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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 matter the challenges. "Then he's a bloody idiot."
Dawn blinked. "Yes, he is."
He nearly reached out a hand to smooth some hair back from her face but resisted. Touching his true mate would only drive his inner beast crazy, and he couldn't risk it.
His dragon harrumphed, but Blake spoke up before his beast could comment. "For all Daisy's chatter, she's never talked about her father that I can recall. So I'm guessing he's gone for good?"
Dawn smiled sadly and bobbed her head. "He felt leaving her when she was still young would be best. I haven't heard from him in years, and at this point, I don't want to. The only connection I have to him is his sister, who's tried to get to know Daisy a little. But that's it."
His dragon hissed. The fucker. Daisy deserves better. We could do better.
Instead of answering his beast, Blake focused on Dawn. "Well, just know that if he were a dragonman, then I would challenge him for what he did to you and Daisy. Bram would've kicked him out of the clan, for sure, if he'd refused to take care of his child."
Probably. But for some reason, it was important for Blake to say those words right now.
His dragon said softly, Because you're starting to want her, too.
The human female tilted her head. "Your dragon is talking again."
"Like always. He rarely stays quiet. Let's just say he's not a fan of your ex, either."
She hesitated a second before asking, "Do you ever show your dragon to humans?"
Blake's first response was to shut down, dismiss her, and walk away.
Then he remembered that Dawn knew nothing about the color of his dragonhide, let alone about the spot. She was merely curious. "Not usually."
"Oh," she said as her shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
His dragon growled. She should get to see us. Tell her.
And for some reason, he didn’t feel the urge to fight his beast. "But maybe for you I can make a special case and show you at some point, if you like."
Her eyes lit up, reminding him a little of Daisy. No one could doubt they were mother and daughter.
Dawn said, "Really? Maybe I should be the adult and say it's no big deal, but I think every human wonders about seeing a dragon-shifter in their dragon form at some point. A year ago, I never would've thought it possible. But Daisy changed all that, partly through her sheer force of will."
He grinned. "Yes, she can be convincing. I think she might end up being the Department of Dragon Affairs director at some point in the future."
Dawn shook her head. "I doubt she'd last long enough through the bureaucracy to do that. But I can easily see her forming her own group, touring the UK and Ireland, and singlehandedly trying to change everyone's opinion about dragon-shifters."
"She just might," he replied.
As they smiled at one another yet again—Blake couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled so much around another person—a pent-up longing rushed through his body. Not merely because his true mate stood before him. No, it was more than that. He'd been mostly alone since his mother had died a few years back, and always denied any shred of loneliness.
Dawn made him wonder if he wanted a mate after all.
His dragon spoke up. I told you not to spend so much time in isolation. But it worked out in the end since it meant we waited for our true mate to show up.
Blake resisted saying his dragon was right for fear of stoking his ego too much.
