Moonlight streamed through the windows and Willa’s lashes fluttered open. She must have fallen asleep. She rolled to her side and lay there for a long moment as the events from earlier in the night came rushing back to her.

Drake.

A shiver ran through her at the memory of it. He’d been so intense and tender all at once, and she wondered if it would always be like that between them. Hot and needy with an undercurrent of rightness so strong that it brought tears to her eyes.

She reached out a hand to feel the pillow next to her and realized with a start that it was cold. Not in the bathroom, then. In fact, he must have been up for a while.

She stirred under the blankets and swung her legs over the side of the bed, reveling in the welcome ache between her thighs. Maybe once she found him she could lure him back up for an encore performance.

She crossed the room to grab a t-shirt and a pair of jeans from the dresser and tugged them on before making her way to the bedroom door. She turned the knob and then froze as it turned just a hair before catching.

Locked.

She jiggled the knob again before her brain processed what was happening.

Drake had fucking locked her in again. Her gut churned as she thought back over their night together, and with every passing second, she grew more furious. He’d touched her like she was his everything. He’d looked into her eyes and bared his soul. He’d held her afterward like she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

How could he just walk away like that didn’t mean anything to him and then lock her up again?

Enough was enough. She’d put up with him treating her like his enemy. She’d put up with him locking her in a room and chaining her up like a criminal. But she’d be damned if he treated her like some after hours hookup that he could just use and walk away from. Not when he’d rocked her to her very marrow. Not when he’d made her feel like the most beautiful, sexy woman on earth.

Not when she loved the shit out of him and knew, deep down, that he felt the same.

She stared at the door and, without hesitation, her wolf took the reins, moving restlessly beneath her skin, ready to fight for its mate. She didn’t stop it. She closed her eyes and let it take over, relishing in the pull of her muscles as they lengthened and the shift of bone.

When she opened her eyes, everything was crisper. Clearer. Her sense of smell keen and sharp. Her wolf mind was very aware of her all-too human emotions, but her thoughts and responses were far more basic. And on a most basic level, she needed to get free from this room. Then? She needed to find her man and throttle him.

She eyed the door and centered herself, gathering her preternatural strength. Then, she let out a fierce snarl and she raced forward, battering against the door with her entire body.

The impact reverberated through her, rattling her teeth, jarring her hard as she bounced off the door. She blinked hard and refocused, a carnal satisfaction rolling through her as she noted the wood had splintered down the center. It hurt, but if she kept at it, the door would be history. She’d be free.

Free to run Drake down and force him to listen to her. To keep talking and not stop until he stopped being a stubborn asshole and believed her.

Her resolve only strengthened and she shook herself off before padding backward again and lunging forward, smashing into the door a second time.

This time, it worked and the door cracked straight down the center, leaving a gap wide enough for her to claw the rest of the way through. She’d lost the element of surprise, because surely Drake had heard the ruckus from wherever he was in the keep, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

She finally felt like she was where she needed to be, emotionally. She was strong, and determined, and she was going to fight for the life she wanted, tooth and nail.

She ran down the stairs, shifting back into human form and kicking aside the shredded remnants of her clothes with a muttered curse.

“Enough is enough, Drake,” she said, rounding the corner and stepping into the great room.

He stood by the fireplace and turned toward her, the surprise on his face quickly fading back into a blank expression. “Ah, Willa. We were just talking about you,” he said, his voice low but markedly cooler than it had been when she’d last seen him.

“Yes, your ears must’ve been burning.”

She gasped and whipped around to find Etienne standing behind her, a coffee mug in hand. His golden gaze traveled from her flaming face to the tip of her toes before trailing back up again.

“You’re looking especially lovely this night, ma petite,” he murmured, but his sad little smile didn’t match the playful tone of his words and that only confused her more.

She wrapped one arm around her breasts and pressed a hand between her thighs, so thrown by Etienne’s presence that she could barely form a coherent thought. All the anger and righteous indignation drained from her, leaving behind only abject terror that something was horribly wrong.

Had Greyson come and she’d slept through the entire battle? Dear god, what if her former packmates were all dead?

She looked to Drake, who stood beside the basket filled with robes he kept by the fireplace for when he came home after shifting, but he didn’t offer her one. Instead, he leveled her with another cold glance before turning his back on her altogether and facing the fire. “What’s going on, Drake?” she whispered, the words sticking in her dry throat.

“There’s been a change of plan,” he murmured, pausing to take a long pull from the glass in his hand before setting it down on the mantle. “I’ve been called back to Scotland on family business so I won’t have time to entertain your wolf friends and their games, mores the pity. I’ve decided it’s best to end it here so that Etienne doesn’t inherit my baggage. Best for him if he makes nice with the locals, since he’ll be staying in Montana. In order to facilitate that and as a gesture of goodwill, he is going to take you back to your pack tonight, along with the nullified contract between your parents and I.”

Her stomach dropped to her toes and tears burned the back of her lids. “What are you saying, Drake?”

“I don’t believe I stuttered,” he said, his tone downright icy now. “I don’t have time for games, so do me the favor of not arguing just this once, would you? Go upstairs and dress. Etienne will be waiting for you when you come down.”

His shoulders were stiff and his head was bowed, and no matter how hard she willed him to, he wouldn’t turn around.

She looked helplessly to Etienne who just shrugged and averted his golden eyes. What was she supposed to do now?

“Drake, can you come up with me? I’d like a moment to speak with you in private,” she murmured softly.

“That won’t be possible. We’re under a time crunch here. Greyson West has been notified and is awaiting your return as we speak. Being late might cause him to fear that it’s a trap and cause all sorts of problems. I want this to be as easy for Etienne as possible.”

“But—”

“Go.” The word was no more than a harsh, raw whisper, but it was filled with such conviction, such finality, it might as well have been a roar.

He was done with her.

This was the end.

And even if she was right…even if he loved her the way she thought he did, he would never forgive her for what she’d done. If she’d learned anything in her reading of dragon lore, it was that they didn’t forgive a slight easily, and one of this magnitude?

He would send her away with his nemesis, back to the arms of his sworn enemy in a bid to get rid of her, and then he would leave the country. What else needed to be said?

Despair washed over her in a wave and she turned, running up the stairs, blinded by tears. Jesus, was there anything sadder than this? Waiting her whole life for him. Finally getting her wish to mate with someone she loved and having it all come crashing down because of nothing more than stubborn pride.

Whoever had said it was better to have loved and lost had never felt like this.

* * *

“That was harsh, friend,” Etienne murmured, stepping up to the fire to stand beside Drake. “Don’t you think you owe her the truth?”

“I didn’t lie. There is family business I can manage in Scotland, after all.”

“Right,” he said. He started to say more but Drake just held up a hand. He was hanging onto his composure by a thread and it wasn’t long before he exploded. He needed to take care of the rest of his responsibilities, and then he needed to fly. Far and fast, maybe do some hunting. Anything to ease the ache fairly burning a hole in his chest.

Etienne closed his mouth with a snap and nodded.

“Okay. Well, I’ll take care of this for you, and make sure they know that this reprieve is a gift that they shouldn’t squander. It should all work out fine. When are you leaving for Scotland?”

“I have one more thing to take care of tonight, and then I’ll come home and pack. Tomorrow. The next day, at the latest.”

“And when will you return?”

When I can be within a thousand miles of her and not want her anymore, he wanted to reply.

“Hard to say.”

As it stood, he couldn’t imagine a world where he didn’t want her. Where every cell in his body didn’t feel the pull of her, like steel to a magnet.

He stepped away from the fireplace and glanced at his watch.

“I have an appointment to keep, and I’d rather not have to deal with another goodbye. I’m going to leave now. Wait here for Willa, and just lock up when you leave. Once you’ve left her safe in West’s care, give me a call. I’ll feel more settled once I know she’s been delivered safely.”

He didn’t wait for the Frenchman’s response, instead wheeling around and heading toward the door, grabbing his leather satchel with a change of clothes in it as he passed the closet.

Without a backward glance, he broke into a loping jog and finally gave in to the feelings bubbling inside of him, exploding into dragon form and taking to the sky.

The night winds battered his face as he tore straight upward before diving down in a free fall. It hadn’t been five minutes and already he missed her. Already, the loneliness he felt was too great to bear.

Already he felt like his heart had been cleaved in two.

His appointment was at midnight but he opted to show up twenty minutes late. Partially to work off some pain that was so close to the surface, it was in danger of bubbling over with even one wrong word, and partially because a reminder of who was in charge wouldn’t be amiss.

By the time he landed on the ground of the overlook that was the very spot he’d first met Willa, he’d effectively managed to put a lid on his emotions, but it was a shaky lid that wouldn’t hold for long, so he’d have to keep it short and bitter.

He shifted back into human form and tugged a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans from his ankle bag before making his way to the grey sedan parked a dozen yards away. He approached the passenger’s side window and rapped sharply on the glass. The woman behind it jerked in surprise and then swung the door open to step out, her male companion following suit.

“Blackbourne,” Jacob Stone said with a nod. He held out his hand for Drake to shake it, but Drake ignored the gesture, reminding himself once again that it wouldn’t be prudent to kill Willa’s father in cold blood.

“I’ll make this brief. I called you to meet me tonight to let you know that our business has concluded.”

Willa’s mother cocked her head to the side, and crossed her bony arms over her chest. “Meaning?”

“Meaning I’ve nullified the contract.” He tugged a copy of the contract from his back pocket and handed it over. “I had my legal team look it over and it’s clear by the language that, because it was implied that Willa was aware of the transaction, and she was, in fact, not, that the contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. I’ve sent the original along with Willa back to her former pack.”

Jacob’s cheeks went ruddy as he took the sheaf of papers, but he stayed silent. Faustine, however, couldn’t hold her tongue.

“When you took our daughter, you swore your allegiance to our new pack. You promised to fight for us during wartime, and support us in peace times. That was our agreement, dragon,” she hissed, eyeing him with a mixture of fear and disgust. “I thought your kind always keep their promises.”

Fury flared within him at the insult to his honor, but he managed to push it back and stay focused. “Aye, that we do. But you secured my promise through nefarious means, making my oath void. Worry not, wolf. I’m still going to make you an excellent deal.”

Her thin lips twitched into an entitled smile, which only made him relish his next words that much more.

“Here’s my offer.” He leaned in close enough that Jacob took a step backward, clearly discomfited. “You’re going to leave Willa alone, with her pack, in peace. You’re never going to hurt her again, or use her for your own gain. In fact, you’re never even going to contact her again. If she wants to talk to you, she will. But until or unless that happens, the two of you are ghosts to her.”

Jacob swallowed hard, but managed to squeeze out a response. “And in return?”

He sat back and bared his teeth in a cold smile. “And in return, I won’t murder you where you stand and use your bones to build an ottoman.”

Faustine gasped, her cheeks going chalk white. “Unacceptable, sir. I—”

Her husband gripped her elbow hard and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Blackbourne, my wife spoke out of turn. That sounds fair. We accept your terms.”

Faustine glanced between the two men and must have seen something she hadn’t before in Drake’s expression. Maybe it was the plain truth of the matter written on his face. Maybe it was the bleak acceptance in his eyes. Maybe it was that he quite literally had nothing else to lose in this game. Whatever the case, she stepped back and nodded slowly.

“All… all right, then. We accept, so long as you promise not to hurt us, now or ever.”

“What you did to your daughter was despicable and you both disgust me. Should I decide later that you got off too easily, then I may rethink it. Do not give me reason to start now, woman. Go,” he snarled, the lid ready to blow. “Before I change my mind.”

He watched her parents slink back to their car and drive away before he turned and made a run for the cliff, shifting into his dragon as he went. Maybe his move back to Scotland would be permanent after all. Being close enough to touch Willa some day would be torture enough, but when she did find a mate? Better he was far enough away not to hear of it. He would hate to have to disembowel an innocent man. He should’ve felt some sense of satisfaction at giving them their comeuppance and some relief that at least Willa would be safe from those bloodsuckers. Instead, all he felt was a hollow emptiness that he knew in his bones would never leave.

But at least now, Willa would be free. Free to run in the woods. Free to find a mate of her own choosing. Free to live the life she’d always deserved.

And that would have to be enough for him.

He took flight, soaring into the inky sky, intent on his last and final order of business. Getting drunk enough to get through this first night without wanting to eat a bullet.

Because right now, right at this moment? Life without Willa didn’t feel like any kind of life at all.