Page 42 of The Mating Claim

So did Sonia’smother.

“You’re a good teacher, Lacey,” Ciara told her, taking the baby back. “We enjoy visiting here with you. Sonia’s vocabulary has greatly improved since thesesessions.”

“She’s a little sponge, a smart one.” Lacey shrugged off the praise. “I like teachingchildren.”

Ciara’s gaze sparked again, this time with mischief. “Her daddy is certainly going to be surprised when we see him tonight, rightSonia?”

Sonia laughed and clapped her tinyhands.

Seeing Tara at the doorway, she went to her as her friend whispered to her about the little snake shifter girl. Lacey nodded. Oh yeah, she knew how to deal withthis.

Carrying the latte Tara had handed her, Lacey settled on the chair and picked up the book her friend had selected. Clearing her voice, she began to read aloud as the children sat in raptattention.

But less than fifteen minutes later, she glanced up, then shut the book and swept her young audience with a sterngaze.

“Why is not one sitting withWillow?”

Guilt flashed across eleven young faces, while Willow curled up in a corner, as if trying to make herselfinvisible.

Finally Billy, a Lupine shifter, raised his hand. When she called on him, he piped up. “She’s a snake, Miss Lacey. My dada says snakes can’t be trusted. And they’re scaly and ugly, not like us when weshift.”

This started a chorus of other young voices agreeing with him and saying cruel words, all but Ciara, who frowned deeply. Yet Ciara waited, as if to see what Lacey woulddo.

Lacey took a deep breath. “Scaly andugly?”

Setting down the latte, she stood and summoned all her magick. Because she hadn’t eaten properly, it was hard to pull off, but she had to teach them a valuable lesson now, before they settled into theiropinions.

Iridescent sparks filled the air as she shifted into her dragon form, a much smaller version of normal. The size of a St. Bernard dog, Lacey faced her pupils. Theygasped.

She growled and snapped at them and they all cringed backward. Then she crawled over to Billy, and nudged his handupward.

Trembling, he touched her scales. Lacey grinned at him and his fear eased. The other children relaxed and soon all of them were touching her scales, marveling at her dragonself.

Lacey crawled over to Willow, who finally stood. She lowered her head toWillow.

“I think she wants you to climb on her back,” Ciara saidsoftly.

Thank you. Lacey nodded. Willow did, and when the little girl was firmly gripping one of her spikes, Lacey strode around the room as the other children shouted withglee.

Finally she stopped, lowered her head and Willow climbedoff.

With some effort, she resumed her human form and clothed herself by magick. Hellfire, that drained her, but she had to do it, and let them know this would stop.Now.

“Do you think I’m scaly and ugly?” Lacey asked herclass.

Eleven sets of eyes widened and then lookedguilty.

“No,” said a small voice from the back. “You’rebeautiful.”

Lacey smiled at Willow. “And so are you, sweetheart. And when you get older and shift like your parents can, you’ll be even more so. Never let any Otherworlder tell you anythingdifferent.”

When Willow ran up front and threw her arms around her, Lacey startled, but hugged her back. A lump clogged her throat as she told Willow to resume her seat. The little girl got past all her carefully woven defenses. But damn, she loved kids and loved Otherworlder children most of all because she knew how tough it was beingdifferent.

Especially being different when you had no parent to love you and reassure you that everything was going to be okay, even when you suspected it would not. Because children needed thatreassurance.

She’d never had it, not until Tristan reunited her with her real mother. For that she would always remain grateful tohim.

When Willow resumed her seat, Lacey swept the group with a stern look. “Snakes are beautiful. Repeat after me. Snakes arebeautiful.”