Chapter Six – Leo
The silence after her confession felt fragile, as if one wrong word might send her retreating behind her walls again.
Our mate is a little intense, Leo’s bear said as Estelle studied him from across the table. Her gray-gold eyes were guarded, but he could sense the shift in her.
She’s starting to trust us, his bear said hopefully. Just a little.
Maybe, Leo thought, but there’s still so much fear there. So many walls.
Leo reached for the bag he had brought, pulling out a bottle of wine—a Thornberg red, full-bodied and rich—and held it up with a small smile. “Would you like some? It might help us both relax a little.”
The suggestion seemed to surprise her, as if she had been bracing for something else entirely. Her shoulders lowered a fraction.
“Wine?” A flicker of curiosity replaced some of the wariness in her expression. “That would be... nice, actually.”
Leo stood and rummaged through the drawers for a corkscrew. His bear paced anxiously inside him.
Don’t push too hard, his bear cautioned. But don’t be too careful either. She needs to see us—the real us.
I know, Leo replied. But I can’t rush her. You saw how she reacted when Fiona showed up.
His bear grumbled. The old dragon was testing her. Testing us.
With a quiet sound of triumph, Leo found what he was looking for and returned to the table, uncorking the bottle.
“I don’t have wine glasses,” Estelle said as she went to the cupboard and took down two clean coffee mugs.
“I won’t tell my aunt and uncle,” Leo said, the scent of the wine filling the air as he poured.
“Your family makes wine, too?” Estelle asked, accepting a mug.
“Yes,” Leo said, settling back into his chair. “Thornberg Vineyard. It’s tucked into a valley just up the mountain. It’s been in the family for generations.”
She took a small sip, then a longer one, her eyes closing briefly as she savored it. Leo smiled at the sight of her enjoying this small moment, as if she had forgotten how.
“It’s good,” she said, opening her eyes. “Very good.”
“I’ll tell my cousin Kris you said so. He’s the one with the real talent for winemaking.”
They sat in silence for a moment, and Leo watched as Estelle’s fingers traced the curve of her mug, her gaze growing distant.
She’s thinking about running again, his bear said with a pang of distress.
Leo took another sip of wine, letting the richness linger as he considered what to do next. Patience had always been one of his strengths. But his bear was right. With Estelle, patience alone would not be enough.
If he wanted her trust, he would have to give her his.
“You know,” he said, keeping his voice light, “this is usually the part where shifters show their other sides to their mates.”
Her eyes snapped to his, suddenly alert. “Is it?”
“Mmm.” He smiled, letting a hint of challenge slip into his voice. “It’s traditional. A sign of trust.”
A slow, surprising smile spread across her face—the first real one he had seen—and it stole his breath. It softened her completely, made her look younger, less weighed down. For a heartbeat, he could almost see the woman she might have been before fear settled so deeply into her.
“Are you asking to see my dragon, Leo Thornberg?”
His bear practically roared with delight at her playfulness. She’s teasing us. This is good.
“Maybe,” he said, matching her tone. “Would you show me if I asked?”
Estelle tilted her head, studying him with new interest. The fear was still there in her eyes, but now it mingled with something else—a spark of boldness that made his heart kick.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” she murmured.
His bear nearly bowled him over with excitement. Yes. Yes. Show her. Show her now.
Leo set down his glass, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. He had not expected this. It felt like a gift. A dangerous one, perhaps, but a gift all the same.
“That seems fair,” he managed, his voice rougher than he intended.
Outside, Leo said to his bear. We should go outside.
Yes, his bear agreed immediately. Under the moon. In the open. As we should be.
“Come with me,” Leo said, standing and offering his hand.
For a moment, he thought she might refuse. Her eyes flickered to his outstretched palm, then to the stairs where Adara slept.
“She’ll be fine,” he assured her quietly. “We won’t go far.”
Estelle nodded and rose, though she did not take his hand. “Let me just check on her first.”
Leo waited by the door as she slipped upstairs, his heart pounding with anticipation. His bear was practically vibrating beneath his skin, eager to be released, to be seen by their mate.
What if she doesn’t like us? his bear worried suddenly. What if our bear scares her?
She’s a dragon shifter, Leo reminded him. I doubt she scares easily.
But still. We’re big. Intimidating to some.
But not to Estelle, Leo assured his bear.
She was his mate, a dragon shifter herself. She would understand the gift of what he was about to show her.
At least he hoped she would.
She returned moments later, her expression more resolved than fearful. “She’s sound asleep,” she said. “Let’s go.”
They stepped out onto the porch together, the night air cool and sweet with pine. The moon hung low and full above the mountains, casting everything in silver light. It was perfect—elemental and private, the kind of night that made the world feel older than human worries.
Leo led her to a small clearing just beyond the cottage, where moonlight dappled the ground. The forest stood around them like a living wall, dark and watchful. He turned to face her, suddenly feeling oddly vulnerable.
Leo took a few steps back, giving himself room. “Ready?”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face.
He closed his eyes and let the shift take him, surrendering to the old, familiar magic. One moment, he stood before her as a man, and the next, his bear stood beneath the moonlight.
Estelle did not flinch. She watched him with the still, intent focus of someone who understood exactly what it meant to surrender to the shift. What moved across her face was not fear, but wonder—and something deeper that made his bear go very quiet inside him.
See? his bear said, relieved. I think she likes me.
She does, Leo agreed, watching her carefully.
Estelle stood completely still, her eyes wide as she took him in. Moonlight silvered the edges of her hair and caught in her eyes. Then, slowly, she stepped forward, one hand slightly extended.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
His bear preened at the compliment, warmth spreading through them. She thinks I’m beautiful.
Leo’s bear lowered his massive head in invitation. Estelle moved closer, her steps measured but not hesitant. When she was near enough, she raised her hand and gently, so gently, touched the fur between his ears.
The contact sent a jolt through him, a recognition that seemed to reach somewhere deep and wordless. His bear rumbled with contentment, the sound vibrating through his chest and out into the quiet clearing.
“I can feel you in there,” she murmured, her fingers threading through his thick fur. “Both of you.”
Leo pressed his muzzle against her palm, breathing in her scent, which called to him more powerfully than anything ever had. He could have stayed there forever, in that suspended moment, with her hand in his fur and the night holding still around them.
She knows us now, his bear said with profound satisfaction. She sees us.
Estelle’s hand trembled slightly as she kept stroking his fur, her eyes never leaving his.
In them, Leo could see the walls coming down, piece by piece.
Not completely—she still held parts of herself back—but enough that he could glimpse what lay beneath.
Wonder. Recognition. The same certainty that had gripped him from the moment they met.
After a long moment, Leo stepped back and shifted again, the change washing over him in reverse until he stood before her as a man once more.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For showing me.”
“Thank you for seeing me,” he replied.
They stood facing each other in the moonlight, and Leo felt the distance between them thinning. He had shown her the truest part of himself, and she had not turned away.
Now, as she looked up at him with those remarkable gray-gold eyes, he saw her decision form. She straightened her shoulders, drew in a breath, and spoke the words that made his heart leap.
“My turn.”