Page 13 of The Dragon's Surprise
But then Kyle tightened his grip around Ethan’s hand and nodded toward the left with his head. “The clan restaurant is this way.”
They all started walking, and Lexi glanced at Kyle’s profile and then at Ethan. Even if the boy’s hair was a lighter shade, they had the same nose.
While they had a lot of physical similarities, their personalities were so different. And before she could think better of it, she blurted, “Were you just as serious as a child?”
Maybe she should regret it, especially as Kyle turned his head and arched an eyebrow. However, it was her job to better know Ethan’s family. That’s why she’d asked. It most definitely wasn’t because she wanted to know more about Kyle himself.
He replied, “No.”
But that was all he said, and an awkward silence filled the air. At least until Ethan asked, “Does it hurt to change into a dragon?”
Kyle shook his head. “Not really. It’s a little strange at first, as your body and bones grow bigger. And it can hurt if you and your dragon don’t work together. So you have to do your best to become friends with him now so you can be a good team later.”
Ethan glanced at the ground and kicked a rock ahead of them as he said, “My dragon’s kind of stubborn and loud and keeps trying to tell me what to do. I’m afraid to make him angry.”
Kyle stopped and crouched down in front of Ethan. “The way he’s acting right now is pretty normal, but you have to tell him when it’s too much. If you don’t, he’ll get spoiled and it will beharder to become friends and work together. So maybe the next time he talks or shouts or throws a tantrum, ignore everyone else and talk to him.”
“But won’t people think I’m weird if someone talks to me and I stand there, not listening or answering?”
Kyle smiled, his pupils flashing, as he replied, “Here, that’s pretty normal. And you just saw my eyes flash, didn’t you?” Ethan nodded, and Kyle continued, “Well, eventually you learn how to have short conversations with your dragon at the same time as talking with others. It’ll seem hard now, but the more you do it and get to know your inner beast, the easier it gets. That’s why you have to stand up to your dragon and treat him as an equal, and ask him to treat you the same.”
“An equal?”
“Yes, as in you both get to talk, always discuss if he wants something you don’t, and you try to make promises to each other to do things. Dragon-shifters call them vows, but it’s like a really important promise.”
“A special promise?”
“Yes. And once a dragon-shifter makes one, you always keep it. That’s very important.”
“There are a lot of new, important things, huh?”
Smiling, Kyle nodded. “Yes, but soon you’ll be a pro, and maybe you can help the other dragon children understand humans better, too.”
Lexi wondered if Kyle’s words would trigger something about Ethan’s past, but the boy merely bobbed his head. “I’ll try. And the next time my dragon is loud or tries to tell me what to do, I’ll talk back.”
Kyle ruffled Ethan’s hair, and Lexi softened toward the dragonman. For the first time, she was starting to see the doctor side of him that handled people who were injured or scared or unruly.
Under all that grumpiness and curtness was a kind, patient man. Although why he tried to hide it sometimes, she didn’t know.
Kyle looked up and noticed her staring at him—no doubt like some ninny—and she cleared her throat. “Shall we keep going? I’m starving.”
Ethan said, “Me, too! I’m hungry.”
Kyle nodded, stood, took Ethan’s hand, and led them toward the restaurant.
And Lexi most definitely didn’t look at Kyle’s profile again, no matter how much she wanted to. One of the strictest rules of her job was that she couldn’t dally with a dragon-shifter. She’d be fired immediately, and then she wouldn’t be able to help any of the orphans.
Besides, it wasn’t as if anything would happen with Kyle, anyway. She was just being silly and should maybe listen to her sister’s advice about dating again.
So for the rest of the walk, she remembered all of her training and focused on the consequences of acting like an idiot around a handsome dragonman. By the time they reached the restaurant, she had everything under control.
Which was a good thing since as soon as she, Ethan, and Kyle entered the restaurant, all eyes went toward them and the room fell silent.
Kyle maybe should’ve realized arriving with Ethan at his side, giving everyone a view of his mini-me, might’ve been a bad idea.
He hadn’t intended to share Ethan was his son so soon. Eventually, everyone would figure it out as the boy looked too much like him to be anything else. However, he was stilldeciding what to do with the boy and only hoped everyone wouldn’t mention to Ethan that he was with his birth father.
His dragon spoke up.None of the gossips are here. And no one will want to hurt the child.
