“The sheriff’s a badger shifter,” Timothy said when they slowly walked back home, carrying a box of donuts.

“A badger?” Liana said in obvious surprise. “I would have thought a bear, or maybe another wolf.”

“Badgers are small, but mean and fierce when cornered.” Timothy grinned. “Or so the sheriff claims. I’ve never fought a badger, and don’t intend to. But he’s a good guy. Tenacious, and like all badgers, very loyal to his community.”

“I can’t imagine there’s a lot of crime here—what with you being a pretty scary dragon.”

Timothy laughed. “No, there really isn’t. At least not anymore. When we started building this community, we got into trouble with a rogue gang of sharks—I think there was smuggling going on here all along the coast, long before I bought the land. They started using it as a landing spot for drugs, but the sheriff and I put a quick end to that. We haven’t had any real trouble since, and we’re all working hard to keep it that way.”

Liana sighed deeply, leaning against him as they walked along the shoreline.

“You’ve built an amazing place here,” she said softly. “I’ve never lived somewhere rural. I guess I just assumed that it would be boring, and that there’d be nothing to do—but I love this place. Everyone’s so nice. And everyone’s magical!”

Timothy chuckled. “Want to see some real magic?”

He’d tried hard not to overwhelm Liana, although every instinct had his dragon desperate to show off and impress his mate.

But with the way she looked at him, her face animated and her eyes all warm and soft, it was impossible to resist.

“I did promise you grilled fish for the evening,” he murmured, tilting his head at the water.

“You mean you want to—to turn into a dragon again?”

“To shift,” he said, then nodded. “I’m the ocean dragon, remember? Hold this for a moment. I’ll be back in a minute or two, I promise.”

Liana took hold of the cardboard box, watching with wide eyes as he stepped towards the water.

He smiled at her. Then he took a deep breath and gave himself over to his element.

Energy rippled through him. He could hear the song of the ocean loud and clear. When he raised his arms, they had already turned to wings, the senses of his dragon picking up the alluring sound of fishes swimming where the water was deep and blue.

He beat his wings to slowly rise into the air. Then he wrapped his wings tightly around his body and dived headfirst like an arrow into the ocean.

The water swallowed him, muting all sound. Immediately, much of the energy that had thrummed nervously through his body faded away.

He floated in the water, weightless, utterly at peace in his element.

The ocean was cool against the scales of his dragon. It whispered to him of sunken ships and forests of algae, of sharks hunting and dolphins playing. There was the song of sea shells at the bottom of the ocean, deep below the surface, who’d offer up a perfect, glistening pearl...

But there was no time to explore and play today.

Later, he whispered.

Today, he had a different task to fulfill. Today, his dragon wanted to hunt for his mate. He wanted to bring her the largest, juiciest fish he could find, to show her that he could provide for her and impress her with his strength.

Timothy opened his jaws, laughing soundlessly at his dragon’s eagerness to woo their mate.

A few bubbles of air escaped him. They rose up to the surface far above him, where the sunlight formed a shimmering, rippling pattern on the waves.

Fortunately, as the dragon of the ocean, he did not need to come up for air in this form. Sometimes, he’d stay below water all day, singing with the whales in the deep of the ocean or playing with schools of dolphins.

Today, there was no time for that.

Soon, he promised his dragon.

For now, he hovered motionless in the water, listening to the song of the ocean and the slow, muted sounds carried by the current.

It did not take long until he heard what he’d been waiting for.

With his wings still tightly pressed against his body, he shot forward through the water like an arrow.

A heartbeat later, he closed his claws around the body of a huge black grouper. Then he propelled himself back upwards, shooting straight out of the water and scattering drops everywhere.

He stretched his wings. Water ran from them in rivulets, and for a moment, he could see the sunlight form a rainbow.

Gently, he soared back down to the ground, setting down the grouper before he shifted back.

“Wow.” Liana was staring at him with wide eyes. “That was incredible.”

Timothy grabbed hold of the slippery fish.

“That’s our romantic dinner on the beach all settled,” he said, new heat rising up in him at the way Liana watched him.

Maybe his dragon had been right. Maybe the proper way to woo their human mate was with good food.

“Let’s hope that our fire dragon behaved while we were gone,” he then said. “If he set the kitchen on fire, I’m not going to share our donuts.”

***

It turned out that Braeden hadn’t set anything on fire. He hadn’t even ruined any of Timothy’s pans or pots.

“For a fire dragon, you’re surprisingly good at just using a stove,” Timothy said, giving him a suspicious look when they found him stretched out on the patio with a plate full of bacon and eggs.

Braeden shrugged. “You haven’t had real food until you’ve had dragon fire charred steak. Mmm. Now that’s the real taste of home.”

“Yeah? If that’s the case, why not take over the world with a new burger chain or something?” Timothy said. “Anyway, we’ve brought donuts. And I guess, since you behaved while we were gone, we’ll share with you.”

“You’ll probably hate the green tea donuts,” Liana said, eyes gleaming, “but don’t worry, I’m more than happy to take care of your share...”

“Hey,” Braeden said, grabbing one of the green glazed donuts before Liana could get to them. “Green tea is my favorite flavor, just so you know.”

“I guess I’ll have to eat your banana pudding donut then...”

Braeden smirked at Liana and grabbed one of the chocolate covered donuts with his other hand. “Just so you know, banana pudding is my favorite.”

“But I thought that—”

Braeden shoved the donut into his mouth with an exaggerated sound of pleasure.

Timothy couldn’t help grinning at the sight. For all that Braeden was supposed to learn about humans, he was already doing a pretty good job of behaving like a normal human being.

Timothy hated to admit it, but it was sort of fun to have the fire dragon around. Now that the storm dragon had found his mate, Timothy missed the summer days they used to spend together on the beach.

It still surprised him, but having Braeden around was almost as good.

Except for the times when Timothy was aching for some privacy with his mate, of course...

Liana laughed, shaking her head when the donut was gone in record time. Her eyes gleamed, as if she was just as surprised as Timothy that their fire dragon had a real sense of humor.

“Help yourself. As long as you leave some for Timothy and me.”

Just then, Timothy’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He snatched one of the green tea donuts out of the box before Braeden could wolf them all down, then looked at his phone.

Ginny, the caller ID said.

“Sorry, I have to take this call—will be back in a minute.”

Liana gave him a little wave, taking another donut herself before she moved to stretch out in one of the deck chairs. “Take your time,” she called out. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Timothy closed the door behind him for some privacy. He had a feeling that the call might concern Braeden...

“Hey Ginny, what’s up?” he said when she answered.

“Timothy, hi,” the soft voice of the mouse shifter said.

Ginny was currently taking care of Sky Home, the seat of the council of elements. She’d come to live there for a few weeks when they’d first locked Braeden into one of their cells.

But now that they’d convinced the chimera to start investing in some newer technology, Timothy began to suspect that the chimera kept her around because he needed someone who knew how to use a phone and the internet.

“The chimera’s wondering how things are going for you. Is everything okay with our fire dragon?”

“The chimera was right,” Timothy said. “Fire dragons attacked this morning. I sent them packing.”

Ginny drew in a shocked breath. “You’re okay?”

“There were only a few of them. It wasn’t a problem,” Timothy said. “Though the chimera will be pleased. I found my mate.”

“Congratulations,” she said warmly. “That’s what he assumed. He said he could feel a burst of your power.”

“They must have felt the same,” Timothy said slowly. “Or, perhaps—if there’s a plinth of fire now, that means there’s a powerful, elemental fire dragon out there as well. If he exists, he must have felt the same thing. They attacked the morning after I’d found her.”

“You’re the last dragon of the council without a mate,” she reminded him. “Once you’re mated, the council will be more powerful than it’s been in a long, long time. Of course they don’t want to deal with three elemental alpha dragons.”

“Makes it a bit harder to take over the world.” Timothy grinned, then grew serious again. “They attacked my mate. Not me—they went straight for her. Makes sense, of course—if you take her out, you keep us from mating.”

“She’s safe now?” Ginny asked worriedly. “Maybe you should just come here—”

“I don’t think she’d be any safer in Sky Home,” Timothy said. “Not after those fire dragons got in, all the way down into the prison cell.”

Ginny gave him a humph that didn’t sound convinced at all. “I’ll tell the chimera what you said. You know he’ll probably want to see the two of you anyway, once he hears that you found your mate?”

“I know,” Timothy said with a sigh. “But she had a pretty terrible morning. I’m not going to drag her away right this instant to meet the scary chimera. Tomorrow, if we have to. Anyway, shoot me an email once he’s decided what he wants from us.”

“I’ll let you know. Take care, okay?” Ginny said warmly. “And I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

“You’d like her,” he said softly, his heart filling with warmth when he looked out through the window.

Liana was still teasing their fire dragon, her face animated with laughter.

“See you soon.”