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Blakely’s eyes shone with tears—of sadness or anger, I didn’t know. “I’m the one taking advantage?” she shot back. “If she stayed, you would’ve just claimed her, then? Who cares what she wants, right? Then she would’ve been up shit creek without a paddle when you were in prison.”

“I never wanted her to be part of this life,” I said.

“No matter what my dragon wanted, I was going to reject her.” My dragon whined at the mere thought of that.

“I wanted to protect her from this world— my world. But you took that choice away from me, too. Instead, I’ve spent the last ten years yearning for my fated mate.

And Harley has spent nine years raising a son without a father.

I lost the woman I love because of your selfish lies. ”

Blakely pulled her feet up onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. “You’re serious?” she asked in a small voice. “You love her?”

Again, I almost laughed. It was like asking me if the sun rose each morning. I didn’t even deign to answer her. “What you’ve done is not acceptable to the rules of this clan and this clubhouse. You kept me from my own flesh and blood.”

“Ace, I didn’t mean?—”

“You’re banned,” I said firmly. “From this moment forward.”

Her eyes widened. She unfolded her body and got unsteadily to her feet. “Wh—what do you mean, banned?”

“Expelled. Banned. Unwelcome. You are no longer allowed to attend events, social nights, or even step foot on clubhouse property. I don’t want to see your face anywhere near this clubhouse.”

“But… Ace, you can’t do this to me! This—this is my family!”

“Family doesn’t do what you did to me,” I said. “Family would be happy I found my fated mate. They wouldn’t lie the way you did.”

Blakely’s face crumpled, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

Even as anger burned like flame through my veins, I understood her pain.

To me, Blakely was a hang-around looking for a good time.

She’d been around for ages, and some of the dragons had thought I’d take her as a mate.

And if not me, then another dragon. Blakely was a loner in Lakeview, and this clan really was the closest thing she had to a family.

Removing her from the clubhouse would keep her away from the inner circle, but she’d still be able to stay in touch with her friends in the extended clan.

“Ace, please. You can’t do this to me.”

“Even if I had rejected Harley, I never would have chosen you as a mate,” I said. “You’ll never get what you want from me or from this clan. Leave now, Blakely, before I have to remove you myself.”

Blakely sobbed once, a broken sound. “You’ll regret this,” she hissed. “You’ll regret taking everything away from me, Ace, you bastard!”

“Get out. Stay away from Harley and my son.”

Blakely rushed down the stairs, still in tears. The clubhouse door slammed behind her.

I sat down at the foot of my bed and rubbed the palm of my hand over my forehead.

I’d only been awake for a few hours, and I was already exhausted.

Banning Blakely had been the right decision, but it wouldn’t fix the last ten years.

I couldn’t get that time with my son back. Or that time with Harley.

All I could do now was try to make things right.

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 and help 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 were huge . 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.

“That’s good, Dylan. Just keep breathing through it. Pull them down.”

Dylan groaned. More blood spilled from his gums, and he squeezed my hand in a death grip. I kept encouraging him, telling him that he was doing great and to keep breathing. Harley kept her hand on Dylan’s thigh. Distress creased her forehead, but she stayed quiet. She and Dylan were both so strong.

“There you go,” I praised. Tears spilled down Dylan’s cheeks. He whimpered, then his fangs were gone. He’d retracted them back into his gums—and into his dragon. He’d controlled it. He’d done so well. And before I could tell him any of that, Dylan slumped forward onto me with a sob.

“Dylan!” Harley swooped in and grabbed her son’s lax body.

Dylan groaned and wound his arms around his mom’s neck.

She got her feet under herself and stood up, easy as anything.

Even though Dylan was nearly as tall as Harley, she lifted him as easily as she’d lift a sack of potatoes.

She shifted his weight until he was on her hip, and Dylan rested his head on her shoulder.

Harley took a few steps toward the porch.

I got to my feet. They looked good together—the strong curves of Harley’s body, her thick auburn hair, and Dylan’s blond head and gangly limbs.

My heart pounded. I wanted to be part of this. I wanted to wind my arms around Harley’s shoulders and pull her close to me. I wanted to be the one to carry Dylan. I wanted to be in their lives.

But had I missed my chance? Had I screwed things up before they even began?

Harley looked over her shoulder. She brushed her dark hair aside and raised an eyebrow. “You coming in?”