'd been over fifteen years since I left my colony—there was no reason the dreams should still plague me now. But that was a problem for a more reasonable hour.
Grabbing my amulet, I put it around my neck and tucked it under my uniform shirt before grabbing my flannel button-up and boots. I swore these clothes had me looking like a lumberjack, making my curvy build and tall physique even more intense, but West wasn't one to be reasoned with. Apparently, making my already un-omegalike physique stand out wasn’t his problem. I'd given up that fight long ago. I mean, it was his hotel, so I couldn't argue too much. He had taken in a scared and exhausted fifteen-year-old and given her shelter, a home, and someone she could rely on. He was the only family I had now, and although he was frustrating and stubborn, I really did love him.
Leaving my employee suite, I detoured to the kitchen to grab a huge mug of coffee, no creamer or sugar. Give me that bitter boldness to shock my body into wakefulness. If I wasn’t working today, I might have added a shot of whiskey. Sometimes life just called for the occasional shot of alcohol.
"Hey, Molly," I called out. Our cook was fantastic, which made it all the more sad that she was retiring as soon as we could find a replacement. I was worried that we'd never find someone to fill that role since she was one of a kind. She glanced up from the skillet and gave me a toothy grin, her gray hair tied back in a poofy ponytail. She was chipper today, but she didn't have any other setting. Between her perpetual cheer and the way she mercilessly pushed all of West's buttons, she'd definitely be missed.
"I'll bring you out a plate," she promised as I walked to the door. Arguing with her was useless, so I’d learned not to say anything. It was better to just accept her generosity and eat what was placed before you. If I said I was on a diet, she'd give me twice as much the next time and glare at me if I didn't eat at least a normal portion. It was as if she knew the dragon I kept hidden couldn't be ignored.
'Because I can't,'Zehra sassed. The dragon soul I had the pleasure of sharing my body and mind with loved to pop in and drop her attitude every chance she got. You'd think she’d have some manners, being an immortal, ancient being and all, but nope. Then again, I'd hate to be stuck with a droll, pompous voice for my entire life. For better or worse, unwanted sass or not, we were stuck with one another’s company. We might not have any other dragons to soar with, but at least we had each other. That was a lot to be thankful for when you were one of a kind.
Dragons were once at the top of the supernatural food chain, but now we hid, something Zehra couldn’t stand. She thought we should be proud of our magic, of our scales. But the only thing I felt when I flew—outside of the exhilaration and complete awe of cutting through the mist and fog of the mountains—was fear.
Aside from her disapproval of staying in hiding, she was also almost as persistent as Molly about maintaining my stature, but I didn’t live in a dragon stronghold anymore. I lived among a society that treated plus-sized people like lepers half of the time. Even among supernaturals, I was an oddity. Most of the supernatural races had metabolisms that tended to burn calories instead of storing too many of them away. For all that other shifters could pile away truckloads of food, none of it seemed to stick on their frames. Dragons, now, we were made to pack a punch. Our sheer size just didn’t allow for us to burn off calories the same way wolves did.
Our human sides were heartier, giving me my 5’7’’ height, generous curves, and thighs that could probably bust a watermelon. Realistically speaking, it was so our bodies could withstand such a vast change to our beasts. Turning into a dragon required an immense amount of magic and strength. If I was speaking from personal experience, I’d say our healthy size was a necessity so we could handle all the sass and audacity our dragon companions piled on us.
'You know I'd rather it not be this way,'I countered, knowing she would also hear the sigh I directed her way. Living my life as a lie, keeping Zehra hidden, was exhausting. Anya’s amulet was a godsend that kept me safe and allowed me to blend in. To others, I smelled like nothing more than a witch. If anyone found out I was a dragon omega, it would mean captivity at best, and I didn’t want to think of the worst-case scenario. Our blood had always been pricey on the black market, and rates had only gone up now that we were nearly impossible to find. Add the nightmares and loneliness to the mix, and I was in the running for becoming an angry-at-the-world cat lady before I even hit thirty, which was fast approaching.
'You better get a few cats then,'Zehra pointed out unhelpfully. I could practically see her bronze scale-clad mouth twisting in a fanged smirk.
Mountainview Hotel’s lobby was empty when I got there, the front desk unmanned. West liked to do a walk of the grounds before we switched shifts, so that wasn't unusual. Grabbing the 'be back soon' sign off the desk, I tucked it away and got settled in. The computers were up and running already, so I just had to sit back and enjoy what sips of coffee I could get down before West came back in. The man loved to give me mile-long to-do lists every day.
Three. That was all the gulps I managed before he came in like a wrecking ball. For a lithe man of at least sixty-five, he was chaotic as hell. I'd been around a lot of alphas in my time, and the giant mountain men paled in comparison to how intense and intimidating West could be. He'd stared down more than one alpha guest and always came out on top. He held an immense amount of power in his body, and he wasn't afraid to show it when the need arose. Despite Emberwood’s small size, that need arose fairly often.
The little man was just as much home to me as the Mountainview. He smelled of spearmint and sage and cracked jokes at the worst times, filling the role of the crazy uncle I never had but truly needed. I liked to think I filled some role in his life too. Family wasn’t always promised, but we’d created our own here.
"Morning, Farren," he rumbled, coming to a halt at the desk and shaking off the snow. I glared, knowing damn well I'd be the one grabbing the mop while he sauntered off to put on fresh jammies and crawl into bed. We couldn't seem to keep staff at the inn, and I knew his demeanor was one hundred percent why. "I have news. Buckle the fuck up because you aren’t going to like it one bit."
My eyes snapped to his immediately. Any time he started a conversation like this, it was huge. Last time, he shut down a wing of the hotel, then proceeded to remodel the space in the span of two weeks. The time before that we had an entire sorority stay with us for two weeks, and it was hell on earth. Do you know how many red solo cups I cleaned up? Enough to create a life-sized pyramid. And don’t get me started on the bath bomb glitter-filled jacuzzi tubs and makeup-stained towels.
"Tell me this isn't going to make me want to hike into the mountains and hide for a month," I groaned. He ignored my protests. Rubbing his hands together, fire formed around them, warming him up from his morning trek. Once he was satisfied, he shot the fireball into the fireplace, sending the dwindling fire into a raging inferno that gave the lobby a flash of warmth.
"You’ll do no such thing. You’d miss my gentle charm,” he grumbled, giving me a side eye. I bit back a laugh at his dry, blunt humor. “My nephew called. There's a group coming our way. Four of them," he started. The way he was hedging around it had me narrowing my eyes.
"As guests?" He'd mentioned needing maintenance on-call and some help with the front desk so he could live his life like a 'lazy old geezer.' I had no idea what had gotten into him… like he'd ever be satisfied doing nothing around here. The man loved control as much as he loved this hotel and driving me batshit crazy on the daily.
"No,” he said with a quirk of his eyebrow. It was his silent way of asking whether it would be a problem. Allowing strangers around a skittish dragon could send me running again, and he didn’t seem to love that idea. When I sighed and nodded, he continued on. “And I don't know where I'll put them yet. I haven’t met them, so I'm taking a chance here. I need you to be honest with me. If they're an issue, you'll tell me. Right?" His voice was serious now, and I swallowed hard. I was notorious for sugarcoating things and making myself as invisible as possible, which meant keeping most complaints to myself. "I'm trusting you to be my eyes and ears here."
"Fine," I sighed. It was a bit of a relief to know I held some power here. If they came in and tried to sabotage things or laze around, he wouldn't have it. “Are they alphas?”
“An omega, a beta, and two alphas. My nephew spoke highly of their integrity,” he said, giving me that fatherly look that said to keep my guard up anyway.
'They could be potential mates. You're not getting any younger, omega,'Zehra reminded me. My heart clenched at the thought, and I had to shove it away before I got emotional. Dragon shifters looked at mates a bit differently since fate was the only way to find them and some searched for years before the dragons disappeared. I always dreamt of finding my mates, the irresistible men I’d immediately recognize as mine. The kind of love you read about in omega fairy tales, with protective alphas and sweet betas, all there to keep the omega princesses safe and happy. I wasn't a princess that would just sit around and be doted on, but having someone around that I knew wouldn't leave me?Thatwas my dream. It was the one hope I allowed myself. That someday my mates would find me here in this sleepy little mountain town and turn my world upside down, giving me more purpose than I’d ever had.
But it wasn't one I expected to happen.
As my dragon counterpart had already pointed out to me, I wasn't getting any younger. But dragons were extinct, meaning kids were off the table for me. In all my years of hiding, I had never crossed another dragon once.And as my mother and every other omega in my stronghold had often reminded me, dragons could only mate with dragons. Something about our DNA being too strong to mix with other species, our magic being too old.
"Did you hear me?" West snapped. He was past his bedtime now, so we were nearing dangerous territory. A tantrum-throwing West wasn't something I was eager to deal with.And they call omegas dramatic. Alphas could out-drama us every time.
"Sorry, no," I admitted, figuring it was best not to lie. He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, muttering something I couldn't make out before turning back to me.