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His eyes burn with that deep violet hue I know so well, locked on me.

And on Michael.

My heart floods with a single, overwhelming truth.

I’m not alone.

Michael turns slowly, confusion furrowing his brow.

“What? I don’t see nothing!”

I meet his gaze, defiant and unflinching.

“I’m laughing,” I say, my voice hoarse but steady, “because you’re about to die, and you don’t even know it.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE-ZEKE

I have to admit, the second I landed, a small part of me worried.

Not for myself.

For her.

And not because of him. But rather, because of what I was about to do to him.

Casey. My sweet, brave, human mate.

What would she think of me like this?

In my true form, ancient and terrifying, more beast than man.

Would she be afraid?

Would she run?

But then I see her.

Bruised. Bloodied. Bound.

And the doubt burns away like dry kindling.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about what needs to happen next.

My magic pulses outward in a blast of gold and violet energy, ripping the last of the cloaking glamour from my Dragon’s body.

I flicker into view with a snarl that rumbles from the depths of my chest and shakes the ground beneath me.

The piece of shit holding my mate stumbles backward like he’s seen the devil himself.

Spoiler alert: He has.

His knife clatters to the asphalt, his eyes going wide, jaw slack with terror.

“Wh—what the fuck?”

I huff a breath, long and deliberate, and thick gray smoke coils from my nostrils like a promise.

The smell of his fear hits me instantly.