Daisy sat up a little straighter. Never the shy one, she bobbed her head and said, "Yes, ma'am. I'm ready."
Dawn smiled at Daisy's formality.
The woman in charge was named Ms. Cook, and her voice was a tad less stern when she asked Daisy, "If given the choice, would you want to go back to your old school or stay at your new one?"
"Oh, my new one. My best friend, Freddie, is there, and I've been making other friends, too. Not to mention they're all dragon-shifters, and so that means I can see them in their dragon forms during practice time. Even though I can't shift, Mr. MacLeod helps teach me some other things, since I'm behind."
Ms. Cook asked, "Don't you miss your human friends?"
"Well, I do miss Emily. But she loves dragons, too. Especially since she made a new friend named Jayden. She'll visit us loads, I'm sure. So it's not too bad."
The woman asked another question. "Some people won't like you because you live with the dragons. There are dragon hunters and they sometimes kill humans who like dragons. Are you afraid?"
Dawn opened her mouth to protest—why would they ask a child about being murdered—but Hayley placed a hand on her arm and gave a minuscule shake of her head. Apparently, Dawn needed to allow the question.
Clenching her jaw closed, she waited to see how Daisy answered. Her daughter tapped her chin a second and then replied, "No, I don't think so. Bram and Kai and Nikki and everyone works so hard to keep us safe. And they told me that I'm part of the clan now, too. So they'll do everything to keep me safe, too. Plus, I learned loads about dragon and human wars in school recently. So it's happened over and over again in history and humans are still okay. I think that means it'll always happen, right? As long as people hate dragons for just being dragons. Or something like that."
Ms. Cook nodded. "Probably. I have one more question for you, Daisy. Everyone is nice to you right now on Stonefire, but that could change. What if there was a new war against humans and everyone started to hate you? Wouldn't you want to move away?"
Dawn bit her lip to keep from telling the woman off. Some of her questions weren't appropriate for a child.
But leave it to Daisy to just shrug and say, "Not really. I mean, I've heard lots of bad things about dragons, and that didn't stop me from wanting to see them. And now my best friend is a dragon-shifter. Freddie would never hate me. And I don't think his mum, or Bram, or the others would, either. There are lots of human mates, too. Even dragon-shifters would see that not all humans are bad."
Oh, Daisy. Her daughter was insightful without even trying.
"Perhaps," Ms. Cook murmured. Then she looked at each of the adults in turn. "We have everything we need. We'll send our verdict in the next week."
With that, the panel filed out of the room. And without even glancing their way—not even at Daisy—Susan and her solicitor exited, too.
Anger churned in Dawn's stomach. The bloody woman just wanted to use Daisy to make a statement. And if the panel decided to hand over her daughter to Susan, Dawn would have to think about snatching Daisy back and flee into hiding.
Hayley's voice broke through her rescue planning. "I'd like to go over how I think it'll go from here. Let's find some lunch, and I can answer any of your questions."
Daisy chimed in. "But can I ask about dragon museums on our way out? I don't want to forget, and it's something they really should know about. I mean, if they don't exist already, of course. But if not, they should."
Smiling, Dawn nodded. "Okay, but only for a minute or so, and then we're off to lunch. Agreed?"
"Okay." Daisy stood and rushed to the door. "Let's go!"
Dawn stood, and Blake moved instantly to her side. He kissed her and murmured, "Daisy's portion went quite well."
She watched Daisy stop at the doorway and jog in place, trying to hurry them up. "It did, and it gives me hope."
He pulled her against his side and turned them toward the door. "For now, let's learn all we can, get some lunch, and I may just reveal the surprise I have in store for you this week."
She raised her brows at Blake. "A surprise?"
He smiled. "Yes, a surprise. And I only mentioned it once Daisy was out of earshot because otherwise, it wouldn't be a surprise for long. She'd get it out of me in no time."
She snorted. "Very true." Searching Blake's eyes, she touched his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Hayley cleared her throat. "We should go before the next appointment enters the room."
And so with great effort, Dawn followed Blake's lead and did her best to be positive for Daisy for the rest of the day.
Chapter Eighteen
A few days later, Blake looked over the packed lunches on the kitchen counter and nodded to himself. Even for his pregnant mate, there should be enough food for the afternoon.
His dragon spoke up. If she's still hungry, she can have some of ours.
Daisy raced into the kitchen and skidded to a halt next to him. "Can we go yet? I'm ready, and so is Mum. If we leave right away, that means we'll have more time for your surprise. And since you had to pack lunches, it means it's not on Stonefire. Right?"
He smiled. "That is a long-winded way to say you want to see my dragon."
"Well, of course, I haven't really seen him much, and it's not just me. Mum likes him, too. And with the sun? You'll be all sparkly."
His dragon grunted. We do not sparkle.
You do, a bit.
His dragon huffed and fell silent.
Before Daisy could ask what his dragon said—she still did that all the time, despite the gentle reminders about how you shouldn't do that with dragon-shifters—he handed her some of the packed lunches. "Take these to the car. I'll carry the rest, and then we can go."
Without another word, Daisy grabbed her share of the lunches and raced out of the room.
His dragon said, At least she's not thinking about the custody trial.
There still hadn't been any word yet. Dawn had a hard time sleeping, and it made both man and beast anxious. Today will hopefully distract her. After all, she said her perfect day would be sunny and outside.
Too bad it's not very warm.
Well, we do what we can, considering this is the North of England.
Daisy yelled from the front door, "Do you need more help, Blake? Mum's waiting in the car now, too."
Shaking his head at how skillfully Daisy could make someone feel guilty with a few words, he scooped up the remaining lunch things and went to join his mate and daughter.
Since Blake had never learned to drive, he slid into the passenger's side and shut the door. Dawn raised her brows. "Well, since you won't tell me where we're going, I need some sort of direction to get started."
Even if he didn't drive, Blake had flown the route many times over and had taken note of the roads below. So he gave directions to get them going, and continued to give Dawn further ones until they reached a peaceful valley surrounded by hills.
As soon as Dawn pulled into a turnout spot, he said, "We'll leave the lunches here for now. But bring the blankets and towels."
Dawn raised her brows. "It's not exactly warm."
"Just trust me, love."
"Okay," she said as she exited the car and helped take out what was needed from the trunk.
Blake guided them down a pathway until they came to the shore of a small lake. He gestured toward it. "This is my favorite place to swim in the lake. I thought I'd show you my dragon form and go for a swim." He winked and leaned to Dawn's ear so that only she could hear. "Although you'll have to wait for me to shift between human and dragon since Daisy's here."
She lightly hit his arm. "Considering how cold it is, I'm not sure you'd want to do that right now anyway. It'll be a little less impressive, won't it?"
"Cheeky female," he murmured before he kissed her lips briefly.
Right on cue, Daisy jumped on the silence. "When will you shift, Blake? I really want to see your dragon, and help scratch your ears, and maybe y
ou'll even let me sit on your back? None of the other adults will let me do that, and it's a pain even with Freddie most of the time. So you have to let me do it, just to see what it's like to be that tall."
Giving Dawn one last kiss, he faced his stepdaughter. "Set the blankets on the ground and turn away. Only then will I shift."
Daisy tossed the blanket on the ground, not caring if it was laid flat, and plopped herself down, her back to him. "Ready!"
He chuckled and slowly shed his clothes. After touching Dawn's cheek one last time, he moved far enough away to change forms.
His wings sprouted from his back, his legs and arms grew, and his face elongated into a snout. In less than a minute, he stood in his white dragon form.
Giving a small growl, he let his family know he was done.
Daisy was up and at his side within seconds. She patted his scales. "You're so shiny, Blake. You really do sparkle, more than the other dragons."
Dawn bit her lip to keep from laughing.
However, Daisy went along his side and back to his tail. She shouted, "There it is! Everyone mentions your spot, but it's not really that big, is it? Or that special. I mean, it doesn't sparkle as much as your white scales. So I don't know what everyone goes on about it."
And as she touched his spot, Blake didn't tense up or feel the need to run away. Dawn and Daisy were his family now, and he wanted to share this part of him with them.
His dragon spoke up. Maybe now you'll not care if everyone else thinks the bloody spot is special.
With time, yes. After all, once the baby is born and grows up a little, we'll have to help him or her with shifting. And when that time comes, helping our child will be more important than a few bystanders.
Good. Although I hope it doesn't take that long. I'd like to fly more and shift without worrying about if the landing area is empty or not.
Dawn came up to him, interrupting his conversation with his dragon, and he lowered his head. She didn't waste time scratching behind his ears.
Daisy soon joined in and even convinced him to lay down so she could climb on his back.
The next hour or so flew by, all of them forgetting about what could happen in the future. Right then, they cared about having fun and making a memory for their new family. Nothing else mattered.
Dawn knew that Blake had planned the day to distract her, and it worked.
He'd remembered their silly speed dating event and her answer about her perfect day. True, it wasn't as warm as she'd like, but as Daisy squealed when Blake jumped into the lake in his dragon form, it was even better than she could've imagined.
While still new, they were a family. One that she didn't want to ever let go.
She watched Blake do various stunts in the water, tackling most of Daisy's request, and couldn't help but laugh.
She had no idea of how much time had passed when another dragon came into sight. Dawn wasn't good enough to tell who the purple beast was, but they landed, folded their wings, and looked between Blake, Daisy, and back again.
Blake nudged Daisy toward Dawn, and she understood what they wanted. The purple dragon needed to shift, and unless Dawn was comfortable with Daisy being around two naked adults, Daisy needed to look away.
While Dawn knew eventually she'd have to be comfortable with the idea of naked strangers because of shifting and her own half-dragon child, she wasn't quite there yet. So she went to Daisy and turned them away from the pair as she said, "Let them shift so Blake can see what the purple dragon wants."
"I bet it's Nikki. She likes to do that extra wing flutter when she lands."
Dawn brushed some hair from Daisy's face. "You really do notice everything when it comes to dragon-shifters, don't you?"
"Of course. They don't all look alike, even though people say that. Just like humans, they have small differences."
Blake's voice prevented her from replying, "Come here, Dawn and Daisy. Nikki had some news."
When they turned around, Dawn noticed Nikki was already in her dragon form again. The woman was fast.
As she hurried Daisy to Blake, she noticed he had his trousers on, but nothing else. Normally she'd appreciate the water dripping down his chest, but she was more interested in the news at the moment. "What is it?"
He took her hand and Daisy's. "The DDA has decided Daisy can stay with Stonefire provided they have regular check-ins and allow her aunt to see her a few times a year."
Dawn wanted nothing to do with Susan, but she'd take that over losing Daisy forever.
Hugging her daughter to her side, she said, "You're staying with me, Daisy."
"Not just you, but all of us. We're a family, right? Blake said he wouldn't leave, and I don't have to leave, so we can stay together and be a family."
Dawn smiled. "Yes, we can." As she hugged Daisy to her side, she met Blake's gaze and tried her best to blink away her tears. "But this is just our starter family. We'll grow and have more to love soon enough."
Daisy spoke up again. "That will be brilliant. Well, as long as I don't have to babysit all the time. But just think—I can see his or her little dragon first. And help my brother or sister learn how to be a dragon. I know I'm not one, but if I study hard, I can help. That's what big sisters do."
"Yes, they do."
And as Daisy went on about all the things she wanted to learn and teach her new sibling, Dawn merely smiled at Blake and conveyed with her eyes how happy she was. Not only would she have her daughter with her, but she also had a second chance at life with Blake and their new baby.
Dawn had never been happier and looked forward to whatever the future might bring.
Epilogue
20 Months Later
Dawn watched as Blake and Daisy tried to put the little party hats on her twin boys. Except, when one would get it on Jasper, then Theo would knock his off. And then vice versa.
Still, the fact Blake and Daisy would keep trying just so she could get the perfect picture warmed her heart.
While the twins' first birthday was special on its own, there was another reason Daisy and Blake were trying so hard. After all, in a few months, they'd have another child to join the family, too, and they wanted to spoil all three of their current children up until the last minute.
She resisted placing a hand on her belly since she needed both for her phone. However, while dragon-shifter population skewed male, Dawn secretly hoped she could have another daughter.
Daisy and Blake finally managed to get the hats on and quickly stepped to the side. Daisy shouted, "Now, Mum!"
And so she snapped a few pictures with her phone before the hats ended up on the floor again.
Laughing, she walked toward her boys. "Hey, you two should be happy. Daisy wanted hats with extra glitter and feathers on them."
Daisy jumped in. "Well, I wasn't sure how to make dragon wings, exactly. And then Blake said they'd be too pointy and sharp anyway, so I really did compromise."
Her daughter was nearly thirteen, and yet, Dawn was always surprised at how much more grown up she sounded by the day. Hugging Daisy to her side, she replied, "The hats look fabulous, Daisy-love. It's almost like a mini-aquarium on each one."
"Well, Jasper and Theo like it when Blake swims in the lake in his dragon form. And a lake was too big to fit on a hat, not to mention the fish are more interesting in the sea, so I just went with my imagination."
Blake pulled one of the cupcakes just out of reach of Jasper. "I think we'd better light the candles now or there won't be any cupcakes to use for singing ‘Happy Birthday.’"
Dawn snorted. "Dragon-shifter boys do eat a lot." She placed a hand on her protruding belly. "If this is a boy, too, then we may need a bigger kitchen if we're to feed them all."
Daisy jumped in. "I still say you should just find out now, Mum. The waiting would kill me if I were pregnant."
She tilted her head. "It's dragon-shifter tradition, Daisy. I thought you'd be excited we're following it?"
Her daughter frowned. "Usually,
yes. But waiting nearly nine months is just too long."
Dawn laughed and released her daughter to help Blake with the cupcakes. "Just be grateful you aren't a dragon-shifter, then, because you'd have to wait six or seven years to meet your inner dragon."
"I suppose. But I can't remember much from when I was that little. So I'm guessing it's not as difficult as when you're older."
Blake grunted. "It depends. I have some things I've been testing for years now and still haven't figured out."
Daisy shook her head. "I couldn't wait that long! I guess I can't be a scientist, then."
Jasper leaned forward and managed to reach the edge of the cupcake. Dawn clapped her hands and said, "We'll talk about patience later. Right now, let's light the candles and sing ‘Happy Birthday.’"
Blake lit the candles and as the three of them sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jasper and Theo, Dawn couldn't stop smiling. And not just because she had the bigger family she had always wanted.
There was going to be an even bigger party later in the day, with Sasha and some of the other mums and children. Dawn had gone from being on her own with Daisy to having a loving mate, more children, and more friends than she could count.
And all because of an accidental kiss nearly two years ago. Her second chance had started out with a bang, and Dawn was determined to keep her happy ending for the rest of her life.
Thank you for reading! I hope you loved Dawn and Blake (and Daisy, too). The next story in the Stonefire Dragons series will be Captivating the Dragon, about Hayley Beckett and Nathan Woodhouse. However, the book isn’t available yet. So in the meantime, you should check out my sexy American dragon-shifters living near Lake Tahoe!
Victoria Lewis enters the dragon lottery on a whim and never imagined a tall, sexy dragonman picking her out of a room full of women. Little did she know, she's Jose Santos's true mate and he'll do anything to have her…
Treasured by the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 13) Page 13
