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The agent raised her eyebrows.

“He’s fine,” I said to her. Then, “You’re fine, it’s normal.”

I had no idea if he was actually fine. But if he was feeling bad—or close to a shift—it would be best to get him out of the busy airport and into a car. At least we’d have some privacy there.

I filled out the paperwork, then the agent stepped away to get our car. “Dyl, why don’t you go get a soda from the vending machine while we wait?”

Usually, Dylan would’ve perked up at the idea of a soda in the middle of the afternoon, since I was a bit of a health nut. Today, he just morosely took the money and dragged himself away from the counter to the vending machine in the corner.

I pulled my phone out and dialed Suri.

“Hey, Harley, you land safely? Ready to enjoy your vacation?”

“I don’t know if ‘vacation’ is the word I’d use,” I admitted. “Can I ask you something about Dylan?”

“Shoot.”

“He’s been exhausted this whole trip, and now he’s complaining that his skin feels tight. Does that sound normal to you?”

“For dragons? Unfortunately, yeah. It can be really uncomfortable. Moreso than for other shifters.”

“Great. What’s it like? Do I need to get him away from the general public?”

“No, no, he should be okay for a while longer. But you should be aware that the first shift is always a bitch—doubly so for dragons.”

“Why? It didn’t seem like this for the wolf shifters at school.”

“Dragons have more… parts, so to speak. A wolf’s a mammal, right? The core basis of the shift is already there. There’s a bit of growing, but hands are like paws, and hair’s like fur, right? It’s not that different.”

Seemed pretty different to me, but I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Right.”

“Dragons don’t have many parts in common with humans. Shifters have to develop wings, tails, and scales—all of which are extremely different from human anatomy. His dragon isworking overtime to figure outhowto grow. Sometimes that process goes a little haywire. When I was going through my puberty, I used to get so worked up that my tail would pop out of nowhere.”

“Just unexpectedly?”

“An involuntary reaction. It happened with my claws, and my fire.”

“Suri, please don’t tell me if Dylan gets worked up, he’ll accidentally start setting things on fire.”

That got a laugh out of Suri. “No, probably not. Maybe a few puffs of smoke here and there. But it’s good you’re taking him to his sire.”

“I wish you could help him. I still don’t know if this is a good idea.”

Suri sighed. “You know I would if I could. My uncle helped me through my first shift, but that only worked because my father had already passed away. Your dragon always seeks its sire for the first shift. It’s the only dragon it feels it can trust. And if Dylan’s an alpha, his sire will be the only one who can make him obey. Unfortunately, that obedience is very important during the first shift.”

“So, he doesn’t set things on fire?”

“In a way,” Suri admitted. “Young dragons are strong. I have a feeling Dylan will beextremelystrong. It’s best he has someone with him who can help him tame his dragon. In the meantime, try to make sure he’s not too stressed and let him sleep as much as he wants.”

“Thanks. I know it’s the right choice for him, I just…”

“You don’t know if it’s the right choice for you,” Suri supplied.

I exhaled. “Yeah. It’ll be tough. But it’ll be worth it for Dylan.”

Across the hallway, Dylan was leaning his head against the cool side of the vending machine, apparently oblivious to the people waiting for him to leave so they could get their sodas.

“I hope so,” I said. “Thanks, Suri.”