Page 5

HARLEY

T hree weeks later

“ How long is the drive?” Dylan asked.

“Three hours, kiddo,” I said.

Dylan made a sound like a balloon deflating. As he leaned over his luggage, he kind of looked like one, too.

“Sorry about him,” I said to the agent at the car rental counter. “We’ve had a long day.”

That was an understatement. We’d rushed out of the house at five in the morning only for our flight to Syracuse to be delayed, and delayed, and delayed, then it was three hours of turbulence before we landed. Dylan was a trooper, but he was running out of steam.

“Mom, my skin feels tight all over.”

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 is working overtime to figure out how to 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 be extremely strong. 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.”

The agent returned with the keys as I ended the call. I thanked her, then waved Dylan back over.

I nearly dropped my suitcase when we got to the car. “Seriously?”

“It’s the only standard rental we have left available,” the agent said. “If you’d like to upgrade, I have some two-door coupes…”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said before Dylan could even get a little gleam of excitement in his eye.

I wasn’t going to take a sports car down these winding mountain roads, not with my son in the car.

The rental they had for us was a white SUV that had to be at least ten years old.

The paint was scratched, and the wheel wells were still muddy, like it hadn’t been washed properly.

Sighing, I opened the trunk and heaved our suitcases into it.

At least it didn’t smell like cigarettes or old fast food.

Three hours of driving, and then I’d be in Lakeview, New York, the one place I thought I’d never see again.

Dylan settled into the passenger seat. He seemed to be more at ease now that we were out of the bustling airport, but he wasn’t complaining about our missed opportunity to drive a Dodge Charger, which was unlike him.

He sighed and sank deeply into the seat, then put his headphones on and stared out the window as I began the drive north.

I gave him a bit of peace and quiet as we drove—he deserved it.

We drove for an hour like that. As the highway narrowed, the cities became towns, and the landscape was full of lush greenery and mountains in the distance.

Soon, there wouldn’t be anywhere to stop, so I took an exit that advertised a local place to get a good chicken sandwich.

Dylan perked up in the drive-thru. Food tended to have that effect on him.

I got myself some fries to eat while I drove, and Dylan got two chicken sandwiches and more sides than I could ever imagine eating at once.

When I pulled out of the drive-thru, Dylan made to put his headphones back on.

“Hey, kiddo?” I asked before he could. “You have enough energy to talk a little?”

Dylan sighed, but nodded. “As long as I can keep eating.”

“I would never deprive you of the opportunity to stuff your face,” I said with a hand over my heart. “Listen, I know you know why we’re going to Lakeview.”

“To see Mama Liz,” Dylan said. “Fresh air. Change of scenery. All that stuff.”

“Right,” I said with a small smile. Dylan always called my mother Mama Liz. Mom never would’ve agreed to being called something as old-fashioned as Granny.

“More than that,” I said. “It’s time for you to finally meet your father.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. He straightened so fast the fries and chili nearly tumbled out of his lap. “Seriously? You’re taking me to my dad?”

It was still weird to hear Dylan refer to Stephan as his “dad”.

He’d knocked me up, but he’d never been a dad at all.

I hadn’t allowed it—it wasn’t safe. I still doubted that allowing Dylan to meet Stephan now was safe, but what other choice did I have?

“I talked to Suri about it. With your shifter puberty coming up, you’ll need to be with your sire. ”

“Suri can’t help with it?”

“I thought he’d be able to,” I said. “Otherwise, I would’ve tried to figure something out, but this kind of… snuck up on me. Suri said your dragon’s strong, and your dragon needs his sire for your first shift.”

“Weird,” Dylan said as he ate more fries. He was remarkably unfazed by this information about his dragon. A perk of being nine, I guessed. “What’s he like? My dad?”

I hummed and tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

The two-lane highway seemed to stretch on forever in front of us.

This was the perfect time to talk about it.

All we had to do was drive. There was no school or work responsibilities to distract us.

I’d even spent the last few nights figuring out exactly what I would say when Dylan inevitably started asking questions.

But I still found it hard to manage the words. “He’s… complicated.”

“Complicated? Is he a good guy?”

Nope . He’s a thug and a mob boss. I couldn’t tell my son that, though. “He was always kind. And sweet.” To me. Maybe not to everyone else. “ But he made some bad decisions in his life.”

“Like what?”

“Money stuff,” I said. “Grown-up stuff.”

Dylan frowned, obviously dissatisfied by that answer. “What does he do for work?”

“He’s a businessman. Or he was the last time I saw him.” Sure, the businesses had mostly been fronts, but they had existed.

“What kind of business? And don’t say grown-up stuff.”

I laughed. Dylan could be too smart for his own good. “If I remember right, he ran a body shop.”

“Like a car place?” Dylan asked with wide eyes. “Whoa. Cool. You think I’ll be able to see it?”

“I don’t know, Dyl.” I had no idea what to expect from our time in Lakeview.

I wished I had never fallen for a guy like Stephan.

I’d known he was bad for me the moment I’d met him.

But there was something so irresistible about him.

It wasn’t just his looks—though he was ridiculously hot.

It was that soft side, the side only I got to see.

To everyone else, he was cold, even scary.

But he had been protective of me, and that summer, I’d felt safe with him.

At least for a little while.

But I didn’t regret it. Despite all the heartbreak Stephan had caused me, he’d given me the best part of my life. My son.

“What else?” Dylan asked. “Does he have any family? Do I have an uncle or aunt or something?”

I’d worked so hard to shield Dylan from this part of his life, and now it would all be exposed to him. God, I had no idea what I was walking into.