by Kayla Wolf
”What did she do?”
”She went home,” Lori said simply. “She went home to her parents’ castle.”
”Were they mad?”
”They were sad that she’d left,” Lori said, looking down at Bella’s bright little face and resolving to tell a happier version of this particular story than was actually true. “But when she got home, they had a big long talk. She explained that they’d given her too many chores, that she’d been unhappy, and that’s why she’d left. Her parents agreed to give her fewer chores now that she was home and to make sure she had plenty of free time to do whatever she wanted.”
”Like riding her horse,” Bella said, yawning as she settled into her bed.
”Exactly.” Lori smiled, reaching down to kiss her littlest sister on the forehead.
”What happened to the prince?”
”She never saw him again.”
”Did she meet another prince? A better one?” Lori hesitated, not sure what to do with that question. But before she could answer, Bella had a different question for her. “Are you going to find a prince tomorrow? Is that why you’re leaving?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at that. “No, sweetie. I’m going to …” How to explain an ancient war to a five-year-old? “I’m going to look at a place where we might all go to live someday,” she said finally. “I’ll take lots of photos so we can all have a look and decide if we want to move there.”
”Why would we move?”
Good question, she thought wryly. “It’s a nice place, close to the beach. We can farm there, as well as go fishing in the water and play on the beach …” But Bella was already asleep. Lori smiled to herself as she switched the bedside lamp off and rose to her feet, padding as silently as she could out of the room.
With Bella asleep, her day was finally over. She headed for her own bedroom, sighing with relief … and wincing at how tense her shoulders were. Ever since that morning, she’d been distracted. She’d headed into town to pick up groceries for her trip—the cabin she’d booked had its own kitchen according to the website she’d booked on, and guests were encouraged to bring their own meals to cook if they wanted to. And while she’d been there … well, it was stupid, but she’d met a man she couldn’t stop thinking about. Very stupid, she chastened herself as she changed into her pajamas. The last time she’d met a man who’d stayed on her mind hadn’t ended well, had it?
That was the part of her years in the big city that she was most ashamed of … the part that had really sent her running home with her tail between her legs. She hadn’t gone with the intention of meeting a man, truly … but once she’d gotten there, it had sort of … happened. The only kind of work she’d been able to get was washing dishes in a restaurant. After a few weeks, they’d started offering her server shifts as well, and that was when she’d met Dennis. He’d seemed so interesting, so sophisticated—he’d been having lunch with a client in a sharp suit, and when he looked at her approvingly, she’d felt a strange need to impress him.
He was some kind of finance guy—a producer or something like that, connected with half a dozen film projects at any one time—but always oddly cagey about actually explaining any of his work to her, getting snappy and defensive if she asked too many questions. She’d been so young, so eager to please him, so inexperienced. She’d taken a lot of pretty awful treatment from him that she now recognized as a whole parade of red flags. She’d moved into his apartment a few months after they’d started dating, but there was no way she could afford to share the rent with him. And that had been what he’d held over her head for the rest of their relationship. How much she owed him for not charging her rent to live with him, how grateful she ought to be to him. It wasn’t long before she was effectively his live-in maid, keeping the whole apartment spotlessly clean, doing his grocery shopping for him, cooking all his meals. And after he’d insisted she quit her job, she’d been completely financially dependent on him. A year later, it had just made sense to get married.
And that was when he’d started hurting her.
She shook her head as she tossed and turned in bed, trying to force herself to stop thinking about her ex. She’d gotten away from him, that was all that mattered. Now she was home, with her family around her to keep her safe. And yes, that was suffocating in its own way, but she had a plan now. This trip away, this reconnaissance mission to the peninsula had come at a good time. With some space for herself and away from her family, she was going to see if she couldn’t come up with a plan to get away from her pack for good this time. She was older now. She’d learned some hard lessons in Los Angeles. She could figure it out.
She had to.
Lori woke bright and early the next day, a little troubled by lingering dreams of her ex. It had been so long since she’d let herself think about Dennis. She pulled her wedding ring out of the back of the drawer where it was hidden and frowned at it for a long moment. It had been expensive. Money was a tool she could use to help her escape. She tucked it into the suitcase she’d packed, then headed downstairs to where her truck was parked, eager to get going before the sun was too high in the sky.
Her mother was there to see her off, tight-lipped but smiling. She helped her put her suitcase into the truck, then pulled her into a surprisingly long hug.
”Be careful down there, Lori,” the woman whispered, pulling back to give her daughter a long look. “Dragons are treacherous. They seem friendly and charismatic, but they hate our kind. They always have. And they’ll know what you are by your eyes.”
Lori couldn’t help thinking of the look of surprise and recognition on the face of the man she’d met at the grocery store, the man her mind wouldn’t stop returning to. He’d been a dragon—she’d sensed that straight away. Was it possible that he knew the dragons she was going to stay with? Lori tried to banish that thought, focusing on the mission ahead.
”Now, take as many photos as you can—you’re posing as a tourist, so it won’t be suspicious, but if you can avoid being seen too much, so much the better. They’re dragons—they might be suspicious of a wolf. If you can get estimates on their numbers, so much the better. Access points to the settlement, strategic places to attack … anything like that.”
Lori nodded, committing it to memory. “I’ll do my best, Mom.”
”I know you will, sweetheart.” An unaccustomed endearment. Lori blinked, a little taken aback. “This is—this is important to us, Lori. It’s important to the Alpha. To the pack.”
”I know, Mom. I’ll make you proud. I promise.”
As she drove away from the farmhouse, she felt a twinge of guilt at the plans she’d been making to get the hell out of home as soon as possible. This was clearly important to her mother—to the family, to the pack. Was there a way she could have the best of all possible worlds? If she did a good enough job at this recon mission, was it possible they’d let her leave with their blessing? She shook her head, urging the old truck to move faster. The peninsula was an hour’s drive, according to the map app on her phone. She’d better focus on developing her cover story.
But to her exasperation, thoughts of the man from the store kept creeping in. What was it about him that was so interesting? Those bright blue eyes, the intent way he’d looked at her … the kind way he’d helped with her groceries. For some reason, little Bella’s voice interrupted her memories. Was she going away to find a prince? Not likely, she thought wryly, drumming her fingertips on the wheel. Even if she did ever see Harvey again, she knew from bitter experience that men weren’t worth her time. He may have seemed kind and gentlemanly, but so had Dennis when she’d first met him. You couldn’t trust them. All they did was lure you in, then take advantage of you once you were dependent on them.
And she’d had plenty of experience of being taken advantage of, she thought with a sigh. It was different when it was your parents doing it, but if she was honest, there was something very upsetting about realizing that your parents were about as controlling and manipulativ
e as your abusive ex-husband. At least they’d never hurt her physically.
They’d never had to.
She shook herself when she realized she was getting closer to the resort. She was meant to be a young woman on holiday—it wouldn’t do to head into reception with a look on her face that suggested she’d just come from a funeral. She hoisted a bright smile onto her face—the same smile she always used to assure the little ones that everything was just fine—and hopped out of the truck, inhaling the fresh scent of sea air. It was a beautiful, simple little place. All the cottages and buildings she’d driven past had solar panels on the roofs, and the reception building was the same. She wondered if it was completely self-sufficient as she headed through the door, a bell jingling above her.
Then she stopped in absolute shock as she came face-to-face with the man from the grocery store.
Chapter 4 - Harvey
“Hey!”
Harvey almost dropped the armful of folders he was holding as the door to the reception area swung open. He spoke on autopilot—most of his mind was busy reeling, utterly shocked to see Lori standing in the doorway. He’d thought he’d never see her again … he’d been relying on it, in a way. Meeting her had shaken him up in a way that had made him feel distinctly nervous. And here she was again, less than a day later? What was going on? Had she followed him here?
”Oh, wow, it’s you! I didn’t know you were—“ She hesitated, an awkward look on her face, and he shook himself, realizing she was tugging a beaten-up suitcase behind her.
”Let me help you,” he said, hastily retreating to the reception desk to drop the files then heading back to help her maneuver her suitcase through the narrow door. He may have been reeling from the shock of encountering her again when he’d thought they’d seen the last of each other, but that was no excuse not to be gentlemanly. Still, part of his mind couldn’t stop racing, trying to figure out what she was doing here. The old paranoia rearing its ugly head. What was a wolf doing down here? Wolves didn’t often come down to the peninsula. Well, he supposed Lachlan’s mate Serena was an exception, but he didn’t think of her as a wolf. She’d been raised as a human—she didn’t have a pack, didn’t have any of a wolf’s usual tendencies.
Lori was looking at him curiously, and he realized with a jolt that she must have said something to him. “Sorry,” he said, spreading his hands with a rueful grin. “Could you repeat that?”
”I said I have a room booked,” she explained. He blinked, taken aback.
”Oh! Of course. The suitcase.” He blinked again, curious. “I thought you lived around here?”
”Not really,” she said. “I mean, I grew up around here—but then I moved away to Los Angeles for a few years. I’m back in the neighborhood, thought I might check out this new resort everyone’s buzzing about.”
That caught his attention. “They are? In LA, you mean?” She nodded, and he grinned. That would be the work of their marketing expert, Daniel. “Good to know we’re popular.”
”Super popular. I almost didn’t get a room. Good thing I booked ahead, right?”
”Oh, I’d have been able to find a way to fit you in,” he said, grinning as he booted up the computer they used to manage bookings. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to find her confirmation, and he searched it up. “Here we are,” he said, scanning the booking. “Lori—yep, one room booked. It’s a double. Anyone staying with you? Partner, husband …?” He fought the urge to peer through the windows at the truck she’d parked outside. Surely a woman this gorgeous was spoken for. But she shook her head, a tight-lipped smile on her face.
”No, traveling solo.” She hesitated for a moment, as though deciding whether or not to tell him something—then, in a rush: “I’m divorced.”
”Oh.” He blinked, a little taken aback. “I’m—sorry to hear that.” What he was, in fact, was deeply, deeply curious. Among shifters, the concept of divorce just … didn’t exist. When you found your soulmate, that was it. Life might take you in any direction, but once you’d found the shifter who was destined to be at your side … well, nobody in their right mind would put an end to that kind of relationship. The very thought was laughable. Humans were different—he knew that from the guests they’d had staying here. But Lori wasn’t a human. She was a wolf. And from what he knew of wolves, they had the same attitude to their mates as dragons did.
But he’d only just met this woman—she was a stranger to him. And it would be unforgivably rude to start interrogating her about her romantic history, especially when she looked so clearly conflicted about even telling him she was divorced in the first place. So he turned his attention to the computer screen, scanning her booking for more information. At least he knew she was single, he thought with an odd shiver down his spine. Where had that thought come from?
”You’ll be with us for a week, it says here?” She nodded, and he smiled, pleased to know he’d have a week to try to get to know her … then immediately scolded himself for such an inappropriate thought. She was a guest—he had a professional responsibility toward her. That was all. “Great. You’ll have plenty of time to soak up the beach and the bush.”
”It was a beautiful drive down here. Such thick forest.”
”Are you interested in wildlife at all? There are a number of species of plants and animals that are unique to the peninsula. Our resident nature expert Emerson leads tours almost every day if you’re interested.”
”For sure.” She still looked hesitant, somehow. She was looking at him intently, those silver eyes gleaming. He glanced around the reception area, making sure they were alone, then cleared his throat.
”You’re very welcome here,” he said firmly. “All shifters are. We only ask that you be discrete—the majority of our guests are human, and as you can imagine, it’s important that we keep a low profile. We remain in our human forms for the majority of our lives and ask our guests to do the same while they’re here. Is that okay?”
She smiled, a brief flash of amusement crossing her face. “That won’t be a problem.”
”Good.” He tilted his head, letting his curiosity get the best of him. “I must say, it’s odd to see a wolf traveling solo.”
She nodded. “I needed a little time away. We run in packs, sure, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need a little alone time now and again.”
”I can relate to that,” he said with a smile, glad she hadn’t been offended by him prying. “Anyway—you’re all checked in. I can walk you over to your cabin now if you’re ready? You can leave your truck in the parking lot here.”
”Sounds great.” There it was—that flash of a smile. It was so quick, her smile—like lightning striking, gone almost as soon as it arrived, with only the afterglow to remember it by. He wanted to see more of that smile, he realized as he grabbed the keys to her cabin and put up the ‘Back Soon’ sign in the window of the reception area. He’d do just about anything to see more of that smile.
”So—do you run this place alone?” Lori asked as they walked. He’d almost had to fight her to get her to let him carry her suitcase for her, but she’d finally given in. It wasn’t a heavy bag, and he felt secretly pleased to be carrying it for her. There was something about her that made him want to help her—to keep her safe, to protect her from harm, even if the only harm that was threatening her was her arm strain from carrying a suitcase. He was trying to ignore those feelings, trying to focus on being normal for once in his life. What was wrong with him? Why was this woman making him feel so … strange?
”Alone? Oh, no. There’s half a dozen of us—we’ve been here for a few decades now, though we only built the resort side of things over the last couple of years.” She was looking up at him, clearly listening intently to his little history lesson. Something about her attention made him feel warm. “We have staff now, too, of course, but you’ll recognize …” He hesitated, aware that there were humans around. “You’ll recognize us,” he said, stressing the word slightly, “by our blue eyes.”
”Half a dozen, wow. What a beautiful place to live. I can’t imagine wanting to share it with tourists.”
He chuckled at that. “Well, it was Lachlan’s idea. We were getting on okay by ourselves, but … well, more and more, we realized that we needed a source of income.” How to articulate the challenges of fitting into human society? Wolves tended to be better at it than dragons. They were more adaptable, better able to assimilate to a changing world. He and his dragon comrades did their best, but they had long lifespans, and it wasn’t always easy to keep up, especially when it came to technology. “Besides, sharing this place with humans has helped a lot in conserving the unique wildlife. Emerson’s been thinking about getting the whole place protected as a national park. Then it’ll be safe once and for all from the kinds of people who wouldn’t think twice about destroying the trees to make room for holiday homes for rich LA socialites. No offense,” he added, grinning down at her. She laughed.
”I’m far from rich,” she said with a smile. “This little trip cleared out my savings.”
”It’ll be worth it,” he promised, resisting the urge to add that he’d make it his personal mission to ensure she had a good time. He didn’t want to freak her out. There was enough strange tension between them, what with them belonging to different species. He didn’t want to add any ‘creepy, over-interested man’ energy to that dynamic.
Especially when he was kind of beginning to feel like a creepy over-interested man.
“Here we are. Lucky number seven.” He handed her the keys to the little cottage that stood before them, sneaking a quick look at her as she gazed up at it. They were quaint, compact little cottages, all built by Harvey and his friends. “Recycled timber, solar panels, all the latest in sustainable technology for your appliances …”