Zain shook his head. "I don't think she's mine. But regardless, give me a detailed list of what I need to do to satisfy your standards, and I'll meet them."
Bram grunted. "Surliness isn't helping you, Zain. Stop taking your mood out on me and go talk with the lass."
He could deny that he couldn't care less about talking with Ivy unless she was going to impart information related to the Dragon Knights.
Yet as he watched her smile and sometimes high-five or fist-bump a student, a thread of something unfamiliar wound through his body.
He refused to call it jealousy. No, Zain merely felt bound to fulfill his mate duties.
He finally muttered, "Fine, I'll go watch over her. Will that make you happy?"
"For now."
Before Bram could delve into a lecture or some sort of sage advice, Zain crossed the length of the room until he stood next to Ivy in her wheelchair. He couldn't help but noticed her flushed cheeks and the glint in her eye he hadn't seen before—one of excitement.
She was having fun.
His dragon growled. We could've brought that light out if you'd tried a little.
Ignoring his beast, he waited for the latest child—who kept stuttering—to finish before he leaned down and whispered into Ivy's ear, "Tell me the truth—are you tired?"
She moved her head and her hair brushed against his lips.
Her hair was far softer than it should be.
Before he could do something stupid, such as kiss her head and t
ake a deep inhale of her scent, he moved back until he could see Ivy frowning at him. She replied, "I didn't know you were back. But yes, I'm fine. Emily keeps checking me out every five minutes or so, just to make sure."
"But it's been longer than an hour, and that's how long you were approved for."
Ivy raised her brows. "I have Emily's blessing to remain here." She lowered her voice to the smallest whisper. "Besides, they're being nicer to me than you ever were. Excuse me whilst I enjoy not being overly hated for a bit longer."
His dragon stood and stretched his wings. You should be nicer to her, too.
A little boy Zain recognized as Elliott Wells tugged on Ivy's sleeve to get her attention.
She turned and smiled at the little boy. When he smiled back, Zain resisted frowning again.
Elliott's mother, Charlie, had been killed by dragon hunters. While they were a separate group from the Knights, they were just as brutal and determined to harm dragon-shifters.
How could Elliott's father let him interact so freely with an enemy, even if she was a former one?
His dragon spoke up. Hudson works on some IT jobs with Lucien. He would know about Ivy's thumb drive full of information, and that might be enough for the male to give her a chance.
Everyone kept talking about giving Ivy a bloody chance, ignoring everything she did in the past. However, before he could share his frustration with his dragon, Daisy ran toward him and shouted, "Uncle Zain!"
He'd long ago stopped trying to tell her he wasn't her uncle. When Daisy skidded to a halt next to him, she tugged his sleeve. "You're not taking Ivy away yet, are you? I promised her a sneak peek at the sets for our play. And she mentioned knowing some science stuff, so maybe she could help with the special effects. Mr. Whitby keeps trying to find the perfect controlled explosion. Something about not wanting to catch everyone on fire, so a fake one. But a good one, of course."
Zain opened his mouth to reply, but Daisy turned toward Ivy and continued on, "You're staying a little longer, right, Miss Passmore? We can go see the sets and talk with Mr. Whitby right now. I know the other kids will be disappointed at you leaving, but you already said you'd come back to the Stonefire school again. So they can save their questions for later. The sets and play won't be there for much longer, only until we put on the show. After that, they'll probably be stored again. And if Mr. Whitby doesn't figure out his special extra for us, then the play won't be as good. You need to help him."
Good thing Daisy was not quite eleven years old. If she were an adult, Zain might be afraid of what her forceful personality would do to his clan.
His dragon snorted. She loves dragons too much to hurt us.
Just because she loves us doesn't mean she won't do something unintentional to harm us.
Ivy's reply interrupted his conversation with his beast. "I think that's a good idea, Daisy. I need to leave soon so I can rest anyway. And I do want to try and help Mr. Whitby if I can."