‘First best is falling in love. Second best is being in love. Least best is falling out of love. But any of it is better than never having been in love.’ - Maya Angelou

  Eustace had a problem.

  This was a new and unsettling sensation for the water dragon who had, for countless years, possibly as far reaching as a millennia, played endlessly without any sense of responsibility. Time, consequence, regret…these were things he had no comprehension of. All he had known was his immediate surroundings, never looking back and never looking forwards.

  His ignorance had not been his fault. He knew that now though it still chaffed at him that he had not seen his ‘mother’s’ games for what they were. Sadistic and manipulative, using Eustace to ensure that no eggs were hatched in the realm of the dragons. No babies to help thrust a child-like dragon into adulthood and for the cycle of maturity to begin again.

  He’d never questioned her motives as she’d always teased him with games and showered him with praise whenever he brought her an unhatched egg.

  He’d certainly never questioned where the eggs went…or what was inside them.

  She did not tell him and he did not ask.

  That had changed dramatically when Bethany had exposed the game for what it was, a way to keep the dragons forever childlike and to never reach their full potential.

  Eustace had changed dramatically when he took charge of a single egg, still warm with a little body beating inside.

  He matured almost overnight, taking responsibility for the unhatched dragon and watched over it with almost rigid paranoia…

  …and yet it wasn’t a problem. The baby dragon would or wouldn’t hatch. Nothing Eustace did could accelerate it and possibly any interference would hinder the little one.

  When the baby hatched, Eustace was filled with wonder.

  When it bit him, absorbing his element and becoming a water dragon, like his ‘father’, Eustace was thrust into a violent but entirely natural state of lordship, suddenly rising above his dragon peers that had only ever known play and not the vast world they had once been a part of or the culture they had helped develop.

  Eustace became the Lord of the dragons and in his world, with his little son, James, he still played but he also governed and protected. As the fictional world began to right itself, more eggs began appearing, each belonging to a dragon element. Fire, wind and earth and Eustace protected them fiercely for when they hatched, the little hatchlings would thrust other dragons into maturity and they would begin, not only to play…but to live.

  However, Eustace never viewed that as a problem. James, even though a young hatchling, was able to fly within minutes of hatching and could swim and breathe underwater, just as Eustace could. He didn’t require coddling although he loved his father dearly and liked to stay close to play with him. Even in the real world, James had the appeared of a boy of about six or seven and although he didn’t speak, he was perfectly capable of everything else…including maintaining his human appearance for the sake of any unaware customers and visitors to House of Figs.

  And then…Luna had arrived, luminous and mysterious. She had hatched from a large egg that had ‘appeared’ in the nest Eustace had made his territory in order to protect all eggs. Eustace suspected Bethany had something to do with it but it didn’t matter.

  Words didn’t matter.

  They barely needed to speak to each other.

  Dragons never spoke. They didn’t have names or communicated beyond instinct.

  Humans…most of their communications was speech and Eustace had adapted to this method…

  …however, when Luna was near…Eustace found he didn’t need words at all…and neither did she.

  There was no fumbling around awkward body language or trying to find the right thing to say. He could smell her, feel her…it was as though he was completely at home in a place he’d never been before…and it seemed the same way with her.

  Because Luna hadn’t much practice at being a human, she spent most of her time as a dragon in the fictional world they came from, swimming and playing, watching over James when Eustace was working as a barista at the window counter, suppling take away coffees to caffeine desperate souls. She was always delighted when he returned to the water.

  Of course she wouldn’t say it.

  He could simply sense her elation.

  It was like she was sending out vibrations in the water, tiny tremors of anticipation.

  It was wholly distracting and wonderfully so.

  For a while…

  Then…something changed…and Eustace found himself in the midst of a problem…and desperately needed advice.

  He ran through the possibilities in his head.

  There was Rob, the robot who looked completely human…but no, not after what Eustace found out about his ‘terms of service’ in Infinitus. Eustace never wanted to remind Rob of his previous occupation which had enslaved Rob for years.

  There was Faelan, however, from what Eustace could gather, the elf had little experience regarding relationships. He was also extremely reserved and Eustace didn’t know if he would be willing or highly uncomfortable listening to his problem.

  Eustace thought of Rafael then dismissed him as a possible confidant almost immediately. Rafael had only just become human after five hundred years trapped as a vampire. Eustace was very aware that Rafael was struggling with his own problems, let alone helping Eustace with his.

  Of course there was Aunt Jo…Bethany…Annie from Infinitus who was a machine like Rob…but Eustace was unwilling to share with them. Something about his problem made him want another man’s opinion and ear…

  Which left him with the last and possibly the most appropriate person to talk to…

  It was finishing time at House of Figs. It was summer so the demand for coffee wasn’t quite as high as normal…although at the height of winter, a lot of people didn’t want to venture out no matter how good the brews were. Eustace had made up his mind who to talk to and when to do it. He just needed to make it happen. He listened to Bethany and Bastian talking about the werewolves born in Alte Fehde. A little girl to Armin and Gwen and Jurgen to Bastian and Elke

  “She’ll be a striking werewolf when she eventually develops her wolfish traits.” Bastian chuckled.

  “Jurgen looks like you, though.” Bethany handed him dirty plates over the counter.

  “He is a handsome babe now that you mention it.” Bastian said, beaming brightly.

  Eustace edged around them, heading to the stairs.

  “James, time to go.”

  No doubt little James was enthralled by a puzzle. Jo had introduced him to puzzles and been delighted to discover that they had the power to keep the energetic boy still for long periods of time…well, until he completed them. Then he was bounding around the room again with energy to burn. So Jo began purchasing larger and more challenging puzzles and James thrived on them.

  Jo entered the café with the mail, holding the door open for the last customers. At her voice, Rob began to descend the stairs, laptop in his hands. Although he had the reflexes of a dragon, able to dodge James as he came tearing down the steps to leap into his father’s arms, Eustace felt a word of warning needed to be said.

  “You need to watch where you’re going!” Eustace rebuked lightly. James looked at him pointedly and he sighed. “I know, you’ve been stuck doing puzzles all day. We’ll go swimming and burn off some of that energy.”

  “It never worked with you.” Rafael snorted as he hung his apron from the hook. “Don’t see why it would with James. Evening.” He strode out the back, heading for the Observatory.

  Eustace didn’t take offense. He had come to a staggering revelation of his barely contained energy as he watched James…and Eustace was much larger, in human form and when he was a dragon.

  Bethany shook her head, smiling. “He might have left his vampiric ways behind him but he’s still very much Rafael.”

  “At least you can get a smile out of him now,” Eustace jogged to match Bastian’s stride as he headed for the back door, “hold up, Bast, I need a word…”

  “Which word would you like, Eustace?” Bastian asked lightly then snarled at James who had bared his teeth at him. James liked to see Bastian’s fangs and giggled at the sight of them.

  Suddenly Eustace faltered. Bastian had a mate and a child to return home to in Befest. He’d worked a full shift at the café and was probably looking forward to being a werewolf again. They entered the Observatory and Bastian stopped and looked at him pointedly.

  “Well?”

  “It’s nothing…sorry.” Eustace blurted, opening the door to his realm. Salty air hit him, much cooler than the weather in Glenwilde. James jumped down and sprinted across the threshold, transforming in a spray of water into his dragon form, already playing. Eustace was about to follow him when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Bastian’s amber gaze bore into him.

  “What’s wrong, Eustace?”

  “I didn’t say anything was wrong…”

  “I can tell. You’ve been glancing at me all day and you’ve just been brave enough to ask to talk…right when you could bail if I said no.” Bastian raised an eyebrow. “Werewolf instincts, Eustace…you can’t hide from them.”

  Oddly enough, Eustace felt reassure at Bastian’s intuition. “I…could use some advice…”

  “Shall we speak in your realm?”

  Eustace glanced through the doorway. Luna was in the sky, playing with James. He blanched, aware that dragon hearing was rather…sensitive. Bastian caught his expression.

  “Ah…well…the same problem exists in my world…but I know where we can go.”

  Eustace nodded. He turned to Luna and, just as before, they didn’t need words. Her sleek water dragon head nodded and she led James away and out of sight, probably to go diving to the depths of the ocean. Bastian closed both his door and the door to his own realm, leading Eustace out of the Observatory to the very back of House of Figs property. There was a line of trees that designated the end of the block…and the end of Glenwilde’s cultivated land. The forest which covered most of the mountain Glenwilde was built halfway up grew thick and wild. There was a path down a sharp decline into a gully where there was a creek. Eustace knew it well. He’d been sent there on numerous occasions when he needed to burn off some energy before he’d learnt how to manage it better.

  Bastian walked down the path where a tangle of tree roots and rocks made a natural staggered seating space where the gurgle of the creek filled their ears.

  “Only Annie and Rob could hear us down here…and I know they won’t say a word even if they did.” Bastian said pointedly.

  Eustace nodded. There were very few places they could go that someone wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation…but he trusted Rob and Annie to keep a secret…or to even prevent themselves from listening in as only they could do with their programming.

  Bastian reclined languidly, his brawny arms folded across his chest. Eustace sat on a rock, leaning forward, hands clasped together.

  “The longer you take to talk, the harder it’s going to be…”

  Eustace sighed. “I know.” He swallowed. “Bastian…” He tried to collect his thoughts. He didn’t know how to proceed! “You…you and Elke…”

  “Yes?”

  “Do…do you ever…” Eustace fumbled, unable to look Bastian in the eyes. “You’re both wolf and human, right?”

  “Uh…yes…I mean, we can transform from one extreme to the other but our resting form is werewolf.”

  Bastian sounded confused. Eustace didn’t blame him. As conversation starters went, it was an odd way to go.

  “And you and Elke…well…I can only assume you’ve…because you’ve had a child…”

  “We mated, yes.”

  Eustace got the sense Bastian was trying to subdue a smile. He picked at his blue nails.

  “Do you ever…as wolves…fully wolf I mean…do you ever…”

  Bastian sighed and Eustace heard him shift to lean forward. “It’s…it can start like that. Playful teasing, chasing each other through the thickets of the valley…but when we are in the midst of mating, we are at our most natural…not wolf and not human. Werewolf.” Eustace’s cheeks burned. “Eustace…is this about Luna?” He swallowed and it felt like a pinecone was going down his throat. “Are you wanting to mate with her?” Eustace’s eyes dropped even lower. “Oh…you mean…” Bastian coughed lightly. “That’s…news.”

  Crickets chirped and somewhere in the distance a creature burrowed into the earth, its claws digging sticks and rocks out of the way. The creek was constantly singing its watery song and now and again a bird would call out and another would answer.

  “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “I mean, I didn’t know it was going to happen…”

  “Eustace,” Bastian’s tone was firm, “you’d better start at the beginning.”

  Eustace’s words, which had been stuck behind the pinecone in his throat, suddenly began to pour out of him. “We were in the ocean. James was all tuckered out for once and asleep in the nest. Luna and I…we were darting around the ocean, leaping into the air…playing like we normally do. Then, underwater…Luna…hit me.”

  “She hit you?”

  Eustace nodded, recalling the sting. “With the end of her tail. She doesn’t have a spike like I do. She has three fins so it didn’t hurt but…I was shocked. I stared at her, eyes gleaming and she took off. So I went after her.” Eustace licked his lips. “I thought she was embarrassed at having hit me, like it was an accident so I was trying to catch her and tell her it was alright…but she was so fast! I was in her wake almost the entire time and...in the bubbles...in the water..."

  "You could smell something?"

  Eustace shook his head. “No. Not smell…I could taste something. Something…it was as though the blood in my veins was being set on fire.” He stood up and began to pace his tiny little landing, his hands running through his white hair tipped with blue. “I was chasing her, going faster and faster…the water seemed to churn and bubble around me as though we were causing the water to boil. At one point she darted through some ruins and I could no longer see her. Bastian,” he looked at the werewolf, his blue eyes wild, “I nearly went mad! I thought I’d lost her! I was swimming this way and that, almost knocking pillars over in my haste…and when I spotted her…”

  “You lost all reason…”

  “Exactly!” Eustace cried. “I swam towards her and for once she didn’t move. I crashed into her in the water, our claws wrapped around each other, tails entwined like they were knotted together. Our bodies were so tight there wasn’t any room for even water between us as we hung almost suspended in the ocean.” Eustace’s face flushed bright red, his whole body flooded with heat at the memory. “I…couldn’t see straight. I just…I was so hot and wild and…and…the next I knew…”

  “You were inside her?” Bastian had said the words calmly, almost clinically as though stating a fact and not the culmination of an emotionally charged assault. They were a cool balm against Eustace’s agitated state and he came back from the brink of hysteria, his frightened and confused eyes looking at Bastian before he nodded. Bastian smiled, his eyes understanding. “Go on.”

  Eustace sank back down to sitting, his hands shaking. “It…was violent and hard and over in a matter of seconds…like a rush…like I was falling and I’d hit the ground…then she drew back and swam away…and that was it.”

  “She didn’t say anything about it?”

  Eustace shook his head. “We hardly speak. Communication is sight, smell…body language…she didn’t say anything and I…I didn’t know what to say. I barely understand what happened…” He buried his head in his hands and moaned softly. Somewhere between the creek’s song and the scuttling of the digging animal, Eustace heard Bastian laughing softly. “That isn’t helping…”

  “I’m sorry.” Bastian chuckled, his long, strong fingers over his mouth. “The problem is Eustace is that you look like an adult and after you became a father, you act like an adult…so there are things we probably haven’t explained to you.”

  Eustace gave Bastian a scathing glance. “I know what you’re talking about. I’m not that dense. I know what happened…but I don’t understand why or how…”

  “Dragon instinct.” Bastian tilted his head, his tawny mane stroking his broad shoulders. “You are a dragon and your natural instincts will always prevail.”

  “I didn’t start it!”

  “Luna probably knew, even if only instinctively, that she was ready for mating,” Bastian explained gently, “lots of animals have different mating habits. Some males dance or flaunt their beautiful tails to show off and get the female’s attention…but in your case, you already had it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, what female can resist the male alpha?” Bastian preened. Eustace found himself wishing he could give the werewolf a black eye…just once. “Stop glowering at me like that. It’s instinct, seeking out the strongest male to mate with. Not only are you an alpha male, you are the lord of the dragons…and you’re the only male water dragon of mature age.” Eustace paused, Bastian’s words starting to make some sense.

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  “That doesn’t explain why Luna did what she did…”

  “Maybe she got fed up waiting for you to take the initiative…or maybe in the dragon realm, females initiate once they’re ready…” Bastian paused. “You said as you were chasing her, you could taste something in her wake?”

  “Yes.” Eustace nodded.

  “I’d say she was releasing pheromones that were…arousing you…and the chase was symbolic of a female’s hope to be desirable…to be pursued.” Bastian tilted his head. “Does that explain everything?”

  Eustace swallowed. “Yes…no…” He gritted his teeth. “I…why do I feel so…it lacked…” He stood up, racking his brain to come up with the words. To Bastian’s credit, he didn’t speak, allowing Eustace to find what he wanted to say. “I…I want…more.”

  “More?”

  “More…like…” Eustace glared at him. “More!”

  Bastian raised an eyebrow in that infuriating arched manner of his. “You want to do it again?” Eustace couldn’t stop the shame from filling his features. “You have done it again?”

  “Four times now…” Eustace whimpered. “She always initiates, I always give chase…we come together almost violently, the rush flooding me like a tide I can barely stand…and then it’s over…and each time I’m left feeling like…it’s not enough…why?” He turned to Bastian, his blue eyes filled with grief. “Is…that all there is? Is that how…you…” He lowered his head, desperate and vulnerable. “I…I need help, Bast…”

  There was a long silence. Eustace didn’t question it. He barely knew what it was he wanted to know. Was he wrong in seeking more? What was the ‘more’ that he wanted?

  “Elke and I…there was much kissing and…holding…loving on each other until we’re almost out of control in desperate need…then, after we mated,” Bastian’s voice was soft and reserved and very unlike his usual brash, confident self, “sometimes we’d fall asleep in each other’s arms. We kissed and held onto each other…even after we ceased to be one body.” Eustace peeked at Bastian cautiously. The werewolf was smiling, his features washed in blush as he spoke about his own intimate experiences. “There are times when we fall asleep without mating…and there were nights it was as though there was a fire in each of us that refused to go out all night long.” Bastian licked his lips and chuckled. “Once, before she had Jurgen, we went running across Alte Fehde and it began to rain. Rather than find shelter, we found each other in a bed of heather, soaked through yet our veins burning with heat.” He shrugged, running out of words.

  “That all sounds wonderful…” Eustace breathed.

  Bastian eyed him thoughtfully. “Rather difficult for dragons to kiss I would imagine.”

  “Impossible really.” Eustace sighed.

  Bastian’s gaze remained on him. “And that might be the real problem.”

  “What do you mean?” Eustace asked as Bastian sat up straight, his eyes narrowing. “What?”

  “You spend and have spent a great deal of time in human form. Not only that, you have also spent time among humans…and variations of humans,” he grinned, his fangs showing as he thought of the odd characters that staffed House of Figs, “it is inevitable that you would begin to develop some human traits…”

  “Such as?”

  “The ability to choose.”

  Eustace wrinkled his nose, thinking Bastian had gone made. “That’s a human trait?”

  Bastian nodded. “It’s a very human trait. Animals operate solely on instinct and do not choose unless they’ve been trained how to do so. It’s how spiders know how to spin webs the moment they hatch, without any instruction. It’s how joeys, tiny little worm like creatures know to crawl from their birthplace on their mother, up her body and into her pouch. It’s how many animals know how to swim even from birth. Instinct. You have it…but you have also developed beyond pure instinct. You make choices such as how to raise your son, how to govern the other dragons, protect the eggs that are yet to hatch…the choice not to turn cartwheels or spray water everywhere when you’re inside.” Eustace flushed, embarrassed at his former behaviour. “This isn’t evolution. You have been trained because of the environment you are in. Instinctively I think you would still turn cartwheels and soak the furniture given half a chance…but you choose not to.”

  Eustace pondered this a long moment. The sun was below the tree by now. Though it was not yet night, the dense forest blocked most of the dusk light. Birds were making their way to their nests and others were scampering back to their dens and holes…and yet even more were waking up, owls, bats…nocturnal animals whose instinct told them to wake and hunt.

  “I hear what you’re saying,” Eustace said at long last, “but what does that have to do with Luna?”

  “You’re not content with animalistic mating. You want more. You want relationship. You want to talk to her, to know her and for her to know you. For there not to be that terrible fall after the moment but a long, warm embrace where you sink into each other even further than you thought possible though your bodies are no longer one.”

  It made such sense as Bastian said it. Eustace’s heart was almost sparking with hope that the unfathomable consternation he had wrestled with had so easily been explained.

  “What do I do?” He asked eagerly.

  “Get to know her…romance her…in human form.”

  Eustace stared at him, his breath catching in his throat. “How?”

  Bastian’s amber eyes, glowing in the gathering dark, sparkled.

  “Now we’re getting to the part I can actually help with.”

  Eustace paced the beach, bookended by two large outcrops of rock covered in pink and aqua shellfish. He deliberately walked near the edge of the wave’s reach because his footprints were washed away each rise and fall.

  And they were human prints, not dragon.

  He was dressed in his usual baggy jeans, rolled up to keep from getting wet and a white tee. Bastian had suggested a sleeveless t-shirt but Eustace couldn’t help but feel if he’d worn that, he’d look like he was trying to be the werewolf.

  Higher up the beach, resting in dry sand and out of reach of the present tide, was a picnic rug made out of patchwork squares and a wine chiller with ice and a bottle of light, sparkling champagne. When Eustace had asked why he should offer champagne, Bastian had explained it was a social lubricant…whatever that meant. There were two glasses ready to be filled and a small platter of nibbles. Eustace wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat in his current state of anxiety. He hoped, when Luna appeared, that his stomach would settle and his palms would stop sweating.

  “I am a water dragon…the lord of dragons for goodness sake…” He muttered reproachfully as he wiped his hands on his jeans.

  He glanced out at the ocean. He’d called Luna’s name and he didn’t doubt that she’d heard him but it could still take her sometime to reach him, depending on where she had swum to. The sun was down and the moon was rising, silvery white lines drawn on the tops of waves, creating a staircase that looked like it was heading endlessly towards the horizon. Lightly illuminated by the moonlight were the floating isles that dotted the skies of his world. He didn’t know what power held them there. He simply knew they would remain, hanging above the ocean and its landmasses as levitating islands for a millennia and more…just as they had always done.

  There was a sloshing noise, the waves crested with moonlight breaking and a dragon’s head and body broke through the surface. Eustace licked his lips and tried to smile. It probably looked a touch maniacal with a hint of pain. Luna’s sleek white body, encrusted with pearlescent scales, came closer to the shore before she shook and in the haze of spray that erupted, she transformed into her human self.

  Luna was willowy and tall and she had a graceful presence, her movements fluidic and controlled. Her hair was white and her eyes were blue but several shades lighter than Eustace’s. At the edge of her hairline were scales which continued down her neck, a scattering across the top of her bust. Her clothing was as much an illusion as her human form. Her dress was a boatneck gown with a waterfall hem rippling from halfway up her right thigh all the way down to her feet. The bottom of the gown looked as though she’d stepped in a puddle of navy ink, the colour leeching upwards, fading as it did so.

  “Luna,” Eustace blurted, “hello…I mean, good evening.”

  She gazed at him, her mouth showing slight amusement. “Good evening?”

  “Oh…it’s something you say when you greet someone…at night…not during the day. During the day you’d day good day…” Eustace clamped his teeth together to stop the torrent of idiocy.

  Luna looked around then back at him, a quizzical expression in her eyes.

  “James is at House of Figs.” Eustace explained then kicked himself. He’d picked up on Luna’s communication without using words. “I…thought we could talk.”

  One of Luna’s brows raised again and Eustace caught himself before he answered her unsaid question.

  “Talk?”

  Eustace nodded and gestured to the rug. He sat on it, his heels digging into the sand and Luna took her cue from him, reclining gracefully on the other side of the wine cooler.

  “It occurs to me that we don’t know that much about each other.” He began, busying himself with opening the bottle of champagne. It was hard enough to keep the blush out of his cheeks without meeting her gaze. After all, they had technically ‘done the deed’ as it were…and here he was attempting to get to know her.

  “You are the lord of dragons and the only other adult male water dragon.” Luna said lightly, almost reciting Bastian word for word.

  “I am,” Eustace poured the champagne, willing his hand to be steady and failing miserably, “but that’s not all I am.”

  Luna took the glass he offered, her long fingers wrapping awkwardly around the stem. She hadn’t had much practice at handling human utensils. She gazed at the bubbles, faint amusement on her ethereal features.

  “What is it?”

  “The bubbles…”

  “Oh?”

  “Listen to them.”

  Eustace paused and did so, hearing their symphony of light pops and fizzes.

  “It’s like having the ocean in the palm of your hand.” He chuckled.

  Luna held her free hand out and caused water to rise from her pores, crashing against her fingertips, a mini ocean frothing on her palm.

  “We already do.”

  Eustace held out his hand and found he could do the same thing.

  “That’s new…” He grinned. “See, that’s what I mean by talking. Learning about each other.”

  Luna’s presence became guarded. There were only minute changes in her body language and facial expression but Eustace picked up on other things as well. The scent of water almost retreating from him as though she was recoiling.

  “Is that such a bad thing?” He found himself asking in response to her reluctance.

  “I already know everything about you.” She replied, her toes, adorned with pearlescent nails curling and digging into the sand. “Whatever the mother knew, I know.”

  “Genetic memory.” Eustace swallowed. “Yes…but were you awake?”

  Luan blinked and tilted her head, her silky white hair shifting like sand on the ocean floor, dunes rising and falling with the pulse of the tide.

  “Not all the time.” Her pale, moist lips pressed together. “I slept for much of my imprisonment…but when I heard your voice, I would stir to listen.”

  Eustace was of two minds about this. It was a bit of a thrill to think that she would wake to hear his voice…but he was ashamed of what he had done and his actions.

  “You must have been furious with me.” His voice was low and miserable.

  “You were innocent, manipulated by someone you thought you could trust. Do not forget that I felt all the malevolence of the one who called herself your mother.” Eustace refused to be comforted. A cool touch lifted his chin so that his sapphire blue eyes could see hers. “I never blamed you, Eustace. I ached for you…for the day you would know the truth.”

  “The shame I feel…surely you thought that would be worthy punishment.”

  “Would you punish James for doing something wrong when you were the one telling him to do it?”

  Eustace stammered. “I…well…I wouldn’t…I couldn’t do that. He’s my son…”

  “Therein lies the difference between you and the imposter mother.”

  Luna’s eyes glistened, tiny tears trickling out of the corners, down her cheeks, caressing her jaw, drifting down her neckline…

  …Eustace realised he’d been following the tears without realising just where it was he was staring. He drew back, blushing mightily.

  “Ahem…well…that’s…I didn’t know that about you.”

  Luna’s hand fell away from him and she sank back onto her hip, her body cast in moonlight, sparkles across her scales, even down her arms. The waves washed in their endless dance upon the shore, fingers of foam reaching as high as they could before drawing back, leaving bubbles in their wake.

  “Is knowing each other…important?”

  Eustace folded his legs and faced her, feeling the quilt beneath him shift in the sand.

  “You don’t want to get to know me?”

  “What more do I need beyond that which I already have?”

  She seemed genuinely puzzled.

  “It’s…just nice…to know about each other…” Eustace was blundering badly.

  Luna studied him, her nostrils flaring slightly and her tongue running lightly over her lips.

  “Do you get to know others in the same way?”

  Eustace could barely keep from laughing out loud at the instant image of himself sitting on that picnic rug with most of the people he knew. Bastian, Rafael, Faelan, Rob…of course there was Bethany but any attraction between them had been fleeting and born in the moment, not meant to become everlasting.

  “No, no…just you.”

  Even though he had sat with Bethany on this same beach…but that was a long time ago, if not in hours and days…in maturity.

  “Why just me?”

  Pink began to creep up Eustace’s neck. He took a gulp of the champagne.

  “I…well…because…because…we…uh…”

  There wasn’t enough champagne in the world to dowse his nerves and allow him to broach the subject. Oddly enough, it was Luna who realised the conversation’s true intent.

  “Is this the way humans signal readiness for mating?”

  The pink flush turned crimson. If Eustace had a collar on his shirt, he would have tugged at it but the reason he felt as though he was being strangled was not his attire, it was his throat closing over.

  “It’s…I suppose it’s a lead up…to it…if that’s what both parties want…sometimes…”

  Luna was calm and poised as though they were discussing knitting patterns. One could hardly become flustered over knitting patterns.

  “But you are a dragon…”

  “I know…but I take human form and I’ve been among humans a great deal…”

  “And this form,” she gestured to herself, “is more desirable to you?”

  Eustace shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  “You wish to experiment in human mating?”

  “I…” Eustace floundered, his tongue thickening to the point where he was sure it filled his whole mouth. “It…”

  Luna’s blue eyes studied him at length then she shifted across the quilt, sitting right up against him.

  “How does one begin?”

  “That’s not what I’m trying to do…”

  “Your physiological responses say otherwise.”

  “Yes but that’s the point!” Eustace gulped. “It’s choice!”

  Luna couldn’t possibly be aware of the effect she was having on him, being so close, her body exuding the same kind of pheromones that caused Eustace to chase her in the water. Though he was in human form, he could scent the thrilling smell of a willing and ready mate.

  “Choice?”

  He nodded, biting his bottom lip. “Yes,” he spoke slowly, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on her face and not on the line of her dress and the curves it contained, “a choice. And…humans, the ones I’ve been around…they don’t just mate…they fall in love.”

  It was the question in her eyes at his final words that gave Eustace purchase on solid ground before he entirely slipped into incomprehensible gibberish. Luna seemed genuinely confused.

  “Fall in love?”

  Eustace thought frantically. How could he explain it?

  “Do you remember the party for Jo, when you first appeared?” Luna nodded. “Bethany and Jet were there.”

  “I remember them.”

  “Do you remember how they were? How they acted around each other?” Eustace paused. “I mean, after they returned to the party?” Luna gazed at him. Eustace looked down at her hands and slid his fingers beneath hers, holding onto her cool skin. “They held hands.”

  Luna stared at their hands as though they contained the answer to the riddle Eustace was trying to unravel for her.

  “And that is falling is love?”

  “It’s a good start.” Eustace chuckled. “Depending on your culture, or fictional reality, couples go about it in lots of different ways. Some go to the movies, some share a meal…some just spend time together doing activities they both enjoy…some have a picnic on the beach in the moonlight…”

  Luna’s lips twitched lightly at this. Eustace knew she had not missed his hint.

  “This is us…falling in love?”

  “Like I said, it’s a good start.” Eustace was pleased at his progress until her brow furrowed and she looked away. “What? What is it?”

  “It is something else Bethany and Jet demonstrated which was unique to their ‘couple’,” she murmured, “another act of falling in love?”

  “I…I don’t know. What was it?”

  Given their somewhat bumpy relationship at times, Eustace was concerned Luna had picked up on arguments or frustration between Bethany and Jet.

  “I do not know the word. I only know I saw them do it.”

  “Can you show me?”

  Luna nodded and Eustace braced himself for the possibility of a slap or embrace. What he wasn’t expecting was for Luna to lean forward and press her cool lips against his. He was so stunned he barely responded, trembles of delight coursing through him as she drew back.

  “Is this another part of falling in love?”

  Eustace licked his lips, tasting the salt she’d left behind, his pulse beginning to race.

  “It’s…yes…couples…kiss…”

  Her head tilted, her long lashes batting her cheeks which were as cool as a frosted pane of glass in the snow. Eustace’s ability to speak was rendered null and void as she leaned forward again and their lips met in aching slowness and tender thrills. Eustace hadn’t meant to continue the kiss. His hands had a mind of their own as they reached up to cup her face, the kiss deepening with every second that passed. He could hear her pulse, sharpening and quickening while her breathing shallowed. She was ice to the fire in his veins, cool touch against hot skin and in his mind, reason and logic were unravelling.

  Somewhere in his memories he could hear Bastian’s voice shouting, ‘choice, Eustace…choose!’ but Luna’s small gasps and his moans drowned it as he lowered her to the sand, the tide rising to meet them as though the ocean was churning with the same rhythm that thundered in their bodies.

  When Eustace was at House of Figs next, he could feel Bastian’s eyes boring into the back of his head like a drill. He’d arrived late on purpose to avoid the werewolf’s questions as to how the date went, going straight to the window and, after a hasty set up, began his barista duties. Thankfully, when his mind was occupied fully with one thing, all others were relegated to ‘not now’ and pushed aside. Those same thoughts that had been neglected for as long as Eustace could maintain focus would charge to the forefront the moment they could but for now and for as long as he managed to be busy, he was distracted, from both his thoughts and Bastian’s raised eyebrows.

  When the werewolf left at the end of the day, Eustace thought himself safe and headed towards his door. However, he had underestimated Bastian’s tenacity and sneakiness.

  “Trying to give a werewolf the slip?” Bastian’s voice asked from behind him and Eustace cringed. “You ought to know better. Only Faelan stood any chance of getting past me unnoticed.”

  “I was avoiding you.” Eustace said bluntly.

  “Yeah, I got that.” Bastian’s muscular arms crossed his chest, his amber eyes like small search lights. “Well? How did it go?”

  “Good.” The word started well enough then ended in a squeak. Eustace cringed.

  “Good?” Bastian’s mouth turned down and he took a step towards Eustace, his nostrils flaring. His brows, one marked by a scar, slanted into a frown. He grabbed Eustace by the arm and, despite the fact that Eustace weighed a hundred times more than him if he’d been a dragon, dragged him to the back of House of Fig’s property. “You slept with her!”

  Eustace elbowed him sharply. Bastian gasped, unaccustomed to anyone stronger than he. Alarmed Eustace grabbed his arm and dragged him down to the creek. He even went so far as to step into the water, the icy flow slamming into his legs then rippling around them. Eustace immediately felt calmer in the presence of water. He glanced back at Bastian who remained on the bank, clutching at his ribs.

  “Sorry…”

  “I’ll live…” Bastian wheezed, holding up his hand then stood up as straight as he could. “Eustace…sleeping with Luna was not the objective of the date.”

  “I know…”

  “It was about getting to know her.”

  “I know.”

  “And her getting to know you.”

  “I know!” Eustace moaned. “Believe me when I finally emerged from the haze of whatever happened, I was so ashamed I’d had so little self control.”

  Bastian sighed and sat in the same place as when he’d first give Eustace his relationship advice.

  “Did the date at least start the way you wanted it to? Or was it dragon on dragon?”

  Eustace sat with his feet in the water. “It started exactly as you said. Champagne on the beach, two human-ish people sitting…talking…”

  “It can’t have just been sitting and talking…unless you went for a swim afterwards?”

  “Nope.” Eustace swallowed. “We stayed on the beach…and I was telling her some of the things people do when they’re falling in love.” He saw Bastian slap his face and heard his groan. “Not that! Holding hands…going to the movies, having meals together…kissing…”

  “You didn’t think kissing was a dangerous step to take?”

  “I didn’t start it.”

  Bastian blinked. “I did not see that coming.”

  Eustace gave a smile as he thought about it. “Neither did I. Luna didn’t know what it was called. She’d seen Bethany and Jet do it and so…rather than describe it…”

  “Surely part of you must have known what was coming.”

  “Honestly, given how turbulent those two can be at times, I half expected a slap…and the other half of me was waiting for a hug.”

  They were both quiet for a while. Eustace picked at his blue nails again. He felt so foolish.

  “I take it that’s when you stopped talking?” Eustace nodded, his throat tightening. Bastian sighed deeply. “There wasn’t a moment of pause when you changed back into dragon?”

  Eustace picked up a pebble, shifting it from palm to palm. “We didn’t change…”

  “You mean…as humans?” Eustace nodded. Bastian gave a groan which ended in a huff. “Did it end…well?”

  “I…think so.” Eustace tipped the pebble back and forth as though to stop might destroy him.

  “What do you mean you think so?”

  “I…I don’t know.” His pebble tossing paused, Eustace’s eyes gazing into the water. “Perhaps it was too short…”

  Bastian coughed, his sentence ending in a squeak. “What was too short?”

  “The length of time we took to…” Eustace twisted and looked up at the werewolf who was very thankful his tanned, honey toned skin could somewhat hide his frantic blush. “What else could I have meant?”

  Bastian waved his hands as though he could wipe Eustace’s question away. “So…the length of time taken…might have been too hasty? You could have taken longer to really enjoy the journey?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Eustace,” the werewolf spoke very seriously, “how short was short?”

  Eustace looked up at the stars peeking through the thick leaves above. He scrunched his face up as he thought. “Time runs differently there…”

  “Not when you’re there. It runs normally.”

  Eustace nodded. “Well…the moon was rising when the picnic began…and when it,” and they both knew what ‘it’ was, “was over the sun was just coming up.”

  Bastian made a sound as though he was being strangled. “You and Luna made love all night long?"

  The astonishment in Bastian’s voice made Eustace flinch. "Is that bad?"

  Bastian’s jaw had fallen open. “It’s a little demeaning and hard to live up to…thanks for that!” He pushed his hands through his tawny hair, shaking his head. “Hours, Eustace…that’s…how is that possible?”

  “We were in the surf, the tide rising and falling, the water infusing us with life and energy…”

  Bastian’s eyes were as round as saucers. “Did you experience one…climax…or multiple?”

  “Multiple.” Eustace was struggling to gauge Bastian’s reaction. Was he impressed or repulsed?

  “And…Luna?”

  “The same, I think.”

  Bastian put his fingers up to his face and whispered something about unrealistic dragon libido.

  “Putting all that aside,” he said through gritted teeth, “did you notice a difference?”

  Eustace ran his fingers over the pebble’s surface. “A difference?”

  “From the unfilled emptiness you felt previously when you and Luna mated as dragons.” Eustace swallowed and looked down. “Nothing?”

  “Not nothing. It was highly enjoyable and the highs were…and the way we…”

  “Yeah, yeah…moving on…”

  Eustace shrugged. “I felt…empty afterwards…”

  Bastian’s tone was so dry it could have been used as kindling. “No kidding.”

  “Luna was gone…”

  “Gone?”

  He nodded. “I fell asleep with my arms around her and when I woke she was gone, back to the water no doubt, back to being a dragon.”

  All of Bastian’s jealousy and inadequacy vanished.

  “She didn’t stay?” Eustace shook his head. “Did she say anything?”

  “I haven’t seen her since.” Eustace’s chest ached. “Bastian…what did I do wrong?”

  “That’s not a question I can answer Eustace. Only Luna can tell you and before you damn yourself too quickly, you might not have done anything wrong. It might simply be a dragon’s natural mating state of mind.” Bastian’s hand rested comfortingly on Eustace’s shoulder and the young man looked up at him, centuries older than the werewolf but in that moment, young and in need of reassurance. “Luna hasn’t had nearly as much experience as you at being human…and it seems as if your instinctual reaction to pheromones is just as strong in human form as it is in dragon.”

  Eustace nodded and they both stood, Bastian helping him to rise. Without another word to each other they headed to their respective worlds. Tomorrow was the one day a week House of Figs was closed and time in Eustace’s world ran much faster there than it did in the real one. Hopefully, by the time Eustace returned to House of Figs, the miscommunication between himself and Luna would be rectified.

  Bastian didn’t think he was cut out to be a relationship counsellor.