Her shift was clumsy and slow, and only heightened the suspense knotting up in my chest. But finally, her human body disappeared, and was replaced by a small black dragon—almost a tiny, carbon copy of Dante’s dragon.
Ryu stared in awe. “How did she…?”
“What’s that mean?” I asked, overwhelmed with confusion. I stared at Dante. “Areyouher alpha-father?”
Gabriel quirked an eyebrow, and Dante groaned. “No, of course not!”
Ryu was quicker than I was to put the pieces together. “So she can take two shifter forms,” he mused out loud. “That means one of her parentsisa Cinderhollow tribe shifter. Ours is the only tribe I know of with the power to take multiple forms.”
“Right,” I said. His explanation calmed me down, and I tried to work out the truth as well. “And there aren’t many dragons outside of Cinderhollow, anyway, are there?”
“Some exist, but for the most part, that’s correct,” Lorenzo explained.
“So Mav’s part of the story was definitely a lie,” Ryu added. He quickly explained the short version of the story to the others. “There were a fox and wolf couple claiming to be Angel’s biological parents, but their true motive was just to get back at us for past slights. But at the time, Angeldidshift into a fox. The rest of the story didn’t add up, but we assumed for a fact one of her parents must have been a fox shifter.”
“So her biological parents are a dragon and a fox?” I suggested. But before anyone could respond, Henry’s taunt reverberated in my mind.
If we do find Angel’s biological parents, what if they want her back?
Suddenly overwhelmed by fear, I blurted out, “Maybe we shouldn’t try to find them.”
Ryu gave me a sympathetic glance and rubbed a hand on my back. “Are you still worried about what Henry said?”
I nodded miserably.
Ryu told the others, “The omega who falsely claimed to be Angel’s father told Scar that he hoped Angel’s true biological parents would steal her away from us.”
I winced hearing the words again out loud.
Gabriel’s face twisted into a snarl, like a protective father wolf. “That bastard!”
He quickly realized he’d swore, but thankfully Noah was too busy playing with Charlotte to notice his dad’s error.
“That’s just sick,” Dante added. “Don’t listen to that guy, Scar.”
I perked up a bit. It was strange to hear an alpha that wasn’t my mate standing up for me. It felt… nice?
“And he straight up doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Raja growled. “Didn’t youfindAngel abandoned in the first place? Screw them if they want her back! They already lost their chance at being decent parents.”
“You two are both fantastic parents,” Lorenzo added. “YouareAngel’s real parents, no matter what anyone else may claim.”
They were right, and I knew it. “It’s just hard to shake the feeling,” I muttered. “I mean, you guysareyour kids’ biological parents. We don’t even know who gave birth to Angel, or where they are now. And if they’re ever going to take her back...”
Lorenzo paused before asking, “Do you still not want to know?”
I sat up suddenly. “Wait. Doyouknow?”
“I have a theory,” Lorenzo replied gravely. “There’s something else I’d like to demonstrate first.”
He glanced at his mate. Raja nodded and assumed his panther form. The great black cat shook out his glossy pelt and loosely waved his tail as he padded over to Angel and touched his nose with hers. Angel laughed, then slapped the mats with her hands.
In the next moment, she changed again.
But this time, she was neither a dragon or a fox.
She was a black panther—the same as Raja.
The revelation sent me reeling. “What the hell?” I cried.
