The Dragon Shifter’s Desire by Harmony Raines

Chapter Five – Larisa

“What’s it like?” Larisa asked as they drove through the late afternoon, heading toward a town she had never heard of and that didn’t exist to most people.

“Wishing Moon Bay?” Ivan half-turned to face her. He’d been staring out of the window for the last half an hour or so. She suspected he wasn’t looking at the scenery.

So what was on his mind?

“Yes. Is it like any other town?” She gave him a lopsided grin. “It’s a stupid question, right?”

“No, not at all.” He wrinkled his brow as he considered her question.

“You said shifters were out in the open. I suppose what I’m asking is whether random wild animals are walking the streets or do most people stick to their human form?” She had a fear that she would mistake a real wild bear for a shifter, and it would eat her alive because she dared not pepper spray it or blow a loud horn in its face.

Or insult the shifter by standing still and ignoring it. Were the bears black or brown? Or maybe they weren’t normal bears at all. She’d met plenty of bear shifters on her travels, but they blended in with the wild population because they wanted to keep their identity secret.

In a town where everyone knew about shifters, maybe they dyed their fur all the colors of the rainbow, just like people dyed their hair.

“Mostly they stick to their human form.” Ivan opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again.

“What?” Larisa leaned forward and locked eyes with him. “What aren’t you telling me?”

She’d left Simon to look after their father while she made this trip in search of the dragon shifter. Just as she had many times before. However, today was different. This trip was different. It wasn’t just that she was traveling to another town. It was as if she were traveling to another world.

One where anything was possible.

She needed answers. She needed to be prepared for what she might find.

And who or what she might meet.

“Shifters aren’t the only thing you might meet on the street.” Ivan pursed his lips and glanced at Karros.

“Okay, I know about the fae. But I thought they came from a different part of your world.”

“There are also witches and warlocks.” Ivan paused as if waiting for her reaction.

“And?”

“Vampires.” Karros caught her eye in the rearview mirror and grinned as her eyes widened.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me. This is all new, remember?” Larisa shook her head with a smile.

“There are vampires,” Ivan confirmed.

“Real vampires?” She stopped herself from asking real live vampires because vampires were not alive. But were they real?

“Real vampires. Not many. But enough.” He held up his hand when he saw her shock. “Don’t worry, they won’t suck your blood.”

“So what do they eat if they don’t suck blood?” Perhaps the vampires of Wishing Moon Bay were different from those on TV and in books.

“Oh, they suck blood. They just take it from donors rather than...” Karros pointed at his neck.

“Wow.” She tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. “Are vampires the weirdest thing I’ll meet?”

“That depends on what you call weird.” Karros chuckled and earned himself a reproving look from Zara.

“Don’t be mean. Our worlds are different, that’s all. I remember when I had to explain cotton candy to you.”

“Cotton candy?” Larisa asked.

“Yes, they don’t have it in the fae realms. Karros thought we’d found a way to capture clouds.” Zara laughed as Karros held up his hands in defeat.

“Okay, let’s just agree that each of our worlds is different.” Karros slumped down in his seat.

“So let me get this straight,” Larisa began. “The fae realms and Wishing Moon Bay are separate from each other. And Wishing Moon Bay is separate from this world.”

“Sort of. Wishing Moon Bay is hidden by powerful spells from the people of your world, which the fae call the world beyond. They are connected by a tunnel but if you aren’t supposed to see the tunnel then you will drive past it for eternity and never see the signposts.”

Larisa shifted in her seat and faced him, intrigued by his explanation. “Spells are that powerful?”

“Yes. It’s what’s kept us hidden for so long and why the townsfolk, particularly those with supernatural powers, can live their lives so openly. Everyone in Wishing Moon Bay keeps the secret. And the town keeps its own secrets.”

“Okay.” She looked down at her hands as she considered his words. Although she knew about dragon shifters, and shifters in general, and believed in them. How could she not believe when she’d seen them shift? Believing in magic, not the kind you see on TV, was something else. “And the fae realms, how do they fit into all of this?”

“The fae realms exist in another place. Another dimension. You access them through a portal.” A smile spread across Ivan’s lips as he watched her expression. “You step through and go from one world to the other.”

“Not that Ivan has ever stepped through a portal,” Karros added. “My people don’t like dragons.”

“How badly do they not like dragons?” Larisa asked with concern. “Are we talking pitchforks and torches? Or shoot them down with a harpoon?”

“There are stories...” Karros began but then stopped himself. “It’s been so long since a dragon entered the realms, it’s hard to say.”

“Maybe I should go alone to visit Karros’s grandma,” Larisa suggested. “You could stay and run your restaurant, this has dragged you away from work enough already.”

Ivan shook his head. “Oh, no, I am coming with you. You are my mate and I plan to protect you.”

“Do I need protecting?” Larisa asked Karros. “Your people don’t like dragons, but how do they feel about normal people like me?” Her forehead creased. “That’s the first time I’ve ever thought of myself as normal. What even is normal?”

Ivan’s eyes sparkled as he hid his laughter. “In my opinion, no one is normal. Everyone is unique and everyone should be allowed to explore that uniqueness.”

Zara held up her hand. “As long as that uniqueness does not hurt anyone else.”

“Agreed.” Karros pointed to the side of the road. “There’s the sign, do you see it?”

“That sign there?” Larisa pointed to the sign that said Wishing Moon Bay, 1 mile.

“Yay!” Zara grinned. “You’ve officially been accepted by the town of Wishing Moon Bay.”

“Okay, is this let’s make fun of the new girl?” Larisa’s cheeks flushed pink, and her temper stirred.

“No, it’s honestly the truth,” Zara replied. “Before I knew about my brothers, I had driven along this road maybe twenty times. There’s a really nice cove a little farther on and I used to go there in the summer maybe a couple of times. I never saw the sign.”

Larisa turned around in her seat and kept her eyes fixed on the sign. “So other people really can’t see it?”

“No. I’m sure I never saw it because if I did, I would have visited the town. I mean people would flock to a place called Wishing Moon Bay, wouldn’t they?” Zara arched her eyebrow in question.

“Yes, they would. It is a cool name.” She turned back in her seat and watched the road ahead. “Is there a story behind the name, too?”

“Yes. And tonight, we’ll go to the beach, and I’ll tell you all about it,” Ivan promised.

“Here’s the turn-off.” Zara checked the rearview mirror before she took a right turn and drove along a narrow road that was partly concealed by overhanging trees and shrubs on either side.

Larisa leaned forward, reminded of visits to an amusement park where she’d ridden a tall roller coaster. The butterflies in her stomach were just the same. It was as if she were about to drop from a height into the unknown.

“What’s that?” She pointed ahead as the road seemed to disappear.

“That’s the tunnel. It’s the boundary between the world beyond and Wishing Moon Bay. Valerie used to always tell us that this was the last line of defense. If ever the town was invaded, the tunnel would collapse and links between the two worlds severed.”

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Larisa said. “My family is back there, and I am not about to be estranged from them forever.”

“Don’t worry, there’s a way out over the mountains. And since you know a dragon shifter who can fly over them, you’ll always be able to leave,” Karros assured her.

“Ah, so a dragon shifter has his uses.” She patted Ivan’s knee and he tensed but she didn’t remove her hand. He might be one of the most powerful creatures to ever live in any of the worlds, but her power over him gave her a thrill.

Not that she would ever use her power over him to hurt him in any way. But still, their attraction was undeniable. Larisa slid her hand over his knee before the world around them went dark. She tensed, not expecting a complete blackout.

The tunnel was long. So long that as they traveled through it, there was no hint of daylight, no sign of the end.

Her breath caught in her throat, she’d never been fond of enclosed spaces.

Ivan slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “It’s okay. We’ll be through the other side in a minute.”

She leaned into him. “Dragons do have plenty of uses.” Larisa placed her hand on his chest, taking comfort from the steady thump of his heart.

A pinprick of daylight grew bigger as they neared the end, Larisa regained control of her breathing but didn’t move away from Ivan. She liked his arm around her. She liked the comfort he offered.

As a single independent woman, she’d traveled to many distant places in search of dragons. Larisa had never experienced a situation where she didn’t feel in control. She’d coped with harassment and burglary, she’d fought off her fears and pushed through any limiting beliefs.

Yet when Ivan was near, she wanted him to protect her, she wanted to know he was there for her.

She swallowed down the lump of emotion that welled in her throat. If she stayed with Ivan, if she let him into her life and her heart, would she lose a part of herself? Would she lose the ability to look out for herself?

“You’ll see the mountains once we get clear of the tunnel.” Ivan’s deep, soothing voice comforted her as much as his arms.

Larisa sat up and moved away from him so that their thighs were no longer pressed together, and she was no longer crushed against his chest. She rolled her shoulders and stared ahead as the tunnel end neared. The day was growing late, and the sun was low in the sky, its rays bathing the town in a pink hue.

Warm and inviting, that was her first impression of Wishing Moon Bay.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured as they emerged fully from the tunnel. Ivan was right, they could see the mountains in the distance. They rose up in shades of green. The trees lining the lower slopes were a dark deep green that gave way to grasslands of vivid green before giving way to a brownish-green where the grass became sparse and bare rock faces led to towering peaks.

“I don’t think I ever appreciated the town before,” Karros said. “I always thought the fae realms were the best place in the world but I’m beginning to like the town more each time I visit.”

“That’s because it feels like coming home,” Ivan replied. “I bet, before you met Zara, you hardly ever left the fae realm. Now you venture out into the world beyond so each time you come back here, it feels like coming home.”

“You’re probably right. And it is my home.” He reached across the seats and placed his hand on Zara’s thigh. “It’s our home.”

“It is.” She smiled shyly at him, and love shone in her eyes.

Would Larisa look at Ivan like that one day? Would they build a life together here?

Not until they’d solved the mystery of the pendant. And only then if they both survived.