Chapter Nine
Mac
We walked back to the main path, continuing our stroll around the lake until we arrived back at the parking lot where we'd left Rapture. He sniffed at me as I walked past. I'd given him a hefty roast beef sandwich for lunch, but he would need a full meal tonight. I hoped the restaurant boasting Iowa's best southern comfort food would have a rack of ribs or giant tenderloin.
When we finally found a place to park downtown and made our way inside the restaurant, Galen's nose wrinkled at the smell of grease. The greeter asked us if we'd like to sit on the back patio, and I jumped at the chance.
We sat in the shade of a tall building in an area cordoned off from the street by a black cast-iron fence. It reminded me of the cemetery near our hotel, and I shivered at the thought.
Galen sniffed the air and studied everything from the stone tile to the potted plants.
I was still lost in thought, mulling over what Galen had said about dragons' fated mates. Once Galen marked me, my lifespan would match theirs. I wanted that, of course, but dragons lived such a long time. I wished I'd known about Olaf and Bale when we last visited. I had so many questions for them.
I still wondered what I had to offer Galen. I hadn't questioned our compatibility for a single moment before I'd learned we were fated mates. We had fun together, both at their cave and traveling to other parts of Ignitas.
I suddenly felt unworthy, and I didn't know how to stop my negative thoughts.
A waitress dropped off two glasses of water for us and asked if we wanted anything else to drink.
"Two mint juleps," Galen said. "Please." They even remembered their manners.
"Sure thing. I'm going to need to see some ID from you, handsome." She patted Galen's shoulder, and a hint of smoke puffed from their nostrils. They pulled their wallet from their pants pocket and displayed the photo identification card they'd spelled to look like their human form.
"Thanks. And you?" she asked.
I pulled my driver's license free of the wallet and handed it to her.
"Perfect," she said, snapping it down on the table. "I'll be back with your drinks in a moment. Mint juleps are our specialty. You are in for a treat."
Galen shook their shoulders as she walked away. "That human touched me."
"Yes."
"No wonder they spread so many diseases." They pointed to my card, still sitting on the edge of the table. "You need to disinfect that before you put it back."
"Relax. We can't get human diseases." I hoped. Alphas and omegas didn't get human diseases, but betas didn't come to earth as often and didn't stay as long. I didn't want to be the first to bring home a horrible strain of kobold influenza. I touched only the edges of the card and slid it back in my wallet.
The server returned with two clear tumblers filled with ice, yellow liquid, and a sprig of mint. There was something green buried beneath the ice. More mint, I guessed, hence the name.
Galen lifted the glass to their nose and sniffed. "What is this?"
"It's a mint julep."
"It smells like the rock candy you gave me for Christmas." They wrinkled their nose. They hated rock candy. I'd tried to warn them they would hate mint juleps, too, but they'd had their heart set on watching horses and drinking mint juleps.
"It tastes worse," they said after a sip. "Sweet and sharp."
"Sharp?"
"Like it's stabbing my tongue."
I laughed and sipped at mine. It was a little too sweet, but the burn of the whiskey made it all better.
"I'll drink yours," I said. "Do you want to try something else?"
"Water is fine, thanks." They wiped the condensation from the water glass and downed it in two gulps. "Gods. That was awful. When we return to the hotel, we must find Punky and tell him he has horrible taste."
I had a feeling Punky wouldn't take the news well. I also doubted he'd tasted a mint julep. He hadn't even known what was in the sugary alcoholic drink.
"I think we should take him one, to go," I said.
Galen's eyes lit up. "Yes."
Our server returned to take our orders, and I hadn't looked at my menu once. I'd been so preoccupied with watching Galen observing the people on the street, in the little patio area, and inside the restaurant through the glass windows. His eyes sparkled as he noticed every movement.
Galen surprised me by asking the server, "What do you have that's romantic?"
Without missing a beat, she rattled off, "Rotisserie chicken for two. You get a whole fried chicken with your choice of batter. And we have five kinds of dessert to share. Peach pie a la mode, peach cobbler, vanilla bean or mint chip ice cream, and our world-famous strawberry-peach tarts."
"World famous." Galen blinked. "We'll have that."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." I handed the menu back to the server. "Let's start with the chicken for two. Then, if you're still hungry, we can order dessert."
After a discussion of batter types, we decided on buttermilk. I knew butter and milk came from the same animal, but I didn't know how they would taste together.
Once the server left, Galen returned to gawking at passersby and listening to the conversations around us. I was still overwhelmed by the crowds at the street fair, and to a lesser extent at the lake. Punky had said the weekend would be busy, but busy for our village was not on the same level with the city. There were people everywhere. The only place we could get away from them was inside our hotel room.
Galen met my gaze, and their eyes widened. "Is everything all right?"
"How are you not overwhelmed by all the people?" I asked.
"I like people." They shrugged. "I miss the days when your village was this populous. I hope it will be again someday."
"You must be mistaken," I said. "Our village never had this many."
"There were at least two million kobolds living in and around the pavilion area before my paragon killed most of them."
Two million. I couldn't even wrap my head around that number. Our tiny village was still below ten thousand, even with the explosion of hatchlings over the last three years.
"The largest part of your village was below ground."
"That explains so much," I whispered. "Some of the tunnels in the grotto have tool marks. Priestess Alma said they'd been dug out after the collapse, but I didn't understand what had collapsed."
"You thought you were safe below ground," Galen said. "Now, you want to be aboveground because you are warm blooded like dragons."
"Warm blooded like humans," I corrected.
"If my family returns, I will protect you," Galen whispered.
The wind whipped up. Our tablecloth barely moved, but an icy shiver ran through me. "They plan to return?"
"They said they would after my final molt, to help me find a mate, but I already have you."
Galen's final molt had only been a few weeks ago. I hoped we had time to warn everyone in the fortress when we returned.
"What if they arrive while we're here?"
"They will wait for me," they said. "They will want to know why I allowed you to rebuild. If they agree with the reason, they will allow you to continue. If they don't …"
"They'll burn everything we've built to ash."
Galen reached across the table and took my hand in theirs. "Maybe they won't return right away. I molted a year early. Meeting you must have sped it up."
"Me?" My voice squeaked an octave higher than usual.
They grinned, and I recognized the open hunger in their gaze. I'd been staring at them with the same look for the last three years. "You."
* * *
Back at the hotel, Punky growled at us when we knocked on their hotel room door, and he refused the mint julep we brought him.
"Don't mind him," Lark said, sipping at the to-go cup's straw. "Damn, that's strong whiskey."
"There's whiskey in it?" Punky returned and sucked down half of the cup at one go. "Tastes terrible, but I needed that."
"So terrible." Galen nodded. "Glad you agree."
Lark laughed. "Don't blame Punky. He's never had a mint julep before, either, and he's pouting tonight."
A cursory glance around the hotel room showed it was empty except for them. "Where are the kids?" I asked.
"Staying with my parents." Punky hissed the last syllable with vehemence and crossed his arms over his chest. "They said we let them watch too much television. My mom is taking them to bible camp tomorrow, so the amusement park has to wait."
"They'll be out by noon, and then we'll head to the splash park as a consolation prize. Want to come along?"
"What is a splash park?" Galen asked.
"I don't know," Punky confessed. "They were just building it when I left. It involves swimsuits and standing in water fountains, I think."
"I love standing in water." Galen reached for my hand, and I blushed as they twined their fingers with mine. "Warm water."
"I also have a chicken for Odessa." I handed Lark the bag in my hands.
"She will love that." Lark took the bag and dashed out the door behind us.
"Did you do anything fun today?" Punky asked.
Galen and I told him about the street fair, and the park.
"I took canoeing lessons at that lake when I was twelve." He smirked. "If the splash park is a bust, we might go there, instead. They have a little beach for swimming."
"I don't know how to swim," I said.
Galen frowned at me. "You are a kobold. All kobolds know how to swim."
I shook my head. "I've never tried."
Lark returned empty-handed with a big grin on his face. Odessa probably liked the chicken as much as Rapture did.
"That's it, then," Punky said. "We're going swimming at the lake tomorrow after the splash park."
"But first," Lark said, pointing an accusing finger at Punky, "We're going to sleep in until noon." He turned to us with chagrin. "You're on your own for breakfast."
Galen started to protest, but I pulled them to the door. "Sounds good!"
"I will be hungry before noon," they grumbled.
"We can order room service. Remember the menu you asked me about this morning?" They'd found it tucked between the dresser mirror and the coffee machine. "We'll get whatever you want."
I had a feeling I was going to regret saying that.
I let Galen take a shower before I did, to wash the grime of the day away. At home, I only showered in the mornings, but here, even the air felt heavier with the humidity. My human sweat glands kicked in when we spent more than a half-hour outdoors.
Galen stepped out of the bathroom without a towel, and my brain almost shorted out. They were gorgeous in their naked human form.
They caught me staring and grinned. "Do I look good as a human?"
My brain still wasn't quite online, and I misheard their question. "Not exactly."
"What?"
"You don't look human."
I stripped out of my clothes and showed him my single, circumcised cock. "Human males only have the one."
"Like kobolds."
I nodded.
They frowned at their genitals. "You don't like them?"
"I love them." I sauntered up to him and let my cock speak for me as it slid between his two appendages. "Last night was fun, yeah?"
They nodded.
"Tomorrow will be even better," I promised.
"What about tonight?"
I tried to ignore the whine in their voice, though I felt the same way. "You look dead on your feet. You need to sleep."
They nodded, pulled me into a hug, and then snorted. "You need a shower."
After running the shower cold, I wasn't surprised to find them curled up in the middle of the bed, already asleep. They were still in their human form, though their horns were visible. I wanted to trace them with my fingertips, but I also didn't want to wake them. It had been a long, loud day, and they needed to rest.
I'd heard the term "spooning" before, but I didn't know how perfect it would feel until I climbed into bed behind Galen and wrapped myself around them. I tucked my chin against their shoulder and wrapped my arm around their chest, pulling them tight to me.
It was the opposite of how we usually slept, with Galen curled around me, their body at least twenty times my size. I wondered if they felt the same way as I did now. I wanted to protect them from the world, to love them the way they deserved. I wanted to make Galen happy and keep them safe.
Yes, I knew their true form was an apex predator with no enemies besides other dragons, while my true form was a kobold beta, nothing special. That didn't change how I felt about Galen and the world. They were precious, and I needed to protect them with my life.