Brantley glared at her back trying to stop himself from not going and shaking her vigorously.

Dawn stopped in her tracks, turned her head over her shoulder and said, "You should go back to Aztec and not come here until you have come up with a solution or until you have thought of the situation carefully." She knew that it was a delicate situation but she had to say it, she had to put her foot down, she had to pour her heart out for her child. All the hardships that she had undergone only made her stronger and it helped her in her ventures, her decisions and her choice of life.

​​

She came back home only to find Daryn sleeping. He looked so drained out that she pulled the cover of blankets over his shoulders and went to take a bath. The talk with Brantley wasn't over and she was aware that he would challenge her decision. Maybe they need to come to a compromise. She sighed.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Daryn woke up late in the evening and when she narrated her talks with Brantley, even he didn't know what to say. After having dinner when they were together in the bed in each other's arms, he said, "Dawn, while I don't know how I will be as a father, but I do know what it is to be a mate and the separation only creates anxiety. The man had been waiting for so long that if you go harsh on him, he would literally turn the world upside down. We need to be more pragmatic in our approach because we don't want him to go overboard, nor do we want to lose our child. Mates can be furious and there have been cases in the Lore when immortals have kidnapped their mates for the rest of their life. That kind of thing is worse than anything else. Parents are denied access and the mates don't have a chance to grow. So we have to take a path that would be best for our child as well as Brantley."

She turned away from him and stared outside towards the balcony. The air had become chillier. "At the moment I can't think of anything Daryn. I just want my daughter to experience the world rather than focusing on her mate."

"That is definitely true and I agree with you," he replied as he played with her hair. "Let's shove this topic for a few more months baby. Don't get tense, okay?"

She nodded. Perhaps she had spoken about it too early, but then she had given Brantley a lot of time to think.

Over the next few weeks, Dawn consolidated her business while shuffling her time between training her magic. After the job cuts, she started cost cutting. Through her connections she gained several projects for her IT team. That was one place she was doing well. Daryn wanted to offload many of his projects to her but she didn't undertake them because she was aware of Lily's hawk eyes on her activities. Even a single window open in Daryn's business meant loads of opportunities for her. Lily Wyatt was a toxic woman who had to be kept away from the Silver House.

As for her visits to Ensmoire, she was practicing magic that Brantley had listed. Every layer that opened showed her new things she could try, but if those things were struck in the list, she wouldn't venture on them. Brantley hadn't visited her all those days but she knew that he was watching her from somewhere. She didn't encourage him either. The man needed all the time in the world to think over her suggestion.

By the time she was six months pregnant, her baby bump had begun to show. Daryn had become an extremely proud Lykae. In the parties, he would never let her wear loose dresses and insisted that her baby bump shows. He would boast everyone that he gave her that with a grin on a thump on his chest much to her embarrassment. And people were getting tired of it, yet they had to listen to their king.

It was after one such party, when Neal came over and announced that Caleb might come over in the next few days.

Daryn was so excited to hear the news that he opened a champagne bottle and the alpha and his beta drank till the wee hours of the morning. They had grown so loud that she had to force them to leave the balcony and go to the garden outside where they literally chilled. Cole joined them. Though he didn't drink, he enjoyed their company. Boys will be boys! She harrumphed and went off to sleep. A few hours later Daryn slipped beneath the blanket and she wrapped her legs around his cold feet. The man had buried his face in her chest and had gone off to sleep.

Next morning she had to go back to Ensmoire. Quetz was as usual waiting for her. He had become very careful about her now. 'In my opinion you should stop practicing magic now Dawn. I am not comfortable with it. I constantly fear for the babies.'

She smiled at his concern. She was wearing a black loose tank top with black leggings. She drank water from her flask and said, 'Even I feel like stopping it. I have entered my last trimester and it would be difficult for me to continue.'

'True,' he nodded as he put his foot forward for her to step on it. Carefully he crouched and she caught his spike on the base of the neck. He stretched his wing out to support her and lifted her up. 'I won't take a flight today but will walk,' he said.

"Ah! Okay," she said. After a while she said, 'Quetz, it is possible that I won't be able to come to meet you for a few months now.'

Quetz continued to walk even as he felt a pang of loneliness. 'I understand.'

'But I would like you to come and meet me whenever possible.'

'I will,' he replied gently. After walking for a few more minutes, he said, 'You must reconsider your decision about Brantley. He is pretty pissed off right now.'

She sighed. 'I will leave it to Daryn, Quetz. But what I said is important. I want my daughter to grow in a carefree world rather than being bound by duties and responsibilities like I was. I love my child too much to shackle her with accountabilities. And I think Brantley must understand the basic premise here. I want my child to fall in love with her mate, and not get restraint to fall in love with her mate because he happens to be her mate. Like I fell in love with Daryn.'

'There are some things that you should leave to nature, Dawn,' said Quetz.

She patted his neck. 'We will see, dragon. Will you take me for one last flight?'

'I am scared.'

'Don't be. I will hold you tightly.'

And Quetz took his rider for one last flight before leaving her for the coming few months or even a year. He already felt so lonely and empty. 'What will I do without you?' he asked.

'Whatever you do Quetz, just don't go to the Amazon jungles. Sedora's threat still looms large.'

'I won't… though I wanted to see Emma and Lord Lorza…'