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Mom.

Her touch was so gentle on her son’s face.

Herson.

My dragon was trying to crawl out of my skin. I squeezed my hands into fists at my sides. It took all my self-control to stay still.

Zoey wiggled out of the boy’s arms and bounded around the living room, sniffing at Hawk’s feet before trotting over to mewith her tail wagging. The kid’s eyes followed her around, and that’s when he noticed me. His eyes widened.

Blond hair. Hazel eyes.

It was like looking into the past. He looked exactly like I had as a kid.

A whirlwind of emotion rushed through me, and I couldn’t pinpoint any one except shock. My dragon was equal parts confused and overjoyed—he desperately wanted to take this fledgling dragon under his wings. My dragon recognized its own blood. This young dragon hadn’t shifted yet, but it was coming soon. I could sense the kid’s powerful dragon just under the surface.

Nine was young for a first shift. It was the same age when I’d first shifted.

I tore my gaze away from the boy’s face. Harley was pale, her brow furrowed in concern. I immediately wanted to soothe my mate’s worries—the woman who was supposed to be mymate—but I couldn’t give in to those instincts. Not yet.

My voice was like gravel when I spoke. “Harley, I need you to explain.”

5

HARLEY

Stephan was even more gorgeous than I remembered. Tall, with short, dirty blond hair. Ten years ago, he’d had a five-o-clock shadow, but now he sported a full beard. His white T-shirt was pulled taut over broad shoulders, strong forearms, and large biceps. He had more tattoos now. I remembered lying in bed next to him, tracing my fingertip around the leaves of the tree tattooed on his left shoulder. Now, both his arms were covered with tattoos, nearly down to his wrists. It suited him. He looked tough. The sight of him still sent desire swirling through me—had it felt this strong when I was twenty? Had I forgotten how badly I always wanted to touch me?

His hazel eyes still seemed to pierce directly into my heart.

“Hey, how about we take Zoey back outside and play some more catch with Mia and Bella?” Hawk said.

Dylan glanced at me for permission. He’d fallen in love with his two-year-old cousin the instant he’d seen her. The little girl could’ve been Dylan’s sister—or Dylan himself stuck in a time machine. She had the same round cheeks Dylan had had at that age, the same pale blonde hair. But where Dylan’s eyes were hazel, Bella’s were bright green, like Hawk’s. I nodded.Dylan looked back at Stephan, and for a moment I thought he would resist and start asking questions—but whatever Dylan was feeling made him a little more unsure. He nodded at Hawk, and the two of them went back outside with Zoey trotting at their heels.

A thick, loaded silence settled between us. Stephan crossed his arms over his chest and watched me, those hazel eyes burning. It was a serious look, an angry look, but it didn’t scare me. He’d never scared me. On the contrary, whenever I was with him, I felt safe. He wasn’t the big, tough guyAceto me. He was always just Stephan.

“Harley, what the hell is going on here?”

I glanced around the house. “Is she here?”

“Who?” Stephan asked.

“Your mate.”

He frowned. “Mate? I don’t have a mate.”

“You don’t have to lie about her,” I said. “Let’s try to be civil about this, okay?”

“Civil? You want me to be civil when you’ve been keeping my son a secret from me?”

“Don’t turn this around on me.” I stood, so he wasn’t towering over me. I wanted to be civil about this. I wanted to make sure I was doing right by my son. But if that… thatbitchwas lurking around here somewhere, I needed to know. “Blakely told me everything that summer.”

Stephan dropped his arms. He took a slow, steadying breath, then pinned me with those hazel eyes. “What, exactly, did Blakely tell you?”

“You want me to relive it?” I rubbed my palm over my forehead. “It wasn’t exactly a great night for me.”

“Just tell me what she said.”

“Fine,” I snapped. “She told me everything. That she’d been sleeping with you before we even met, and that you were going tomate with her. She said I was nothing but ashifter chaser.”The phrase felt gross in my mouth. I still remembered the disgust in Blakely’s eyes when she’d called me that. She’d made me feel so stupid—like a stupid little tourist girl who was in way over her head.