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HARLEY

I tapped the chisel against the windowsill for the millionth time. Moonlight lit the room, but it wasn’t enough to see what I was doing.

This was a hell of an endeavor. I couldn’t pry the nails out of the window frame until I had peeled apart enough wood to expose them, and I had to be extra quiet thanks to the super-hearing dragons in Sean’s clan—if you could even call his goons a clan.

If they caught me trying to escape, I didn’t know what they would do to me, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

I kept working. Every time I pried up a sliver of wood, I stuffed it between the loose floorboards.

I didn’t want anyone to see any evidence of my work.

I worked diligently until my hands ached and my fingertips felt like they were on the verge of bleeding.

A cloud rolled over the sky, snuffing out the moonlight. The room was completely dark.

Sighing, I tucked the chisel back into my waistband, then crawled into the threadbare sleeping bag the goons had tossed at me a few hours ago. At least I wasn’t sleeping on the cold hardwood floor.

I sighed and stared up at the dark window.

Even if I did manage to pry the window open, what the hell would I do after that?

I had no fucking idea where I was. I’d been hysterical on the drive here, more worried about Dylan than where I was being taken.

I’d been blindfolded, too. All I knew was that we’d driven for what felt like hours in long straight stretches and dozens of turns.

With my luck, we were miles and miles away from Lakeview, way out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but trees for miles and miles and miles.

Where would I go if I ran? It’d be so easy to get lost in the woods.

And if I managed to find the road, what would I do next?

Just run and hope someone saw me before the goons did? Hell, the dragons could fly.

The odds were stacked against me.

Actually, that was an understatement. There were barely any odds at all. Fleeing this place was a death sentence.

So was staying here.

I couldn’t count on anyone else to save me. I had to get back to Dylan. I had to at least try.

At some point, in the darkness of the room, my physical exhaustion won out over my racing thoughts, and I fell into a fitful sleep.

The sound of the lock on the door opening woke me. I shot up like a rocket, and immediately touched the chisel in my waistband, relieved when I felt it secure in its hiding spot. I scrambled to my feet. My brain was still coming online as the door opened.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Sean said. He grinned at the sleeping bag on the floor, which I’d kicked aside in my haste to get up. “You’ve turned out to be even more useful than I hoped.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means,” Sean said with a self-satisfied smirk, “that you really are my brother’s weakness. My initial plan was to take the Lakeview heir out of the picture, but it looks like that won’t be necessary.”

There was so much confusing information in that sentence, I didn’t even know what to feel.

Terror that Sean really did want to kill Dylan.

Belief that he’d do such a horrible thing.

Relief that apparently, that was no longer the plan.

Confusion as to what the plan even was. My face must’ve showed all those reactions, because Sean looked even more pleased with himself.

“You’ll be leaving with Ace tomorrow,” Sean said, “because he’s agreed to trade the clan for you. ”

“What?” I blinked at him, dumbfounded. “The clan?”

“I’ll be the alpha of Lakeview, just like I should’ve been from the beginning. He’s finally come to his senses. And he’s giving up the clan for you.” Sean laughed and shook his head. “Fucking idiot. Always has been.”

I gaped at him. That couldn’t be right. There was no way Steph would give up his clan for me. He wouldn’t even give up a quick fuck with Blakely for me. The man couldn’t sacrifice anything.

This had to be some kind of scheme. Steph was planning something. This was going to backfire on Sean… I just didn’t know in what way.

And I didn’t know what role Steph had forced me into, either.

Because that’s what it had to be. A role. A plan.

My heart ached. I wanted to believe he’d come for me. Rescue me. That he’d give up anything for me. Just recently, it’d felt like he would move the sun and stars for me if I asked him to. Maybe part of me still believed that.

But my head knew better. I couldn’t count on Ace, and I didn’t know what the hell he had planned. All I knew was that I wanted out of these dragons’ drama. I didn’t want to be a pawn in this stupid game anymore.

All I wanted was to be back with my son.

Sean was still ranting. “This is just more proof that I always should’ve been the alpha.

I never would’ve gotten caught up in a relationship like this.

I never would’ve let my alpha responsibilities slip and prioritized my own wants over the needs of the clan.

Love is a waste of time.” Sean rolled his eyes.

“But that’s no worry of mine now, is it?

Looks like I finally won. Once I’m officially alpha, I’ll show the whole clan how wrong my father was to choose Ace over me. ”

I didn’t say anything. Sean nodded, apparently pleased with how his little speech had gone. He didn’t need me to respond. He didn’t need me for anything but whatever little scheme he had planned.

“You hang tight,” he said. “This’ll be over before you know it.”

He locked me back in the room. I turned to the window. I ran my fingertip over the windowsill, where the nails were almost exposed, then looked out into the vast forest beyond the glass.

No matter what, I was getting out of this house. Steph’s plans weren’t my problem. If he and the other Lakeview dragons were coming here to do some kind of swap… That could be the diversion I needed. With Sean busy with the exchange, I could get to the road and flag down a car.

Even if this wasn’t some elaborate scheme, and Steph was willing to trade the clan for me…

That wasn’t good, either. The clan was his life.

Why would he choose me over the clan after cheating on me?

Was this his way of showing me how sorry he was?

Did he expect me to forgive all his transgressions after this?

There was no way this was going to end well for any of us. I just wanted to get out of here . I needed to get to Dylan. Right now, that was all that mattered to me.

I traced my fingertip over the windowsill. The door unlocked again, and I turned around just to see a goon push a bowl of oatmeal into the room before locking the door again.

No way I was eating that. I wasn’t taking any risks now that my freedom was on the horizon. As soon as the Lakeview clan showed up for this exchange, I’d be gone.

I bided my time throughout the day, ignoring my meals and dozing to try to conserve my energy.

After what felt like a century, the sun finally went down, and I heard the dragons eating and arguing and doing what sounded a lot like breaking furniture.

I guessed that was how dragons relaxed, since regular booze didn’t work on them, and I knew Sean probably didn’t allow any Night Shift booze in the compound.

Eventually, the moon was high in the sky and the compound had finally gone quiet.

I climbed out of my sleeping bag, pulled the chisel from my waistband, and got to work.

It was tedious work, but I remained focused. After what felt like centuries, I’d finally chipped away enough of the wood to expose the flat heads of the nails. I wriggled the chisel beneath the first nail and pulled as hard as I could.

The wood groaned. I froze and held my breath.

The compound remained silent. No dragons had heard me.

I exhaled in relief. Then, slowly, I pulled the nail all the way out of the windowsill. I looked at the long, thin nail in my palm, then closed my hand around it. If these dragons thought they could use me as a pawn in their little power struggles… Well, they had another think coming.

I stashed the nail between the floorboards and got back to work.

As the sky began to turn gray with the oncoming dawn, I pried out the last nail. With all five nails hidden, I returned to the window, then slowly pushed it up. The wood complained—obviously it’d been a long time since this window was opened at all—but it moved.

I was getting the fuck out of here.

I closed the window again. All I had to do was wait until Steph arrived for the trade, and while all those dragons were blowing smoke up each other’s asses (probably literally) I’d make a run for it.

I tucked the chisel back into my waistband and slipped into the thin sleeping bag.

Heart racing with nerves, I stared up at the ceiling and tried to calm down.

I was really going to escape. The thought of it made me anxious, but I had to try.

I couldn’t let Steph go through with this trade.

I didn’t know what the hell he was planning, but if Sean was the alpha of Lakeview, we’d all be screwed.

I needed to get to Dylan and get him out of here. Out of Lakeview. Even if it broke Steph’s heart.

Even if it broke my heart, too.

When the morning sun finally cast golden light into the room, I heard the door unlock. Again, I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and jumped to my feet, sweat on my forehead and heart racing.

“It’s just me.” The same kid who had brought me my meal yesterday stuck his head into the room, then slipped inside. He closed the door behind him. “Sean sent the address to Ace, so we’ll be doing the swap soon.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess you didn’t need my help after all.”

I glanced around the room. Were the other dragons awake and listening? They must not have been. This kid had to know that if Sean heard him, he’d tear his head off.

“Why try to help me in the first place? You’re in Sean’s clan. Aren’t you supposed to do whatever he wants?”

“This isn’t really a clan,” the kid grumbled. “Not like the kind of clan Ace runs, at least.”

“Well, even if that’s true, you know Sean won’t be happy if he finds out.”

“Will he?” the kid asked. “You gonna tell him?”

“What good would that do me? I just don’t get why. ”

The kid chuckled, more to himself than anything else. After a long moment, he sighed. “Fine. It’s because you remind me of my sister. She’s a real bossy bitch like you, too. But she’s sick, and we really need the money, and working for Sean…” He shrugged. “It’s money.”

My heart sank. Sean’s dealings left a trail of pain everywhere. This kid was just trying to help me to offset his own guilt. Who knew what kind of shit Sean had been forcing him to do until now?

“Just be safe out there, okay? Keep away from Sean.”

“What’s her name?” I asked.

The kid looked up, his brows pulled together in confusion.

“Your sister. What’s her name?”

“Sarah,” he said.

“Sarah,” I repeated. “I’ll keep her in my thoughts. You’re a good brother.”

There was noise outside the room as the other dragons woke up and started moving around. The pained expression vanished off the kid’s face like it had never been there in the first place. With a curt nod, he slipped out of the room and locked the door behind him.

Poor kid. How many people like him have been dragged through the mud by Sean and his goons?

I shook my head as if to dispel the thought.

That wasn’t my problem. I moved to the window, ready to throw it open and haul ass as soon as the dragons were distracted.

I kept the chisel securely in my waistband.

Though it’d be a little more trouble to escape with it, I didn’t want him to get in trouble for helping me.

“Right on time.” Sean’s voice echoed through the walls of the compound. “This is it, boys. I’m finally getting my birthright clan back. This is what we’ve all worked for.”

The dragons murmured their affirmations. In the distance, engines rumbled, and tires crunched over gravel as they approached.

Steph.

My heart thundered in my ears. Part of me wanted to stay here in this room, let Steph make the trade, and fall back into his arms…

But that was just a fantasy. Steph had already proven he didn’t truly care about me. As much as my heart still yearned for him, it wasn’t enough. I had to get my son and leave this place forever. It was time for all of this to come to an end.

The front door of the compound opened.

Go time.

I wrenched the window up, not caring about the loud scraping sound it made.

I clambered up onto the windowsill, kicked my feet through, then grabbed the drainpipe running along the side of the house.

The aluminum groaned as I scrambled down it, threatening to pull off the house.

God, it was so loud, every dragon on the premises had to have heard it.

I couldn’t think about that now. The second my feet hit the dirt, I sprinted toward the tree line, as fast as my legs would take me.

Overhead, I heard a shout. A roar of rage.

Just keep running.