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oom. It'd been a long time since he'd met an adult human who wasn't mated to one of his clan members. Some of them went lust-crazy over dragon-shifters. Even if Blake wasn't the fittest of the males on Stonefire, he did his fair share of flying and had enough muscles.
Not that he cared. They seemed to attract unwanted human notice.
His dragon grunted. Good. Dragons like attention. I wish you'd embrace it.
Blake picked up his pace until he reached the small door that exited into the biggest room inside the great hall. As he hovered there, he scanned the crowd for the little human girl named Daisy—it was her mother he was to work with—and finally spotted her curly blonde hair. Someone was in the way of the adult with her, but they finally moved, and Blake drew in a breath.
Daisy's mother had lovely blonde hair to her chin, a smile that could warm any dreary day, and a little experience in her gaze that told him she wasn't some brainless teenager looking for a quick score.
His beast huffed. Then go talk to her.
His dragon's words snapped Blake out of his trance. I will. But just because she's pretty doesn't mean anything. She's Daisy's mother, and I won't risk hurting her. Not when that human child seems to be so important to all the dragon teachers and Bram.
Why do you assume we'd hurt her?
I don't have time for a ready-made family. We're on the verge of a breakthrough in our latest project, which will help protect the dragon-shifters.
There's no reason we can't do all of it, both the work and a family. It's not as if you can work twenty-four hours a day.
Not wanting to go in circles, Blake ignored his beast, stood tall, and walked toward Daisy and her mother. The best way to make it all go quicker was to pretend he hadn't seen the humans. That way they'd think him aloof and maybe dissuade them from conversation. Blake wouldn't be rude, but he wasn't going to encourage anyone, either.
And so Blake was careful to keep his glance only on Freddie, one of the young male dragon-shifters, and the boy's mother as he made his way toward them.
Dawn had just finished meeting Daisy's best friend on Stonefire—a boy named Freddie Atherton—when another tall dragonman with light brown hair, pale skin, and hazel eyes marched up to them. He looked straight at Freddie and asked, "We need to get a move on or we'll be late. Did the human parents arrive yet?"
Dawn was about to say something when Freddie gestured toward her. "Daisy's mum is here. She's going to help you."
The man's gaze followed Freddie's finger pointing at her, and the dragonman looked at Dawn's face. His eyes were inquisitive and focused, as if memorizing her features. Then his pupils flashed to slits and back to round, and Dawn couldn't hold back a gasp as she stumbled backward.
She'd never seen the changing pupils before, and they really did turn into a reptilian-type shape. If she remembered right, it meant the dragon half was talking whenever that happened.
Her daughter tugged her hand. "Don't be afraid, Mum. It's just his dragon half. It's like his best friend, always there, talking and giving advice. Not always good advice, but they mean well. And Mr. Whitby's really nice. He's not going to shift and shred you to pieces."
Daisy's words snapped Mr. Whitby's attention, and he frowned. "Of course not. No one on Stonefire would do that unless someone hurt or killed one of our own."
Daisy bobbed her head. "See? You'll be fine, Mum. And Mr. Whitby's brilliant. He made some special things for our play. He didn't have to, but he did. So make sure to be careful and not drop and break something."
Her daughter's words brought Dawn back to the present and stated, "Daisy Mae, I don't break things."
"Sometimes you do. You say that's where I get it from. You say it all the time, Mum. Remember?"
Dawn's cheeks heated. It really shouldn't matter since she'd only see the dragonman for the evening and go home. But still, no one liked having their faults shouted to the world at the first opportunity.
Willing her cheeks to cool, Dawn cleared her throat. "We'll talk about this after the play. Will you be all right if I go help Mr. Whitby?"
Mr. Whitby spoke up, his voice somewhat calmer and gentler than before. "Call me Blake. And she'll be fine. The great hall is one of the safest places on the clan."
Daisy shifted from one foot to the other, her actions telling Dawn that she wanted to go have fun with her friend. Only because an entire dragon clan was watching over the human children tonight did she not comment and give another reminder.
Daisy motioned toward the door. "Go, Mum. I'll see you after the show."
Dawn shared a glance with Freddie's mother, Sasha, who stood nearby—the dragonwoman confirming with a look that she'd keep her eye on Daisy—and then nodded. "Okay. Do your best tonight, Daisy. I'll be filming it all to show everyone."
Once Daisy bobbed her head, Dawn finally turned toward Blake. He stared at her, studying her face as if he'd just seen it for the first time all over again.
She almost asked if she had something on her cheek or nose, but decided not to. Daisy had already embarrassed her once, and she didn't need to encourage any more. "What do I need to do?"
With a grunt, Blake turned and motioned toward a door on the far side of the room. "Follow me and we'll get started."
