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“Wish what?”

“It’s stupid,” Hawk said. “But I wish there was some way to know if there’s still any good in him. If any of it was real. There had to be part of him that was really our brother, right?”

I thought back to the photo album in my office, and that camping trip where we’d all gone fishing together. It had felt real then. Maybe it was.

“You think you could try?” Hawk asked. “See if there’s a piece of our brother left?”

“You know I can’t,” I said gently.

Hawk dropped his head down and exhaled hard.

“He’s beyond reaching. He’s almost feral. If he ever was our brother, that’s only in our memory, Hawk. It’s gone.”

“Shit.” Hawk’s voice was choked, half-breathless, like he was holding back tears. “I know that. I know. I just…”

“You wish it wasn’t true. I know. I feel the same way.”

“Let’s finish this,” Hawk said. “I won’t interfere, Ace. I’m behind you on this.”

“Thank you.”

We stood there, looking out over the lake. Determination burned within me. Somewhere, out in those woods, my reckless, brave mate was waiting for me. Tonight, I was going to end this, and we could finally start our lives together as a family.

“After this is over,” Hawk said, “Let’s do something. Not a funeral. But just… Something with me, you, Mia, and Harley. And the kids. Have a few drinks. Talk about who Sean used to be.”

“And say goodbye,” I said.

“Yeah.” Hawk nodded. “Yeah. I think… I think I’ll need that.”

“Consider it done. Now, come on. We need to get ready.”

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of preparations: moving our families into the clubhouse where they’d all be safe together, gathering our weapons, and making our attack plans. Just before sundown, Sean sent the coordinates for the meeting place. It was northwest of Lakeview, not far from Sean’s compound, but still in the middle of nowhere. It was deep in the woods, where no one would hear the sounds of our battle.

The clearing was only accessible via a narrow, poorly maintained dirt road. A half-mile away from the coordinates, Tank, Striker, Hawk, and Rome all peeled off into the woods to find safe scouting locations. They’d be close enough to hear my call, but not so close that Sean would catch their scent. I rode up the dirt path at a slow, steady pace. My draconic senses were attuned to the woods around me. It was quiet, save for the rustle of animals in the underbrush and the breeze rustling the canopy overhead. The sun had just fallen under the horizon, and darkness began to descend over the forest.

The forest opened up to a small clearing. There was a small, half-collapsed cabin at the far side of it, nearly overtaken withweeds. The rest of the clearing looked like it may have once been a large garden. Whoever had lived deep in these woods was long gone now. I cut my bike off and dismounted, then cast my eyes around the darkening woods. My nostrils flared. The wind brought me a tiny piece of Harley’s scent: sweet, musky, tinged with anger. My mate wasn’t afraid at all. She was just as pissed off as I was.

Then I smelled the rest of them: Sean, and a swirl of rotten, unfamiliar scents. So I was supposed to come alone, but of course, he hadn’t.

My claws extended and my fangs dropped. My dragon was furious, but now, it was a controlled, slow-burning anger. Finally, I was going to get my fangs in Sean.

Sean stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. He was dressed in black, and the scar over his eye was red and irritated. His skin was sallow, and he had a manic grin on his face. His fangs were dropped, and his dragon was burning in his eyes, but it wasn’t like any dragon I’d seen before. Instead of a solid flash of color, his dragon seemed to swirl in and out of his irises, like it was breaking the surface and then retreating, over and over again.

Uncontrolled.

Dangerous.

Four other men stepped out of the clearing behind Sean. They all had bulging muscles, but none of them looked like they were in particularly good shape. One had a limp, another was jaundiced. One kept twitching erratically. I knew Sean had been struggling to find guys willing to work for him, and it seemed he was really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

“What happened to meeting alone?” I snarled.

“I told you to come alone,” Sean said with a smirk. “I didn’t say anything about me. Besides, I’m the weak one, remember?You’re the big, strong alpha. Who can blame me for bringing a little backup?”

“Don’t be fucking cheeky. Where’s Harley?”

Sean snapped his fingers. Then, from the forest, Harley emerged.

My dragon roared with both rage and relief. Harley was being marched into the clearing with her hands tied behind her back. Her chestnut hair was a mess, and her clothes were dirty. She smelled furious and a little scared. Her eyes locked on mine, and her lips parted.