Chapter 5

Ican’t believe I did that. How incredibly stupid of me.

If he’d been in human form, Henry would have been grimacing in self-disgust and annoyance. Instead, he had to content himself with trotting through the forest on his four legs, feeling the coolness of the leaf litter beneath his paws, and smelling the full range of forest scents with his cool, wet nose.

On the other hand, what choice did I have? If I’d stayed there, the bear would have definitely started trying to get into the room, and there was no way I could have put Luna in danger like that. I really couldn’t do anything else.

It was true – once he’d seen the bear, he’d had to act fast, changing into his hellhound form and phasing through the wall of the BB, startling the hell out of the bear and sending it galloping off through the forest. Even bears found hellhounds terrifying, and since the curse – or whatever it was – only seemed to be active when he was in his human form, Henry had known he’d be able to send the bear on its way if he shifted and scared it off. Still, he’d chased it a little way, just to make sure it really was gone, but the time it had taken to do that had been enough that his shirt had apparently dried and Luna had returned to the room.

He’d seen her through the window as he’d made his way back to the BB, obviously searching around the room for him, a puzzled expression on her face as she looked first around the main room, and then went into the bathroom to check for him in there.

If only he’d been a little faster, it wouldn’t have been an issue – he could have just phased back into the bathroom before she was any the wiser. But no – he’d been too late, and there was no way he could just appear suddenly in the middle of the room and pretend like he’d always been in there, she just somehow hadn’t seen him standing right there in front of her.

There hadn’t been anywhere to hide in the room, and even if there had been, how could he have explained that? Yeah, I just thought I’d indulge in a little hide and seek while you were gone! Oh, you found me! Ha ha, now it’s your turn to hide!

She’d think he was a lunatic. And rightly so.

So now our mate thinks we just vanished into thin air, leaving all our clothes behind. As well as just leaving a wet towel to molder on her floor. Fantastic.

But it wasn’t just that he’d messed up with Luna and he had no clothes – it was also that the curse was clearly not as broken as he’d assumed it was.

I should have known it was all too easy, Henry thought gloomily as he trotted along. True love’s… well, meeting wasn’t the cure-all he’d been told it was.

Maybe it’s just that just meeting isn’t enough, his hellhound supplied slyly, and Henry knew that if he’d been in human form he would have been blushing bright red at the thought.

Stop that. We only just met,he scolded the hellhound. Just because I know what a mate bond means doesn’t mean that Luna is ready to jump right into those things. She’s human. We need to go at her pace, not ours.

It was true that the mate bond between them meant that Henry himself was ready to spend the rest of his life with her – he’d marry Luna tomorrow if that was what she wanted. But he somehow doubted that would be happening. First, he needed to let Luna get to know him and show her just why he’d be such a good companion for her for the rest of her life.

Which you have decided to do by dropping your towel and running away,his hellhound deadpanned. Very attractive. Very smooth.

Henry ignored it. He would have liked to have known what it would have suggested he do when the bear had appeared, but he knew if he asked he’d just get contemptuous silence.

He was in a slightly sticky situation, however. He couldn’t stay as a hellhound forever – he needed to somehow find Luna again and convince her to give him the time of day after he’d magically vanished from her room. He needed to go get his car from where it was parked outside Sylvie’s bakery, because it wasn’t as if he had the money to pay parking fines right now.

But it wasn’t as simple as just turning back into his human form. Since once he did, he’d be completely naked.

Since he was a mythical shifter, he had the benefit of bringing his clothes with him when he shifted. The issue was, of course, that he just hadn’t been wearing any when he’d shifted forms to chase the bear away, so if he shifted now, he’d be in the same state: naked as the day he was born.

I guess I’ll just have to head back to her room and grab my clothes, Henry thought glumly. That was if Luna had gone out again, and wasn’t still hanging around looking for him, or waiting for him to come back from wherever he’d gone.

Not that he really thought there was much chance of that. He wouldn’t be surprised – nor would he blame her – if, on finding his wet, empty towel in the middle of the room, she’d written him off and stormed out.

No, he’d just have to scurry back with his – literal – tail between his legs, check she wasn’t in, phase through the wall of the BB, grab his clothes, and then…

… Well, and then.

He guessed he should focus on one step at a time, and leave future worries to the future. Right now, he just needed clothes.

It sent a pang of conscience through Henry to have to sneak around behind Luna’s back and phase into her room without her permission, but right now, Henry didn’t think he had another option – appearing before her fully naked was really unlikely to help his case, and hopefully he’d be able to explain everything to her once they met up again – if they met up again.

Well, no time like the present I sup—

Henry never got to complete that thought – nor did he get very far on his journey back to the BB before a bone-rattling growl suddenly erupted from his hellhound body, the thick, spiky, black hair along his spine suddenly standing to attention, all his senses on high alert.

It took Henry’s human mind a moment to catch up to what his hellhound was already sensing: a looming presence in the sky above, completely unmistakable for anything else.

Another shifter. And a big one.

Another growl rose up from the hellhound, red misting its vision even as Henry tried to keep a leash on its aggression. Hellhounds didn’t tend to think too much if they felt threatened – they just attacked. But Henry had had long years of practice keeping his hellhound under control, and he forced it to back down somewhat, sorting through the muddle of sensory information he was suddenly being flooded with.

Okay. It’s big. It’s flying. It’s coming this way. And it’s – it’s –

It’s a dragon! his hellhound snarled at him, snapping its jaws as it raised its head, staring up at the canopy of the forest, as a massive, dark shape wheeled suddenly overhead.

The hellhound bared its teeth, almost letting out a furious bark of warning before Henry managed to wrestle it back under control.

We don’t know it means any harm yet, he warned the hellhound. It probably doesn’t know any more about us than we do about it. It probably just wants to find out why we’re here!

And by the time we know if it does mean any harm it’ll be too late. Not even a hellhound can withstand a dragon’s flames, his hellhound snapped back. We should either fight or run!

Henry supposed, however, that the option to flee was no longer open to him as the dragon suddenly folded its wings and dropped through a gap in the canopy, coming in to land a little in front of where Henry stood. There was barely enough room for the dragon to stand, even with its wings folded, in amongst all the trees, but Henry could understand why it might be reluctant to shift into its human form in front of an unfamiliar hellhound – Henry’s hellhound form might be dwarfed by the dragon, but even the largest of humans was dwarfed by him when he was shifted.

You really want to take that chance?his hellhound asked him, even as its hackles raised higher and higher, as the dragon regarded him suspiciously from above, its blue-black scales shimmering in the sunlight that broke through the leaves of the trees.

I don’t, Henry told it, but someone has to break the stalemate, and I’m technically the intruder here. The dragon probably lives in this forest, and I’ve just turned up here unannounced. You know how territorial dragons get. I don’t like the risk, but it’s up to me to explain why I’m here and that I don’t mean any harm.

The hellhound didn’t seem all that convinced, but still, when Henry reached out for control of their body again, the hellhound ceded it only a little reluctantly, allowing Henry to shift back into his human form.

Thankfully, he thought as he stood up, shifters tended not to mind so much about nudity as humans did – yes, in many cases, shifters brought their clothes with them when they shifted. But there were many kinds of shifters who didn’t have that ability. Which meant shifters mainly had become pretty cool with the idea of someone appearing naked in front of them when they shifted.

“I’m sorry if I’ve intruded on your territory,” Henry said as loudly as he could, raising his hands to show – he hoped – that he really didn’t mean any harm. “I wasn’t aware there was a dragon living in these woods. If I had known, I would have been much more careful. I’m only staying here for a little while, and then I’ll move on. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, if you want to shift and ask them.”

The dragon narrowed its eyes slightly, as if judging whether it could trust him or not. Henry tensed, getting ready to shift back into hellhound form and hightail it out of there if he had to. The one assurance he had was, at least, that the dragon probably wouldn’t go straight to roasting him on an open fire if it decided it’d prefer not to hear him out – since it did live here, it was unlikely it’d want to risk starting a forest fire and burning down its own home.

But then, after what seemed like a tense eternity but was probably really only about fifteen seconds, the dragon began to shift. A shimmering light passed over its body as it shrank down to a more reasonable size, its scales becoming skin, its wings disappearing, its long, elegant snout and golden eyes becoming the features of a regular human male.

Human to human, they regarded each other – even though the dragon had believed him enough to shift, it was clear he was still a little suspicious about why Henry was here.

“Okay,” the dragon said after a moment or two of continued silence. “You said you’d explain, so how about explaining?”

Henry nodded, even as his hellhound growled a little within him. “Sure. My name is Henry Grant – I’m a hellhound, like you saw. I was just looking for somewhere quiet and remote where I could stay in hellhound form for a while, while I…” How to explain what’s been going on? Can it be explained? “… I sorted out some things in my personal life. Like I said, if I’d known this was a dragon’s territory, I would have steered clear. I’m sorry I intruded like this.”

The dragon cocked his head, thinking. But then, he seemed to relax a little, a small smile playing over his mouth.

“Okay, that seems reasonable enough,” he said after a moment. “Sorry for coming at you all heavy-handed like that. I just sensed your presence while I was out with my mate, and as you can imagine, suddenly sensing an unfamiliar hellhound was… a bit of a surprise.”

Henry nodded. He could imagine. Hellhounds didn’t exactly have the best reputation for friendliness. But then, the rest of what the dragon had said caught up with him.

“Your mate?” he asked, blinking. “You mean… your mate lives here with you? Two dragons?”

The dragon shook his head. “No – she’s human. She’s a park ranger here, which is why we were so deep in the forest, just checking that some trails are safe and in good condition before things with the festival really get going.” The dragon frowned a little. “Did you pass through town on your way here? You know about the festival, right? If you’re looking for some space to shift, things may be a little more crowded around here than usual.”

Henry nodded again, grimacing. “Yeah – I know now. I guess I’ll just have to be extra careful.” He swallowed, hoping what he was about to say wouldn’t offend the dragon – he knew dragons could get a little touchy on the subject of their mates, due to their protective natures. “But… you said that your mate is a human. Does that mean the people here in Girdwood Springs know about shifters?”

“No, not in general,” the dragon said. “Just my mate… and a few others. I’m not really sure how ready people are to find out there’s a dragon living next door to them.” He smiled again – a real smile this time. “But I’ve been a bit rude. My name’s Caleb – Caleb Tanner. I run the outdoor cinema we have here in the warm months.”

An outdoor cinema…?Henry blinked in surprise. It seemed Girdwood Springs was a lot trendier and more happening than he’d assumed.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Caleb,” Henry said. “I promise I’ll try not to get in your hair too much – to be honest, I wasn’t really even planning on spending any time at all in the town. I just got… waylaid. A little.”

Henry wondered how much more he ought to say. Even though he sensed that Caleb was probably trustworthy – certainly, his hellhound hadn’t raised any objections yet, and it was usually pretty sensitive to ill-intent – trying to explain that he was here because animals seemed irresistibly attracted to him suddenly seemed a little… well, a little unbelievable.

There were things that sounded odd even to shifters, after all, and this was definitely one of them.

And as far as everything else went, he hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell Luna that she was his mate yet. Somehow, it felt right to Henry that she should be the first to know. Certainly, she should probably know before he told dragons he’d only just met.

On the other hand,Henry thought, if Caleb says his mate is human, maybe he has some experience in how to go about breaking that news… which makes it sound like a bad thing. But then again, I haven’t exactly made the best first impression, I suppose…

“There are worse places to get waylaid,” Caleb said, drawing Henry back to the conversation, and Henry had to agree with him. “Girdwood Springs really is a great place – I would have been tempted to stay here even if my mate didn’t live here.”

“So you’re not a local?” Henry mused.

Caleb shook his head. “Nah, I’ve only been here a few years. There are several of us who’ve moved in relatively recently, but there’s none of that cliché small-town stuff where the locals look down on outsiders – everyone’s been really welcoming.” He laughed. “I mean, I wandered in and opened an arthouse cinema that caters to my own obscure tastes, and the people here just rolled with it! There aren’t too many small towns around where you can just do that kind of thing.”

“Sounds nice,” said Henry, hoping he didn’t sound too wistful.

It did sound nice. Not opening an arthouse cinema specifically – he could barely tell an action film from a thriller – but finding a place as nice as Girdwood Springs and feeling like you were welcome there, instead of having everyone be on edge whenever they were in your presence. Being able to pursue your dreams, whatever they were, and being supported in that.

He didn’t even know what his dreams were – being a hellhound, he really hadn’t had a lot of options, career-wise – but he found that, for the first time in his life, he was starting to think that he wanted to find out.

Of course, Luna wasn’t from around here. He didn’t even know where she actually lived, and obviously she was on the move a lot.

Henry bit back a sigh. One problem at a time! Just concentrate on getting your clothes back in the first instance, so you don’t end up spending the night at the county jail. Everything else can wait.

“It is nice,” Caleb agreed. “I never in a million years imagined that this would be where I’d end up, but I wouldn’t want things any other way.” He shook his head. “Anyway, you don’t need to hear my life story. I shouldn’t keep you from what you were planning on doing.”

“No, no, it’s all good,” Henry said. “I wasn’t up to much. Just… letting my hellhound off the lead for a bit, I guess. I was going to wait until I got to the next mountain where there weren’t so many people, but, well, you know what these things are like. When your shifter wants you to shift…”

Leave me out of this, imbecile! You were the one who shifted, not me!

“You don’t have to explain – I know exactly what you mean,” Caleb laughed. Henry thought he could just about hear Caleb’s dragon yelling at him indignantly. “You’re right in that the next mountain is the better place to go if you’re looking for isolation, but there are some pretty quiet areas around here as well, and obviously you wouldn’t let humans stumble across you. You should be fine to stay around here for a while, if that’s what you want to do.”

“No, I should be getting back,” Henry said. “Thanks, though. Maybe I’ll go down to the festival and get something else to eat. I did get some cake earlier, but it kind of got… destroyed.”

Caleb’s eyes widened in genuine sympathy. “Oh, no way. Did you get it from Sylvie’s?”

Henry nodded sadly. He hadn’t thought about it much, given everything that happened, but he really did want to have more than just a taste of icing scraped off his shirt! Even that had been amazing. And maybe he would run into Luna again, and he could try to explain his hasty exit.

“That sucks,” Caleb muttered with feeling. “Well, you should really go get yourself something else to eat – I can honestly recommend everything that’s being sold at the festival. I should know: I made a point of taste-testing something from every business that was going to be selling there.”

“Purely out of a sense of duty, I’m sure,” Henry said solemnly.

“See, I knew you’d understand. Anyway,” Caleb said, sticking out his hand. Henry reached out and shook it, clasping it firmly. “It’s been great meeting you. I can’t say I’ve gone out of my way to meet too many hellhounds over the years, but I might have to re-evaluate that policy. You’re a good guy.”

Henry blinked. It wasn’t often he just had a casual, friendly conversation with anyone, let alone a stranger who also happened to be a dragon shifter. He was so used to people avoiding him that it was downright weird to just stand around and chat, let alone shake hands.

“You, too. I’ll definitely head into town and get something else to eat.” If he could keep from luring any more animals there, anyway. But he was hungry!

“Oh, and if you need anything, just drop by the ranger’s hut – all of the trails meet up there if you go downhill, you can’t miss it,” Caleb said. “My mate, Kira, is based there, and I’m often there as well. If you need a hand with anything, just let us know.”

This day just got stranger and stranger. All his adult life in the city and he hadn’t made a real friend, but now he was getting offers of help from some random dragon shifter he just met? Maybe there was something magical about Girdwood Springs.

“For sure,” he said. “Thanks. I mean it.”

Caleb nodded. “Well, I’d better be off – Kira will be wondering where I am. See you around!”

Henry nodded back and took a step backward, giving Caleb room. Caleb’s form shimmered for a moment, and then the dragon was looming there magnificently before him. It lingered for half a second before launching itself upward, its enormous wings creating a massive downdraft that left Henry’s hair fluttering. It was gone in a matter of seconds, vanishing over the ridge.

Well. That was… unexpected.

He quickly shifted back into hellhound form – the last thing he needed was to get caught naked in the woods, or, for that matter, to be attacked by a large and overzealous woodland creature while his more sensitive parts were on full, vulnerable display.

His hellhound snarled a little, but it seemed to be more bark than bite. Hellhounds and dragons generally did not get along in the slightest – not that there were many creatures out there who did get along with hellhounds – but Caleb had seemed like a genuinely good guy, and he knew that his hellhound had also been able to sense that. Not that that kept the hellhound from being a little miffed. It had appearances to keep up, after all.

Okay,he thought as he loped back toward the BB. I’ll get my clothes, and then head back to the festival for a bite to eat and to get swarmed by the local bird population. After that, well… I guess I’ll wait and see.

He had no intention of hanging around and making Luna uncomfortable with actual creepy stalker vibes, but he was hoping he could at least apologize to her. If she was annoyed with him – and honestly, he wouldn’t blame her – he would step back a bit.

He trotted through a stand of spruce trees, their tops still dusted with the last of the winter snow, and splashed through a bracingly cold stream. Brilliant yellow sun filtered through the branches even as wisps of mist coiled up from somewhere, and he stopped for a moment to breathe the crisp, clean mountain air, its scent even more pure in his hellhound form.

Once again, the word sprang to mind: magical.

He had never in his life had any particular attachment to anywhere he had lived, besides a sentimental feeling for the house he had grown up in, but there was something about Girdwood Springs that felt like home. The thought of living in a place like this with Luna at his side stirred a feeling inside him that he had never felt before.

He shook his head, and hurried on. No point in getting ahead of himself.

A few minutes later the BB rose up from behind the trees, and he slowed his pace, approaching cautiously from amongst the bushes. He couldn’t see, hear, or smell anyone nearby, but still, the last thing he needed to do was ruin this business’s good name by lurking around it as a giant slavering beast.

I do not slaver. Why would you say such things?

I don’t know. Would you prefer ‘drool’?

The hellhound huffed. You drool in your sleep. I’ve seen it. I don’t know what I did to deserve any of this. Why must I be tied to a human form? And why must I be tied to your human form specifically? You’ve made me a laughingstock.

I don’t know, I think you got a pretty good deal with me. Who else would buy you cheese? I can’t see anyone else buying it for you.

The hellhound drew its head up haughtily. I would steal it. It is mine by right. Nobody would dare stop me.

Henry laughed out loud, the sound coming out of his hellhound form as a gentle whuff. You would do no such thing. I know you. You pretend to be above it all, but you’re actually pretty law-abiding. You don’t actually like doing anything to upset regular people.

The hellhound hissed. You take that back.

I will not.

The hellhound continued to insult him, but he tuned it out, creeping up to the window that he knew led to Luna’s room. He could hear nothing from inside the room, not even the sound of breathing, so he was sure she wasn’t there; nevertheless, it was with some trepidation that he peered through the window, not wanting to invade her privacy.

To his mixed relief and disappointment, the room was empty.

He’d have some explaining to do, provided he ever even saw her again, and he didn’t have the first clue of how to go about it.

Henry ducked into the bathroom, alarm flaring through him at first as he couldn’t see his clothes anywhere – until he looked behind the door, and realized they must have been pushed aside and squashed into the corner when Luna opened it, making them all but invisible to her. Which, Henry supposed, was probably a good thing – she probably thought it was odd enough that he’d run off without a shirt, but running off without a shirt and without pants? That was way worse.

Picking up his clothes from the corner, Henry headed back out into the main room. There was no sign of his shirt anywhere, which was less than great, but at least now he wouldn’t be entirely naked.

He started to pull on his underwear, idly wondering what he would say to Luna if he saw her again, and nearly jumped right out of his skin at the sound of a key turning in the lock.