Page 2

Chapter 2

Ash

“I s this celebratory, or are we drowning our sorrows?” My friend, Laken, sat down on the stool next to me at the dimly lit bar that had no one in it but the two of us. It was a fair question given it was eleven in the morning on a weekday, and the only people who would be at a bar day-drinking were people who had a problem. And a problem was exactly what I had.

Settling my nerves, I picked up the whiskey glass I’d ordered twenty minutes ago and took a sip. I resisted the urge to down it completely and instead had been swirling it around, taking light sips. While alcohol was a solution, it was far from a good one, and I knew future me would thank me for being responsible. At least slightly responsible.

“I’m still trying to figure it out.” It was honestly probably both.

“Is it working?”

I couldn’t tell if he was attempting to be funny or not. “Not so much.”

He patted me on the shoulder. “You’re going to do great. Emberstone Clan is known for being incredibly accepting of all shifter types. I’ve always heard good things about their schools as well.” Gotta love a good hype man, but as great as he was at the role, there was hesitation in his voice.

I sighed. I knew all those things he said held truth. I’d been in the dragon flight games world for a long time. Maybe too long, if I was being objective about it. But having them be true and having the situation be good were two very different things.

“There’s never been a non-dragon Flight Leader. There are hardly any dragon teams that have co-leaders and none of worth,” I countered. Was I good enough? Heck yeah. But they didn’t think so. Not if they thought I needed a babysitter. I still didn’t understand the entire situation, but I got a strong feeling it was me they weren’t overly comfortable with. Which begged the question: Why was I, an eagle, accepting their offer?

Never mind the fact that I was technically half dragon. My alpha father was a dragon. I was the only one in my clutch who took after my omega father, so I was a golden eagle like him. I literally grew up among dragons. But to say I was one of them was a stretch and a half. And really, eagles didn’t consider me one of them either. I was stuck in a place of not belonging.

“And Flight Leader Zayne is one of the best.” At least I wasn’t paired with a newbie, right?

Laken snorted.

Maybe not, right.

“Not in the last few years, he’s not. He’s a bit washed up.” He was being dead serious. “I’m surprised they didn’t give you the job outright and can his ass.”

Laken wasn’t helping. Not one tiny bit.

I scowled at that. That wasn’t a kind way to think about how Zayne was doing. The man had clearly been going through some shit for the past decade, which was why his flight teams weren’t doing as well. That, and he had drawn the short end of the stick as far as talent goes.

Though, in his fifty-year career, he had been known for building up talent out of nothing. He could coach even some of the most uncoachable dragons, turn a team of misfits into champions. The world had seen him do it, it was how he earned his reputation. Sure, last year was different, but that didn’t undo his entire legacy.

“I... I’m nervous,” I admitted.

“Well, yeah, anyone would be. But you got this job for a reason, Ash. You’re talented.” He set his glass down, giving me his undivided attention. “You know what you’re talking about. It’s not like you’re a fish trying to teach these dragons how to fly. You’re an eagle. Flying is in your blood or... whatever the fuck. Something inspirational.”

I snorted. “You think that helps? Just saying ‘something inspirational?’”

“Listen, I don’t need flowery words to show my encouragement. You don’t need the words. You’re a skilled flyer and an amazing teacher. You know dragons. It’s not like you’re some rando off the street.”

“No, I suppose I’m not.” I sighed. “I appreciate your vote of confidence. It’s just... what if they don’t accept me? Don’t respect me? Not all dragons are accepting of outsiders on their teams.” And even those that were never saw me as an equal. It sucked, but that was the way it was. “They might not treat us different on regular things, but dragon flight games are a whole different thing. It’s serious.”

“You’re going to be co-leading with Zayne, right? If he doesn’t enforce respect on his teams and make sure that no one treats you any different, then he can go fuck himself.” Laken grabbed my shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “That’s not the way that school—that clan—has built up their reputation. So they’re either going to live up to that reputation or expose it as a sham.”

This was true. It didn’t change the awkwardness of the situation if I arrived and was immediately shunned for being other, but it meant things would balance out… eventually… probably.

They say never meet your heroes—they’ll disappoint you every time. I wasn’t sure who “they” were, but I needed them to be wrong on this one. I was finally getting the chance to meet mine, and the idea that he might be a jerk terrified me.

“It could be an incredibly great experience. Maybe this Zayne guy is super friendly and nice.” Laken sounded nowhere near as confident as I needed him to be.

I snorted at that. “He’s known for being a loner. He lives on the opposite end of the lake from the school, secluded from the rest of the buildings. He’s pretty famous for denying interviews or any sort of press interaction. Hell, he might dislike me on principle, since I was a member of that press for a long time.”

Although even as I said the words, I didn’t quite believe them. He was shy or private or whatever, but he didn’t have a reputation for being a dick. He might look at me as a burden—who wants a Co-Leader—but I didn’t think he’d hold disdain over me because of my career path.

“Yeah, but you know how the media likes to twist things. They just like the drama and sensationalizing the coaches.” Laken reaffirmed my initial thoughts. Good. Maybe I was right.

“Indeed. I’m nervous about being an omega on an all-alpha team.” Not as much because of Zayne, but because of the younger dragons. Things had gotten better over the years, but in a lot of ways, omegas were still thought of as objects to many. Depending on his current crew, some of them might be part of that many.

Our crew. I needed to stop thinking of it as his. We were going to be Co-Leaders, and until I embraced that fully, I wasn’t ever going to be an equal in anyone’s eyes, especially my own.

“You’ve been in all-alpha spaces before.”

“Yes, on an eagle team.” Which I supposed wasn’t that different. Not really. “But I am the first Flight Leader who’s an omega and a non-dragon in the whole division.”

“Shit, really? Damn. I didn’t realize that.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be a trip.” Please let it be a good one.

“What do you think’s been going on with this Zayne guy that he’s done so poorly the past few years?”

I bristled at that for reasons I didn’t understand. My friend wasn’t wrong. Zayne’s teams had done poorly, and just like their winning streaks were a reflection of their coaching, so were their losing streaks. But bringing it up like that felt like a dig, and Zayne deserved better than that.

“I don’t know. It’s possible something’s going on with him personally. Or maybe its the chemistry of the crew. Or maybe it was a thousand things.” And at the end of the day, the why didn’t really matter as much as the how to prevent it from happening again. “His coaching staff has remained the same, but he’s had new team members over the years. This year there are two new team members.”

“And you’re going to walk into that madness.”

“Yep.” I took another swallow of my drink, bigger than my previous sips. “Sure am.”

“When do you have to be there?”

I checked my watch. “In three hours.”

“You’re going to arrive smelling like whiskey.”

Crap. I hadn’t considered that. Way to make a good first impression.

I pushed the drink away. “Well, not now, I’m not.”

My friend laughed. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

He threw a twenty down on the bar, which would cover my drink, his drink, and a tip. Loved this place and was going to miss it. Some human bars charged more than that for one drink. Yikes.

“Let’s get you some real food. I can even help you move into your new place.”

“I have two duffel bags. That’s it, but I’ll take you up on the food. I could go for a burger about now.”

“No kidding? Two duffel bags.? You moved halfway across the country, and that’s all you got?” Why did he seem so shocked. I’d never been a big “stuff” kind of guy.

Moving halfway across the country had me reducing the few items I did own. Who wanted to deal with transporting junk from one place to the next? Minimal belongings worked much better.

I shrugged. “Yep.” It wasn’t worth explaining, and he probably only mentioned it so he could change the topic of the discussion. I’d been wallowing, and that wasn’t a good way to start off a new job.

“I know you winged shifters are weird, but set down some roots, man.”

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe someday.” Roots were not my priority. For now, I’d settle for fitting in. “But first you promised to feed me.”

“I did, but only if you promise to let me snatch one of your fries.”

“Why would I give you my fries? Get your own.”

“Nope. I’m getting onion rings… and some of your fries.” He stuck out his tongue. “Take it or leave it.”

“Fine, I’ll take it.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Shall we go to Hayden’s Burgers?”

“You think I’d let you take me anyplace else? It’s a celebration meal… only the best will do.” Celebration. Dead man walking. Same thing, right?

Things felt pretty normal from there. We went to our favorite hamburger joint, where I ordered extra fries to make sure I got my share, we talked about his work, gossiped about people we knew in common, and had an all-around great time. But hanging over us the entire time was the weight of all the changes that were to come.

They weren’t front and center, but if a moment of silence was a bit too long or someone in the restaurant walked by with a team shirt on, it would be there in the wings, ready to pounce. It was nice having the reprieve, as short as it was. It helped me clear my head before the two of us headed to my new home. At least home for the near future.

I still wasn’t confident that this was all going to work out. I might not even make it through the first semester. Sure, I knew the games better than most, but knowing something and being able to impart wisdom on that subject were two very different things. Only time would tell.

One thing was for sure: I needed to give this my all. No letting myself second-guessing my way out of a job. Laken believed I could do this—that I would do this. It was now my turn to do the same.