Simon Fillmore felt like he was on top of the world, which was strange since his whole world was in the middle of a war. But despite the death and destruction occurring out on the battlefield, it was hard not to feel happy and hopeful in the middle of the Winking Wizard, his favorite bar.

Friday night was always a busy time at the Winking Wizard, with the pub quickly filling up with shifters and wizards happy to be done with a week of work. But this Friday, everyone was especially happy. The Torch Lake High Council had just announced that a decisive battle had been won against the Dark Warriors, and morale in the city was high. Ever since the Torch Lake army had joined forces with several armies from nearby shifter and wizard clans, the war had been going well for Torch Lake. The Dark Warriors seemed unable to keep up with the allied armies, and most of Torch Lake believed that victory was at least on the horizon, if not imminent.

For Simon, who had only recently joined the Torch Lake Clan after being rescued by its army, life was better than it had been in quite some time. Not only was he not being held captive by the Dark Warriors anymore, but he was also living the good life of a dragon shifter in a shifter-wizard town. He had a good job working directly with the Torch Lake High Council, a nice new house overlooking Torch Lake itself, and a whole group of dragon shifter friends. The only thing he didn’t have, which all his other dragon shifter friends had, was a woman. But Simon was confident that he could change that soon, and he was going to start out by talking to the hot new girl behind the bar.

The Winking Wizard had, until recently, only had one official bartender. There were several waitresses and cooks, but only one guy ran the bar itself. Even Simon, who was relatively new to Torch Lake, knew that. But a few days ago, quite a stir had gone up when a curvy, dark-haired beauty had shown up behind the bar. Her name was Brittany, and she was always smiling—a big sort of smile, that reached all the way to her sparkling green eyes. Simon, like most of the men in the bar, had been smitten.

The first few nights, Simon had watched from afar while other men stumbled over their words, trying to impress Brittany. He’d told himself to let them have their say. After a few nights, when she was tired of the boys, he’d go up and show her that he was a man. At least, that’s how he’d planned everything out in his head. He’d never expected Brittany to see him as anything other than a prized catch, but he was about to find out that not all wizards were so easily swayed just by knowing he was a dragon shifter.

“Hey there,” Simon said to Brittany as he slid into a barstool that had just been vacated by a bear shifter. “Busy tonight, huh?”

Brittany smiled at him as she filled two large mugs with Charmed Star Ale. The smoking purple beer was a favorite of all the ladies who came to the Winking Wizard. “Hey, big guy. Whatcha drinking tonight?”

Simon felt a thrill of excitement go through him when she called him big guy. Surely, that was a promising sign. “I’ll have a Dragon’s Breath Lager.”

Her grin widened as she slid the Charmed Star Ales down the bar to a pair of young wolf shifter women. “Uh-huh. You’re one of the dragon shifters, aren’t you? I thought you had to be either a dragon or a grizzly, judging from the size of your muscles and how tall you are.”

Simon felt his chest puffing up even more with pride. Brittany had already noticed his muscles, and he’d only said a few words to her. This was going well. Emboldened by this, and by the two Dragon’s Breath Lagers he’d already finished, Simon decided to go ahead and make his move. After all, women liked it when men were bold and authoritative, didn’t they? Simon was going to show Brittany that he could be every bit the alpha male.

Dropping his voice to a low, husky tone, Simon leaned over the counter to put his face only inches away from Brittany’s. She had just grabbed a fresh mug to begin pouring his Lager, but she paused and gave him an inquisitive look as he tilted toward her face.

“You know I’m the only dragon shifter in town who’s still single, right?”

She cocked an eyebrow at him, then went to fill the mug. “Is that so?”

“It is. For the moment at least. But I’ve been looking to change that. I’ve been looking for the right girl, who’s a combination of witty, beautiful, and fun.” Simon winked at her, but Brittany only gave him a slight frown.

“Well, I’m sure when you find that girl she’ll be a very lucky woman.”

She set the Lager in front of him and turned to move on, but it was Simon’s turn to frown. It was obvious from Brittany’s demeanor that she had completely understood that Simon was hinting at making her his girl. But it was also obvious that she had shut him down. Simon had never been shut down by a woman before.

And the fact that Brittany had just shut him down fascinated him. He took it as a challenge, and reached across the bar to grab Brittany’s hand as she tried to withdraw and head for the next customer.

“You know you’ve made quite an impression on everyone in this bar. They all think you’re the most beautiful woman to ever grace Torch Lake with your presence.”

Brittany snorted at him. “Oh really? Well I’ve been in Torch Lake since the town got started. Funny no one even noticed me until now. I think all these guys only notice me now because I’m behind a bar and they’re seeing me after having a few drinks.”

Simon chewed his lower lip for a moment. This was not going well. Simon himself didn’t know how long anyone had been in Torch Lake, really, since he himself had only arrived recently. But he did have to agree with the other guys that Brittany was the most beautiful woman in town, and that belief had nothing to do with how many drinks he’d had. Frustrated, he decided to cut directly to the chase. He wasn’t going to dance around what he wanted. He’d ask Brittany directly. She might be able to pull away from him when he only hinted at liking her. But surely, no one could refuse a direct invitation from a dragon for a date.

Could they?

“When’s your next night off work? I’d like to take you out to dinner.” Simon leaned back in his chair with an easy confidence. He had no doubt that Brittany would say yes to his invitation.

“Nope. Not happening.”

Simon sat up straight, stunned by Brittany’s words. Before he could even respond, though, Brittany had taken off to serve a new group of giggling wizards that had just shown up.

Simon stared after her, feeling a hint of annoyance now. Who did she think she was, turning him down so flippantly? He was a good catch, and most of the girls in here would have been falling all over themselves to accept an invitation to dinner.

But Brittany, he was realizing, wasn’t like most girls. And that made her all the more attractive. Simon was determined to win her over. In one long, smooth movement, he drank down the rest of his beer so that he could order another one. Setting the empty mug down on the bar top with a loud thump, he waved Brittany over again. She raised an eyebrow at his empty glass.

“Thirsty tonight, eh?”

“Very. I’ll have another, please.”

Brittany grabbed his mug and went to refill it. When she came back to set it down, Simon grabbed her hand.

“Just give me a chance, Brittany. I promise you, dinner with a dragon will be worth your time.”

Brittany only snorted. “You dragons are all alike, you know that? You think the world revolves around you, and that no one could ever possibly tell you no. So full of pride.”

She shook her head in disgust, and Simon felt himself getting a little annoyed. Who did this girl think she was? Sure, she was beautiful, but she was still just an ordinary wizard. He was a dragon. Simon stood, drawing himself up to his full height.

“We dragons are all alike. Noble, fierce, and brave. But if you’d rather not spend your time with one of us, that’s your loss.”

Simon grabbed his beer and turned to walk away from the bar, his back stiff and proud. He headed toward the table on the other side of the Winking Wizard where the other dragon shifters usually sat, and he plopped down next to them with a scowl on his face.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Jasper, one of the other dragon shifters.

Simon shrugged. “Just annoyed that the girl behind the bar seems to think dragons are all full of themselves. I can’t help it if we really are the best at everything.”

Jasper laughed. “Don’t let her get to you, man. There’s always someone picking on you when you’re a dragon. Sometimes they’re just jealous, and sometimes they do have a point. We can be prideful creatures.”

Simon grunted. “Speak for yourself. I don’t think I’m that bad.”

Jasper only laughed again, and then the conversation at the table turned to other things. But Simon couldn’t focus on the conversation. All he could think about was Brittany. Somehow, she had managed to get under his skin. He had too much pride to beg her for a date. But he wanted to find a way to show her that she was wrong about him. He wasn’t just an obnoxious dragon shifter, completely full of himself. He was a mighty warrior, a caring citizen, and a hard worker. Brittany didn’t know what she was missing out on.

Simon finished his lager and set the empty mug down, then decided to leave the bar. He’d had enough to drink, and a walk in the fresh air might do him good.

Little did he know that his walk was going to turn into a life-or-death situation: one that would show Brittany that he was much more than just another stuck-up dragon.