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Blakely narrowed her eyes at me with the same furious expression she’d worn in the grocery store. “You should’ve stayed gone. You don’t belong here. You’re not a part of this clan.”

Her words were thick with venom, but they didn’t hurt me at all.

She looked like an angry cat, trapped and hungry and alone.

Yeah, she’d made me crash my rental, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

She’d lied to get me out of the picture, was delusional about Stephan, and was now paying the price. I pitied her.

“Neither are you, Blakely,” Stephan said. “I thought removing you from the club would be enough, but this is beyond what I imagined you were capable of. You’re cast out.”

Striker’s eyes widened as he tightened his grip on Blakely’s shoulder. “Ace, she’s a human. She’s not even a full clan member, and even if she was, no one’s been cast out since?—”

“Since Sean,” Stephan finished for him. “I know that. This clan has been nothing but kind to you, Blakely. You’ve never been a member, since you haven’t been taken as a mate by any clan members, but we’ve welcomed you into our homes for years.

We treated you like clan then, and I’ll treat you like clan now.

You’re fully cast out. Just shows how badly you fucked up, Blakely. ”

“Ace—”

“You’ve said your piece,” Stephan snarled.

“I thought banning you from the club would be enough. But now, I’ll spread the word to the entirety of the Lakeview clan.

If any clan member is seen with you, they’ll be cast out from the clan as well.

You’re unwelcome. No one associated with the clan will have you at their table.

I’m the only one who can allow you back in, and I wouldn’t expect that ever happening. ”

“But… my friends, Ace?—”

“You should’ve thought of that before you tried to kill my fated mate,” Stephan said. “You won’t have a life in Lakeview anymore. If you want friends, I suggest you leave town and start over somewhere new.”

“This isn’t fair!” Blakely cried out. “Just because you’ve got this bitch and that little brat ? —”

Stephan surged forward, his eyes burning gold as he towered over Blakely. She cowered back, and I thought she would’ve bolted in fear if it weren’t for the enforcers’ hands on her shoulders.

“Mention my son again and I’ll handle you myself,” he snarled.

Blakely’s rage cracked, and her furious, devastated tears began to spill over. Stephan pulled back with a sigh and rubbed his hand over his hair. He looked exhausted. “Anything you want to say, Harley?”

“No.” I’d come here with the intention to demand an explanation or give her a piece of my mind… But now, all I could see was this sad, lonely woman dealing with the consequences of her own stupid decisions.

“Let’s take her to the police station,” Stephan said to Tank. “Striker, take Harley home.”

I nodded—glad I didn’t have to go with them and relieved this mess with Blakely was finally dealt with. Stephan squeezed my nape reassuringly, his eyes still flecked with gold, before he left the clubhouse. Tank hauled Blakely behind him. She was still crying.

Striker shook his head. “Knew that girl was going to cause problems someday,” he said. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

We drove back in companionable silence, and then Striker walked me to the quiet house. It was empty when I arrived, and there was a note on the counter informing me that Hawk and Dylan had gone back to Hawk’s place to play with Zoey.

“I’ll be outside until Ace gets back,” Striker said. “Holler if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Striker.”

It was strange to be in the alpha house all alone. The mid-morning sun shone through the big glass windows and illuminated the dust floating in the still air. The quiet was calming, but weird; I kept expecting to hear Stephan’s voice or Dylan’s laughter.

I’d settled into a routine here quicker than I expected.

I felt safe here, knowing Dylan was with his uncle, Striker was looking out for me outside, and Stephan was handling the issue with Blakely.

In the kitchen, I poured a cup of coffee, still warm in the pot from this morning.

Then I walked outside onto the deck overlooking the lake.

Guilt nipped at my heels like Hawk’s puppy Zoey sometimes did, demanding my attention.

The coffee was delicious, the view gorgeous, the weather perfect…

I had all of this to enjoy while Blakely was being hauled off to the police station.

If she was cast out, as Stephan had said, would she even have a place to stay?

Her whole life was in Lakeview, with the clan.

I doubted she’d be willing to drop everything and leave town.

Blakely was still hung up on him. She still blamed me for ruining her life—though she’d been the one to throw a major wrench in mine, first.

I sipped my coffee down to the dregs while my thoughts went in circles. I was about to step inside for another cup when the glass door slid open.

“Hey, Harley,” Stephan said in a soft voice.

My worries eased as soon as I saw him. He looked relieved and settled, and he had a folded blanket under his arm.

I set my cup down on the deck railing and stepped right into his open, waiting arms. His body was warm and steady against mine, and I leaned my head against his chest to hear the soothing rhythm of his heart.

He threaded his free hand gently through my hair. “You all right? What’s on your mind?”

“Just thinking about Blakely.”

“She won’t cause us any more trouble, Harley.”

“It’s not that, it’s…” I pulled away enough to gaze up at him. “My head’s all a mess.”

“Let’s go on a walk,” he said.

I nodded. It was a beautiful day, and some fresh air would do me good. He took my hand and led me off the deck into the woods right by the water.

“So, what’s got your head in a mess?” he asked, squeezing my hand once, encouragingly.

The sunlight dappled the trail in front of us. “I have a bad feeling about all of this. If Blakely didn’t give up when you banned her from the club, why would she give up now? She’s got nothing left.”

“You feel bad for her,” Stephan said with a soft smile. “I could tell in the clubhouse.”

“How can you not? She looked so pitiful.”

“It’s pretty easy for me to not feel bad for her, considering she tried to kill you.”

“Well, other than that, it’s sad.”

Stephan laughed and squeezed my hand again. “I’d forgotten how empathetic you are. No wonder Dylan’s dragon is so sensitive.”

That made me look up at him. “You think my personality affects his dragon? But I’m a human. And he looks exactly like you.”

“There’s a lot of you in him,” Stephan said. “More than I think you even realize.”

“Do you think Blakely will come after him?” It was a thought I was almost too scared to put into words.

“No,” Stephan said with a low growl. “I think you’re right that she has even less to lose.

And I think you’re wise to see that her decisions are a little crazed.

I don’t take that lightly, either. My guys are going to keep an eye on her.

If she even gets close to you or Dylan, there will be hell to pay. And trust me, she knows that.”

I nodded. I imagined Stephan made that extremely clear on the drive to the police station.

His promise eased my nerves, but at the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this would keep happening.

Every time I thought we were safe, some new threat popped up.

Stephan was trying to make the clan legitimate, but was that even possible?

Or would we always be flying against the wind?

“Here we are,” he said. “Remember this?”

We stepped into a small, lush clearing. The trees surrounding the clearing were dense, giving it a feeling of privacy, and sunlight dappled the thick green grass. The lake water lapped gently at the narrow strip of sand between the water and the grass.

“It’s our place,” I murmured.

“Still here. And still ours. No one else knows about this place.”

“You never brought anyone else here?”

“Never. It was too special.” His ears turned red. “It was only ever for you.”

He pulled me into the clearing and spread the blanket out on the grass.

My heart skipped. Had I traveled through time?

I might as well have been twenty again, dizzy with desire and desperate to be close to Stephan.

My knees quivered as I sank onto the blanket.

His hands found my waist and guided me onto my back.

He hovered over me, forearm propped by my head, and his hazel eyes held mine steadily.

This close, I could see the gold flecks that were always present—the reminder of his dragon, always rumbling beneath the surface of his skin.

I reached up and traced my fingertips over his cheekbone, his ear, then the strong column of his neck. “Thank you.”

A small smile played on his lips. “For what?”

“For looking out for me. Taking care of me.”

“I should be thanking you.”

“For what?” I echoed teasingly.

“For letting me take care of you. It’s all I want to do—it’s all I ever wanted to do.”

“Even after all these years?” I couldn’t stop touching him, grazing my fingertips over the warm skin of his neck and dipping them beneath the collar of his shirt.

“Let me show you how much,” he said in a voice so low it was almost a purr.

He leaned down and kissed me, and my arms wrapped around his neck of their own accord. Stephan deepened the kiss, like he was claiming me. It was so easy to let go and let him take control. I sighed against his lips, relishing the contradiction of his soft lips and the rough scratch of his beard.

I’d been desperate for his hands on me since our shower this morning, and all that desire came roaring back like a flame.

I slipped my hands under the hem of his shirt and skated them up his back along his smooth skin.

Each touch made him growl into the kiss.

I loved that about him—those sexy, animalistic sounds.

It made me feel like he wanted to devour me.