Page 3 of Desired By the Dragon

Max

The campus was my favorite at this time of the night. The sky was streaked with pinks and purples beyond my window and the lamp on my mahogany desk cast warm shadows across the large bookshelves that took up most of the wall to my left. The evenings were rolling in faster lately, Halloween was approaching, and with it the mating season for dragons like me.

It would make focusing hard, so it was imperative that I finished my paper this week, before the effects started to hit me. It wasn’t my first dragon’s heat, where the urge to mate became nearly overwhelming all month until culminating on Halloween night, but something about this year felt different. Maybe it was the looming burnout I could feel, lurking around every corner, or maybe it was the expectations that increased every year that I didn’t settle down with a chosen mate and renew my line.

I forced myself to refocus, sighing when a knock came at the door opposite my desk. “Enter.”

The hardwood swung inward, the carved arches showing on both sides as my friend and colleague, Taylor, peered in at me. My reading glasses slid down my nose when I moved too fast and I pushed them back up as I fought back a grimace. “Hey. You done for the day?”

“Yeah, a few of us are heading to Kraken’s Keep. Do you want to join us?” The hope in his expression would have been funny if it wasn’t so genuine, yellow eyes widening with encouragement.

I kept my smile gentle. “Ah, not this time. Thanks though. I need to finish⁠—”

“Your paper, yeah.” He rolled his eyes but smiled back at me. “One of these days I’m going to drag you out from behind that desk again, Max.”

I slipped a bookmark into one dusty tome and then snapped it closed. “I get out from behind my desk plenty.”

“Teaching classes doesn’t count.” He raised his brows and, when I had no response, laughed. “It’s fine. I just worry about you, cooped up in here. Have you seen sunlight recently? Like, with your eyes and body, not through a window?”

Maybe I was a little embarrassed that the answer was no, so I just shrugged and hoped he didn’t push the issue. Did I spend a lot of my time working? Sure, but that was because I actually liked my job. That wasn’t a crime.

Taylor shook his head, but the smile on his face was fond. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Max.”

“Night,” I muttered, already turning to the next book in my pile, and barely heard him chuckle as the door closed.

The next time I looked up, there was a crick in my neck and my eyes were blurry from the tiny cramped text in the book I’d been reading. I stretched, rolling my shoulders and neck, and decided it was time to leave — but only because the words were a jumble and an annoying bat kept bumping into the window pane behind my desk, screeching an off-key tune that almost sounded like a Glinda Goblin song, and making me jump.

I swept my papers into a somewhat tidy pile, placed my markers into the various books to keep my place, and then pulled the short chord on the desk lamp until the room was bathed in darkness.

A sliver of moonlight guided my way to the door, though I could have navigated the space even in the pitch black and had done as much before.

Rather than having to walk into town, I’d opted to stay in the on-campus faculty housing. It was generously sized, free, and convenient. I had my own bathroom and privacy, though the staff kitchen was communal but I never really used it. There were plenty of eateries in town and at least twice a month I wound up at a family dinner for a home cooked meal⁠—

I froze with my key in the door and let out a string of curses. Family dinner.

The door swung open and the familiar scent of sweet wood washed over me, not doing much to soothe my sudden panic. Surely I was wrong. I hadn’t been so absorbed in my work that I’d forgotten family dinner, had I?

After locking the door and setting my leather satchel down beside the armchair that faced the cold hearth, I reluctantly pulled out my phone.

Three missed calls. One text message.

Mom: Missed you tonight. Leftovers in your fridge.

I swallowed hard, stomach sinking as I checked the time and realized it was far too late to call and explain. It wasn’t the first time I’d worked through dinner, but never family dinner. Taylor wasn’t going to let me live this one down.

Sighing, I left my room to grab the food my mom had evidently dropped off in the staff kitchen. Honestly, I would have preferred for her to yell. Anything was better than her quiet disappointment.

I’d been working overtime lately, knowing the heat was fast approaching and my head was going to be anything but clear for the next month. It didn’t excuse forgetting about my family though.

The refrigerator shut quietly and my lips turned up when I pulled off the sticky note attached to the plastic wrap. It was short and to the point.

Eat. — <3 Mom

I carried the plate back to my room, only now realizing just how hungry I was. The feeling only increased when I tugged off the plastic wrap and the smell of butter chicken, crispy potatoes, and garlic greens hit my nose.

Plate wobbling, I kicked off my shoes and undid my tie before shrugging out of my crisp white shirt and sweater. Flames hit the hearth when I exhaled and I didn’t bother with cutlery as I sank down into the armchair and watched the fire dance.

So maybe Taylor had a point. Much as I hated to admit it, I did have a tendency to be a little single-minded, especially when it came to work. But what else was I supposed to do with my time? I was a dragon, I was hardly short of it and I enjoyed my studies. There was also the fact that my father and his father before him had all been researchers and historians too, keeping appraised of the past as best we could to ensure its mistakes weren’t repeated and shaping the minds of new supernaturals and humans alike. It was my calling. My family duty.