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I nodded. Hawk was the only one who realized how difficult it actually was.

“But it’s the right thing to do. And it has to be done.” He knocked his shoulder against mine. “We’ll get through this.”

“We will,” I promised.

Hawk needed my strength. Harley did, too. I looked out over the still surface of the deep blue lake. If only I could channel some of that calm into my own soul. As exhausted as I was, I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest—not until my mate was back in my arms.

32

HARLEY

Itapped the chisel against the windowsill for the millionth time. Moonlight lit the room, but it wasn’t enough to see what I was doing.

This was a hell of an endeavor. I couldn’t pry the nails out of the window frame until I had peeled apart enough wood to expose them, and I had to be extra quiet thanks to the super-hearing dragons in Sean’s clan—if you could even call his goons a clan. If they caught me trying to escape, I didn’t know what they would do to me, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

I kept working. Every time I pried up a sliver of wood, I stuffed it between the loose floorboards. I didn’t want anyone to see any evidence of my work. I worked diligently until my hands ached and my fingertips felt like they were on the verge of bleeding. A cloud rolled over the sky, snuffing out the moonlight. The room was completely dark.

Sighing, I tucked the chisel back into my waistband, then crawled into the threadbare sleeping bag the goons had tossed at me a few hours ago. At least I wasn’t sleeping on the cold hardwood floor.

I sighed and stared up at the dark window.

Even if I did manage to pry the window open, what the hell would I do after that?

I had no fucking idea where I was. I’d been hysterical on the drive here, more worried about Dylan than where I was being taken. I’d been blindfolded, too. All I knew was that we’d driven for what felt like hours in long straight stretches and dozens of turns. With my luck, we were miles and miles away from Lakeview, way out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but trees for miles and miles and miles. Where would I go if I ran? It’d be so easy to get lost in the woods. And if I managed to find the road, what would I do next? Just run and hope someone saw me before the goons did? Hell, the dragons couldfly.

The odds were stacked against me.

Actually, that was an understatement. There were barely any odds at all. Fleeing this place was a death sentence.

So was staying here.

I couldn’t count on anyone else to save me. I had to get back to Dylan. I had to at leasttry.

At some point, in the darkness of the room, my physical exhaustion won out over my racing thoughts, and I fell into a fitful sleep.

The sound of the lock on the door opening woke me. I shot up like a rocket, and immediately touched the chisel in my waistband, relieved when I felt it secure in its hiding spot. I scrambled to my feet. My brain was still coming online as the door opened.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Sean said. He grinned at the sleeping bag on the floor, which I’d kicked aside in my haste to get up. “You’ve turned out to be even more useful than I hoped.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means,” Sean said with a self-satisfied smirk, “that you really are my brother’s weakness. My initial plan was to take theLakeview heir out of the picture, but it looks like that won’t be necessary.”

There was so much confusing information in that sentence, I didn’t even know what to feel. Terror that Sean really did want to kill Dylan. Belief that he’d do such a horrible thing. Relief that apparently, that was no longer the plan. Confusion as to what the plan even was. My face must’ve showed all those reactions, because Sean looked even more pleased with himself.

“You’ll be leaving with Ace tomorrow,” Sean said, “because he’s agreed to trade the clan foryou.”

“What?” I blinked at him, dumbfounded. “The clan?”

“I’ll be the alpha of Lakeview, just like I should’ve been from the beginning. He’s finally come to his senses. And he’s giving up the clan foryou.”Sean laughed and shook his head. “Fucking idiot. Always has been.”

I gaped at him. That couldn’t be right. There was no way Steph would give up his clan for me. He wouldn’t even give up a quick fuck withBlakelyfor me. The man couldn’t sacrifice anything.

This had to be some kind of scheme. Steph was planning something. This was going to backfire on Sean… I just didn’t know in what way.

And I didn’t know what role Steph had forced me into, either.

Because that’s what it had to be. A role. A plan.