CHAPTER NINE
The dragon winged in under cover of darkness. Peter felt the weight of the dragon’s presence in the sky above, though he’d never felt such a thing before and couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black night. He just knew.
He’d left Mellie hours before, sorry he couldn’t spend time with her tonight, but perhaps it had worked out for the best. Being on patrol—awake in the wee hours of the night when everyone else in town was either going about their business or fast asleep—meant that Peter was hyper-aware of any threats that might come in the night. He wasn’t sure if the dragon was a threat, exactly, or not, but it was definitely something dangerous and an unknown quantity.
So far, the energy felt more curious than damning. The dragon seemed to be flying around, pausing here or there. If anything, Peter would surmise that the shifter was checking out the town before he made contact.
One point in the man’s favor—the ward around the town had let him past without raising any alarms. From what Peter had heard, evil would never be able to pass Urse’s wards without a major production. If Peter hadn’t been watching so carefully, he doubted he would even have noticed the dragon’s entrance. Which meant he wasn’t evil. A good thing.
Whether or not he would help them remained to be seen.
*
The dragon sensed great magic at work in the tiny town below. Evidence of building projects was easily seen, as were the signs of habitation. From above, he also sensed magic in the waters of the cove. Interesting.
Paul was familiar with bears and the intense flavor of their magic, but the sea creatures in the cove were elusive. Not so the evil pulsating from just off shore. So. They weren’t kidding when they said they had a sea monster problem.
Paul winged over the potent magical barrier that blocked the cove from the rest of the ocean, noting the interest of the tentacled beasts beyond. They sensed him. Not good.
He made for a likely tree that would support his weight. A giant sequoia, if he wasn’t mistaken. Now, this was a tree. He liked the Pacific Northwest already, though he’d never been here before. They had trees that could truly hold a dragon and even hide him from below. Nice.
From his perch high atop the massive tree, Paul took note of the town again. He saw the heat signatures of beings in slumber, and a few on the prowl. One was watching the skies, and if his eyesight wasn’t failing him, that one wore a uniform with a shiny bright star on his chest. A policeman of some kind. And he seemed aware of something amiss. Good instincts.
Paul didn’t know what to make of a town that concentrated so many bear shifters in one place. Even more confusing was that they seemed to be in league with powerful strega. It was somewhat unprecedented, though in ancient times, he’d read that shifters often coexisted alongside mages and other magical folk, banding together to fight evil.
Rumors abounded about the return of Elspeth, the so-called Destroyer. Paul was young. He hadn’t been around the last time Light had fought Dark and succeeded. Frankly, he didn’t know what to make of the strange happenings in recent years, only that something was happening. Something not good.
Paul had thought long and hard about which side he would take if the battle came to a head in his lifetime. He hadn’t completely decided one way or the other until very recently.
His life hadn’t been easy to this point, and he’d never really benefitted from being good. He hadn’t really tried being completely bad either. He honestly wasn’t sure he had it in him. There was still a fragile human heart inside his dangerous beast body. That heart had been battered and bloodied, but it still beat with compassion for the underdog and yearned to protect those weaker than himself.
Which was basically everybody. Though, they didn’t know it. Paul flew under the radar as much as possible and spent most of his time now traveling the world, chasing rumors of other dragons. More than anything, he wanted to find others of his kind. There had to be more dragons. Somewhere.
He just hadn’t found any yet. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t keep trying. He had to have come from somewhere. Finding out what had happened to his family was important to him, but even just finding another dragon somewhere on Earth would be a big deal to a man who had grown up an orphan.
Luckily, his dragon form had come to him in adulthood. He’d already been living on his own, far out of town when his first change had come upon him. He hated to think what could have happened to him otherwise. Living all his childhood in one of those notorious Romanian orphanages where the babies were never held had left him scarred…but not broken.
He’d fought for every step he’d taken on the path to a normal life until he was eighteen and living on the side of a mountain. Then, the dragon had come to him, and everything had changed. Suddenly, he had way more questions about his origins than he’d had before and another line of inquiry, though finding out about secretive shifters wasn’t an easy thing. Especially when other shifters recognized him as one of their kind but couldn’t place his animal.
He often got by claiming he was some sort of bear, but that wouldn’t work here in Grizzly Cove. Besides, they already knew about him. In this place, he would wear his own skin and his true identity. It was a novel concept.
Settling in the massive tree to wait for dawn, Paul decided he’d meet the strega and her bear friend then decide what to do from there. He could always fly away. Even a Clan of bears would be no match for his dragon. Though that thing in the water…
Paul looked out over the ocean and saw what looked like massive tentacles sticking up out of the water against the dark horizon. That thing was a beast. He wondered, if his dragon took on the leviathan, which one would come out the victor.
*
Mellie yawned as she turned the sign on the bookshop’s door from CLOSED to OPEN. She hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep last night. Currents of magic had swirled around her, making her restless all night long. She thought maybe it had been her imagination, but there was something different about the energy of the town today. Something…not quite normal.
Not that Grizzly Cove had ever been normal, per se. She smiled to herself at the thought. Get a town full of highly magical shifters, and things were bound to be a little different.
She went back to the desk and sat down, just enjoying the morning for a moment before she started in on the work that was waiting for her. Peter had worked the night shift, so she wasn’t sure when she’d be seeing him, though there was a good chance he’d stop in before he went off shift this morning. She knew that the night shift guy usually stuck around for a debrief before the day shift guy clocked on, so they should be doing that right around now.
She sipped her coffee and looked through the open doorway to the backroom. There were still a couple of boxes that needed unpacking, and then, she could work on the front window display.
The bell rang above the door, and she turned, expecting to see Peter, but the smile froze on her lips as her gaze met that of a total stranger. A very big, very scary, total stranger.
In a town full of big, scary men, this guy was in a class all by himself. Mellie swallowed her fear and thought about her options should this guy become violent. She was a strega. A powerful hereditary witch. There had to be something she could do if the worst should happen, right?
If she had the right potion, she could turn the guy into a frog, but all her good brews were upstairs. Not that she had ever brewed up anything that would turn anybody into anything even remotely resembling a frog…
She was babbling, even in her own mind. Get a grip, Mel!
“Be at ease, little one. I have come, as requested, to listen to your plea.”
His voice was like waves rippling on lava. Fire and brimstone and the rumbles of the earth. For a moment, she was mesmerized by the sheer power of his voice.
“What?” Mellie blinked, breaking the spell and retreated behind the counter, putting some space between herself and this beguiling man. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
“It is more a question of what you want from me. To answer your first question, I am the dragon.”
“Holy shit.” The profanity left her mouth in a stunned whisper, and thankfully, the dragon-man thought it was funny. He laughed while she tried to regain her wits. “I— I’m sorry. I’m Mellie Ricoletti. Thank you for coming. To be honest, I was only expecting a phone call where I could plead for your help.”
The suave dragon shifter gestured toward himself smoothly. “And yet, here I am. You can make your plea in person. I have already seen what you are up against in the ocean.” For the first time, he seemed unsure, and Mellie was glad. That little bit of uncertainty made him seem more human.
“The leviathan,” Mellie confirmed. “And a few hundred of its minions. Or maybe a few thousand. There’s no way to be really sure.”
“Why has it come here? Do you have any theories?” The dragon shifter moved closer, but the sturdy counter was still between them, and for now, Mellie wasn’t any more afraid of the guy than she had been a moment ago, so she was holding her own.
“The concentration of magical energy is what my nonna and her friends believe brought it here. There were rumors of it off the coast of Italy and in other parts of the world earlier, then one day, it showed up here. It tried to eat the Master Vampire of Seattle. It crunched on his yacht when he was doing reconnaissance on the town and ate his crew. He made it ashore but was badly damaged. He has since formed a strategic alliance with the bears here.”
“You don’t say? That is an odd occurrence, indeed.” The dragon released her from his gaze as he looked out the window toward the water across the street. “And what of the creatures in the cove itself? What are they?”
He would find out sooner or later, and he already knew something was there in the water, so Mellie figured it couldn’t hurt anything to enlighten him. Lying to this man wasn’t likely to earn his trust or help with her potion.
“A pod of mer were attacked by the leviathan and its minions. The Alpha bear offered them sanctuary, and my sister cast permanent wards to safeguard the waters of the cove.”
“Your sister?” the dragon looked back at her, capturing her gaze once more. “Blood kin or merely another strega?” he asked.
“There’s nothing mere about being strega,” she replied a bit haughtily. Who did this guy think he was to talk down to her?
He blinked in a way that wasn’t quite human. It was like he had two eyelids or something. Like a lizard.
Oh, yeah. He was a dragon. Shit.
“To answer your question, Urse is my older sister. Blood kin, as you call it. And she’s now mated to the Alpha bear.” Mellie added that to quell the interest she thought she saw in the dragon shifter’s eyes.
“I have seen her ward. It seems your sister is truly a power. I wonder if you are the same?” He advanced another step, but Mellie held firm.
“We have different gifts.” She could at least say that without giving too much away. “Urse does spells. I do potions.”
“And it is for a potion that you seek a dragon?” he asked, one eyebrow rising in question.
“Yes. I’ve been given the task of creating a potion that will push the leviathan and its minions even farther out to sea. As my sister protected the cove, I aim to protect the coast.” She’d never come out and stated her goal to anyone—not even Urse—but Mellie knew that, if she could just come up with the right potion, she could protect most of the Pacific coast of North America…given enough time for the potion to disperse.
“Ambitious,” the dragon shifter commented. “But can you really do it?”
“My sister casts permanent wards. My grandmother sees the future. It was Nonna who set us on these tasks. So far, we’re doing pretty well. Urse batted hers out of the ballpark. Now, it’s my turn.” Mellie might have put a bit too much bravado into her words, but she was on shaky footing with this oppressively dominant male.
“And you need my help to complete your task,” the dragon shifter stated. “Tell me, what brought you to this conclusion? You have a lot of powerful beings here. Surely, one of them could help you instead.”
“I’ve tried just about everything I could think of,” Mellie admitted. “The potion recipe I’m following comes from an ancient grimoire.”
“You didn’t dream up the recipe yourself?” The dragon shifter seemed surprised…and impressed?
“Not for something this important. Not yet. I’m a good potion witch, but it’ll take a lifetime to get to the point where I can craft a potion of this magnitude from scratch. If I get to that point, I will add to the Ricoletti grimoire, but only after a lifetime’s study and practice. I’m only in my twenties. Give a girl a break.” She smiled slightly to soften her words, and the man seemed to respond to her friendliness. He shrugged.
“I’m young for a dragon, too. There are many lessons still to learn, I suppose. I hadn’t thought about how it must work for a mage.” He refocused his attention on her. “So, you’ve been given access to an ancient book of spells, and you picked one that called for a dragon?”
“Something like that. Actually, the way the book works, it will only show me the page I need. I can’t open it to any other page. It reveals its knowledge only when truly necessary, so the fact that it showed me exactly one, and only one, recipe means that’s the only shot I’ve got at getting this right.” Mellie warmed to her subject. “I tried other magical and mundane creatures to substitute for the dragon ingredient, but nothing worked on the scale we all need this to work. Frankly, I didn’t believe dragons existed, and I figured the word had been used as a euphemism until I spoke to Peter and his grandmother.”
“Peter. This is your bear friend?” the man asked.
“Peter is…everything,” she admitted, knowing she had to be totally honest. She saw the glimmer of interest in those alien-lizard eyes, and she didn’t want him getting any ideas. She noted his comprehension and a fleeting look of disappointment as he nodded. “Peter’s grandmother is visiting from Russia. They are Kamchatka bears, but I recently learned they had a dragon ancestor. Until I found that out, I thought dragons were either a fairytale or they’d died out long ago.”
The dragon shifter’s gaze grew intense. “They have dragon blood?” he asked, his tone holding deep interest. “Are you sure?”
“I tried the spell with Peter’s help, and we actually got a good result that time. It wasn’t as potent as it needs to be, but the potion did drive some of the smaller creatures away from the shore up by the stone circle.”
“I saw the circle from the air. A new formation,” the dragon observed almost absently. “Great magic is at work here. I’m not certain I should add mine to it, but I would like to talk to both your Peter and his grandmother, if you can arrange it.”
Mellie caught sight of something through the glass door of the shop, and she smiled. “That won’t be too hard to arrange. Peter’s here.”
Peter didn’t like the way the stranger was looming over Mellie. He entered the store and was immediately hit by a wave of the other shifter’s dominance. He was a scary mofo, as the Americans would say, but Peter was Kamchatka. There was little in the world that he could not handle.
He realized immediately that this must be the presence he had felt last night. He approached openly, sending a glance toward Mellie to make sure she was all right. She was smiling at him. His brave mate was not cowed by the dominance of the men in her little store. On the contrary, she was sure of her own power and place in the world. She would not be cowed either.
Brave mate. Perfect mate.
And, yes, he admitted. She was most definitely his mate… Whether she realized that or not was still an open question. Though, hopefully, not for long.
“Welcome to Grizzly Cove,” Peter began, talking directly to the other man and trying to sound friendly. “I am Peter Zilakov.”
“Paul Lebchenko,” the other man said, surprising Peter with his candor. “Are you the bear with dragon blood?” he asked boldly. Peter shot a look at Mellie, surprised that she would have shared such an important secret with a stranger. Even if he was a dragon.
“It is not something we talk about openly,” Peter replied. “Dragons have long been hunted, and my ancestor sought our Clan as sanctuary and was said to be relieved when all of his children proved to be bears and not dragons.”
“You bastard!” Mellie surprised Peter with her vehemence, and he realized it was directed at the dragon shifter. “You used some sort of coercion charm on me, didn’t you? That’s just…low.”
“I needed information, and you had it,” Paul shrugged as if it didn’t matter. Peter frowned.
“That sort of thing isn’t done here, friend,” he warned the man, a growl he couldn’t contain rumbling in his throat. How dare this guy use any sort of magic against Mellie?
“I’m sorry, Peter,” Mellie said, coming to his side and taking his arm. She was presenting them as a united force against the dragon, which made the bear in him settle down a bit. “I never would have betrayed your confidences willingly.”
“I know, zvyozdochka.” He petted her arm soothingly but kept wary eyes on the other man. “Look, buddy,” Peter directed his words to Paul. “No matter how much we might need your help, there are rules here, in our territory. If you won’t adhere to them, you can leave.”
Paul bowed his head slightly. “I have been duly warned. But don’t worry. The wards on this building, and the town as a whole, would not have let me use any truly harmful magic on anyone here. The fact that your lady was so free with her words means that the time for secrets—at least that one—is over. The charm I used is not magic in the earthly sense, but something gifted by the Lady of Light.”
“You serve the Goddess?” Mellie’s tone was disbelieving but also a bit curious.
“The Mother of All and I have had a rocky relationship in the past, but we’re on good terms now,” the dragon said, shocking them. He spoke of the Goddess as if She was just another person. Not the all-powerful force for good in the universe. “She and I have an understanding. I am looking for other dragons. She allows me certain…liberties in the hunt.”
“Like using magic on someone with so many wards on her and her home that any normal spell wouldn’t penetrate?” Peter countered.
Paul bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Something like that. As of this moment, you are the closest thing I’ve ever come to finding one of my kin,” he went on to say, further surprising Peter. “I would very much like to know more about your ancestor.”
“You have no family of your own?” Mellie of the soft heart asked.
“I was raised—if that’s what you could call it—in a Romanian orphanage under the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. I have no idea where I came from or who my people are, though I’ve been looking for quite a while.” He turned his gaze to Peter. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever found. Your lady said something about your grandmother?”
“She is visiting,” Peter admitted. “I believe she will talk with you about her grandfather, if you’re not too obnoxious about it. Try any magic on her, and she’ll box your ears, dragon or not.”
Paul laughed out loud at that. “I think I will enjoy meeting your grandmother,” he said at last.
“First, though, there’s the little matter of my potion,” Mellie reminded them all. Then, she seemed to realize how that sounded, and she backpedaled. “Not that I would make meeting Granny Ivana conditional on your helping with my task. Far from it. If you decide to help me, it has to be completely of your own volition. I’m convinced that’s the only way to brew the strongest possible potion for what I hope to do.”
“And your goal is protecting the coastline from the leviathan?” Paul asked.
“The coast and all the people, animals and Others who live on or near it and need to use the coastal waters. Right now, we’ve just been lucky that the leviathan and its friends have been preoccupied up here and haven’t ravaged farther down the shore where humans abound. There’d be no way to keep it under wraps if too many humans were attacked,” she told him.
Peter was a bit surprised by the scope of the protection Mellie hoped to cast. He hadn’t really thought too much about her ultimate goal. He’d just assumed she wanted to help keep the residents of Grizzly Cove safe, but Mellie had different plans. Big plans. Plans that were way off the scale of what he thought they’d be.
He felt pride swell his chest. She was a good woman, who wanted to help people she didn’t even know all up and down the coast. He wondered if she’d be able to pull it off. Based on her sister’s immense magical ability, Mellie just might do it.
Then, Peter wondered if John had any idea what the goal for Mellie’s potion was. Mated to Urse, he probably knew more about it than anyone else but had wisely kept his own counsel. That way, whatever Mellie managed to do, nobody but a select few would know what she’d been aiming for and whether or not she’d fallen short of her goal.
Still, she was thinking big. Very big. Peter hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed.
“After surveying the town and the creatures on the other side of the ward, I am leaning toward helping you, but I’d like some more time to consider. I’d also like to meet the Alpha who dreamed up this place,” Paul told them, looking from Mellie to Peter.
“That can be arranged. In fact, I’m pretty sure John would want to meet you before we go any further anyway. I briefed him this morning when I clocked off about your arrival last night,” Peter told him, glad to see a little bit of surprise and perhaps respect enter the dragon’s eyes.
“You are a policeman?” Paul asked. “I saw a man with a badge scanning the skies last night. That was you.”
Peter nodded. “I’m a part-time deputy sheriff. The rest of the time, I own the butcher shop.” Peter followed Mellie’s gaze out the window of the bookstore and smiled. “You’re about to get your wish. Here comes our Alpha and his mate. You can meet them right now.”