Transforming Snowridge (Stonefire Dragons Universe Book 2)

by Jessie Donovan

  Contents

  Title

  Stonfire Dragons Universe Series

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Meeting the Humans

  The Dragon Camp

  Author's Note

  Books by Jessie Donovan

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Transforming Snowridge

  Stonefire Dragons Universe #2

  by Jessie Donovan

  Want to stay up to date on releases? Please join my newsletter on my website by clicking here.

  Books in this series:

  Stonefire Dragons Universe

  Winning Skyhunter (SDU #1)

  Transforming Snowridge (SDU #2)

  Searching HighPlains / Dragon clan in Australia (SDU #3 / TBD)

  Transforming Snowridge Synopsis:

  Rhydian Griffiths is the leader of Clan Snowridge in the North of Wales. Not only does he lead his clan, but he also takes care of an orphaned boy on his own. The deadline for any remaining family to collect him expires and Rhydian decides to adopt the boy himself. However, hours later, a human female shows up at his clan's gate, claiming she's the boy's aunt. While he'd usually admire her fire and determination, his dragon says he wants the human, but Rhydian must resist. The last thing he needs is a human living on his clan.

  Delaney Murphy spent the last three months jumping through hoops to prove she was Rian's aunt. When she finally finds the blasted Welsh clan hidden in the mountains, she's told the deadline expired. Even though they try to scare her by tossing her in a prison cell, the action only makes her more determined. After all, Rian is her only family. Provided she can ignore how the serious dragon clan leader looks at her long enough to come up with a plan, she'll be able to raise her nephew as her own.

  As Rhydian tries to ignore the female, a threat reminds him of why any human inside Snowridge could be in danger. He has to work together with Delaney to ensure not only her safety but Rian's as well. Of course, it might mean giving up the family he's secretly always wanted but long denied.

  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.

  Rian stood and walked over to Rhydian, preventing him from replying to his beast. Rian lifted his stuffed rabbit and said, "Tell Mr. Cottontail he'll grow big and strong, Rhydian. He ate all his oatmeal, just like you said he should."

  The toy was a sort of therapy for the boy, and Rhydian had long ago decided to play along until Rian healed a bit more. He fixed his gaze on the gray rabbit with slightly matted fur. "I'm proud of you, Mr. Cottontail. However, if you want to see my dragon later today, then you need to put your bowl in the sink, too."

  Rian squealed and ran back to his dirty bowl. Before Rhydian could do more than blink, the boy had put the bowl in the sink and raced back. "When can we see your dragon? In two minutes? Five? Right now?"

  Rhydian smiled. "After school. You know how your teachers don't like you missing class, especially since you're a little behind the other students."

  Rian sighed loudly. "But maths is no fun. Or writing. Or human studies."

  Rhydian had been careful about not dangling something he couldn't promise in the months since Rian had arrived on Snowridge. However, since the three months for the boy to be claimed had expired yesterday, he could finally admit his decision. "If you're to live on Snowridge, you need to learn all of that. Being part of a clan means you need to be the best you can be. But you can't do that until you figure out what you're good at. School helps you discover what your special skills are."

  Rian's eyes widened and he jumped in place. "I get to stay on Snowridge?"

  He ruffled the boy's hair. "From today, you'll be staying her
e. With me, if you want to."

  "I do!" Rian wrapped his arms around Rhydian's waist. "You, me, and Mr. Cottontail will make our own family. And that way, I won't be alone again."

  Rhydian's heart twisted every time the boy brought up his parents. He still didn't know how much he'd seen when it came to his parents' death—Rian's father had been a dragon-shifter, who had been drained of blood—but one day he'd find out.

  "You're not alone, lad. I'm here."

  Rian hugged him tighter and Rhydian placed a hand on the boy's head.

  He had never expected to be a father. However, taking care of Rian over the last three months had been some of the best moments of his life. Well, best ever since he'd lost his love all those years ago.

  And even though he hadn't been strong enough to claim the human female he'd loved back then, he'd do everything within his power to protect the half-human boy. Rian Maguire was his family now. And as any dragon-shifters knew, a parent protecting their child was a fierce thing indeed.

  ~~~

  Delaney Murphy watched as the black taxi cab drove back down the windy mountain road. Only when it was out of sight did she finally turn toward the steep path that should take her to Clan Snowridge's land.

  Getting to the remote dragon-shifter clan in northern Wales had taken her three days longer than expected.

  Which meant she was a day past the deadline to collect her nephew.

  Some of her friends had tried to dissuade her because he was part dragon-shifter. Needless to say, most of those people weren't her friends anymore.

  Rian was her late sister's only child—and only living family member—which made him the only link Delaney still had to her older sister Rosaleen.

  As she started up the trail, she tried her best not to think of her late sister. The one she hadn't seen for nearly a decade, ever since Rosaleen had run off with a dragonman she'd wanted to spend her life with.

  Over the years, Delaney had occasionally received a letter from her sister, giving her a mini-update about her life in mostly vague terms. However, no matter how often she'd tried to convince Rosaleen to meet in person, her sister had always declined. And since Rosaleen's letters had come from different areas in eastern Ireland, it wasn't as if Delaney could go to the postmarked location, show pictures of her sister, and ask if anyone had seen her.

  Even if she'd known Rosaleen's location, it still would've been difficult to connect. Her sister had illegally run away and eloped with a dragon-shifter. While there was talk about the rules changing in Ireland, so that humans and dragon-shifters could marry freely as long as they reported the union to the Irish Department of Dragon Affairs, it hadn't happened yet. As such, it'd taken Delaney longer than expected to prove Rosaleen was her sister, and therefore Rian Maguire was her nephew, especially since it had required both the Irish and British DDA offices to work together.

  She kicked a small rock over the edge of the path and then another. Just remembering about how much time she'd wasted on DNA tests and interviews made her angry. And the last thing she wanted was for her temper to show when she finally met the Welsh dragon clan leader.

  So she continued to kick rocks, each one helping to release her tension a little bit more. While a punching bag would've been better, she made do with what she had available.

  By the time she reached the imposing metal gate emblazoned with the word Snowridge, Delaney had to take a second to catch her breath. Remote wasn't enough to describe how tucked away this dragon clan was. Why couldn't her nephew be with the clan in the Lake District? Stonefire was easy to find, especially these days—what with all the news reports and interviews that kept popping up on the telly.

  Taking one last breath, she straightened and readjusted the bag on her shoulder. She had a feeling the dragons already knew she was there, but she still banged on the door. After about fifteen seconds, a Welsh male voice blared from some sort of hidden intercom. "Who are you and what do you want?"

  The voice had been irritated and a little restrained. Just her luck, all the dragons in Wales would be grumpy and/or hate all humans. "My name is Delaney Murphy. I'm here to collect my nephew, Rian Maguire."

  After a long pause, the male voice continued, "If that were true, the DDA would've told us you'd be coming."

  Her temper inched up a bit, but she somehow kept her tone even, masking her irritation. "I filed all the paperwork and even have my documents here with me. Can't you at least let me in to wait whilst you check them and contact the DDA if need be? It's not like I can easily go to a hotel and wait for you to do it."

  "Hold on."

  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her reply from coming.

  Just fucking great. Her poor, orphaned nephew was staying with strangers—dragon strangers, nonetheless—and the only thing standing in the way of her collecting him and letting him know everything would be better from now on was some bloody bureaucratic mistake.

  As she waited, Delaney paced back and forth in front of the gate. She should conserve her energy given the altitude and how cold it was in the mountains of Snowdonia. But moving helped her to focus and keep from saying something she shouldn't.

  Maybe in the future, she should bring a jump rope or something with her, just in case she needed the distraction. It’d always helped her focus during her younger days, when she'd been a boxer.

  The same voice finally spoke up a few minutes later. "You can come inside provided you stick with your escorts. They'll take you to a secure location to wait until we have a verdict."

  The gates creaked open to reveal a female with brown hair and a male with dark hair standing right next to her, his arms crossed over his chest. Even though they wore coats which covered their arms and any sort of tattoos—adult dragon-shifters always had tattoos on one of their upper arms—their height all but told her they were dragons. And probably security forces, too, judging by their don't-take-any-shite looks.

  The female spoke first. "Come with us quietly and save your questions for later. We need to verify your story before anything else."

  Delaney had no choice but to follow the order. As she walked between the two tall individuals, she barely had time to notice the large open area beyond the gate before they entered a door on the side of the mountain.

  She'd read about how the Welsh dragons lived in a series of cave-like rooms, but as they went inside the door, her mouth fell open.

  Instead of stone, the walls were covered in decorative tapestries. Each side told a different story. One seemed to be about a dragon owning and then losing a golden necklace. The other side was vaguer, something to do with dragons in Wales, if the mountains were anything to judge by.

  She'd nearly forgotten about how she had two escorts until they stopped in front of an old, solid wooden door. The female dragon-shifter spoke again. "You'll wait in here."

  They opened the door and shoved her inside before she could make so much as a peep. As the door slammed shut, the sound echoed inside the small room.

  While it had lights and a small window, everything about the room was functional—a simple table, a chair, and a pile of blankets on the floor with a pillow. There was also a small toilet and sink along the back wall.

  In other words, her waiting room was a prison cell.

  The DDA had warned her that the Welsh dragons were distrustful of humans, but throwing her in jail was bloody ridiculous. How could one woman be a threat to someone—or, rather, an entire clan of someones—who could shift into a fucking dragon?

  However, fuming and cursing to an empty room wouldn't help her. No, she'd save her energy and then let the clan leader have it once they confirmed her story with the DDA. The English and Scottish dragon clans were always banging on about how humans and dragons needed to be more understanding of one another. Snowridge must not have received that message, and maybe they needed the reminder. Especially since they had only recently become allies with the other British dragon clans and probably didn't want to ruin that relationship if they co
uld help it.

  Delaney sat on the pile of blankets, settled against the wall, and took out her final letter from her sister. She knew the words by heart, but hearing Rosaleen's voice inside her head one last time would give her the courage to be brave and face the dragon clan leader.

  True, she'd never lacked courage before. But facing a human opponent in a boxing ring was a hell of a lot different than facing a man who could turn into a mythical creature and tear her apart with his teeth.

  Opening the folded paper, she read her sister's desperate words one last time to give her that extra bit of courage she needed.

  Chapter Two

  Rhydian stared at the computer screen in front of him and debated what to do.

  A human female had shown up on Snowridge, stating she was Rian's aunt. A little digging by one of his Protectors had shown that she'd done as she'd said and submitted paperwork to the DDA to claim Rian as her kin.

  Rationally, he knew she was Rian's family and he should hand over the little boy.

  And yet, the thought of sending Rian away after telling him he could stay made him hesitate.

  His dragon spoke up. The easiest thing would be to dismiss her and send her back down the mountain. She did miss the deadline after all.

  By one day. And given how difficult it is to find Snowridge, I can understand how.

  Don't tell me you're going to give Rian to her. He's our son in all but name. He should stay.

  He ran a hand through his hair. I want him to stay. But I should give the female a chance.

  I say fight for custody. Especially since she's human, and she probably doesn't understand how claiming Rian means that she has to live permanently with a dragon-shifter clan.

  That detail had been buried in the fine print of the contract the human—Delaney Murphy—had signed. Maybe she'd seen the clause, but he highly doubted it given how minuscule the text had been. And if she doesn't care about that? Then what?