There’s someone coming.His bear froze. Meeting their mate had overwhelmed their senses so much that they had nearly missed it.
Leo’s ears pricked as a new sound cut through the forest—the low purr of an approaching vehicle. He froze mid-stride, his bear instantly alert.
Car,his bear noted.Coming up the drive to the cottage.
Leo turned, scenting the air. Beneath the mechanical smell of exhaust, he caught something else—a presence that made his bear bristle. The unfamiliar energy was subtle but unmistakable.
Not bear. Not wolf. Something else entirely.
Dragon,his bear murmured.
Another one?Leo asked.
Perhaps it’s a friend of Estelle’s,his bear suggested.
But Leo was not about to take any chances. He had seen the haunted look in Estelle’s eyes.
Or hunted look,his bear said.
Leo did not like that thought one bit. Without thinking, he swung around, reversing direction and loping back toward the cottage. His bear pushed himself harder, running faster, his concern for Estelle and Adara overriding everything else.
Whoever this visitor was, Leo was not about to let them find his mate alone and unprotected. Not when she was already so on edge. Not when someone might be a threat to her.
Although what use he would be against a dragon, he did not know. But he did know this: he would lay down his life to keep his mate and her daughter safe.
Branches slapped against his shoulders as he ran, a sharp contrast to the pine needles soft beneath his feet. As he gotcloser, the air cooled as the sun slipped lower behind the mountains.
Or maybe it only felt that way because a dark shape seemed to loom over everything.
Or ahead of us,his bear said.
The wilderness around Bear Creek usually soothed him. The woods, the familiar scents, the calming hush of the trees. Not today. Today, every shadow felt sharpened, every sound like a warning.
His bear surged under his skin, all restless muscle and urgency.Hurry, hurry, hurry.
As he crested the small rise overlooking the clearing, Leo slowed. A sleek silver car he did not recognize was parked beside Estelle’s sedan. On the porch stood an older woman—silver-gray hair pulled back in a severe knot, her posture ramrod straight despite her years. She wore practical clothes—dark slacks, sensible shoes, and a blue cardigan that somehow managed to look both comfortable and formal. Even from this distance, Leo could sense that this woman took no nonsense from anyone.
The woman was knocking at the door, a small package in her hands. She looked harmless enough, but Leo’s bear was not fooled. This woman was no ordinary neighbor, bringing a welcome gift.
Leo approached cautiously, keeping to the tree line, although he was acutely aware that the woman was a shifter and didn’t need to see him to know he was there. But she didn’t turn around. Didn’t acknowledge his presence.
Perhaps she sees us as inconsequential,his bear said, balking slightly at the thought of going face to face with a dragon.
But he steeled himself. He would face a thousand dragons for their mate.
The front door opened, and Estelle appeared, Adara half-hidden behind her legs. Even from this distance, Leo could see the tension in Estelle’s shoulders, the way she angled her body to shield her daughter.
Adara had one fist twisted in the hem of Estelle’s top, her stuffed dragon tucked under her other arm. Estelle did not step fully onto the porch. She stood firm in the doorway, as if ready to close it at the first wrong word. That alone told Leo enough. Whatever this was, Estelle did not see it as harmless.
He quickened his pace, emerging from the forest just as the older woman’s voice carried across the clearing.
“—heard we had new neighbors. I’m Fiona...” She thrust the package toward Estelle. “I brought honey cake.”
Leo stepped out of the trees and approached, keeping his stride casual even as his bear paced anxiously inside him.
Both women turned to look at him. For a moment, he felt like the hunted one.
But as he got closer, he caught the sharp contrast in their expressions. Relief flashed across Estelle’s face before her guard snapped back into place. The older woman—Fiona—merely raised an eyebrow, looking unsurprised by his arrival.
