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TALON

A lpha hit her . My fucking mate. MINE!

He had promised me from the time I agreed to his plan, that when he presented me with a mate and we bonded, she would be safe from the repercussions of any battle.

He promised she would be safe and protected.

Mine. Always mine.

Emme was more than just a mate—she was my scent match.

My every fucking thing, and Alpha had hit her.

My vision blazed red, and my dragon raged as we watched her pretty wolf struggle to her feet.

The alpha tried to argue that she’d attacked first, but it was all white noise in my head as rumbles spilled from my chest and the fires in my gut burned hot enough to scorch the earth under my boots. We must end it now .

The voice wasn’t my dragon. It was my brother.

Tearing my gaze from Emme was hard, but this was a decision I wanted to make with Slade. The joining of our essences, and hearing his voice in my mind, was the second-best moment of my existence. Meeting Emme was the first.

When our souls bonded, whatever ragged, empty spots had been between me and my dragon vanished. The broken tendrils in my soul mended, along with the tendrils in my mate bond.

I felt whole and entirely un-alone for the first time ever. How it should have always been.

I don’t need the alpha any longer.

As that revelation struck me, I knew there was only one way to keep Emme safe from him. Only one solution left to me. He has to die .

Slade nodded, just the smallest incline of his head. Are you ready, brother?

Yes , I hissed back.

We knew how to dispose of an enemy—we’d been born to destroy as a team. If we still had dragon hordes, we’d have been their warriors.

I tensed my muscles, and didn’t even bother with a goodbye for the alpha who’d raised me. He’d never truly given a fuck about me. The second he touched my mate, he’d destroyed my final loyalty to him. I didn’t care if she attacked first; he should have let her tear his head off.

On the count of three , I said to Slade. One, two… I inhaled. …three.

Fletcher opened his mouth, but it was too late. I yanked, and Slade did the same. With a little help from Hunter, it was almost too easy to tear the shifter in two.

Blood spattered the air around us, but none of us flinched. Warriors wore the blood of their enemies as a warning to others, and we would warn them all. Five alphas protected our pack. Our mate.

Emme, who was back in human form, hurried toward us. Kellan had given her his shirt, but she was tall for a female, which left a long expanse of legs on display.

My mate.

Slade smirked at my side, and in sync again we dropped Fletcher’s remains on the ground and stepped forward so Emme wasn’t walking through that scum to reach us.

“Holy fuck,” she cried, her eyes wide and glassy. “He’s dead.”

Kellan caught her and lifted her into his arms. “There’s pieces of Fletcher all over the ground,” he said casually, and I was reminded of why I fit with this pack so well.

None of us were afraid of getting our hands dirty, and we’d fuck this world up to keep Emme safe.

“Okay, that’s gross, but good point,” Emme said, her little nose wrinkling up. She turned back to us. “Are you all okay?”

“Fine,” Slade said, wiping a hand over his face, smearing the blood. “His death was a long time coming.”

Hunter grunted as he nodded. “Yeah, the world would have been a better place had we killed him years ago. I figured it was either loyalty to me, or some threat against my life that kept you from attacking him, and honestly, I don’t even care anymore.

” He opened his arms. “Now please give me my fucking mate before me and my wolf lose our shit.”

Kellan didn’t argue, and when he shifted Emme forward, we all caught her wince.

Hunter got to her first, his hand brushing over her chest. “Are you okay, baby girl?” he said. “I don’t think he broke anything.”

She pressed her hand to her chest. “Nah, it’s just a bruise, and it’s already healing. Not that it matters. I’d take way more than a broken bone to ensure that asshole was out of our lives for good. I honestly can’t believe it’s over.” She sank into Hunter. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

Unable to help myself, I took a step forward, desperate for a hit of her calming energy. “I just need a minute to hold her,” I rasped, hoping the entitled alpha understood and didn’t fight me.

If they put me back in my cage without this touch, I’d be likely to destroy the rest of their house.

Hunter huffed, and thank the goddess , handed her over without fuss.

She settled against me, and when her hand pressed to my cheek, everything that had felt off-center righted itself.

“I’m so sorry, Tal,” she whispered, pushing herself up to kiss my cheek, uncaring of the blood I wore.

“You had to make a terrible choice, and I’m so grateful you chose us. I will always choose you. I promise.”

My dragon’s roar was filled with pride and contentment. We had claimed our mate, and proven our worth, and she chose us. Always .

“Mine,” I breathed against her skin, taking in her sweet scent. “You’re mine, sweetness.”

She dropped her face against my chest. “I can’t believe you and Slade turned into a super dragon. You need to tell us all about being Slalon.”

I heard my twin laugh at that, and I was equally as amused. “We have so much to tell you,” I confirmed, and she settled at that statement.

After a few minutes, Kellan said, “Why don’t I take Emme inside and help her get cleaned up. We can all regroup soon.”

Hunter looked torn, until eventually he nodded. “Yeah, I need to speak to the council and enforcers.”

Emme mumbled as her eyes fluttered closed. “I keep thinking about Cora and Warrick, and everything they went through. Can one of you find out what’s happening with them too.”

Hunter prowled closer, and her eyes flew open to meet his dark gaze. “Yes, we’ll find out. All you can do is offer them support and give them the space to grieve as a pack.”

A choked sob escaped her, and I wished I could kill Alp—Fletcher all over again.

“You’re right,” she swallowed roughly, and Kellan stepped forward.

It took every ounce of my control to release her, and I wouldn’t have for anyone who wasn’t part of this pack. I’d have murdered them for even suggesting it, but they were hers too.

When Emme settled against the blond alpha, she let out a sad laugh. “I can walk, mates. I don’t care if there are bits of Fletcher on the ground. He deserves to be under my fucking foot.”

Kellan kissed her cheek, and like the rest of us, was too weak to resist her. He dropped her gently to her feet, and the pair of them strolled into the house. Emme only looked back once, but it was enough to settle my beast.

“I can handle the council,” Hunter said, stepping right into his role of entitled alpha. “You all get everything out here cleaned up, send our family messages that it’s safe, and then let’s meet up in the living area. We have a lot to discuss.”

Despite my stronger dominance, I felt no desire to fight him for his role, and accepted his orders without worry.

Unsure if they wanted me back in my cage or not, I hesitated until Slade indicated I should stay with him. It took over an hour to deal with the carnage of the street, and I met more than a few shaken family members, including Hunter’s sister, who’d stayed to fight.

She showed not one sliver of concern over her father’s death. “Wish I’d been the one to kill him,” was all she said, before heading back to her house.

When we were done, Slade told me to follow him. “You can bunk with me,” he said as he led me up the stairs.

I blinked, our bond flaring strongly inside. “What? No more containment room?”

He shot me a flat stare over his shoulder, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “No more containment room.”

That confirmation settled my beast even more. “I thought you hated others in your space?”

We’d had a lot of time to talk when I’d been his prisoner, and I’d quickly learned how he kept his world in order. How he kept his dragon under control.

“I’ve spent too many years missing a fundamental part of myself,” Slade explained with a shrug, even though I could see how tense his muscles were.

“I won’t do that again. We need this bond, and we need to figure out how to exist in our combined form.

Which means we’ll be sticking together for a while. ”

My chest warmed at the thought. “I’d like that, brother. And my dragon likes it.”

Slade turned to meet my gaze. “Mine too. For the first time in my life, I’m not at war with him, broken and fearing what we might become in the future. We are as one.”

It was the same for me.

When he faced me, I took in the tattoos on his chest, and noticed a change. “Was it always like that?” I asked, gesturing to the twin dragons. Their scales were closer in color, and there was a shining white wolf between them now.

Slade stared down for many seconds, and then squeezed his eyes shut. “This is how it should have always been. Not a battle. A joining of two souls, with our mate right between us.”

I pressed my hand against his chest, and he didn’t flinch. “We’re forever joined. You will never be broken or alone again, Slade.”

It was a promise to my brothers and my mate.

My pack.

They had no idea how far I’d go to keep them all safe. Whatever it took.