“This means renovations, doesn’t it?” I groaned. “I still haven’t recovered from the last round.” West cackled and rubbed his hands together like some kind of movie villain.
“It does. Maybe Kane here can help me make some decisions. We’ll need a new name too. Mountainview Heights or some fancy shit like that,” he said, tapping a weathered finger on his chin as he contemplated it. “We won’t have to change much in the common areas at least, and we can use the check-in desk as a security desk or something.”
“Speaking of security, you should talk to Maxon. Now that they’re settled, he mentioned opening up a security business in town,” Kane agreed. “And we’ll help with whatever you need here.”
“Perfect, I’ll check it out,” West promised. He gathered up our empty trays and took them up to the tray return. At this point, nearly everyone had emptied out, and Molly was starting to clean up. The dragons took that as their cue, grabbing a few chairs and sitting down at our table.
“I’m Farren, since we didn’t get to do intros before,” I started. “These are my mates, Avi, Kane, Levi, and Nikolaus.”
“Nice to formally meet you,” the beta said. “I’m Alice. This is our alpha, Roman, and beta, Beau.”
“And I’m West,” West announced as he took his seat again. “I own this place.”
“It’s a nice hotel,” Roman said with a glance around.
“For now,” West agreed. “We’re discussing shifting over to apartments since it seems they’ll be necessary.”
“More are coming,” I added. “We’ve smelled dragons in town, and they haven’t come out of hiding yet.”
“Most of us live in seclusion, so they likely won’t until they’re sure,” Alice said with a frown. “We were lucky that our closest neighboring town in Alaska was tiny. They all knew us, and we had supplies flown in when necessary. We didn’t have a lot of wing room though, so it’ll be nice to fly again.”
“We tend to stick to cloudy or snowy days to not raise alarm,” I said, then caught myself. “Though I guess it won’t matter if we’re not afraid of being seen.”
“I’d prefer you wait until the hotel is out of commission to fly in clear skies. Otherwise humans will flock here in droves to take pictures of the mythical dragons.” The old man rolled his eyes, already annoyed by just the idea of it.
“Fuck, you’re right,” Kane said with a sigh. “How long until that happens?”
“I have bookings out for months, years even, so the cancellation process won’t be pretty for those planning vacations. I’ll compile other options though. Good old Al might just have to open up a lodge after all.” West shrugged. “No matter when it happens, I’ll have to disappoint someone.”
“It’ll be so strange not working the desk,” I said. It was kind of sad to think that this chapter of my life was ending. “What would I do for the apartments?”
“We’ll figure it out,” West promised. “This place is yours as much as mine at this point. And speaking of, I’m off to figure out logistics. You lot can catch me up later.” He didn’t wait for goodbyes, rushing off now that he was focused on a task. The fact that he was willing to leave already meant he didn’t find them a threat either.
“He’s interesting,” Alice chuckled. “I like him.”
“He’s amazing,” I agreed. “So, what are your plans now that you’re here?”
“Figure out the necessities,” Roman said. “Find jobs, see what West plans here or find another place. Things like that.”
“There are maps on the front desk that show the closest towns if you need to look further than Emberwood for work. This place is good for small businesses and tourist traps, but not so good for a variety of job prospects,” I explained.
“Thank you,” he said with a respectful nod. “It’ll be nice to start over.”
“It’ll be even nicer to have access to the normal things again, like a grocery store and restaurants… pizza!” Alice said, practically drooling at the thought.
“We have an amazing pizza place,” I promised. The conversation quieted, and I chanced a look at Beau. He hadn’t said a word the entire meeting. He was glaring at the table, and when I glanced at my mates, I saw they’d noticed too.
“Unhappy about moving here?” Kane asked Beau directly. The beta glared in lieu of answer.
“Look,” Levi said before Kane could be an ass, “we’ve all been through some shit. But that doesn’t have to define you.”
“Don’t tell me what I’ve been through,” he bit out angrily enough that Niko stood up, abruptly slamming his hands on the table.
“If you can’t get your shit together and speak to my omega with respect, you can kindly get the fuck out of here. Go back to Alaska and be a fucking hermit for all I care,” he growled. Beau didn’t flinch, but his anger dimmed the slightest bit.
“I’m not going back.” No apologies, no changing his tune, just that.
“Then stop being an ass,” Niko said simply, taking his seat again. Avi was close enough that he reached out and gripped Niko’s arm to calm him. That alone had me wondering what Beau brought to the table. A beta that angry at the world wouldn't be able to balance or calm anyone. Were they a cohesive group or one born of necessity and chance?