Carlos shifted and dad tightened the pack on his back before the silver wolf took off toward our house. He’d probably shifted there with Dad and Axel before they came to investigate.

  I felt Dad and Axel shift into their scales and take off. I gave the corpse one last long look, then followed them. I flew slowly, contemplating my options and scanning the trees below me. Nothing seemed amiss and no scents out of the ordinary reached my nose. The rogues were likely long gone.

  As I landed, Jury took off. He gave me a low roar. I got this, brother. Don’t worry.

  Zephyr wasn’t happy about him going alone. He chuffed, and Axel’s and Dad’s dragons turned to look at us. Asher, go with him.

  Axel’s dragon took off, following Jury to be his backup. It would make Jury more prone to discovery, as Axel and Asher hadn’t trained in stealth, but if they were attacked, they’d have a better chance of escaping.

  We’d know if they were hurt, anyway. A grievous pain would be shared amongst the clan. Even our grandfather would feel it. Zephyr would be able to find them if they truly needed us. The question was how far away they’d be and how injured.

  Zephyr slammed his tail on the ground in frustration. He wanted this dealt with.

  I forced him to shift before he took off after Jury and Axel to find the bastards. After dressing, I walked slowly to the house and went in the back door.

  Ava stood in the kitchen, sipping a mug of coffee. I wasn’t surprised to see her up.

  “I couldn’t go back to sleep. Are you okay?” She poured me a cup and held it out.

  I nodded, but it was hard to look at her. Was wanting to confess everything a part of being a fated mate or just because I loved her and wanted to be honest with her? I had no idea. But telling the truth ran the risk of her running.

  “Yes, but I think we are going to have to make some changes.” I sat at the table and looked at my coffee. “I’m spending so much time here with you that I’m neglecting my duties.”

  She sat across from me. “Okay, yeah. It’s so new and fun that we’re spending a ton of time together. We both need to remember that we have lives outside of each other.”

  I sighed in relief. She understood. What I’d said was true without directly lying to her. “I have to remember what’s important.” Protecting Ava and the kids was the most important thing in the world.

  Oh. That had been the wrong thing to say.

  Good job, asshole.

  “I’m not important?” Ava’s eyes filled with tears faster than I would’ve thought possible, and she brushed them away. “Okay.” She looked like I’d just slapped her cheek. Betrayed.

  “No, no. It came out wrong.” My heart froze in my throat. This was the last thing I wanted to do, but it was necessary to keep them safe. I couldn’t bring danger to her doorstep. “You’re the most important person in my life, along with Maddox and Hailey, and that’s the problem. I got so wrapped up with you and playing house that I forgot to make sure everything else was going right.”

  “What the hell happened tonight, Maverick?” Ava stood and backed away from the table. “What shook you so bad you feel like you have to run?” Her face darkened. “You told me you wouldn’t run.”

  Oh, no, she had the wrong idea. “I’m not running, Ava. I’m not. I told you I’d never leave you again, and I meant it. But I’m still the alpha of the Kingston Clan. I’m the strongest dragon for many hundreds of miles. I have to protect my territory, protect my clan.” She glared at me. My reasoning wasn’t enough. “We had two calls tonight with criminal activity. That never would’ve happened before. People knew they couldn’t mess with my town, with my territory.”

  She crossed her arms, and by the way her body moved, I was pretty sure she was silently tapping her foot against the rug behind the island.

  “I need to refocus and find balance,” I said, but my voice had lost its fervor.

  Ava opened her mouth with venom in her eyes. I braced myself. “You’re a coward, Maverick Kingston.”

  Ouch. I’d been called a lot of things in life, but coward had never been one of them. I flinched, but Zephyr didn’t like the assault on his bravery. He growled, his anger brewing. “I’m not a coward.”

  “You’re running. You might not be going far, but you’re running scared. Are you afraid of the commitment?” She took in a deep breath, and I took the opportunity to try to defend my decision.

  “I’m doing what’s right for all of us.”

  “You know what? Maybe I’ll be the one to leave this time. How would you like that?”

  No! Zephyr pushed against me, itching to yell at his mate, but I pulled him back as much as I could. The thought of her taking those kids away from me made me insane.

  “You won’t take my son away from me. I know I have no say over Hailey, but you’d be cruel to take her from the family she’s got now.” I realized I was growling as I spoke, as was Zephyr, probably in Ava’s head, too. He was trying to exert dominance over her.

  She’d never take that. Shit. As soon as I realized she was shaking, my rage evaporated, and Zephyr whined. We’d gone too far.

  “Get out,” Ava said in a severe voice, her impressive courage and tenacity overtaking the fear I’d caused. “I know Maddox is almost an adult, and he’ll need you. I won’t stop him from coming around. But you’re no longer welcome here.”

  Zephyr cried out. This isn’t what we wanted.

  “Ava, I just wanted to create balance.” I tried desperately to rectify what I’d said and how I’d said it. “What about Hailey?” I asked.

  “Get out,” she repeated in a staccato rhythm. “Now.”

  This wasn’t what I’d wanted. Not at all. But this would keep her safe, at least, and then once the threat had passed, I could beg and grovel and make it right. There wasn’t anything else to do at this point. I hung my head and walked out the back door, shifting in her backyard as my clothes shredded around me. I didn’t fly far, unable to put much distance between us, but being in my scales helped.

  21

  Ava

  “Oh, sorry,” Maddox whispered as a cup clanged into the sink. It had slipped out of his fingers. “Didn’t mean to disturb you.”

  I rolled my eyes and fixed him with a glare. “Madd, you don’t have to tiptoe around me. I’m not mad at you.”

  He’d been visiting the manor after school all week, but I knew he felt like he was betraying me. “I know, but I don’t want to bother you.”

  I had my laptop and a huge mug of tea in front of me. “You’re not. I’m just working to keep my mind off of things.”

  He nodded. “I know, and I don’t want to disturb you.”

  I laughed and stood up, holding my arms out. “Maverick is your father, and I’m thrilled that you have him in your life now.”

  He was too big to curl up in my arms, but he wrapped his arms around me, leaving me to squeeze him around the waist. “I don’t want you to hurt, Mom.”

  Well, it was way too late for that, but Maddox didn’t need the burden of that. “I’ll be okay,” I told him, looking up at my little boy, a good foot taller than me. He wasn’t done growing, either. Maverick had said dragons keep growing until their early twenties. “Focus on school and your first shift. I’m burying myself in my work.”

  He nodded. “Okay, Mom. If you say so.” He walked out the back door. I knew he had plans to meet his father and his family and spend the day in the woods. I sighed and turned back to my work until I heard Hailey stirring upstairs.

  I’d let the man break my heart not once, but twice. I should’ve listened to my heart, not my gut. And the worst part was that Hailey was taking it harder than any of us. She’d fallen head over heels in love with Maverick and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t coming around. She’d said she hadn’t seen him the few times she’d gone up to the manor to spend time with Carla, too. He was making himself scarce all around. Even Maddox said he’d spent more time with his grandfather than his father in the past week since I’d kicked Maverick out.

  Hailey had questioned me several times, not buying my explanation that Maverick was busy with work. She sensed my pain and didn’t believe my excuse for a minute.

  Hailey bounded down the stairs, all dressed and with her hair done. Sort of. She’d tried to put it up in a ponytail, but she needed some help. “Come here, silly girl.” I took her hair down and repositioned it, straightening out the tangles and putting it back up. “Are you excited to spend the day with Nana?”

  “Yes,” she exclaimed. “We’re working in her greenhouse.”

  I’d forgotten she had a greenhouse out behind their barn. It wasn’t visible from the house. “That sounds fun.” I made her sit down and eat breakfast before she left. She tried to convince me her Nana would feed her, but I couldn’t have the poor woman take on the entire responsibility of feeding my children. Maddox ate there a lot as it was, and he was difficult to fill up.

  She was probably used to it with her household, though.

  After Hailey had eaten and looked nice, I walked with her through the woods, leaving at the clearing in front of the manor. I watched as she ran to the front door, and Carla waved at me. She couldn’t see me in the woods, but she knew I was there.

  She’d tried to convince me to give Maverick time to sort out his emotions when I’d called her to let her know I wanted her and Hailey to spend time together, if both of them still wanted it. I didn’t want to deprive my little girl of the family that obviously wanted her in their lives. Maverick had been right about that. It would’ve been selfish of me to try to keep her from them and them from her.

  I walked back to the house and finished the project I’d been working on all week. I completed the last task on my list with perfect timing. I wanted to do something special for Hailey and Madd tonight. They’d had a tough week, figuring out the new dynamic and wondering exactly what had happened. We hadn’t had an ice cream party in a long time, so I got ready, putting on a little mascara for the first time in a week.

  The first couple of days after he walked out my door, I cried myself to sleep, and then cried again any time I was alone. I threw myself into my work to stop the tears, then that turned into an obsession. I worked around the clock and nearly cleared out my list of freelance work I’d accumulated. Another job had come in midweek, so I wasn’t worried about a permanent lack of jobs, but I tried to slow down a bit.

  When I’d realized my kids were suffering while I worked so much, I’d made dinner and vowed to do something fun this weekend.

  I walked into the grocery store and grabbed a cart, first going around to replenish the staples that had dwindled. Grocery shopping was serious business with Maddox in the house. When my cart was full of enough to get us through another week, I went to the ice cream aisle. I was trying to decide if I wanted to get the huge bucket of Neapolitan or buy three separate smaller cartons when I heard the growl. I froze, knowing absolutely that it wasn’t Maverick’s voice. “You smell like him,” the man, the dragon, whispered.

  I whirled around to find a man with greasy blond hair hanging down to his shoulders standing way too damn close to me.

  I stepped back several feet. “What do you want?”

  He smiled, his lips spreading out to reveal teeth that looked more like fangs. Oh, shit, had he shifted his teeth? I stared at the yellowed, sharp canines and fear blossomed throughout my heart. His smile widened, and I realized I’d gasped. My gaze moved to his face, which had a myriad of scars spread across it. He’d lived a rough life, a violent one.

  “I’ve been watching you, but the alpha hasn’t been around for a while. I’d planned on grabbing the boy, but look at this fortunate coincidence.” He meant Maddox. He was talking about kidnapping my son.

  My fear morphed into panic and rage. “Stay away from my son,” I said in a voice that would’ve made Zephyr proud.

  He laughed a low rumble in his chest. “Your son, huh? I hadn’t put that together. I always see him with the alpha.” His oily gaze raked all over my body, leaving a feeling of dread in its wake.

  I look around to see if anyone was nearby, but there hadn’t been many people there the whole time I’d been shopping. When my head turned, the man strode forward and grabbed my hair, yanking my head back hard and putting me in a too weird position to try to defend myself with my body bent in half backward. I elbowed the man in the chest and tried to kick behind me, but he had such a hard grip on my hair, I couldn’t make any leeway. “Let go,” I grunted as I struggled against him.

  “Okay,” he said. He released me, but as he did, he said something that would ensure I wouldn’t fight him again. “You can go. But I’ll find your son and take him. Or you can go in his stead.” He sucked in a deep breath. “The alpha hasn’t been near you recently, but his scent lingers. He’ll come for you.”

  His eyes flashed gold. “Do you want to take the place of your son?”

  I’d die for my children, and he probably already realized it. I nodded, sealing my doom.

  22

  Maverick

  Another long, fruitless shift. I shut down my computer and whirled toward Carlos and Jordyn. “Nothing to report. It was an—” I cut myself off. We were careful not to say words like quiet and slow. It always jinxed something. “Uneventful day.”

  Carlos winked. “Let me have a word with you, boss.” He walked me out the front door toward my squad car. “I’ve got select members of the pack on alert, you know that.” I nodded. He’d arranged it the day we found the body. “Nobody has heard or seen a thing.”

  I sighed. “I appreciate the efforts. Ask them to remain vigilant. Something is brewing, I can feel it. Jury was unable to track them very far, the trail went cold.”

  Carlos furrowed his brow. “Could they be masking their scents somehow?”

  If they were, I didn’t know how. It was a feat beyond anything I’d ever heard of. “I have no idea. I’m inclined to say the body was an irritation left by the rogue pack because I ran them out of town. A retaliation of sorts. But something doesn’t sit right with that.”

  I got in the car and waved at Carlos as I backed out of my parking spot, but then slammed on the brakes when Jordyn came running out of the station. “Phone call for you!” He had the station’s cordless phone in his hand. It wouldn’t reach all the way out to my parking spot, so I parked the car halfway out of the spot and walked across the lot to Jordyn. “Who is it?”

  “Your mom.”

  What the hell? I knew she had Hailey all day. Something had to be wrong for her to call me.

  “Hey, Mom, what’s up?”

  “Maverick, I’m worried.”

  “Why?” Fear tickled my gut and Zephyr grew agitated as my mom explained.

  “Hailey spent the day with me.” I nodded as if she could see me. I’d known Hailey would be there all day. “Ava wanted me to bring her home at four. When I walked her down, the house was dark, and Ava’s car’s gone.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It must’ve gone to vibrate somehow. I had three missed calls from my mom. It was six-thirty. “Shit, that was a while ago.”

  “I know. I’ve been calling her and sent Jury down to see if she was home every half hour or so, but she’s still not there.”

  “Did she mention going anywhere?”

  “I asked Maddox. He’s here with Jury, and he’s worried. He said she’d mentioned the grocery store, but that was all.”

  At least that was somewhere to start. “Send Jury to help me track her.”

  “He’s already on his way. The boys couldn’t stand waiting here. I called when they left.”

  “Okay, keep Hailey, Axel, and Dad there and stay inside. Tell Axel to be prepared for my call.”

  “Axel isn’t here,” she said. “He went out earlier.”

  “Any idea where?” I asked.

  “No, and I’m worried about him, too.”

  “Okay, I’ll look for him. But, Mom, stay inside.”

  She promised to and hung up. I explained things to Carlos but had to limit my language in front of Jordyn. He was human. We should’ve hired another wolf so when stuff like this happened, we didn’t have to be so careful. But he was a good kid.

  “Jordyn.” I handed him the phone. “Stay by the phones in case something comes through that will help us. Carlos, you’re with me.”

  He hopped in the passenger seat and we backed out. If she’d expected Hailey home at four, it had likely been several hours since she’d been here. As I turned the cruiser around to head toward the store, another car pulled in. It was Axel’s cruiser, the one he shared with Dad.

  I slammed on the brakes and jumped out, running for his car. He got out slowly, wobbling a little on his feet.

  “What happened?” I roared, putting my arm around him.

  “Mav, I’m sorry. It happened so fast.” He clutched my arm and Zephyr went wild, comforting Asher, who was sending off feelings of shame. “They jumped me outside the grocery store.”

  “Who?” I asked. “What happened?” I pointed at Carlos and handed him my phone. “Text my mom and tell her Axel is with me and okay.” His fingers flew over the screen as he followed us.

  I helped Axel walk into the station and sit down in the closest chair. Jordyn ran for the first aid kit, but the gash on his forehead was half-healed already and wouldn’t take long. I grabbed the kit and put a bandage on it really quick for appearances.

  “Maddox mentioned that Ava had planned to go to the grocery store today. And you’d told me that she’d stayed home all week.”

  I nodded. Carlos’s wolves had been helping us keep an eye on her.

  “When Maddox and I were done with our meditation and he’d played with Asher for a while, I decided to go check on her, but she wasn’t home. I saw her car at the grocery store and pulled in. I decided to go in and buy a drink and run into her accidentally on purpose.”

  “I appreciate you looking out for her,” I said as I watched his eyes clear. He was healing and getting back to normal. He’d need to shift soon to help get his energy back up.

 

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