The Dragon Shifter’s Desire by Harmony Raines

Chapter Nine – Larisa

“So, what exactly do these wish stones look like?” Larisa took a deep breath as she pulled away from Ivan.

She pressed her fingers to her lips as she turned away from him and stared into the gathering darkness.

The moon overhead seemed to grow brighter, their shadows were longer as she looked along the beach. Wait. Was that a group of bears running ahead of them? She hadn’t spotted them before. How could she have missed them?

Larisa reminded herself that she was with a dragon shifter and if he shifted, he would likely burn them to a crisp if they attacked them.

“Wish stones are flat pebbles that are usually gold-colored. They aren’t valuable at all other than for the wishes they are supposed to make come true.” Ivan walked along the beach with his eyes to the ground.

“You really believe they make wishes come true, or is it more of a tradition?” Larisa followed behind Ivan, kicking at the ground if she saw something promising. “Oh!”

“Do you have one?” Ivan swung around to face her.

“Is this one?” She dusted the sand off and held it out to him on her open palm.

“It is.” He nodded his head as he picked it up between his finger and thumb and held it up to the moon.

“They are so pretty. It seems a shame to throw it in the ocean.” She closed her hand around it as he dropped it back into her palm.

“You can keep it. We can always look for more.” He stood before her, full of patience.

“Are you going to make a wish, too?” She held up her hand. “Please don’t say all your wishes have come true now that you have your mate.” She tilted her head as she surveyed him. “You could wish this would all go away. That would be a good wish.”

“You’re right. On both counts.”

“Of course I am.” She skipped ahead of him, following the tide line as she searched for more stones.

“And modest, too.” Ivan ran to catch up with her.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into me tonight. It’s as if the moon has intoxicated me.”

“Or maybe it’s because your mate is here.” He patted his chest and winked.

“Now who is being modest?” Larisa shivered as excitement thrilled her. She wasn’t joking when she said it was as if the moon intoxicated her. Coming to the beach and looking at the moon had kickstarted her senses. It was as if she were on the edge of a precipice about to jump off.

“I’m a dragon shifter. I’m supposed to not be modest.” He stopped dead and hunkered down. Lightly brushing the sand away, he revealed another wish stone.

“Now we have one each.” Larisa leaned over his shoulder as he scooped up two wish stones.

“Keep the one you found,” he instructed as he handed her one of the stones. “And make a wish with this one.”

“Aren’t you supposed to make a wish on a stone you find yourself?” she asked as she weighed the two stones, one in each hand.

“It doesn’t matter. But it’s unusual to find two stones so close together. It’s as if they were meant for us.” He chuckled. “I know how lame that sounds.”

She shook her head and looked down at his stone. “No. I like that idea.” She pocketed her original stone. “I’ll keep this one for a rainy day.”

Ivan turned toward the ocean. “Come on. Let’s make our wishes and then we can go fly.”

“I’d almost forgotten I was going to ride on the back of a dragon.” Larisa giggled as he shot her a bemused look. “What?”

“How could you forget?”

She ran toward the ocean. “Blame it on the moon!”

Ivan jogged behind her, she could sense him, it was as if her body was intimately aware of him. Was that the moon’s doing, too, or was that because they were shifter mates? She had so much to learn about this new world. It was as if parts of her she never knew existed were waking up. Whether it was because of her new mate or because she’d come to Wishing Moon Bay, she had no idea.

“Okay. This is it.” Ivan stopped on the edge of the ocean, his toes wiggling in the wet sand. “Close your eyes and make a wish and then throw the stone into the water.”

Larisa obediently closed her eyes, the stone warm in her hand as she thought of what she wanted most in the world. Should she wish for her own happiness, or that her father would finally be free of the past? Was she allowed to make a wish for someone else or should it be for herself? She placed her hand over the first stone she’d found. Perhaps this stone was made for her father so that he could make his own wish. When they got back from the fae realm, she could call Simon and ask him to bring her father here to Wishing Moon Bay. He could stand on the beach and throw the stone into the water. It might be cathartic. Especially if they never cleared his name.

She inhaled deeply and then opened her eyes. Pulling her arm back, she threw the stone as hard and as far as she could. As she let it go, she formed her wish in her mind. She wanted to be happy. It was a simple wish but the most powerful one she could think of. It encompassed the other people in her life, because how could she be happy if they were not?

“Done?”

Larisa turned to find Ivan watching her, his eyes deep pools of emotion. She nodded. “Done.”

“Then let’s go fly.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders as she turned back toward the ocean, her eyes resting on the exact place where her stone had plopped into the water.

“Thank you for bringing me here.” She patted his chest as they walked toward the headland that jutted out toward the ocean.

“My pleasure.” He dropped a light kiss on the top of her head. “I wanted you to see the beach and make a wish before we leave in the morning. I’d like to spend time showing you the town before we go.”

“But this is more important. The rest can wait.” So could forgetting her ride on the back of a dragon. They could go back to his place and get an early night instead of going flying. But she wanted to see his dragon. She wanted to touch him and know he was real.

“The rest can wait,” he agreed but he didn’t stop walking away from the parking lot. He was determined she was going to meet his dragon.

Larisa rolled her eyes at herself. Of course, his dragon must want to meet her. She was as much Ivan’s dragon’s mate as she was the human Ivan’s mate. She shouldn’t ever forget that.

“How far are we going?” Larisa asked as they rounded the headland. She was tired, it had been a long day, in more ways than one. The last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep while she was riding on the back of a dragon and fall off. There was no way she would survive a fall from a great height, dragon shifter’s mate or not.

“Not too much farther.” Ivan looked around, his eyes drawn to the sky but when she followed his gaze, she couldn’t see anything other than the moon or the stars.

“Is there something out there?” Larisa twisted around and stared out over the ocean as they walked.

Ivan rubbed the back of his neck. “I keep getting this feeling. As if something is stirring but I can’t see anything. I can’t sense anything. Nothing unusual, that is.”

“Okay.” She hurried to keep up with him as he picked up the pace. “Are you sure you want to fly?”

“Yes,” he replied firmly. “But I want to shift out of sight.”

“I didn’t know you were shy about letting other people in Wishing Moon Bay see you.”

“I’m not usually.” He looked down at her. “But this is the first time I’ve shifted in front of my mate.”

“Ah, you think I might make a fool of myself because I’m your number one fangirl.”

He chuckled. “A guy can dream.”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at keeping my emotions under control.” At least she usually was. Today...tonight, things were different. Something was in the air. But she suspected what she sensed was different from what Ivan sensed.

“That’s a pity. I liked the idea of you losing control and being a fangirl. I figured you would faint at the sight of a dragon at least.”

“Ah, you might get a gasp or even a small scream, but I’m no fainter.”

He stopped abruptly and looked around. “Okay, this will do.”

“I’m ready when you are.” But when he let go of her hand and stepped away, she wasn’t so sure. She might have been waiting her whole life to see a real live dragon but now that it was time, she was scared. This fangirl had spent years imagining this exact thing. A dragon appearing as if by magic. But reality sometimes sucked compared to the dream. What if Ivan’s dragon was small, like a cat?

She mentally kicked herself. He wouldn’t have offered her a ride on his back if he were that small. His dragon must be at least the size of a horse. But she’d always dreamed that dragons would be bigger.

“Okay. Feel free to gasp, scream, or faint. Just promise me you won’t run.” Ivan backed away from her but didn’t take his eyes off her.

“That I can promise.” She folded her arms across her body as if she could shield herself from what came next. Her nerves were getting the better of her and running might be a good option.

Larisa blew the air out of her cheeks. Ivan’s dragon was her mate. He would protect her and cherish her no matter what. This was the safest place she could ever be.

“Ready?” He sounded unsure but she nodded in reply. “Here we go.”

Larisa stared at Ivan, not wanting to blink and miss a thing. As she watched, the air around him seemed to shimmer as it popped and crackled, as if superheated. Then he was gone. He vanished into nothing. She’d seen shifters shift plenty of times, but this time was different, there was a sense of loss, as if he’d taken a part of her with him.

Then a shadow appeared on the sand, a large shadow that belonged to the fuzzy beast that loomed into existence right where Ivan had been standing. As the popping and cracking intensified, the fuzzy beast became clearer. A large head, a bulky body, and a tail that flicked and twitched like an angry cat. Only this wasn’t a cat. There was no fur, and cuddly wasn’t the term she’d use to describe the scaly beast before her.

“Wow!” she gasped, it was the least she could do. She might even have scrambled if the sight of him hadn’t taken her breath away.

She sucked in the cool night air. If she didn’t breathe, if she didn’t force her heart to beat slower then she might just faint like a fangirl.

The dragon turned his head to the side and looked at her with a large green eye. He blinked and lowered his massive head and puffed his warm breath over her. Larisa reached out her hand and touched his scaly snout, it was smooth and warm to the touch. She’d expected him to feel cold like a snake.

“You really are incredible.” She composed herself and took a step forward, although for a moment, she wasn’t sure if her legs would work.

He bowed his head and rubbed his snout on her thigh like a dog greeting its owner. Then he lowered himself toward the ground, one leg bent so that she could clamber onto his back. This was it. Her dream was about to come true.

Larisa stroked his neck as she moved around him, then she placed both hands on his bent leg and heaved herself up. Kneeling on his thigh, she steadied herself for a moment before she carefully placed her right foot flat on his leg. “Does this hurt?”

The dragon shook his head, and she placed her hand on his shoulder to keep her balance.

Larisa slid her hands higher, reaching for one of the horns that ran along the dragon’s back. Stretching upwards, she stood on tiptoes and curled her hands around the horn. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she pushed and pulled her way upwards. It wasn’t very graceful but with some wriggling, she managed to slide into position behind the horn.

“I’m ready.” She pushed her hair back from her face before wrapping both hands tightly around the horn.

Slowly the dragon stood up, his body rocking backward and forward as he straightened onto all fours. Then his shoulders dipped, and he leaped into the air, leaving the ground way below as his massive wings beat down.

Throwing her head back, she let out a triumphant scream. Not of fear, but excitement.

She was flying. On the back of a dragon!