by Bianca D'Arc
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.”
CHAPTER TEN
Mellie was relieved to see Urse and John making their way to the bookstore. Urse had to have known when the dragon used magic within one of her wards. Thank goodness she’d thought to bring John with her when she came to investigate. Sometimes, it was really handy to have the Alpha bear as brother-in-law.
Mellie wasn’t sure what to make of the dragon shifter. Was he a good guy or a bad one? She didn’t know what to think. It was rude in the extreme to use magic against someone in their own home—a home that had been warded by one of the strongest witches of their generation against such things.
That he’d managed to do it anyway was troubling. That he claimed to have some special arrangement with the Goddess Herself was…astounding.
Then again, he was supposedly a dragon, for goodness sake. This was something totally outside Mellie’s experience. She’d encountered several kinds of shifters and other magical folk, but dragons were a thing of legend only. She had no idea what to expect, and she doubted anyone in town—aside from Peter and his babushka—had any knowledge at all about honest-to-goodness dragon shifters.
Mellie was glad to let Peter take the lead in introducing John. Urse came directly
around the counter to stand by Mellie’s side, asking with a quick look if she was okay. Mellie nodded slightly, glad of her sister’s support but really interested in what would happen next among the trio of men whose mere presence was filling the bookstore.
Bears had a big magical footprint, but the dragon was off the charts. Containing all three of them within the confines of the bookstore might be all right on the physical plane, but on the magical plane, the place was close to capacity. Of course, Urse’s wards were so good, they’d stretch to accommodate whatever two strega, two bears and one big-assed dragon presence could throw at them.
The men talked for a few minutes, establishing who they were and who they knew in common. John seemed skeptical, at first, but willing to hear the other man out, and he kept shooting glances at Urse, who stood next to Mellie.
“You okay?” Urse asked aloud once the men moved away to talk about military connections in low voices.
“Yeah. Peter was here almost immediately, but that dragon guy used a charm on me.” Her tone indicated her indignation and shock.
“Nervy,” Urse observed. “But I felt it through my wards. The minute he started using magic in here, I knew to come.”
“Glad you brought John as backup,” Mellie said quietly, their entire conversation taking place in very low tones. Mellie was pretty sure the shifters could still hear them if they wanted to listen in, but she figured they were busy enough talking about top-secret shifter stuff.
Not that there was much of that between Urse and her mate, but appearances had to be maintained. Mellie supposed there were lots of shifter things she and her sister knew nothing about, though now that Urse was mated to John, that would change, given time.
Mellie knew enough to guess that there was nothing John wouldn’t share with his mate. And vice versa. Mellie envied them their relationship and wished she could find that kind of devotion with…well, with Peter.
Since meeting him, all other men had faded from view. Peter had taken over all her fantasies of happy ever after, even before they’d made love. Now, all she could think about was him and when they could be together again. She hoped he’d be able to come over tonight, since he was off-duty, but they hadn’t had a chance to talk about their plans yet.
The men stepped back toward the counter, their top-secret confab apparently finished for now. Paul’s gaze landed on Urse as he strode forward.
“I understand you are the talented strega who cast the permanent wards I was able to examine from aloft last night. You do very nice work, indeed,” Paul said to Urse.
“Thank you.” Urse was blushing, if Mellie wasn’t mistaken.
Son of a gun. She hadn’t seen her sister blush in a very long time. Mellie stepped back to observe for a moment, wanting to be certain that Paul wasn’t using more magic on them. The stinker.
Luckily for Paul’s sake, Mellie didn’t detect any extraneous magic. It had to be just the force of his enormous presence having its natural effect. Mellie found it somewhat difficult to be confined in this small room with such big magical personalities. Nothing in her life to date had prepared her for receiving a dragon through the door of her bookshop.
“We’re going over to City Hall,” John told the sisters. “We still have a few things to discuss with our guest. A few I’s to dot and T’s to cross,” John said offhandedly, though Mellie sensed there was much more to his words than he let on.
Mellie was relieved. She needed a break from all the testosterone and intense magical presences. She would gird herself mentally for the next encounter with the dragon—if there was going to be one. She really hoped so. She still needed his help.
“I will be back,” Paul promised her, his dragon eyes catching and holding hers, making her feel almost as if she was under some sort of spell. “I will not leave without giving you my answer regarding your potion.”
“Thank you,” Mellie breathed as Paul looked away, releasing her from his regard.
The three men swept from the bookshop, leaving the sisters behind. Peter sent a lingering glance over his shoulder before following behind the other two, but he didn’t say anything. Mellie wished she could’ve had just a moment to hug him, but events were moving too quickly to accommodate her fear and tender sensibilities. Still, he’d seemed concerned when he looked back at her, which was enough for now. She’d get all the hugs of reassurance she needed tonight—if she had anything to say about it.
“Whew!” Urse let out a harsh breath and sort of collapsed against the countertop as the door shut behind the trio of powerful shifters. “That was intense.”
“You can say that again,” Mellie agreed, also loosening her stance. She hadn’t realized how tense she had been holding herself until she tried to relax her shoulders. “Ouch.” Mellie’s right hand went up to her neck, rubbing out the pain caused by stiff muscles.
“Now, tell me, what the heck was that all about?” Urse asked, turning toward her sister.
“Oh, the dragon, you mean?” Mellie couldn’t be absolutely certain, but she had a feeling John either hadn’t wanted, or hadn’t had a chance, to tell Urse about Peter’s morning debrief about the arrival of an honest-to-goodness real live dragon shifter in Grizzly Cove overnight.
“Dragon?” Urse repeated, confirming Mellie’s suspicions. “What do you mean, dragon? They’re extinct.” Urse gave Mellie a disbelieving look. “Aren’t they?”
Now, it was Mellie’s turn to finally come clean about all the stuff she hadn’t told her sister over the past couple of days. She wouldn’t tell Urse everything. The relationship with Peter was too new to talk about just yet. But she could definitely use Urse’s advice and thoughts about the magical stuff relating to the potion she was trying to brew.
Starting from the last failure with the komodo dragon, Mellie filled Urse in. She glossed over Urse’s pointed looks when Mellie talked about meeting Peter’s grandmother. The fact that dragon shifters once existed, and still did, was enough to sidetrack Urse from any further questions about Peter. At least for the moment.
When Mellie talked about the series of phone calls that culminated in the dragon shifter’s appearance in Grizzly Cove, Urse seemed to be stunned. She didn’t say anything for a long moment and got the look on her face that Mellie always associated with Urse checking her magical wards. Then, Urse was back, her expression bemused, her head shaking as if she still couldn’t quite believe what Mellie had just told her.
“There was a freaking dragon shifter in our shop just now?” Urse asked, apparently still in need of clarification—or perhaps, confirmation.
Mellie nodded. “Yup. He’s a dragon. Peter said something about noting the presence of the dragon flying overhead last night, and Paul said he saw Peter watching him. He also said he’d taken an aerial tour of the town, and your wards, under cover of darkness, but he hadn’t quite figured out what kind of magical creatures were living in the cove. I think that’s when he started to put the whammy on me, using some sort of coercive charm to get me to spill my guts about every little thing. I told him about the mer. I even told him about Peter’s family—which was something I’d promised not to tell anyone.”
“Wait. What about Peter’s family?” Urse asked quickly.
“Shit. Forget I said that. It’s nothing bad, I promise. All you need to know is that his grandmother had the right contacts to connect us to this dragon guy, Paul.” Mellie made a face and shook her head. “Is it possible the coercion charm is still active in here? I haven’t been this bad at keeping secrets since I was three years old.”
“Let me check again,” Urse said, shutting her eyes this time as she ran through the magical strands of spells she had layered on the shop. “Hmm. It’s an odd sort of spell, but it’s dissipating now.” Urse opened her eyes and looked at Mellie. “That was something I’ve never seen before, but it looked very useful for eliciting information. I wonder if I could recreate it?”
“Experiment later. For now, tell me how long until the charm is completely spent,
” Mellie groused.
“Well, let’s put it this way. It’s a good thing we don’t keep much from each other, but I would suggest closing the shop for the rest of the day unless you want to start hearing some things you probably wouldn’t want to know from our customers and probably telling them stuff you wouldn’t want them to know about us.”
“Enough said.” Mellie went right over to the door and turned the sign. No way was she spilling any more secrets than she already had. Then, she turned back to Urse. “Does it extend to upstairs?” Then, she had a scary thought. “Is it cast on the place or is it on me, personally?” Mellie held her breath until her sister replied.
“It’s on the shop, not on you. I think he wanted to generalize the effect so that anyone he talked to in here would be compelled to speak of things they normally wouldn’t. Very, very clever,” Urse mused, with an almost admiring light in her eyes.
“I think we’d better go upstairs. Not that I have all that many secrets from you, sis, but the guys might come back. I don’t want them subject to that spell down here.” Another thought occurred. “Will you notice if he does it again? What about down at John’s office? Could he be using magic on them right now?”
“I’d know,” Urse told her sister. “I have so many wards on this town right now that I know whenever out-of-the-ordinary magic is used.”
“Really?” If what Urse was saying was true, that represented a huge step up from what she’d been doing before she mated with John.
Maybe the sisters were keeping more from each other than ever before. Mellie felt hurt for a moment until she realized this was inevitable. They were growing apart as they found lives of their own with their chosen partners. Urse was doing stuff with John now and not consulting Mellie on every little thing. When Mellie mated—hopefully with Peter, if he would only agree—the same would likely hold true for her.