by Zoe Chant
Waking up cuddled against Gregory’s perfect, virile body was like a dream come true—but walking through the halls of his home by his side was even better.
Am I still dreaming?
Perhaps she should ask Gregory to pinch her.
His home was gorgeous—she couldn’t think of any other word. There was so much space. Corridors opened up to large rooms, and every now and then they’d turn a corner and find an unexpected nook with a comfy chair and a bookshelf, or a small garden hidden away between walls.
It wasn’t the sort of palace she’d expected, the rich people’s home she knew from magazine spreads where everything looked white and sterile, and where she wouldn’t have dared to sit down for fear of breaking something.
Everything in this home was obviously made to be used. And it had been used. There were all sorts of little hints that filled her with warmth and curiosity about Gregory’s life.
Next to old, leather-bound books there was a well-read paperback of The Hobbit, and among the paintings that doubtlessly came from Gregory’s priceless collection of old masters, there was a child’s drawing that showed the mansion and the small town below.
When they came into a large living room, the sofas weren’t stiff baroque furniture, but comfy and modern, and apparently well-used. There was a large flat screen TV—and there, in the corner next to it, the latest PlayStation.
Naomi grinned. Her eccentric old billionaire wasn’t as old and disconnected from modern life as she’d thought, back when she’d first heard about him.
They had breakfast together in the kitchen. Gregory proved quite adept at making pancakes—although Naomi was sure that he was cheating by using his power over the wind to help him flip them so perfectly.
Still, the pancakes were delicious. They shared them on a small balcony connected to the kitchen, from which they had an amazing view of the town below. The sun had already risen a while ago. On the mountainside below the town, mist was still clinging to the rock, so that it almost seemed as if they were still safely hidden from all trouble above the clouds.
“It’s beautiful,” Naomi sighed when she was at last certain that she couldn’t finish even a single additional pancake. “It seems so peaceful. Like one of those holiday resorts—only those never turn out quite as beautiful as the photos want to make you believe.”
“They call it the dragon’s peace,” Gregory said earnestly. “Where a dragon rules, no quarrel between other shifters is allowed. Well, nowadays we all try to be more civilized to keep humans from noticing us, but long ago, shifters came here because mouse shifters could live without fear next to cat shifters, and dogs next to wolves. Not that we’ve ever had many werewolves here. Until sheriff Banner arrived.”
Naomi gasped. “You have... a werewolf sheriff?”
“He’s quite good at keeping the peace. And not just because he’s got such sharp teeth.” Gregory grinned at her, as though casually mentioning werewolves was the most normal thing in the world.
But then, Naomi supposed, maybe it was, at least in this place.
And she’d survived a dragon’s attack. A mere werewolf couldn’t scare her after that.
“How would you like a walk through the town?” Gregory’s face was lit by excitement. “I haven’t been home in a while. And I never thought—I mean, I hoped I would find you, but as the years passed...”
Gregory gave her an overwhelmed smile, reaching out to cover her hand with his. “I always hoped that one day, I’d get to introduce my mate. It still seems like a dream... But you’re here. You’re really here with me.”
Naomi’s heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel the way her cheeks heated. No one had ever looked at her the way Gregory did.
She’d had boyfriends before who were all possessive and insecure. But there was nothing insecure about Gregory.
His possessiveness came with pride—and also a strange, endearing humbleness. As though he felt exactly the way she did. As if it was all too good to be true.
Could someone like Gregory really fear that he didn’t deserve love? From what she’d seen of his home, he had everything—money, friends, freedom, power.
But the house is so silent, she realized suddenly. There are children’s drawings... But all the children have grown up. There’s no one living here. It’s just a house right now, not a home. Because there’s no one left to call it a home.
***
They didn’t fly down into the town, although Gregory had jokingly offered it. In fact, as they walked down the winding road that led from his mansion to the scattered, colorful houses below, she realized that even though the sleepy little town couldn’t see much traffic, all the roads were well cared for. And they were wide.
Wide enough for a dragon.
She felt a smile tug at her lips. What must it be like for the children of the town to grow up in a place where every now and then, the road turned into a runway for a dragon?
She didn’t have to wait long to find out. They hadn’t even made it past the first few houses before a small group of children had gathered.
“The dragon! The dragon is home!” they shouted.
With a wink at her, Gregory waved at them—and then crooked his finger. The wind sprung up suddenly, and as the children whooped and jumped in joy, the breeze picked up a pile of leaves, making them dance in a circle all around them.
As they walked on, the children came racing past them, giggling loudly—and then, right before her eyes, the group of children suddenly turned into a group of three golden retrievers, and one long-legged cheetah that effortlessly outraced them all.
Laughing softly, Gregory slung his arm around her. “Sorry. I should have warned you.”
Naomi’s eyes followed the waving tail of the cheetah. What would it be like to raise a child like that? To raise a child here, where everything was so different?
“Children are the same everywhere.” A smile tugged at Naomi’s lips. “Nothing you need to warn for. You told me about the dog shifters, after all.”
“Our children might run a little faster—or fly, of course—but otherwise, life in Mountain View is just the same as in every other town,” Gregory said earnestly. “I promise.”
They’d nearly made it to the center of the town. There, in the middle of a large square, Naomi could now see another fountain, surrounded by pink, yellow and white tulips. And at the top of the fountain, a dragon stood, its wings spread. From its mouth and from the tips of its wings, water came pouring down with a melodic trickle.
“Not quite the same,” Naomi said, barely able to hold back her amusement. “Better, I’d say. Much better.”
“You like it?”
“I love it!” Naomi turned her head to take it all in.
The square was beautiful—and so were the houses that surrounded it. It seemed that the people of Mountain View took a lot of pride in their homes—in fact, Naomi couldn’t help but wonder whether there was some sort of competition going on.
In front of every house, flowers bloomed, arranged in a hundred different shapes and forms. Many had small fountains of their own. As Naomi took a closer look, she realized that many off the doors showed an engraved animal, or the painted silhouette of one. There were many dogs and nearly as many cats. She saw several birds—and one house, with a roof that had been painted the light blue of the summer sky, showed the familiar silhouette of a cheetah with its tail held high.
“If you’d told me all this, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she admitted ruefully. “Before all this happened, I mean. But everything here is so—it feels real. It’s not just dragons fighting each other, and mysterious caves, is it? It’s all... real. Real people. Real families.”
Gregory nodded, taking hold of her hand to press it. “Now you see why we need to keep the secret to keep ourselves safe. Because it’s not just me and the council. We’re just trying to live our life, all of us.”
“A life with houses and flowers and children.” Naomi couldn’t stop smil
ing, even though now doors began to open and the square began to fill. “It should feel weird. I never even knew shifters existed! But do you know what the weirdest thing is? That nothing about this town feels strange. It feels...” Naomi paused, trying to find the right word. At last she gave up and slowly shook her head.
“It feels so normal,” she said softly. “Just like the sort of town where I always hoped I’d be able to buy a small house one day. With enough space for a small garden, and neighbors who don’t ignore you when they see you.”
Gregory pulled her a little closer. Once again her heart sped up at the way his hard, muscled chest felt pressed against her.
“You’ll never feel lonely here,” he said, his voice hoarse. “If you want a home, Naomi... I promise you that you will never be an outsider here. It is a good town, with good people. Not everyone is a shifter either. Some people just never develop the talent—but no one is an outcast here. Mountain View is for everyone who wants to live in peace with their neighbors, be they a cat, a dog or a human. That is why my great-great-grandfather built his home into the mountain, long ago.”
Naomi thought of her old life. She had a job—but a job she hated. A job where no one appreciated her, and where they were continually cutting her hours or giving her the worst shifts.
No, she wouldn’t be sad at all to leave that part of her life behind. She wasn’t naive either—she’d studied art, but had always been aware that most people couldn’t make a living of it, at least not right away.
Back then, she’d picked up a couple of extra credits, hoping that she’d be able to earn a living teaching while working on her art career simultaneously.
That hadn’t worked out either. But perhaps, if Mountain View had a school...
“Gregory!”
Naomi was pulled from her thoughts when a woman with gray hair and a smile that lit up her entire face came forward.
She had to be in her seventies, but she pulled Gregory’s powerful body effortlessly into her own arms.
“You’re home! You stay away too much; don’t you know that we miss you, boy?” she chided him through her laughter.
Next to her, a woman came up who appeared to be only a few years older than Naomi. Her hair was a mousy brown, but there was a bold, black streak running through it. She smiled at them both in greeting, but didn’t speak.
“Naomi, that’s my aunt Jess, and that’s Ginny,” Gregory said. “They both look after the house when I’m not here.”
Ginny inclined her head, still smiling, and the older woman fondly patted Gregory’s arm.
“The boy needs someone to look after him. All alone in that big house! I’ve told him, I’ve told him for years, it’s not good to let a place like that stand empty. Houses got souls of their own, you know? And that house was craving the laughter of children. For years I’ve told him that it’s high time he brings home a mate. Has he shown you the children’s bedrooms? When he was small—”
“Enough!” Gregory said, raising his hands in surrender as he laughed. “Please! Don’t give away all my embarrassing secrets at once.”
With a grin, Naomi found herself shaking the hand of aunt Jess.
“Embarrassing secrets?” Naomi said innocently. “Oh, I’m sure he has none. But if you would like to come over for a cup of coffee while he’s busy...”
“Already conspiring against me,” Gregory muttered, although his lips were twitching with obvious pleasure. “Just what I feared would happen.”
Jess patted his arm again while giving Naomi a little wink. “Ginny and I might come visit tomorrow. Just to make sure you’ve got everything you need, of course.”
“Of course,” Naomi echoed and returned the wink.
Proudly, the woman now patted Naomi’s arm. “I knew he’d find himself a sensible woman. Don’t let him intimidate you. He likes to play all high and mighty dragon, but why, one day when he was just a boy and the fountain—”
“Oh God,” Gregory groaned and covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Not the fountain story, please! She’s only just arrived! Save my biggest shame for a better occasion, will you?”
Ginny, who’d remained silent, now gave his shoulder a little nudge and then nodded towards the square.
When Naomi curiously followed her gaze, she found herself eye to eye with an intimidating man. He was tall and strong, and older than Gregory. But the most unsettling thing about him were his eyes.
Where Gregory’s eyes shone silver with the power of his dragon, the stranger’s eyes were golden.
A wolf’s eyes, Naomi realized with a sudden shiver.
He didn’t look like the werewolves she knew from movies. But his eyes...his eyes gave him away.
“Sheriff,” Gregory said once he’d turned as well, shaking the man’s hand. “This is Naomi, my mate. Naomi, this is sheriff Banner.”
“Welcome to Mountain View,” the man said. His voice was deep. His eyes narrowed a little as he looked at Naomi, but then he relaxed, and his eyes lit up. “That means Mountain View will host an alpha ceremony soon again, I hope? Don’t let that monster in Sky Home tell you that you need to have it in those horrible caves of his. You’re our dragon. Your home’s here.”
Gregory laughed in response. “The chimera’s not a monster,” he said patiently. “And... I suppose I will! I haven’t actually thought about it yet, but—”
“Planning can’t start too early,” the sheriff muttered and turned around to nod at the other people who were coming closer. “We haven’t had a chance to show off since the spring fair.”
“Sheriff,” aunt Jess interjected, “if you want to be on the committee for the ceremony, I would be pleased to have you. You see, Ginny and I have already started to plan—but of course, if you insist, space and a task could be found...”
“Ha!” the sheriff said and glowered at her. “I see how it is! The dogs conspiring against the wolf again, is it? But you know—perhaps I will! Perhaps I will indeed join the committee.”
Aunt Jess gave him a smile that showed her teeth. “Excellent. Perhaps the flower arrangement committee would suit your talents.”
“You think I cannot do it?” the sheriff demanded. “You think a wolf cannot tend a garden? May I remind you that it was my roses that won three different prizes at the spring fair, and your—”
“Enough!” Gregory said, laughing as he raised his hands again. “We’ll leave you to it. I’m pretty sure tradition demands that I’m not involved in any committee work.”
“Ah, to be a dragon,” the sheriff sighed, although his yellow eyes were friendly as he gave Naomi another nod. “Don’t let us keep you. You’ve been gone too long, Gregory. The town has missed you. They won’t let you go now until everyone’s had a chance to meet your mate. Naomi, it was an honor to meet you. I hope you’ll enjoy Mountain View. And if there’s anything I can help with, never hesitate to call on me.”
“If you aren’t busy tomorrow,” Gregory said, his expression suddenly turning serious, “I’d appreciate it if you’d come over. I’d like to talk about security. I know that no one’s ever dared to threaten the dragon’s peace, but just in case, there are things I’d like to discuss.”
Naomi was certain that she knew exactly what new developments Gregory wanted to talk about. It was impossible to forget the terror of the fire dragon grabbing her, or that dreadful moment when she saw Gregory’s body engulfed by fire.
Still, Mountain View was so peaceful and quiet that it seemed impossible that anything could happen here. And even if the fire dragon should somehow find this small town in the mountains, she didn’t only have Gregory to protect her now, but also a werewolf sheriff, and an entire town of shifters who all seemed just as protective of their dragon as Gregory was of the town.
“I’ll send Ginny over to show you the gardens. The dragon gardens,” the old woman now said with obvious pride. “The roses are in bloom right now; some of them my George planted with his own hands. It’s a marvel, tha
t’s what it is. Ginny will show you all the best, hidden places.”
Ginny inclined her head, even though she remained silent. But there was a warm smile on her face as she looked at Naomi.
For a moment, Naomi wondered whether they’d explore the gardens in silence—but then she shrugged inwardly. She’d been a quiet girl before she grew out of it as a teenager, and if there was one thing she’d inherited from her mom, it was the ability to make conversation for two. Anyway, it wasn’t as if roses demanded a lot of conversation to enjoy.
“I look forward to it, Ginny,” Naomi said brightly. “Sheriff Banner, I’m glad I got to meet you. Gregory told me so much about this town, but it’s better than anything I could’ve imagined. It’s a beautiful town!”
“A town you’d be happy to call home?” aunt Jess asked slyly. “All the nursery needs is a touch of fresh paint, and—”
“Aunt Jess!” Gregory groaned and shook his head in amusement. “Please, we’ve only just arrived.”
“People these days don’t know how to court properly anymore,” the old woman sighed. “Fine, I’ll leave you to it, my boy. But I want you to know that if you don’t step up your game, my Ginny will just have to give her a tour of the house...”
Quietly laughing, Gregory shook his head in defeat. “I see I’m fighting a losing battle here.”
Naomi couldn’t hide her amusement. In a way, it was a relief to see Gregory teased by friends and family. He wasn’t just a powerful, intimidating dragon shifter—and he wasn’t at all the eccentric billionaire she’d thought would wait for her at the gallery.
Gregory was... Gregory was proud. And protective. And his eyes lit up with warmth at his friends’ teasing.
Gregory was the sort of man who’d unhesitatingly risk his own life for hers. And he was the sort of guy who’d patiently suffer through the town’s opinions on flower arrangements for the square, she had no doubt.
Deep within her, a different warmth began to kindle. How would he be with children?
Just as warm and patient, she thought, feeling an aching pull in her chest.