help protect the clan from dragon hunters and Dragon Knights. They'd received some data from the Dragon Knights, brought by a human who was a former Knight herself, which had helped tremendously. However, there were still quite a few gaps he needed to work out.
His dragon spoke up again. You can’t spend all your bloody time on the project. Besides, it would be nice to have some company in our cabin.
Even putting aside my own wants, you saw how she was afraid of our flashing eyes. I don't have time for an energetic daughter and a fearful mate.
For now, just be nice to her. You never know, once you get to know her, then maybe you'll want her like I do.
Dawn's voice came from behind him. "It's nice of you to help the children this way. From what I heard from Daisy, you usually don't like crowds."
"Not usually." He stopped in front of a table loaded with unused smoke canisters and confetti cartridges packed securely in boxes and finally faced her. "But it's pretty hard to say no to a whole group of kids."
She smiled, and his heart rate kicked up. If she'd been beautiful to him before, she was bloody gorgeous now. "Do you really mean it's hard to say no to Daisy?"
He couldn't help but smile back. "She is persistent."
"That's the nicest way to say it. But she has a good heart."
Blake heard some whispering and caught sight of Daisy and Freddie sneaking away. They must’ve come backstage after Dawn.
Once they were out of earshot, he nodded. "She does. Although for a human, she's nearly as curious as an inner dragon can be at times. I imagine that's why she gets along so well with Freddie and most of the other dragon-shifter children. She's human, but not quite."
As soon as the words left his lips, he wanted to kick himself. His words could be construed as an insult, which was not his plan. Even if he didn't want a mate, he didn't need to be rude to Dawn.
Dawn tilted her head, her straight hair brushing her shoulder, banishing any other thoughts unrelated to her. He itched to reach out and see if it was as soft as he imagined.
He nearly blinked. Blake usually didn't pay attention to such things, but it was almost as if he couldn't ignore Dawn, even if he wanted to.
His dragon snorted. Good.
Blake half expected Dawn to take a step back again since his pupils would've flashed when his dragon spoke, but she held her ground. Tucking a section of hair behind her ear, she asked, "What's it like, talking with someone inside your head all the time?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "Pretty much like Daisy explained it, with one caveat—they can be really annoying at times. And yet, I can't imagine my life without him."
"It must be nice then, to never be alone."
A brief flicker of sadness came across Dawn's eyes, but it was gone in the next instant. And while there was still a lot to do before the show, he couldn't just ignore the look. "You have your daughter."
"Oh, of course. I love Daisy more than anything. But I imagine your dragon ages at the same rate as you, right? And talking with someone your own age isn't quite the same as having conversations with a child."
Blake paused, wondering if he should ask some more personal questions. His dragon growled. Don't hold back with her. No matter what you foolishly think right now, she's our true mate. Give her a chance.
And for once, Blake didn't dismiss his dragon's prodding. He asked, "What happened to Daisy's father?"
For a few beats, Dawn remained silent, and Blake wondered if he'd fucked up. Since he didn't spend a lot of time around other people, he wasn't exactly the best at social niceties. Still, why shouldn't he ask about such an important part of her life? He'd never be able to get to know the human and slightly appease his beast otherwise.
Dawn finally sighed, ending the awkward silence. "He left a long time ago and lives in Australia." She paused a second, and Blake sensed he should stay quiet. He was rewarded when she added, "After all the infertility issues we had, he was already stressed. In the end, Daisy was too much for him to handle as a toddler, and he left."
Blake clenched his fingers into a fist. Scientist he may be, but he was still a dragon-shifter, and his kind tended to treasure family, no