Page 11

ACE

“ M orning,” Hawk said as I descended the stairs. “What time did you get in last night?”

After I’d left the house, I’d spent the night soaring through the sky. My dragon had needed to stretch his wings after all we’d experienced, and I’d needed to clear my head. I’d flown without direction or intention, relishing the cool night air and the clouds on my scales.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Probably around three?”

“You must’ve needed it.”

I hummed in acknowledgment. Hawk was already up and dressed, with Zoey sniffing around his feet for crumbs. The house was otherwise quiet. I expected Mia had loaded Bella in her stroller and gone out for a run. I poured myself a cup of coffee with a sigh.

“Eggs?” Hawk asked.

“You? Making me breakfast?”

“Don’t get used to it,” Hawk said with a smirk.

“These are extenuating circumstances.” He fried two eggs quickly, then heated up leftover potato hash in the cast iron skillet.

He slid the eggs onto the hash, then handed me the entire skillet and a fork.

If there was one thing to be said about my brother, it was that he was an efficient man.

“Thanks,” I said. “And thanks for letting me crash.”

“Figured you might want to be around family, after everything. How are you feeling?”

I took a sip of my coffee. My dragon was a little calmer after our flight, but my head was still spinning. I kept expecting to wake up from a dream. “Shocked, I guess. Shocked and pissed.”

“Pissed you didn’t know about Dylan?”

“Yeah. I should’ve known. I should’ve been there for him.” My dragon whined. We both knew that even if I had known about Dylan, there was nothing I could’ve done. I still would’ve spent most of his childhood behind bars. “I don’t blame Harley, but I’m fucking pissed at Blakely. Did she tell you?—”

“Yeah, Harley told me and Mia both,” Hawk said. “Gotta admit, it’s horrible, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

I took a bite of my breakfast but hardly tasted it around the smoke in the back of my throat.

“You remember when we were kids and she had that big crush on Sean?” Hawk asked.

Sean’s name sent a small pang of hurt through me, like pressing down on an old bruise.

I didn’t like to talk about my twin brother.

Hawk knew that, and he respected it—he knew talking about it hurt me too much.

But at the same time, Hawk was the only one who knew our brother nearly as well as I did.

“Even when we were that young, Blakely wanted her claws in Sean,” Hawk said.

“Sean didn’t want anything to do with her, and that drove her mad.

He ignored her, even outright turned her down, and still Blakely did her best to scare the other girls away.

She’s always been like that. Psycho-levels of possessiveness, even with guys who don’t want anything to do with her.

It doesn’t surprise me that she did the same thing with Harley. ”

“I should’ve known,” I growled. “I should’ve known she’d get her claws in my business and ruin it.”

Blakely had caused a lot of irritation in my life, but nothing like this. She wasn’t going to get away with this. Not this time.

“Yeah, well, we’ve all let her have her way a little too often,” Hawk said. “Eat your breakfast.”

I did as Hawk said. He sipped his coffee and washed the dishes as I finished eating.

From the outside, it looked like a normal morning with my older brother, the family man.

After Harley disappeared, I’d thought I’d never have a chance to be a family man like Hawk.

With my fated mate gone, I’d never be able to really commit myself to another woman.

It was a bleak fate, but I’d accepted it.

I’d figured I’d ruined my future with Harley when I’d gone to prison.

It was my own decision, and I had to pay the price.

But now, everything was different.

My fated mate was back. And she brought my child with her. My son. Nine years old and already strong, his dragon bursting to be freed.

Once I was finished eating, Hawk took the skillet from me. “So, what’s next?” he asked. “What are you going to do?”

“Dylan’s most important right now,” I said. “His first shift is imminent. I’m going to help him through that. As for Harley… Hell, Hawk, I don’t know.”

Hawk laughed. “That makes sense. One step at a time, yeah?”

“Yeah. But the first step is taking care of Blakely.”

Hawk grimaced slightly. “I don’t need to tell you to keep your temper in check, do I?”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I said. “Not physically, at least.”

Hawk whistled. “You’re the alpha, boss. Take the Mustang.”

I dressed quickly, pulled on my leather jacket, and drove to the clubhouse. It was mid-morning when I arrived, but if this Saturday morning was like the usual Saturdays, I knew exactly where to find Blakely.

I climbed the stairs and stomped down the hall to Tuck’s room.

Without bothering to knock, I shoved the door open.

A nauseating blend of sweat, booze, and cigarette smoke assaulted my nostrils.

The floor was covered with clothes, and the blackout curtains were shut to keep the room dark. I stomped over and flung them open.

Blakely grimaced and covered her eyes with her forearm. She was alone in the bed, buried in the sheets with her red hair mussed and her shoulders bare. “Hm? Tuck?”

“No.”

She blinked up at me and a practiced, sultry smile curved her lips. “Oh, hi, Ace. What a nice surprise to wake up to.”

“Get dressed,” I said coolly, “and meet me in my room.”

She could hardly hide the hopeful glee in her expression.

As Blakely jumped out of bed, I stepped into the hallway and marched down to the far end of the hall, where I kept a room for nights I stayed at the clubhouse.

It was small but well-furnished, with a big bed and a window that overlooked the lake.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Blakely purred as she stepped into the room behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder. She was wearing the same clothes I’d seen her in last night—black jeans and black tank top—and she had a few hickeys low on her neck.

There were probably bruises from Tuck’s hands under her shirt as well.

“Looking for a little fun this morning?”

Blakely slid her hands over my hips from behind me. I stepped out of reach and swatted her hands away like she was a misbehaving dog.

How could I have been so foolish? How could I have wasted so much time?

“No. I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Sure.” Unfazed, she sat at the foot of my bed and leaned back on her hands. She tipped her head back, shamelessly baring the hickeys on her neck. “What do you need to know, honey?”

The pet name made my dragon bristle with disgust. “What do you know about Harley Founty?”

Fear flashed across Blakely’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Her expression smoothed back into a teasing smile. “I hardly remember her. She was here for a summer about ten years ago, right? Is that the girl you’re asking about?”

My dragon and I both sensed the lie like a bad smell in the air. “She left town the night I was arrested. What do you remember about that?”

Harley shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t remember anything. She must’ve heard about the arrest and skipped town.”

“Funny,” I said. “That’s not what she told me last night.”

The blood drained from Blakely’s face. The teasing expression disappeared, too, and her mouth dropped open in shock. “What do you mean last night? Did she call you or something?”

“She’s in town,” I said simply. “She told me a different story about that night, after she showed up with her son.”

Blakely swallowed. “Her son? Ace, I—I?—”

“Is it true, Blakely?” I asked. “Did you run her off? Did you tell her I took you as my mate?”

“N-no!” she stammered. “No, Ace, I didn’t say any of that. She just left. Come on, you know I wouldn’t do that to you!”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t need to have a sixth sense to recognize these shaky, pathetic lies. “How long have you been hanging around this clubhouse? And you still think you can lie to me?” My dragon rumbled in my chest, and my rage tasted like brimstone on my tongue.

“I didn’t run her off!”

“Blakely!” I roared. The dragon’s power infused in the sound made Blakely blanch and quiver backward. “I’ve missed nine years of my son’s life because of you. Now tell me what you did.” I enunciated each word sharply, like a physical blow.

“I didn’t know she was pregnant!” She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes as her mouth twisted into a pained frown.

“How was I supposed to know that?! I was sick of seeing her around the clubhouse and… and sick of hearing everyone talk about how good you two looked together! It wasn’t fair!

She showed up out of nowhere, and suddenly that was all anybody cared about! That was all you cared about!”

Blakely dropped her hands from her face. She risked a look at me, and when I said nothing, she kept going. “I’d already spent so much time making you fall for me. I wasn’t going to let some outsider swoop in and steal you from me. What the hell else was I supposed to do?”

“Outsider?” I nearly laughed in her face. Blakely wasn’t even a shifter or a member of our clan. And yet she thought Harley was the outsider? “Do you even know what you did?”

“I did what I had to do,” Blakely said. “For you. And for us.”

“There is no us! Harley was never an outsider. She is my fated mate. The only woman I ever wanted to share my life with. The only woman my dragon ever wanted. And not only did you take my fated mate from me, you took my son, too. Nine years , Blakely. Nine years without knowing my son. And for what? So you could convince me to have a few more rolls between the sheets? Harley trusted you, and you took advantage of that.”