Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
“Even when that part of Sean was long gone,” I finished for her.
She nodded, then sniffed hard and rubbed her eyes. “Yeah. Can you talk to him? I mean-if you can. I don’t know where he is.”
“I do,” I said. “Wait here, okay?”
I went upstairs. Dylan was in his room, and just as Mia had said, he was fast asleep. He was frowning and twitching under the covers. I brushed my hand over his hair, and he sighed and settled. Hopefully, my dragon’s presence had scared away the nightmare.
Once my dragon and I were assured Dylan was safe, I gave Mia a brisk hug, then went outside and hopped back on my motorcycle.
If I knew my brother, I knew exactly where he’d be. There was only one place he’d feel like he could mourn Sean and feel close to him at the same time. Ever since he was a kid, Hawk had always found peace in the same place.
The small park was behind the grocery store, just off the main strip of Lakeview proper. There wasn’t much to it: a swing set, a wooden climbing structure, and a clean sandbox. In the distance, the sun rose over the beautiful, snow-capped mountains. In the dawn light, the park was so quiet it looked like a painting. I rolled up slowly. There was no way Hawk hadn’t heard me, but he didn’t turn to face me. He remained seated on the park bench facing the swing set, watching the chains move slightly in the morning breeze.
I sat down on the bench next to him.
Sean, Hawk, and I used to play here as back when we were still young pups, eager and excited to face the world-before it became clear that I was the stronger one, the destined leader of the clan. Back when Sean was just my brother.
I knew we were both remembering those moments.
“You really think you can do this?” Hawk asked.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“He’s not some random rival coming in for the territory,” Hawk said. “He’s still our brother.”
I took a slow breath. “I don’t know what to do instead. This was his choice. He chose to kidnap Harley. He tried to take my son, too.”
“I’m not going to convince you not to challenge him,” Hawk said.
That surprised me. I looked over at him, but he didn’t meet my gaze. His eyes were fixed on the swing set, but distantly, like he wasn’t seeing it at all.
“What’s this going to do to you, Ace? You can’t kill your brother and come out the other side completely normal, like nothing ever happened. It’s going to change something inside you.” Hawk turned suddenly and jabbed his finger forcefully into my chest. “In here.” Then my forehead. “Here, too. You won’t be the same.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“And what if the same thing happens to you?” There was an edge of furious desperation in his voice. “What if you snap? If your alpha goes crazy? Drags you down into the same darkness Sean went down?”
It hit me like a slap to the face. Hawk wasn’t only worried about losing Sean-he was worried about losing me, too.
I couldn’t fault him for it. Sean was my twin. Another alpha. Once upon a time, he had been my other half. If he was at the mercy of his alpha, it made sense that Hawk worried I might be, too.
“I’m not going to sit here and say it won’t change me. We both know it will. And we both know that’s why I’ve been trying to find any other way to handle this. But I’m not Sean. When things get hard-and I know they will-I’m not going to run away and turn my back on the clan. I’m not going to build my own clan of criminals and madmen. I’m not going to break, Hawk, because I have you to watch my back.” I squeezed his shoulder.
“Fuck.” He slumped forward until his elbows hit his knees and buried his face in his hands. “Fuck. I wish it hadn’t come to this.”
“I know.” I kept my hand on his shoulder and squeezed again. “I wish that, too.”
Something in Hawk cracked, and he began to cry.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my brother cry. Maybe not since Bella was born. His shoulders shook under my hand as he cried, and I steadied him as I gazed out toward the mountains. Finally, the sun crested over them fully, and Hawk’s tears slowed and stopped.
“We’ll get through this,” I promised.
He leaned back against the bench, inhaling deeply, then exhaled. He tipped his head back, eyes closed. “I know.” Then he opened his eyes, and when I looked over, he looked newly determined. “Let’s get your girl back.”
HARLEY
“Let me go, you fucking shit-eating asshole!”
I’d sworn more in the past forty-five minutes than I had in the last nine years. My fear had given way to rage, and I thrashed and fought as Sean’s lackeys dragged me over the threshold of the rat trap, they called a clubhouse. At least, I assumed it was their clubhouse. Not like they had a lot of clan members to house, anyway.
“I’ve had it with your complaints,” Sean snarled. His eyes blazed with fury-even the scarred left one-as he gripped my upper arms. He was Steph’s twin, but he didn’t look a thing like the man I loved-or who I thought I had loved before he betrayed me again.
I shoved that thought from my mind. Steph didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was getting away from this psycho and back to my son.
I could only hope Dylan had gotten away. That he was somewhere safe and far away from Sean’s goons.
Sean shoved me into a small, dilapidated room. It had no furniture, just stained hardwood floors, dark walls, a single dirty window, and a bucket in the corner. “Keep your mouth shut,” he said with a sneer. “Unless you want to lose your tongue.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I snapped.
“You think?” Before I could even blink, Sean wrapped his hand around my neck. I gasped, icy terror coursing through me as his grip tightened. “You’re nothing but a pawn in my game, bitch,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “I’d love to kill you where you stand. Just give me a reason, and I’ll do it.”
If he got his hands on Dylan, we’d both be dead.
Please, whoever is listening, please let Dylan be safe.
“Boss.” A scrawny young lackey, with a full sleeve tattoo and a shaved head, crept up next to Sean like he was afraid of getting strangled himself.
Sean looked over, then released his hold on my neck. I collapsed to my knees, sputtering and coughing as oxygen flooded my lungs.
The kid leaned close to Sean’s ear and spoke quietly to him. Sean’s expression darkened. “Then find him!” he snarled. “Now!”
In that moment, in my heart, I knew Dylan had evaded capture. My shoulders slumped with relief, and I braced both hands on the cold hardwood as I caught my breath. Thank you, I prayed to the universe.
Thank you.
The kid hurried out of the room. Sean loomed over me, and rage poured off him like a bad smell. “This is nothing but a little setback, you know that, right?”
I looked up with a grimace but didn’t say anything.
“I’m going to gain control of Lakeview. It’s my clan. My birthright. That pesky little heir is the last obstacle in my way. And now that I have you”-he stepped on my hand with his steel-toed boot, pressing down hard-“I’ll have him in no time. We’ll do a little swap. I know Ace will do anything for his fated mate.” He spat the word at me like an insult.
I gritted my teeth against the pain in my hand, but still I said nothing.
Sean glared at me. Maybe he’d been hoping I’d keep talking back so he’d have an excuse to knock me around a little more. “Keep quiet in here. Otherwise, I’ll come back and force your silence. Don’t think I won’t.”
I didn’t doubt him. He thrived on violence. Craved it.
It didn’t matter. As long as Dylan was safe, I couldn’t care less what Sean did to me.
He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. The lock clicked closed with a decisive snap. I didn’t have to check the door to know I was trapped.
I got up on shaky legs and paced the perimeter of the room. Of course, the window was locked-more than locked, actually. It was nailed shut. I traced my finger over the rusty nails buried in the windowsill. The glass was thick, and even if I was strong enough to shatter it, there was no way I’d be able to do that without the dragons in the house hearing me. Sean was a psychopath, but he wasn’t stupid. There wasn’t a damn thing in this cold, empty room that would help me.
