Page 6 of The Dragon's Surprise
Both females bit their lips to keep from laughing, but Kyle focused on the boy. “Er, sorry. I don’t have any brothers or sisters and haven’t been around kids for a long time, unless they’re sick.”
Ethan tilted his head. “I don’t have any brothers and sisters. I think.” He glanced down and pushed one crayon around on the desk. “I don’t know my dad. My real dad. My dad, well, not really my dad, he said…”
The boy looked sad and lonely, and utterly miserable, and it wrenched Kyle’s heart.
His beast spoke up.Show him me, and it’ll cheer him up.
Kyle leaned down a little, bracing his hands on his thighs, and waited until Ethan met his eyes. “There are plenty of kids your age here, and you’ll meet them soon. But for now, do you want to see a dragon up close?”
The boy nodded.
Straightening, Kyle met Lexi’s eyes again. For a second, he swore approval flashed there, but it was gone before he could blink. “Then if it’s okay with you, shall we go?”
Lexi glanced at Jenny. “If you don’t mind? I know you’re supposed to show me and Ethan to our temporary place, but…”
Jenny waved a hand in dismissal. “I don’t mind a detour. Walking usually keeps my baby happy and makes them stop doing somersaults in my belly. Although, truth be told, I feel more like a penguin since I waddle more than walk. But that’s okay, because I make a pretty cute penguin.”
She winked, and Lexi smiled uncertainly. Kyle nearly chuckled. Jenny Torres was a kind female, loved her mate, and helped with the school. However, she was a little eccentric, and it took time to get used to her chatter.
Although Ethan didn’t seem to mind it. He took Jenny’s hand. “I like penguins. But you’re too big to be a penguin.”
Jenny tapped her chin. “Maybe that’s true. You’ll have to help me think of a better animal on the way.”
Kyle took that as his cue, so he opened the door and followed the females and the boy.
Jenny’s ramblings allowed him to study Ethan, wondering what to do with him. Maybe Jenny and Daniel would adopt him.
His inner dragon sniffed and spoke up.I still think we should at least get to know him and see if we can make it work. And don’t say we wouldn’t have time. Aunt Rita would help.
He nearly groaned as he remembered his aunt. She’d want to see the boy, to spoil him, and would probably try her best to convince Kyle that he should raise him.
His inner dragon spoke again.Aunt Rita is our only family. So finding out she has a great-nephew will make her happy.
His aunt’s only child had died at the age of ten from a then-untreatable form of dragon deteriorating syndrome—a disease that slowly attacked the dragon half until it died, before eating away at the brain. A cure was close, so very close. But that didn’t help his aunt or Kyle’s late cousin.
And after Kyle’s parents had died from a trap laid by the League—the shorthand used for the America for Humans Only League, who believed the US should be purged of all dragon-shifters—he’d lived with his aunt, and she was like a second mother to him.
His beast added,Just stop thinking of ways to foist Ethan on someone else. At least for now. He just needs to know he belongs on MirrorPeak.
His dragon was right. Kyle was being selfish, thinking of his own future and neglecting the boy’s. He would ultimately do what was best for Ethan, but he could at least help the boy settle in.One of the first things Ethan needs to do is get used to dragons. So let’s show him one.
And maybe even let him slide down our side. That’ll be fun.
They reached the smaller landing area, and Kyle waited for Jenny to turn them all around before he stripped his clothes. Then he stood, imagined his nose elongating into a snout, wings sprouting from his back, and his arms and legs growing into limbs. Once he stood in his gold dragon form, he grunted and waited to see how both Ethan and Lexi reacted.
Not that he should care about the human female. And yet, both man and beast wanted to impress her for reasons he didn’t dare think about.
Chapter Three
Lexi tried not to think about how Kyle Baker would be naked soon, as he changed from human to dragon. She most definitely didn’t try to imagine what his shoulders might look like, let alone the rest of him.
Although his probably muscled body—given what she knew of dragon-shifters—wasn’t the only reason. She’d never seen a dragon-shifter actually change forms in person before. Going from a six-foot-something human to a fifteen or twenty-foot dragon was magical and yet had to be a little uncomfortable. Not that any dragon-shifter had discussed that kind of thing with her. She tried her best to get to know the people adopting the orphan children, and yet she’d always been kept apart. Not just because she was human, but also because she tangentially worked for ADDA.
A loud grunt brought her back to the present. Jenny motioned for them to turn around, and as soon as she saw the golden dragon glinting in the sun, her jaw dropped.
Of course he was a gold dragon. The sunshine made him look like some sort of living statue, his scales almost flashing like glitter in parts. His eyes, though, were serious like before, if a lot bigger with slitted pupils. As he glanced at her and then Ethan,uncertainty flashed. Was the gorgeous dragonman insecure? That seemed impossible.
Ethan stared and tugged at her hand.The boy.That’s right, she needed to stop acting like a dragon-obsessed teenager and focus on Ethan. So she asked, “What do you think?”
