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“What happened today?” Harley asked. “Looks like this afternoon went a little sideways.”

“What do you mean?”

“You get this little wrinkle when you’re stressed.” She reached up and smoothed her thumb between my brows. Her gentle touch released the tension that had my body wound tight. She smiled. “There. That’s better.”

I leaned down and caught her lips in a kiss. She sighed and wrapped her arms around me. I wanted to get lost in her. I wanted to forget the stress and anxiety of the day, forget the threats, the wounds, the past—I wanted to only be here, in this moment, with Harley’s body against me, the music in my ears, Dylan’s laughter in the living room.

For a moment, I wanted to forget the obstacles that kept trying to push us apart and be here with my fated mate.

“Aw, come on! Gross!”

Harley pulled away, her lips already curved into a smile. “What’s gross, kiddo?” she asked, but her blue eyes were still locked to mine.

Even as I gazed at Harley, my dragon searched out Dylan’s reaction. Was he angry seeing me with his mom? Protective?

“You guys!” Dylan said. He and Peter were standing in the center of the living room, VR headsets dangling around their necks. Dylan made an exaggerated gagging sound. Peter looked caught between laughing with his friend, and being polite to his hosts, as Tank had surely impressed on him before they came over. “Ugh, sorry that my parents are being sogross, Peter.”

All my dragon felt from Dylan was mild embarrassment. Like we were normal, embarrassing parents. I was relieved and a little pleased. It made me want to tease them both a little more.

“That’s right,” I said with a laugh. “We’re being totally gross.”

“Dad, you’re making it worse!”

“Why don’t you two set the table, and we’ll get ready to eat?” Harley stepped away from me and turned off the stove. “We’ll get Striker and Tank in here, too.”

“You’re feeding the guys, too?” I asked.

“Of course.” She looked at me like I was crazy. “You think I’d let your enforcers go hungry?”

“They can eat at the clubhouse,” I said. “You’re not their chef.”

She patted my chest. “I know. I wanted to. Plus, that credit card of yours buys a lot of groceries.” That made me laugh again, and her blue eyes sparkled. “You’re a lot more handsome when you laugh than when you scowl.”

“Good news for you,” I said. “I happen to laugh a lot more often when you’re around.”

Harley winked at me, then grabbed the big dish of chicken breasts and walked it over to the half-set table. I watched her navigate the two kids, and my dragon purred with contentment

again.

I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do about Sean. He could be too far gone to help. But he was my brother, and if he could be saved, I owed it to him to at leasttry.

Right now, though, I was happy to bask in the warmth in my home. I could handle whatever Sean threw at me—as long as I had Harley at my side.

21

HARLEY

Iwoke up, sprawled on Stephan’s soft, dark sheets, to an extremely quiet house. Rolling over, I smoothed my hand over the dip on his side of the bed. The pillow smelled like him—his woodsy body wash and the musk of his sweat. The familiar scents had heat curling low in my belly, but his side of the bed was cool. It was fairly early, but it seemed like he’d been awake for a while.

That was odd. Since we’d agreed to try things again, Stephan had stuck close to me. I woke every morning with his arms around my waist and his nose pressed to the crown of my head. I’d quickly gotten very used to that.

I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs, trying to push down an itch of nerves. With everything that’d gone on recently, I didn’t like waking up alone. “Steph? Dylan?”

There was no response from either of them. I checked my phone, and there were no messages there. Suddenly, the empty house seemed a lot more ominous. My heart rate sped up a little. I started to dial Stephan’s number, then the coffee machine chirped its song as it finished brewing.

There was a note taped to the machine, written in Stephan’s bold handwriting.Dyl woke up early.Out having dragon bonding time. Back soon.S.

The panic dissipated as fast as it’d risen inside me. I sighed in relief and smoothed my thumb over the note. I wondered what had woken Dylan up. He’d been restless and fidgety recently, complaining more of pre-shift soreness. Maybe Stephan’s dragon had sensed it, and they’d snuck out without waking me up.