Or insult the shifter by standing still and ignoring it. Were the bears black or brown? Or maybe they weren’t normal bears at all. She’d met plenty of bear shifters on her travels, but they blended in with the wild population because they wanted to keep their identity secret.
In a town where everyone knew about shifters, maybe they dyed their fur all the colors of the rainbow, just like people dyed their hair.
“Mostly they stick to their human form.” Ivan opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again.
“What?” Larisa leaned forward and locked eyes with him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She’d left Simon to look after their father while she made this trip in search of the dragon shifter. Just as she had many times before. However, today was different. This trip was different. It wasn’t just that she was traveling to another town. It was as if she were traveling to another world.
One where anything was possible.
She needed answers. She needed to be prepared for what she might find.
And who or what she might meet.
“Shifters aren’t the only thing you might meet on the street.” Ivan pursed his lips and glanced at Karros.
“Okay, I know about the fae. But I thought they came from a different part of your world.”
“There are also witches and warlocks.” Ivan paused as if waiting for her reaction.
“And?”
“Vampires.” Karros caught her eye in the rearview mirror and grinned as her eyes widened.
“Hey, don’t make fun of me. This is all new, remember?” Larisa shook her head with a smile.
“There are vampires,” Ivan confirmed.
“Real vampires?” She stopped herself from asking real live vampires because vampires were not alive. But were they real?
“Real vampires. Not many. But enough.” He held up his hand when he saw her shock. “Don’t worry, they won’t suck your blood.”
“So what do they eat if they don’t suck blood?” Perhaps the vampires of Wishing Moon Bay were different from those on TV and in books.
“Oh, they suck blood. They just take it from donors rather than...” Karros pointed at his neck.
“Wow.” She tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Are vampires the weirdest thing I’ll meet?”
“That depends on what you call weird.” Karros chuckled and earned himself a reproving look from Zara.
“Don’t be mean. Our worlds are different, that’s all. I remember when I had to explain cotton candy to you.”
“Cotton candy?” Larisa asked.
“Yes, they don’t have it in the fae realms. Karros thought we’d found a way to capture clouds.” Zara laughed as Karros held up his hands in defeat.
“Okay, let’s just agree that each of our worlds is different.” Karros slumped down in his seat.
“So let me get this straight,” Larisa began. “The fae realms and Wishing Moon Bay are separate from each other. And Wishing Moon Bay is separate from this world.”
“Sort of. Wishing Moon Bay is hidden by powerful spells from the people of your world, which the fae call the world beyond. They are connected by a tunnel but if you aren’t supposed to see the tunnel then you will drive past it for eternity and never see the signposts.”
Larisa shifted in her seat and faced him, intrigued by his explanation. “Spells are that powerful?”
“Yes. It’s what’s kept us hidden for so long and why the townsfolk, particularly those with supernatural powers, can live their lives so openly. Everyone in Wishing Moon Bay keeps the secret. And the town keeps its own secrets.”
“Okay.” She looked down at her hands as she considered his words. Although she knew about dragon shifters, and shifters in general, and believed in them. How could she not believe when she’d seen them shift? Believing in magic, not the kind you see on TV, was something else. “And the fae realms, how do they fit into all of this?”
“The fae realms exist in another place. Another dimension. You access them through a portal.” A smile spread across Ivan’s lips as he watched her expression. “You step through and go from one world to the other.”
“Not that Ivan has ever stepped through a portal,” Karros added. “My people don’t like dragons.”
“How badly do they not like dragons?” Larisa asked with concern. “Are we talking pitchforks and torches? Or shoot them down with a harpoon?”
“There are stories...” Karros began but then stopped himself. “It’s been so long since a dragon entered the realms, it’s hard to say.”
“Maybe I should go alone to visit Karros’s grandma,” Larisa suggested. “You could stay and run your restaurant, this has dragged you away from work enough already.”
Ivan shook his head. “Oh, no, I am coming with you. You are my mate and I plan to protect you.”
“Do I need protecting?” Larisa asked Karros. “Your people don’t like dragons, but how do they feel about normal people like me?” Her forehead creased. “That’s the first time I’ve ever thought of myself as normal. What even is normal?”
Ivan’s eyes sparkled as he hid his laughter. “In my opinion, no one is normal. Everyone is unique and everyone should be allowed to explore that uniqueness.”
Zara held up her hand. “As long as that uniqueness does not hurt anyone else.”
“Agreed.” Karros pointed to the side of the road. “There’s the sign, do you see it?”
“That sign there?” Larisa pointed to the sign that said Wishing Moon Bay, 1 mile.
“Yay!” Zara grinned. “You’ve officially been accepted by the town of Wishing Moon Bay.”
“Okay, is this let’s make fun of the new girl?” Larisa’s cheeks flushed pink, and her temper stirred.
“No, it’s honestly the truth,” Zara replied. “Before I knew about my brothers, I had driven along this road maybe twenty times. There’s a really nice cove a little farther on and I used to go there in the summer maybe a couple of times. I never saw the sign.”
Larisa turned around in her seat and kept her eyes fixed on the sign. “So other people really can’t see it?”
“No. I’m sure I never saw it because if I did, I would have visited the town. I mean people would flock to a place called Wishing Moon Bay, wouldn’t they?” Zara arched her eyebrow in question.
“Yes, they would. It is a cool name.” She turned back in her seat and watched the road ahead. “Is there a story behind the name, too?”
“Yes. And tonight, we’ll go to the beach, and I’ll tell you all about it,” Ivan promised.
“Here’s the turn-off.” Zara checked the rearview mirror before she took a right turn and drove along a narrow road that was partly concealed by overhanging trees and shrubs on either side.
Larisa leaned forward, reminded of visits to an amusement park where she’d ridden a tall roller coaster. The butterflies in her stomach were just the same. It was as if she were about to drop from a height into the unknown.
“What’s that?” She pointed ahead as the road seemed to disappear.
“That’s the tunnel. It’s the boundary between the world beyond and Wishing Moon Bay. Valerie used to always tell us that this was the last line of defense. If ever the town was invaded, the tunnel would collapse and links between the two worlds severed.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Larisa said. “My family is back there, and I am not about to be estranged from them forever.”
“Don’t worry, there’s a way out over the mountains. And since you know a dragon shifter who can fly over them, you’ll always be able to leave,” Karros assured her.
“Ah, so a dragon shifter has his uses.” She patted Ivan’s knee and he tensed but she didn’t remove her hand. He might be one of the most powerful creatures to ever live in any of the worlds, but her power over him gave her a thrill.
Not that she would ever use her power over him to hurt him in any way. But still, their attraction was undeniable. Larisa slid her hand over his knee
before the world around them went dark. She tensed, not expecting a complete blackout.
The tunnel was long. So long that as they traveled through it, there was no hint of daylight, no sign of the end.
Her breath caught in her throat, she’d never been fond of enclosed spaces.
Ivan slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “It’s okay. We’ll be through the other side in a minute.”
She leaned into him. “Dragons do have plenty of uses.” Larisa placed her hand on his chest, taking comfort from the steady thump of his heart.
A pinprick of daylight grew bigger as they neared the end, Larisa regained control of her breathing but didn’t move away from Ivan. She liked his arm around her. She liked the comfort he offered.
As a single independent woman, she’d traveled to many distant places in search of dragons. Larisa had never experienced a situation where she didn’t feel in control. She’d coped with harassment and burglary, she’d fought off her fears and pushed through any limiting beliefs.
Yet when Ivan was near, she wanted him to protect her, she wanted to know he was there for her.
She swallowed down the lump of emotion that welled in her throat. If she stayed with Ivan, if she let him into her life and her heart, would she lose a part of herself? Would she lose the ability to look out for herself?
“You’ll see the mountains once we get clear of the tunnel.” Ivan’s deep, soothing voice comforted her as much as his arms.
Larisa sat up and moved away from him so that their thighs were no longer pressed together, and she was no longer crushed against his chest. She rolled her shoulders and stared ahead as the tunnel end neared. The day was growing late, and the sun was low in the sky, its rays bathing the town in a pink hue.
Warm and inviting, that was her first impression of Wishing Moon Bay.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured as they emerged fully from the tunnel. Ivan was right, they could see the mountains in the distance. They rose up in shades of green. The trees lining the lower slopes were a dark deep green that gave way to grasslands of vivid green before giving way to a brownish-green where the grass became sparse and bare rock faces led to towering peaks.
“I don’t think I ever appreciated the town before,” Karros said. “I always thought the fae realms were the best place in the world but I’m beginning to like the town more each time I visit.”
“That’s because it feels like coming home,” Ivan replied. “I bet, before you met Zara, you hardly ever left the fae realm. Now you venture out into the world beyond so each time you come back here, it feels like coming home.”
“You’re probably right. And it is my home.” He reached across the seats and placed his hand on Zara’s thigh. “It’s our home.”
“It is.” She smiled shyly at him, and love shone in her eyes.
Would Larisa look at Ivan like that one day? Would they build a life together here?
Not until they’d solved the mystery of the pendant. And only then if they both survived.
Chapter Six – Ivan
“Have you told your family about me?” Larisa asked as they neared the hotel.
“No. I wanted to break the news in person,” Ivan told her.
“Why?” She turned her intense gaze on him, scrutinizing his expression as she waited for his answer.
“I wanted to tell my mom and see her face.” His mouth turned up at the corners as he imagined how happy Valerie would be. “I’m the last to find my mate. She’s going to be so happy.”
“Even when she finds out that I am the sister of the man who attacked one of your brother’s mates? I don’t expect Simon is exactly their favorite person.” Larisa chewed her bottom lip nervously. “And when your mom hears that we’re planning on going to the fae realm, the one place she’s always warned you not to go, I’m sure I’ll be just as unpopular.”
“No, that’s not true. Valerie will love you. She’ll understand.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “She might not be happy about it, and she’ll certainly try to talk me out of it, but she’ll be okay with it when she understands how important it is.”
“Important to me. Not to you.”
“We’re mates. What’s important to you is important to me. So don’t beat yourself up about it.” He ducked his head and looked out of the window as the hotel came into view. “This is it.”
“Wow, that is quite a building. It looks as if someone thought about building a castle and then changed their mind.” Her eyes sparkled as she studied the hotel. “I love it.”
“I’m glad.” Ivan unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door before it had even come to a stop. Unable to control his eagerness to tell his family he’d found his mate, he jumped out of the car, went around to the passenger door, and yanked it open.
As Larisa got out of the car, a look of amusement on her face, Ivan froze. With his mate so close, he’d practically forgotten about the tiara which was stashed in his pack in the trunk. Ever since he’d first felt its presence, the feel of it, the knowledge of it had consumed him. Yet here he was, about to head into the hotel, not caring that it wasn’t close to him.
“A penny for them.” Larisa’s face was inches from his, uncertainty in her eyes. “Changed your mind already?”
He shook his head. “No, not at all. I was just thinking about something else.”
“And there was me thinking I was the only thing on your mind. Since we’re mates.” The lines around her mouth deepened as she forced a smile.
“You are the most important thing but not the only thing.” He arched his eyebrow. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
“You haven’t disappointed me so far.” Larisa’s gaze switched to the hotel. “I might be the one doing the disappointing today.”
“Not possible,” Ivan hooked his hand under her elbow, afraid Larisa might get cold feet and bolt.
She’s not running anywhere, his dragon assured him. She came here for a reason, and she won’t leave until she’s done what she set out to do or exhausted all avenues of inquiry.
Yeah, I know. I guess part of me is just afraid to let her go. Afraid to let her out of our sight in case I wake up and this was all a dream.
It’s not a dream. His dragon’s reassurance didn’t help.
“We’re going to the kitchen to see Elise.” Karros and Zara joined them in front of the hotel.
“We’re going to Valerie’s apartment. She’ll probably be watching a show. By this time, she’s usually tired. Belle’s been picking up some of the hotel duties which takes the pressure off her.” Ivan glanced at Larisa. “Belle...”
“I know who Belle is.” Larisa’s nostrils flared. “One more person I’ll need to win over.”
“Belle already forgave Simon. She’s not going to blame you for anything.” He guided her around the side of the hotel while Zara and Karros headed for the hotel reception area. “And since you weren’t there, she’s not going to suddenly blame you.”
“I don’t usually care what people think of me,” Larisa admitted. “That’s not to say I go out of my way to make them not like me. But usually, I accept that people judge others, and sometimes there’s nothing you can do to change their impression of you. Especially first impressions.”
“But this means more to you?” Ivan’s heart swelled in his chest as she nodded and looked away.
“It does.” She nudged him in the ribs. “Don’t get too excited. This is some crazy day and I’m not thinking straight.”
“It’s a good crazy day, though.” He guided her around the side of the hotel.
“I’ll answer that after I’ve met your family.” She reached for his hand and entwined her fingers with his. “At least one of your family members likes me.”
“Two.” He hid a smile.
“Two? Do you mean Zara and Karros?”
“I meant me and my dragon. But we can count Zara and Karros, too, so that makes four.” He hesitated as they reached the door to his mom’s apartment
. Should he knock or go right on in like he usually did?
“So you think of you and your dragon as two separate entities?” Larisa seemed to have forgotten her nerves as her curiosity spiked.
“We are two separate entities.” He reached for the door handle. “As you’ll see when you meet my dragon.”
“I always thought you were like two halves of a whole.”
“We are. But we’re also separate, we think different thoughts and there’s only ever one of us here at a time. It’s like the portal into the fae world. One is here and one is there.” He pushed the door handle down. “Ready?”
“We could stay here and talk about shifters for a little longer,” she said hopefully.
“Relax. My mom will love you.” He stepped inside but Larisa lagged behind. “Honestly, she will.”
“I guess... Since my mom died when I was so young, I don’t always... Moms can be an enigma to me,” she admitted. “I know that they love their kids and moms particularly love their sons...”
“You’re stalling,” he accused.
“I am.” She nodded and followed him inside, her chin tilted up as she straightened her shoulders, exuding confidence that she didn’t feel. His admiration for his mate shot up. Ivan doubted there were many situations Larisa couldn’t handle.
“Mom,” Ivan called out just as he had thousands of times throughout his life. This time was different, this time his news was life-changing.
Life-enhancing, his dragon added.
“Ivan, is that you?” Valerie replied. “I wasn’t expecting you to come by today.”
“I...” He sensed Valerie rise from her chair and head toward them. He stopped walking and Larisa stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder.
“Is everything all right? Did you find what you were looking for...” Valerie placed her hand on the wall as she spotted her visitors. “Is this...”
The Dragon Shifter's Desire: A Wishing Moon Bay Shifter Romance Page 4
