Page 150 of Gift from the Wing

“Uh-oh, what?” Tillman asks.

“He’s gone full beast. I’ve never seen Vince lose control before.” Draken continues laughing as we all stare at Vince in shock.

I’ve never seen it either.

Damn, this is going to be embarrassing for him.

A warning rumble, paired with a ring of smoke blows out of Tanith’s nostrils and she whips her head around to where Vince is…Fuck me, he’s licking her tail.

I’ve found by observing Tanith since she’s arrived, for a dragon, she can control many facial expressions that are honestly easy to interpret. Right now, she’s glaring at Vince like he is the vilest creature she’s ever seen.

She finally has enough and with a powerful flick of her tail, Vince comes tumbling down the gravel way, stopping only mere feet away from us. Thankfully, that little hit knocks some sense into him, and he shakes his coat out, all majestic. As if he has a paw to stand on now that we’ve seen what he just did.

Shifting back into his human form, the mortification is obvious.

“A fucking dragon. A real dragon, not a shifter,” he says, bewildered.

“Well, little pussycat, that’s one way to introduce yourself. I’d give her some space for now, or you’ll be cooked right up,” Keeper says with a bloodthirsty smile that shows off his long, white fangs.

Fuck me.

“You brought a real dragon and the vampire here?” Vince asks, whipping his head toward me so fast, I’m surprised it didn’t snap off, and again, I glare at Draken. This was information that was supposed to be relayed.

“I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. Enjoy the moment, boss man, it’s hilarious.”

“Draken, that could’ve turned out very differently,”Tillman scolds.

“Nah, I warned Tanith. She knew a lion was going to be coming. She flew over the training fields first just to give him time to shift and run all the way up here. She was excited for his reaction till he decided to defile her tail.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, my mouth twitches involuntarily, and I try hard to hold my laugh in. I nearly choke on the air that’s forcing its way up, especially when Draken’s loud laugh bursts from him.

The second Tillman’s deep rumble bubbles out, it’s a losing game for the rest of us. Poor Vince stands, huffing with his hands on his hips as the entire group falls apart.

Even the Fank family joins in, and honestly, it probably settles their nerves seeing Vince like this. They were intimidated to learn their son was going to be taken care of and mentored by a Nemean lion. Which made no sense since they treat Draken like he hung the sun.

Clearing my voice, but not bothering to hide my smile, I say, “Vince, this is Keeper, and his bonded dragon that you so gracefully justlicked, is Tanith.”

“I’m sorry about that, really. I haven’t lost control over my animal in, I don’t even know, almost two decades. I believe having a beast as formidable as her just called to his baser instincts and I wasn’t prepared for it. He never did that with Draken or Willow,” Vince says in a nervous ramble, sticking his hand out for Keeper to shake.

“Draken’s told me about you and your knowledge of shifters. It’s impressive, but your beast probably senses the human side in my son and his beloved, whereas Tanith is all creature with the intelligence to rival any in this realm and my own. It will not be me who needs to accept your apology but her. She has a mind of her own,” Keeper says with a mischievous grin, and I’m positive he’s setting Vince up to get eaten or maybe burned.

“Let’s meet the man of the hour, give Tanith sometime to…cool down until you apologize,” I suggest, putting my hand on his shoulder to steer him the other way when he looks back at the pissed off golden dragon. “I apologize for the dramatic introduction, but this is Vince Callico. Vince, this is Layton Fank and his parents, Sira, Langston, Sim, Joe, and Dani Fank.”

“Please do not take that display as my usual show of control. My lion and I are typically very much on the same page,” Vince says, embarrassed.

“That was so cool. You weren’t even scared,” Layton says, glancing at Vince the same way he does at Draken. Awestruck.

“Yes, well, my counterpart may not have been worried, but I’m about to piss myself, so this is a perfect example of the balance our other halves bring.”

I give Vince a second to give a more proper introduction to Layton’s parents and he explains what’s to be expected in their upcoming months together. The more he talks about the nitty-gritty of what he’ll be teaching, the mortified side of his embarrassment fades, leaving the typical, high-energized enthusiasm that comes from him when he gets an opportunity to work with a rare shifter.

Right before my eyes, it eases the turmoil we’ve seen in Layton’s parents since we had the original discussion that Layton had to come to an academy. The kid’s smile continues to grow, and each time he looks at hisparents for validation in his excitement, they reciprocate it. Whether it’s a mix of a show and sincerity, I’m not sure, but it puts his worries to rest.

“Lead the way, Draken. We’ve got a lot to do this afternoon,”I say.

“I thought all we had planned was this?”Willow asks.

“This will take the majority of our time, but this afternoon we’re having a family meeting.”

---