Drago:
We've been here for about 8 days now. The others and I have kept pretty close tabs on things through Natalia's texts.
She seems to be getting along well with Ria. They are actually coming over today for a cookout. The house we are renting has a good setup outside, including a pool, a covered wraparound deck, and a well-appointed outdoor kitchen.
The weather is still nice here, being only the beginning of September. We are all a mixture of excitement and apprehension. They will be here any moment, and the 4 of us are on pins and needles.
Natalia has shared some information and assured us that she has spoken to Ria about us many times.
In fact, Natalia said she was sure that if they didn't already know each other and hadn't developed some rapport, there would be no way she would come anywhere near us.
So Cole made a wonderful suggestion to include Natalia. This will make things easier.
There is activity at the front door, and then we hear Natalia's voice: "We're here."
I walk to the entry hall and lay my eyes on her for the first time. She is breathtaking. Natalia has sent us a couple of pictures she took on the sly; she said Ria doesn't like her taking them. So, I did know what she looked like. However, seeing her in person shows how very inadequate those photos were.
She has long, auburn hair, which she is currently wearing in a braid that ends at the bottom curve of her ass. She has creamy porcelain skin, isn't wearing makeup, and most definitely doesn't need to. Her eyes are like someone squeezed the color out of emeralds and gave it to her. She is tall for a woman but shorter than Natalia, and all of us will still tower over her. Dragons tend to be taller as a species.
You can see the apprehension written on her face, so I smile, hoping to set her at ease.
Natalia gestures to me and introduces us.
"Ria, this is my oldest brother, Drago. Drago, this is my awesome roommate Adriana, but she goes by Ria, obviously."
Natalia is smiling as I hold out my hand, "Welcome, Natalia has told us about you. We are happy you decided to join us."
She smiles slightly as she shakes my hand, "Well, Natalia has gone on and on about you guys, so I figured meeting the famous brothers and free food, why not?"
I laugh slightly, "Come meet the others, they are outside, getting things set up."
We all three move to the French doors leading out to the back. I open one and gesture for them to go out first. When she passes me, my dragon goes nuts, and I am hard-pressed to keep hold of him.
For just a split second, I see black scales flit across the back of my hand, then I get him contained. Wow, I have never had that happen before. I will have to be very careful to maintain control of him around her.
As I walked out onto the deck, I heard Natalia introducing everyone. "These are Ash, Cinder, and Cole, guys, this is my roommate Ria."
She points to each of them as she says their name, then Ria steps forward and shakes each of their hands. I can see the look on their faces. Each of them is having trouble maintaining around her.
"I need to grab the steaks out of the fridge. I'll be right back." Cinder states as he escapes into the house. As he walks by me, I can see scales rippling on his skin.
I follow behind him and reach out and place my hand on his shoulder. "Be calm, settle," I whisper to his dragon more than Cinder.
I am the oldest and most dominant male, which makes me the leader. His dragon respects my position and authority. Therefore, it heeds my command and retreats.
Cinder lets out a shuddering breath, "Thank you. I was having trouble controlling him."
I pat his shoulder and walk back outside, closing the door behind me. The girls have taken seats at the round outdoor table and have sodas in front of them.
I can see that Ria is tense and nervous. I hope we can help her relax. Natalia is talking about classes, her teachers, and the people she has met.
"So, what about you, Ria?" Ash asks her.
She twists her hands under the table, "Well, my goal is to get a master's in psychology. My classes are okay, but I hope to test out of most of them. I actually have a testing day next Wednesday. So we'll see after that."
Cole looks impressed, "Wow, that's ambitious. Do you have a particular branch of psychology you are most interested in, or are you thinking of becoming a Psychologist?"
Ria looks at him, appearing to assess him, "I am most interested in working with children in some fashion. Not in CPS, but more of a child Psychologist."
Cole nods his head and takes a swig of his own bottle of soda. She seems to relax more when he stops asking questions. So, I note that we need to be careful not to overwhelm her with personal questions.
The door behind me opens, and Cinder comes out carrying a tray of steaks.
"Hey Ria, how do you like your steak?"
"Ah, I think medium is what I like." She answers almost hesitantly.
Cinder catches it, "We have chicken if you would prefer."
"No, steak is great, it's just been a long time since I really had one."
Cinder pauses, noticing the tension radiating off her, then nods and carries the tray to the grill.
She relaxes when he doesn't ask her any questions regarding what she said.
I make my way to the table. I'd very much like to sit close to her, but not wanting to crowd her, I keep my chair at a respectable distance. I still catch her watching me out of the corner of her eye, but I pretend that I don't.
Just being close to her, I can feel her dragon, but it is buried deeper than I would have expected. My dragon is nearly purring at her nearness, and that has absolutely never happened before.
I rack my brain for the information I learned regarding Royal Female Dragons. Then suddenly the answer pops into my head. That's right, Royal Females don't have their first shift until they are mated. So, that explains why her dragon is sleeping so deeply.
I need to read up on how soon after mating she will shift for the first time. I would hate for us not to anticipate her shift and for it to happen at the wrong time.
"Ria, I can't remember if Natalia told us, but do you have any siblings?" I watched her face as I asked the question.
"Ah, yes, I have a sister and two brothers. I told Natalia, but they are technically foster siblings, but we don't make the distinction. They are my sister and brothers. Just like my foster mom is my mom." She speaks, almost daring someone to contradict her in her claim.
I nod, "Sometimes chosen family can be as close, or even perhaps closer than blood relatives."
She seems to relax when I acknowledge her chosen family's place in her life. She doesn't reply other than to nod slightly.
Once the food is all ready, we eat, and she seems to really enjoy it. She doesn't really participate in the talk around the table, but she listens. I even catch her smiling now and then at the banter between us, or something someone says.
We purposely didn't bring up swimming. We had discussed it earlier and decided we didn't want her to get uncomfortable being in a swimsuit in front of men she didn't really know yet.
Shortly after it gets dark, the girls decide to head back to the dorm. We had made sure Natalia had a car so she could drive them.
We all help clean up, and then all head to the living room. We made sure to buy a couple of big leather sofas for the house. We are big guys, so we need big furniture to be comfortable.
Cinder lets out a deep breath and lets his head fall back dramatically. "Damn, did you guys have as much trouble with your dragons clawing to get out as I did?"
Cole nodded, "Yeah, for a minute there, I thought I was going to have to join you in the house. He seemed to calm when Drago came outside."
"It totally took me by surprise to have such a strong reaction to her when she got close to me. Then I swear he was fucking purring." I shake my head at that.
Ash smiles, "Yeah, I was surprised at how content my dragon was with her just being close. I can finally understand why she didn't react at all to the Stoicas. Her dragon is sleeping really deeply."
I nod, "I just remembered this afternoon that Royal Females don't have their first shift till after mating. We need to be aware of that when the time comes."
Cole looks really thoughtful, "What if she doesn't want to mate us? I mean, she's extremely guarded and nervous around us, and she doesn't seem to want to share anything personal."
I tell him, "Yes, I noticed that as well, but today was the first time she even laid eyes on us. I am sure, as she's around us, that'll change."
He still looks worried, "but what if she doesn't? Are we going to leave and let her stay here?"
I get thoughtful for a moment, "I'm honestly not sure, Cole. I guess I hadn't really thought about that possibility. I guess we all need to really examine that question. I know, as for me personally, I am not willing to walk away. It has been almost 100 years since the last known Royal Female birth. Our people and our kingdom need her desperately."
Everyone is quiet as they think about that.
Ash chimes in, "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not willing to walk away from her. She's too important, and I'm not willing to wait another 100 years for a mate. That probably makes me a selfish asshole, but it's how I feel."
I nod in agreement with Ash. I'm not willing to let her go either. No matter what, she will be coming home with us, and she will be our mate. We need to work really hard to get her to agree.