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It was that simple. I didn’t want to. I wanted there to be another option. Some way out. I wanted him to come to his senses and be the brother I remembered, but he hadn’t been that dragon in a long, long time.

That dragon had already died.

The road narrowed and the forest cover thickened as we approached the coordinates Sean had sent. His compound was buried deep in the wilderness, far from any town and civilization. This was just how he liked it. His little kingdom out in the middle of nowhere, where he could pretend to be the alpha he’d always wished he were.

The closer we got, the more my dragon sensed Sean’s presence, and anger simmered under my skin like a living thing.

I tightened my grip on the wheel of my old Cadillac. Maybe I didn’t want to kill him, but my dragon sure as shit did.

Hawk glanced over from the passenger seat. I didn’t have to say a word to know he was feeling the same way.

“You got the paperwork?” I asked.

Hawk nodded and held up the manila folder. Inside was the official notarized documentation that named Sean as the new alpha of the Lakeview clan. It had made me sick to my stomach to sign the paperwork, but I had to trust the plan. As soon as those documents were in Sean’s hands, I’d challenge him.

Then, in a shower of blood, this would all be over. A challenge would make it fair. Sean would get a real chance to defend what he’d wanted badly enough he’d resorted to kidnapping Harley, and I’d get to give him an honorable death.

We reached the gates of the compound just as the sun crested the horizon. The compound was a small collection of ramshackle buildings: a two-story house, a few collapsing sheds, and a garage. It was surrounded by dense tree cover, and an old steel gate blocked off the gravel driveway. It seemed unnecessary. Who the hell would even come up here other than Sean’s goons?

Hawk and I climbed out of the Cadillac. Behind us, Tank stepped out of his truck, and another one of our young enforcers, Rome, cut off his motorcycle.

“You ready for this?” Hawk asked.

My dragon was right under the surface of my skin. In my reflection in the car window, my eyes flashed gold.

Harley was close. I could feel her just past the gate to the compound. I let my dragon’s need to be close, his anger, his desire, overwhelm the pain I felt over needing to kill my brother. My dragon’s determination and fury burned away the last of my reluctance.

This had to be done. Sean had to pay for what he’d done not just to me and my clan, but to Harley. I’d never let anyone get away with harming her. Not ever.

“I’m ready,” I said in a low growl.

We stepped toward the gate, and I clenched my fists at my side. My dragon was on high alert, looking for our mate. Was she okay? She had to be in the compound somewhere, locked up…

But it didn’t feel that way.

No, Harley was close. And getting closer.

She was afraid. I could feel it in the air, taste it like a metallic tang in the back of my throat. She wasrunning.

Something had happened. Something bad.

Sean exploded out of the front door, alight with rage, smoke billowing from his human nostrils, though I had a feeling he may not remain human for long. “Find her!” he roared. “Now!”

Two goons appeared behind Sean, casting their eyes frantically around the compound and the surrounding woods.

She’d gotten away.

I was conflicted. My heart soared at her courage and her craftiness. How the hell had she escaped Sean’s hold? Knowing my brother, he wouldn’t have made it easy. At the same time, cold fear raced through my veins. This complicated things. If those dragons caught her…

Sean’s threat echoed in my mind.“I’ll slit her throat right in front of you.”

I was moments away from shifting and burning every building and every dragon in this compound to a crisp. I’d kill them all before I let them capture Harley again. Before I could do just that, my dragon wrenched my attention to the tree line.

Then I saw her, bolting through the trees as fast as a rabbit on the run. She was headed right for me—right for the gate. Though I only caught glimpses of her as she moved through the trees, I could both see and sense her determination. Her anger.My dragon growled in appreciation, proud to call such a strong woman our mate.

“Keep Sean away from her,” I barked to Hawk and Rome.

My enforcers nodded and approached the gate with their fangs bared. I cut to the side and rushed toward the tree line.