“Of course.” Lorenzo beckoned them over. “Raja, this is Ryu and Ruby. Ryu is another dragon shifter and a family friend who trained Gabriel in magic. Ruby is - “
Ruby interrupted him. “Despite what anyone says, I’m technically a servant to the Drakinus family. Therefore, also a servant to you, Raja.”
“Yeah, and a bad servant who always butts in,” Dante teased. He clapped her on the shoulder. “Shesaysshe’s a servant but we think of her as family.”
Ruby sighed and shrugged. Obviously, there was no winning with Dante.
I shook hands with both of them. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“I think Lorenzo did pretty well for himself with this cutie, don’t you think?” Ryu asked Ruby with a grin.
Ruby smiled kindly at me. “Oh, absolutely.”
I blushed. Wanting the attention off me, I asked Lorenzo, “Hey, is all that stuff for the baby?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, when we go shopping with our father, we can never just come back with a few things…”
Anton shrugged, showing no remorse that he purchased half the store for his grandchild’s sake.
Lorenzo continued. “So, what’s Gabriel saying I didn’t tell you about?”
“Uh, the whole hybrid shifter thing?” Gabriel said, exasperated. Then he paused. “Wait… Come to think of it, Lorenzo, I’ve never seen you shift into anything besides a dragon.”
“Wait, wait, slow down!” I cried. “Can someone explain what’s going on?”
“Yes, sorry,” Lorenzo said. “Many families in Cinderhollow tribe have more than one shifter form. The Drakinus family is one of them. For example, Dante can shift into both a dragon and a wolf.”
Dante took the opportunity to demonstrate. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a black wolf. Noah giggled and, following his dad’s lead, did the same. He growled playfully and bowled into Dante, who pretended to be knocked over with an over dramatic flair.
“Whoa,” I said.
“Ruby has two forms, as well,” Lorenzo explained. “A raven and a wolf.”
“That’s so cool!” I exclaimed. “Lorenzo, can you do that, too?”
Suddenly, all eyes were on Lorenzo. “Well, yes… I just prefer my dragon form, is all.”
“Is your other form a wolf, too?” I asked.
Lorenzo paused. He seemed slightly embarrassed. “Yes, but not quite. You see, I haven’t shifted into my wolf form for such a long time that it’s difficult to accomplish. And I’m afraid it doesn’t look quiteright, the way Dante’s wolf does. It’s more like - “
As Lorenzo spoke, Noah sneezed so loud that everyone jumped. Before he sneezed, he was in his human toddler form, but the sudden jolt caused him to shift halfway between a dragon and wolf - a furry, scaly creature that looked confused and comical.
“Like that,” Lorenzo finished, flustered.
Gabriel bent down to scoop up his child, who smoothly shifted back to human form. “Wow, I didn’t know about that, Lorenzo.”
“I don’t bring it up frequently because it’s rather embarrassing for a grown dragon not to be able to shift properly,” he mumbled, avoiding anyone’s eyes.
“No way! That’s not embarrassing!” I cried and tugged on his arm. “Hell, I can only shift into one thing. The fact that you can even do more than one is awesome!”
Lorenzo smiled timidly. “Thank you, Raja.”
“Yeah, man,” Ryu added as he gave Lorenzo a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. “I only have one dragon form, and that’s it. Don’t sweat it.”
Lorenzo smiled at him as well.
“Huh… I wonder what that means about your baby, though?” Ryu asked, crossing his arms in thought. “If Lorenzo can’t shift all the way into a wolf, then the baby probably won’t be a wolf either, will it?”
