She’s going to tell us,his bear realized with sudden clarity.Whatever she’s been hiding, she’s finally ready to share it.
Leo turned down the heat under the sauce and faced her fully. “Estelle...”
“Not yet,” she interrupted, her eyes flickering toward Adara. “After dinner. When she’s settled. There are things you need to know about us. About why we came here.”
Leo nodded, understanding the boundary she was setting. “I’ll wait.”
He looked at her across the warm kitchen, at Adara beside them, at the life taking shape around a basket of homegrown fruit and vegetables, and wanted her to know that he was not going anywhere. He would wait for her.
Forever,his bear added.
Chapter Eleven – Estelle
You have to tell him,Estelle’s dragon said firmly.
Do I?Estelle wanted to tell Leo everything. But she was afraid. Afraid he would not understand.
Afraid he might reject her.
And that would tear her heart in two.
Because he’s our mate,her dragon said, and the thought of losing him was unbearable.
Exactly,Estelle replied.
But that’s the very reason we won’t lose him,her dragon insisted.He is our mate. For life. And he understands that as much as we do.
It all sounded so simple. But she had kept the truth to herself for so long that the thought of speaking it aloud made her throat tighten. She glanced over at Adara, who had fallen asleep on Leo’s plush rug in front of the fireplace. Snuggles had curled up beside her, the cat’s orange fur bright against Fizz’s sparkly wings still clutched in Adara’s small hands.
“She’s out,” Leo murmured, following her gaze. He had draped a soft blanket over Adara earlier, tucking it gently around her shoulders.
The tenderness of the scene made Estelle’s chest ache. This—this warmth, this safety—was what she had been fighting for. What she had been searching for.
It’s time,her dragon said, more gently now.He deserves to know what he’s stepping into with us.
Estelle nodded and took a breath. “Leo,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. “There’s so much I need to tell you.”
He moved to sit beside her on the couch, close enough that she could feel his warmth but not touching her, giving her room to speak without pressure.
“I’m listening,” he said simply.
Estelle’s eyes drifted back to Adara, curled up peacefully on the rug. Where to begin? How to unravel a story so tangled with grief and fear, and love?
Start with Maris,her dragon suggested.Start with love.
“I had a friend,” Estelle said softly. “Maris. She was... she was like a sister to me. We didn’t meet until after our first shift, but we just clicked.”
Leo nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. “Maris was a dragon shifter, too?”
Estelle nodded. “Maris was everything I wasn’t. Open. Trusting. She believed in connection, in building a life beyond just surviving. She taught me so much about the world, about myself.” Estelle’s throat tightened. “Then she met Julian.”
The name still hurt to say aloud.
“They were mates,” Leo guessed quietly.
“Yes.” Estelle twisted her fingers together in her lap. “Julian’s family didn’t know about shifters. About the mating bond. They thought Maris was just... a woman their son had fallen in love with at first sight.” A sad smile touched her lips. “And she was. Just not in the ways they imagined.”
“And they had a child,” Leo said, his gaze drifting to the sleeping girl on the rug.
