AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two days later, Blake stared out the car window as Dawn turned off the motorway into a section of Manchester.
Ever since they'd left Stonefire, he'd watched as villages, towns, and cities grew larger the closer they got to the big metropolitan area.
But as his mate easily drove down the street through an area crowded cheek and jowl with buildings, he wondered how people could live this way.
His dragon spoke up. Humans don't need areas to shift or fly. They can pack a lot of people in here. Besides, it's better than what it once was.
Blake was no history teacher, but even he knew that the industrial revolution had dramatically transformed Manchester and the surrounding areas with factories and all sorts of new buildings. Not to mention the living conditions of the poor back then had been beyond his comprehension, and bad wasn't a strong enough word to describe the squalor. Well, I'm just glad I don't have to live here. I can already hear a half-dozen conversations through the car window. Not to mention smells I don't even want to think about.
His dragon snorted. I'm sure once the tens of thousands of university students go home in the summer, it'll smell a lot better.
Before he could debate that point, Daisy must've woken up from her nap because she shouted, "Look! There's my old school! We're nearly at our old flat, Blake."
The school building wasn't anything special, although truth be told, Blake didn't really pay attention to things such as architecture. He was more interested in the materials used to construct it.
Dawn soon parked on the street in front of a two-story house just as Daisy shouted, "We're here!"
It looked like a house, not a flat. "It's bigger than I thought it would be."
Dawn smiled and explained, "It's divided into four flats. Thankfully I was able to get a ground floor one so Daisy didn't have to worry about walking softly."
Humans really did like to live in close quarters. Putting four dragon-shifters, let alone families, in such close quarters would soon drive everyone mad.
His beast said, Remember, humans don't hear or smell as well as we do. So it wouldn't bother them.
I suppose. I guess I'm just used to more space since dragon clans are all designed that way.
Not to mention Blake had lived apart from even most of his own clan for years.
Dawn's voice halted his conversation with his dragon. "It looks like Jane and Rafe made it, too, with the van."
The human sibling pair had volunteered to help with the move. After all, having humans go into the city was a lot less paperwork.
Daisy asked, "Can I get out now, Mum? I want to show Blake our old place and tell him all the really good stories."
Dawn smiled at him. "It's up to Blake."
"Oh, Blake, can we go in now? Please?"
He turned halfway in his seat and smiled. One day soon, he'd need to learn to say no to Daisy, but today wasn't that day. He was still trying to get on her good side. "All right, but no running or shouting, okay?"
"Okay. Let's go!"
She exited the car and opened his door before he could blink. Dawn quickly handed him a set of keys, kissed his cheek, and murmured, "Have fun."
Daisy took his hand. "Come on, Blake. Hurry up. I want to show you everything before it all gets packed up."
Not wanting to draw attention from the neighbors, even if it was in the middle of the day during the week, Blake undid his seat belt and followed Daisy to the door. Her voice was almost at a normal level as she explained, "There are two doors. The front one and the inside one. I can do it for you, Blake. Give me the keys."
He did and watched as she quickly opened the door. The inside smelled of dust and humans.
But Daisy quickly went to a door on the right side and opened it with another key. She waved for him to follow. "In here, Blake. Come on."
The floor above him creaked, meaning someone was home. Not wanting to find out if they tolerated dragon-shifters or not, he went inside the same door Daisy had entered. As soon as he stepped inside, he was wrapped in a mixture of Dawn’s and Daisy's scent, along with something faintly floral.
Daisy took his hand and tugged. "Let's start in the kitchen. You'll see how much smaller it is, although the table was the perfect size for me and Mum."
As Daisy pointed out every little thing in the kitchen, Blake took in the dishes placed on a drying rack, the towel hanging on the stove, and the other little details that truly showed him that Dawn had been yanked out of her life without warning.
