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“Let’s fix you something to eat,” Mia said in a low, soothing voice. “Then we’ll go lay down for a little while. That sound okay?”

“Not hungry. I want Auntie Cassidy,” Dylan said through sniffles.

“We can call her,” Mia promised. “Let’s go to your room.”

I touched Mia’s shoulder as she passed. “Thank you.”

Mia nodded, her eyes warm and kind. “It’ll be okay. We’re gonna get Harley back.”

As she carried Dylan upstairs, Hawk grabbed two beers from the fridge—the regular kind, not the potent stuff from Night Shift Distillery that worked on shifters. It wouldn’t take the edge off, but at least it gave me something to do. There was nothing to do but wait for the guys to return from the scene of the accident.

Luckily, it didn’t take too long. Barely an hour had passed before Tank and his enforcers were back.

“No sign of blood at the scene,” Tank said. “Confirmed by our guys and the cops who were already there. Some signs of struggle, but we all know Harley probably put up a hell of a fight.”

“I know she did,” I said. No blood was a good sign. At least she hadn’t been obviously hurt during the kidnapping. That didn’t mean Sean wasn’t hurting her now.

“But there’s no sign of Sean, or where he took her,” Tank continued. “It’s like they both just disappeared.”

“So, what do we do now?” Hawk asked. “We’re not agreeing to his terms, obviously.”

The enforcers nodded in agreement, then all eyes fell on me. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

“I challenge Sean. But it won’t be like last time.”

“What do you mean?” Tank asked.

“Last time, I thought winning the challenge for the role of alpha would be enough. I thought he’d run off with his tail between his legs. That if he left with a scar, it’d be a “wake-up call”. I thought he’d let go of his anger and accept me as the alpha.”

“We wanted him to come back to himself,” Hawk said. “To join our clan.”

I shook my head. “That’s not going to happen. He’s too far gone. This time, winning the challenge won’t be enough. I have to kill him.”

Hawk’s brows pulled together, and he leaned forward and rubbed his hand roughly over his forehead.

“You good with that, Hawk?” Tank asked.

“Obviously not,” Hawk snapped. He straightened and exhaled hard, then shook his head a little as if to clear it. “He’s mybrother.I don’t want him dead, no matter what he’s done. And especially not by Ace’s hand.”

“Hawk—” I started.

Hawk held up his hand, and I shut my mouth. I respected my brother enough to let him say his piece, even as my dragon bristled with anger.

“But,” Hawk continued, “we don’t have any other choice now. He doesn’t respect us. He’d kill all of us to take control of Lakeview and our clan. If he came for Dylan, he’ll come for Bella. Or Mia. Or any of the people we love.” Hawk rubbed one hand roughly over his hair. “We’ve given him every chance we could. I don’t see any other option, either.”

I reached out and squeezed his shoulder. Hawk’s expression crumbled again, suddenly pinched, like the weight of what he’d just acknowledged truly hit him. “I need a minute,” he said. “I need some air.”

I nodded, and Hawk stepped out onto the back deck, slamming the door behind him. Tank looked at me, eyebrows raised, and I nodded at him and the enforcers. “That’s it for now. Thanks, guys.”

As the enforcers left, Mia came back downstairs, her eyes rimmed red as if she’d been crying. I turned toward her, my brows pulled together with concern, but she waved me off.

“I’m fine. Really. I just hate seeing my nephew like this. And I hate knowing Harley is out there with that jackass. But I got Dylan to fall asleep.”

“Good. He needs it. Hawk?—”

“I know,” Mia said. “You don’t need a dragon’s hearing to hear my husband when he gets worked up. He’ll be okay. He just needs some time.” She put her hand on my forearm and squeezed. “How areyoudoing, Ace?”

Bad, I wanted to shout.Scared. Furious. Angry at myself.