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I went downstairs. Striker had arrived for the morning shift, and he was mopping the wood floors near the bar. He straightened up and leaned against the mop. “Everything all right? Blakely just ran out of here like a shot.”

“She’s banned. Fully, from the clubhouse and all clan activities,” I said. “I’ll explain later, but spread the word, will you?”

“Goddamn. All right, Ace, if you say so.”

I grabbed the keys to one of the cars I kept at the clubhouse—an old Cadillac I worked on as a side project, just for fun. For the first time, I glanced at the backseat of the old car and wondered if it was safe for a nine-year-old.

God, my life was already changed.

I drove through the narrow, quiet streets of Lakeview, away from the lake itself and back into the quiet woods outside town. I knew Liz Founty well enough, and we’d been cordial over the years. Now, I wondered if Liz had told Harley anything about me. Since Harley hadn’t known about my time in prison, I took that as a no.

I parked the car in the gravel driveway and got out. Leaning against the hood of the Cadillac, I stared at the cabin. What exactly was I doing here? What was I going to say? Did I want Harley to be pleased that I’d banned Blakely? Should I even tell her? Ah, shit, I should’ve brought coffee, or flowers, or something...

I didn’t really have a game plan. But I wanted to see Harley again. My dragon was desperate to see her, smell her, maybe even touch her. I’d take anything I could get.

Before I could make a decision, the front door flew open. Dylan stumbled out of the house and staggered down the porch stairs. He was pale and sweating. His legs gave out, and he tumbled onto the gravel.

I remembered that sensation all too well. When I was that age, it had felt like my dragon was scratching at my skin from the inside. Tight, itchy, uncomfortable, and at times, truly painful. The power of my dragon’s instincts dragged me a few steps forward. He was roaring at me to take Dylan in my arms andhelp him.

“Dyl!” Harley’s voice rang out like a bell. She rushed out the door right behind Dylan. In loose sweatpants and a white tank-top, with her auburn hair falling around her shoulders and her feet bare, she looked as gorgeous as I’d ever seen her. When she saw me, she froze, her eyes wide, then her attention snapped right back to her son. “Dylan, what is it? What’s wrong?” She rushed to his side and knelt in front of him, cupping his face. “Talk to me, baby, please!”

“Hurts,” Dylan said in a thick voice.

I stepped closer, then knelt on one knee beside Harley. “Pull down his lip.”

Harley glanced at me sidelong. There was a flush high on her round cheeks. Then she turned back to Dylan, set her thumb in the center of his lower lip, and tugged it down.

Dylan’s lower fangs were out for the first time, and they werehuge. No doubt he was going to be a massive dragon, just like me. The two fangs were long and sharp, having emerged right over his human incisors. A small amount of blood pooled at the gums where they had pushed through.

“Hurts.” Dylan’s eyebrows pinched together, and he sounded like he was near tears.

“I know it does, buddy,” I said.

“Stephan, what—what do we do?” Harley asked in a terrified whisper. She scooted to the side, and I took her place in front of Dylan.

I put both hands on Dylan’s shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. “You’re gonna be just fine, all right? You wanna learn how to pull them back?”

Dylan nodded desperately. His hazel eyes were wet with unshed tears. I still couldn’t believe how much he looked like a tiny version of me. I wondered if I’d ever get used to it.

“You know how to wiggle your ears?”

Dylan blinked.

I reached up and tugged one of his ears. “These. You know how to move them?

He nodded slowly, confused, then wiggled his ears.

I grinned. “Good. Most dragons do. Weird little commonality. Retracting your fangs is a little like learning to wiggle your ears. You need to focus on the muscles in your jaw and pull them back, same as you would pull your ears back.”

Dylan nodded again. He didn’t look convinced, but he trusted me. That was what mattered.

“It might hurt a little,” I said. “But be brave and push through it, okay? It’s just pain. It’s normal, and it’ll be over as soon as it starts.”

“Mmkay,” Dylan said.

“Let’s give it a try.” I dropped one hand from Dylan’s shoulders and took his hand in mine. “Squeeze to help with the pain if you want to.”

Dylan took a deep breath, then squeezed his eyes shut. He opened his mouth, baring his fangs. He took another breath, another, and then his fangs began to recede.