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I was so proud to call him my mate.

Sean reeled back. There was that awful bone-crunching sound again as he shifted: his wings sank into his body, his neck retracted, and his scales disappeared like a puff of steam. The human Sean stood in the clearing, covered in blood, tilting to one side as the gashes in his side and neck oozed. He was naked,save for the blood coating his skin. His eyes burned gold and red as he whirled toward me.

“Kill her!” he roared. “The gun! Blakely! Kill her now!”

At my feet, Blakely reached for her waistband with trembling hands. Only then did I see the holster on her hip. She scooted back, away from me, until her back was propped up against a nearby tree trunk. She managed to get the pistol out from its holster, and her hands shook horribly as she struggled with the safety.

Realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I was Sean’s failsafe.

Sean was losing, but if he killed me, the bond Steph felt would suddenly shatter. And like Steph had told me, he’d be incapacitated. The pain would weaken him enough that Sean could kill him.

It was unfair and wrong, but it would still be a victory in the challenge.

“Shit!” I shouted. “Steph!” I rushed out of the tree line and into the clearing, right into the fray of the fighting. I stood in the center, chest heaving, wrists aching, bruises blooming on my face from my scuffle with Blakely. The Lakeview enforcers had the hired muscle managed: Hawk had one pinned, Tank another, and the other two were missing, like they’d run off in the middle of the fight. Not surprising. Steph, still in his dragon shape, lashed his tail and roared at his brother.

“Do it!” Sean shouted.

Blakely was too shaken up. The small pistol seemed like it weighed a hundred pounds, and she started to cry as she tried to hold it up. Sean shouted in rage as he charged at her. He snatched the gun from her hands and whirled toward me.

Time slowed down.

I was pinned to the spot. Frozen. Terror trapped my voice in my throat.

Oh, Steph. Oh,Dylan.They’d be in so much pain. It couldn’t end like this. It couldn’t!

The gun went off.

Another roar.

Sage green filled my vision.

Steph. He threw himself in the line of the fire, and the bullet flew true. He roared in fury, in pain, then crashed into the grass.

“No!” I screamed. “Steph,no!”

Steph’s legs buckled as he hit the grass. He only barely managed to stay upright, his muscular body swaying with pain. From behind him, I saw the blood pouring from the bullet wound in his chest. How had this happened? He was a dragon—bullets weren’t supposed to be able to pierce his scales like that.

I was still frozen in place, watching the blood pool on the grass. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a bad dream.

Blakely had managed to pull herself to her feet. She was leaning heavily against a tree, and her whole body was shaking. Her eyes were wide with shock. Then, she turned on her heel and sprinted into the woods like a terrified bunny.

Sean raised the gun again. His hands were steady this time as he aimed at Steph again. Not at his heart this time, but at the center of his forehead.

The gun went off again, and my heart stuttered.

I waited for the blow, but it never came. The bullet shot straight up into the sky. Someone had barreled into Sean, knocking him hard into the ground and sending the gun bouncing across the grass. A hand wrapped around his throat.

It was Rome, the young enforcer. He snarled, the sound purely draconic, as he hauled Sean up by his neck. Sean gurgled as he was lifted effortlessly, like a leaf. Blood soaked Rome’s hand and dripped from the wound on Sean’s side all the way down to his toes, which barely brushed the grass. Rome hurledSean to the side, and he crashed into a tree with a muted moan of pain.

As he crumpled to the ground, Sean shifted back into his dragon form. His pained groan morphed into a wet growl from his dragon’s throat. He clambered to his feet, but he was too slow.

Steph surged forward. He slammed Sean against the tree, and there was a loud, sickening crack. I didn’t know if it was the tree, or Sean’s spine. Steph bared his fangs and fastened his jaws around Sean’s neck again, this time right at the top under the base of his skull.

I knew what was about to happen. I closed my eyes and turned my head, but that didn’t do anything to stop the sound.

A wet tearing sound. A low, gurgling moan. A heavythump.