Chapter One
Rhydian Griffiths couldn't help but smile at the small boy sitting at his kitchen table as he pretended to feed a stuffed toy rabbit some oatmeal.
For the past three months, Rhydian had been taking care of the orphaned boy named Rian Maguire. While the Department of Dragon Affairs had put out notices for the boy's relatives to claim him, no one had yet shown up to do so.
It was entirely possible Rian didn't have any family left alive. Or, at least ones who wanted to acknowledge the relationship since he was half human and half dragon-shifter.
After all, most humans would be afraid, wary, or even disgusted of raising such a child.
Rhydian's dragon spoke up. If no one has put in a claim by now, they probably won't. We should officially adopt him.
If anyone had told Rhydian three months prior that he might be adopting a child, he would've laughed at the absurdity.
However, between the boy's enthusiasm for dragons and the oft-hidden sadness, Rian Maguire had wormed his way into Rhydian's heart.
He wanted to keep the boy and teach him how to be an honorable dragonman.
His dragon grunted. Good. Then it's decided. You should tell him.
Before Rhydian could reply to his beast, Rian laid down his spoon and wiped his stuffed rabbit's mouth with a napkin. "Good job, Mr. Cottontail. Rhydian says eating our porridge will make us grow big and strong. And will also make us pay attention better." The little boy lowered his voice. "And if we're lucky, it might even make my dragon talk with me soon, too."
It took everything Rhydian had to keep a smile on his face. The boy had been kidnapped by a splinter dragon hunter group almost four months ago—one of the worst enemies to all dragon-shifters in the UK and Ireland—and no one knew if the bastards had experimented on Rian or not. Some of the other children kidnapped at the same time had received injections that had messed with their dragon-halves, to the point they had gone silent for a time. However, Rian hadn't shared much from his time in captivity beyond the fact he'd seen his parents murdered. And since Rhydian was the adult the boy trusted most, if Rian hadn't told him, he probably hadn't told anyone.
The resulting trauma was hard enough on someone so young, but if Rian had indeed been used as a guinea pig, then it was possible the boy had lost his dragon forever.
Meaning the inner beast would never speak to him, or allow Rian to shift.
No. Rhydian didn't want that for his charge. His head doctor was working with the other British dragon doctors, trying to find cures to the various drugs their enemies had concocted over the years.
In other words, Rhydian had hope.
His dragon sighed. Why did it take a small lad to make you hope for anything again?
What are you talking about? I've had hope for years. Otherwise, I never would've tried for the leadership position.
Hope for the clan is different than hope for ourselves. You want Rian to be whole. Not only for his sake, but also for us, so that we can teach him how to be a good dragon-shifter male.
One of the downsides to having a second personality constantly inside your head was that a dragon-shifter could almost never keep secrets truly to themselves. Well, unless they spent a vast amount of effort to do so. Rhydian replied, Since we'll never have a mate, he'll be our only charge and family. So of course I want the best for him.
His beast paused a second—never a good sign—before replying, Then stop stalling, and claim him as our son. File the paperwork today. It'll convince the boy that he has a place to call home again.