AURA
Ahya bounces on her toes so hard the cabin’s porch boards creak beneath her boots, the old wood groaning beneath her excitement. Her little backpack hangs crooked over one shoulder, stuffed so full it looks like she’s planning to move into the penthouse permanently. The zipper barely closes around the pajamas Scarlet packed and the extra sweater Nixon insisted she take. We have clothes in her closet, but she likes to bring some familiar things when she comes to stay.
In her arms is the wolf plush she refuses to sleep without. The toy has an ear half-chewed off from years of affection, the once-soft fur worn smooth from countless nights clutched against her chest.
“I’m ready,” she announces for the third time.
“You said that already, princess,” Reed replies patiently from the porch railing, his mouth twitching with amusement as he watches her bounce like a coiled spring.
Finn crouches in front of her, adjusting the straps of her backpack so it sits securely.
“Sleepover rules,” he says seriously.
Ahya nods solemnly.
“Rule one,” Finn says, raising a finger. “No climbing off the balcony. Your siblings might be able to fly, but you can’t.”
“I won’t,” she promises.
“Rule two,” Reed adds, “no setting anything on fire.”
Ahya looks mildly offended.
“I don’t breathe fire.”
Ronyn snorts from where he’s leaning against a nearby tree, the fading sunset catching in his dark hair.
“Give it a few years. Who knows what magic she has in her.”
I elbow him lightly. “Don’t encourage her.”
Ahya tilts her head, curious. “I might breathe sparkles.”
“That would be worse,” Reed says gravely.
Finn presses a kiss to the top of her curls, lingering a moment the way fathers do when they pretend they’re not already missing their child.
“Rule three,” he continues, “you come home tomorrow.”
“I will.” She hugs him tightly, then Reed, her arms squeezing with fierce determination.
“Don’t eat all the muffins while I’m gone. Mama made my favorites with white chocolate chunks.”
“We make no promises,” Reed says.
Ahya gasps in betrayal.
I kneel beside her and smooth the front of her jacket, brushing a stray curl from her bright eyes. “Ready to fly?”
Her eyes light up immediately. “Yes!”
Ronyn pushes off the tree with a lazy stretch. “Hold on,” he says. “Important question.”
Ahya turns, her expression serious.
“Do you still barf when you fly?”
She wrinkles her nose. “It was one time when I was little.”
Ronyn nods approvingly. “Okay. I’ll keep it smooth.”
Finn folds his arms, watching Ronyn carefully. “You won’t let her fall.”
Ronyn raises a brow. “She is safe in the sky.”
Reed gestures in the direction we’ll be leaving. “Just remember she’s a wolf, not a dragon.”
Ronyn’s grin flashes. “Tonight she’s an honorary dragon.”
Ahya beams as Ronyn steps away from the cabin and rolls his shoulders.
The shift begins in a ripple of scarlet light as his spine lengthens and scales spread across his skin like liquid fire. Wings burst outward in a powerful sweep that stirs the surrounding trees, sending a rush of wind through the clearing and scattering loose leaves into the air. Within seconds the enormous scarlet dragon crouches in the clearing, eyes glowing warmly.
Ahya stares up at him with open awe.
“He’s so beautiful,” she whispers.
Ronyn lowers himself to the ground, folding one wing like a staircase as if to say, Come on, little wolf.
He scoops her against his chest and she squeals, tucking her wolf plush securely under one arm.
From the porch, Reed calls out, “Bring her back in one piece.”
Ronyn’s deep dragon growl rumbles through the clearing and Ahya giggles.
Ronyn glances at me as if to say, You ready? Then, he takes me into his free arm. With one powerful beat of his wings, we launch into the night sky.
Ahya’s delighted scream echoes across Blackwood Forest as the cottage grows small beneath us, its warm lantern light shrinking into a soft amber glow.
“We’re flying!” she shouts into the wind.
Ronyn banks smoothly toward the glittering lights of the city.
“Next stop,” I say, my words almost lost to the rushing wind, “dragon sleepover.”
The forest stretches below like a dark green ocean. Ahya’s small hands tighten in the ridges of Ronyn’s scales.
“Mama!” she shouts.
“Yes?”
“We’re higher than the trees!”
“We are.”
Her laugh bursts free, bright, and wild, the sound echoing into the night sky.
Ronyn banks gently, giving her a sweeping view of Blackwood Forest.
The lights of the wolves’ cabin glow warmly below before shrinking into a tiny golden dot.
“I can see the river!” she cries. “And the lake!”
“You’ve got sharp eyes,” I call.
“Wolves do.” She leans forward slightly, peering up at Ronyn’s fearsome dragon face.
“Does flying ever get boring?”
Ronyn lets out a dramatic snort of dragon smoke, a warm curl of ember-scented vapor drifting toward us, which I know means, “Never.”
We glide for a moment in easy silence while the wind rushes past. Then Ahya suddenly shouts again.
“There’s the city!”
Ahead of us, towers of glass and steel glitter in the evening sun, their windows blazing gold and copper. The building housing our penthouse rises above the others like a silent sentinel.
Ronyn angles his wings and swoops upward in a smooth arc before landing lightly on the rooftop garden, his claws clicking softly against the stone tiles between beds of wind-tossed flowers.
The moment his claws touch down, Ahya throws her hands into the air.
“That was amazing!”
Ronyn chuckles as he shifts back into human form. “Of course it was.”
I nudge him, and hand him the cloth to cover his nakedness. “Dragons are so damned cocky!”
***
Inside the penthouse, chaos is already underway.
The moment the elevator doors open, three small figures charge toward us, their excited shrieks echoing through the marble foyer.
“AHYA!”
Rosaline launches herself first, nearly tackling Ahya in a hug. “You came!”
“Of course I came!”
Kaspian arrives second, trying extremely hard to look dignified. “You’re late,” he says.
Dana appears last, clutching a bowl of marshmallows almost as big as her head. “We got snacks. Daddy says he’ll toast them for smores.”
Ahya beams.
Dana gently hands Ahya a marshmallow. “For energy.”
Across the room, Darial appears carrying a massive bowl of popcorn, the buttery scent drifting through the penthouse.
“Movie night is officially beginning,” he announces.
The children erupt in cheers.
“What are we watching?” Ahya asks.
Darial grins. “The one with the princess with very long hair.”
“Rapunzel!” Rosaline squeals.
Kaspian groans. “That is a girl movie.”
Darial hands him popcorn. “There are swords.”
Kaspian considers this. “I guess that’s okay.”
Within minutes the enormous couch becomes a nest of blankets, pillows, popcorn bowls, and sticky little hands.
Ahya sits between Rosaline and Dana, but Kaspian attempts to claim the center seat like a tiny king.
“You’re hogging,” Rosaline says.
“I am protecting.”
“You’re sitting.”
“Protection sitting.”
Ronyn leans against the kitchen counter watching the chaos unfold, his massive frame somehow looking both dangerous and completely domesticated.
“You realize dragons used to conquer kingdoms.”
Darial shrugs. “Tonight we conquer snacks. I for one am happy to leave the bloodletting behind.”
The movie begins. Rosaline sings loudly along with every song. Dana quietly feeds marshmallows to Ahya like a generous squirrel. Kaspian insists he is only watching “for the sword fights.”
Halfway through the movie, Ahya curls into the blankets with her wolf plush tucked beneath her chin. Her eyes drift toward me.
“This is the best sleepover ever,” she whispers.
Ronyn ruffles her hair. “Wait until you try dragon pancakes in the morning.”
She yawns.
“What’s in dragon pancakes?”
Ronyn grins. “Everything.”
Ahya smiles sleepily.
The four children slowly settle into a tangle of blankets and soft breathing as the movie continues playing, the glow of the television flickering gently across their peaceful faces.
Across the room, Kelan quietly dims the lights. Darial gathers the empty popcorn bowls. Ronyn stands beside me, watching the small pile of almost sleeping children.
His voice lowers. “Don’t tell Darial, but sleepovers are definitely better than fighting dragon battles.”
I smile softly. “You sure? You don’t miss incinerating your enemies just a little?”
His mouth twitches. “Well, maybe a little.”
The path to my dragon mates was far from easy, but as all my babies fall asleep, and my big, strong dragon men carry them to bed, their massive hands impossibly gentle as they lift the sleepy children, I thank the goddess for bringing me my happily-ever-after.
(c) Stephanie Brother 2026
There’s more waiting for you in Blackwood Forest…
🐻 Shared by the Bears is a deliciously wild Goldilocks retelling with three very possessive bear shifters
🐺 Taken by the Wolves is a dark, addictive Red Riding Hood twist with wolves who don’t let go
Trust me… once you enter Blackwood Forest, you won’t want to leave!
Click the images to dive in
