Treasured by the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons #10) - Jessie Donovan Page 0,14

lies, among other things."

Daisy hopped from foot to foot, a sign she was excited. "I promise, Mum. If there's even a small chance we can live on Stonefire, I'll be the most bestest behaved girl ever."

Dawn couldn't help but laugh at how Daisy was laying it on thick. "Too bad I won't be around to see that." She took Daisy's hand. "Come on then. There's still a lot to do."

As she led her daughter back out to the great hall, Dawn wondered how long it would be before she could see Blake again. Now that she'd made a decision, she was eager to get started. Only then could she truly know which pathway her life would end up taking.

But then Daisy began tugging her hand to hurry up, and she pushed all other thoughts away. First things first—she needed to entrust Daisy into Mariana Barlow's care. Then she could ask about Blake.

Chapter Six

Blake stared at the ceiling of his hospital room, unsettled with the complete silence and emptiness inside his mind. One he hadn't experienced since his dragon had first talked with him at age six, a little over thirty years ago.

He vaguely remembered Dr. Sid drugging his dragon silent but not much else until he'd woken up a few minutes ago.

Well, except for Dawn Chadwick. Even without his dragon demanding they find and fuck her, his thoughts were full of the human female.

Her smile, her easy teasing, the way she made him feel relaxed and not anxious like he was with most people.

For the first time, Blake admitted how much he wanted a chance with a female.

Not that it was going to happen. She'd be long gone by now, for sure. Humans who didn't know much about dragon-shifters were afraid of the frenzy and all that it entailed.

Not only that, but Dawn also had her daughter to think of. Like most humans, she probably thought she needed to protect her child from the dragons despite the fact dragon-shifters usually treasured their children more than many humans did.

Maybe he should've tried to explain things better to Dawn and not kept the true mate pull a secret. Perhaps she might've run anyway. But there was a chance she wouldn't have fled without talking to him more.

If his inner beast were awake, he'd probably mention how he'd been right and Blake had been wrong.

He missed his bloody annoying dragon.

A knock on the door brought him out of his head, and in the next second, Dr. Sid Jackson—Stonefire's head doctor—walked in wearing a lab coat and her hair in the usual ponytail. She stopped at his bedside and asked softly, "Is your dragon still silent?"

Sid was a brilliant doctor and usually didn't blink at barking orders or getting reluctant dragon-shifters in line. However, her dragon had been silent for twenty years as a result of receiving too many shots of the silent dragon drug Blake himself had received. That usually meant she was a bit gentler with patients she had to drug herself.

He replied, "Yes, he's quiet and absent from my mind."

Sid bobbed her head. "While I won't exactly say good, it's what we need for your next visitor."

He frowned. "Visitor? Who? Bram? I don't think any of my current projects need explaining to anyone else."

Sid studied him a beat before replying, "Dawn Chadwick is here to see you."

He blinked. "What?"

Sid raised her brows. "You don't want to see her then?"

"No, no, I didn't say that. I'm just surprised, is all."

Could it be that his fated female was stronger than he'd thought? Maybe he needed to not judge her so quickly.

Of course, maybe she just wanted to be polite and say no thanks. And also maybe to tell him to leave her and her daughter alone.

Either way, he wouldn't know unless he talked with her. Even without his dragon, his heart rate sped up a fraction at the thought of seeing the beautiful human again. If he were extremely lucky, she might even smile once for him.

The doctor studied him again before saying, "You shouldn't be surprised. I think she fancies you, Blake, and you know her daughter loves dragon-shifters almost more than anything. Although tell me straight—do you want to see her? Because if you're going to brush her off and pretend finding your true mate is no big deal, I'll spare her the drama."

Blake wasn't usually so forthright with people, but Sid had been there when his mother had become sick and had helped her to the very end. He didn't