I've thankfully never suffered it myself, but have no doubt that the fear that your own parents don't love you is surely one of the most emotionally damaging and crippling fears. "I'll always love you, no matter what" is easy to say and perhaps even to mean when you first say it. But no loved one, parent or child or spouse, is perfect; and even the ones we love the most can and will anger and disappoint us. And we'll act upon those negative feelings.

Showing Zeydaan's relationship with their family is fine and important, but I'm curious about another aspect of Zee's childhood- their relationship with EVERYONE ELSE. After all, the "whispers, rumors, and 'your parents are monsters' " didn't come from Cynthia and Darius themselves.

Did Zee attend school, go to church, just go shopping and playing in public? We know that Zee grows up to get a series of boring office jobs, so even assuming it's a human-dominant-world racial prejudice can't be so high that anyone who sees him screams "AH! WEREWOLF!" and runs away. How many other non-humans did he know growing up? Who were his childhood friends, bullies? Did he have a high school sweetheart? Was he just a stereotypical 'Lone Wolf'?

Zeydaan's world is complicated to say the least. Anthro creatures are rather common. Darius particularly is an entirely different kind of monster- profiteering of war and weapons design. Nothing illegal, but when parents would hear that the child of Darius Jem is going to their school, long story short they wouldn't be happy.

Zeydaan never really had many friends when growing up, however, even though they weren't exactly unique in appearance. They always felt something was the matter with them- not just the unstable form they have thanks to the Fey dragon DNA within them.

Zeydaan did attend school, though they were gradually migrated to home schooling once bullying set in. Often being taught by their maid, within the halls of the Jem family residence.

Public outings and shopping trips would've been rare. Even then, Darius would've made sure there was at least someone watching over them. Though it didn't really ever happen. It was enough to drive a bit of a wedge between them.

I do like to think post-Isabella, when Zeydaan/Iz worked out more who they were, and what they can do- they start to branch out, not only with the friends they made working at the cafe- but social groups, adventuring parties and whathaveyou.

Oh well there goes the cliche gag of attending the next high school reunion as Isabella and confusing the heck out of Zeydaan's old (hopefully reformed) bullies, who are desperately trying to figure out who the smoking hot dragon babe is.

Oh, that is more than possible. Don't worry :P