“I really don’t need to be here,” Xavier sighed as we walked toward the old pink Victorian that housed the town bookstore. “Nobody even really comes here besides you, Blaine.”

  That did not reassure me.

  Jack leaned over and whispered, “Can we trust your demon?”

  “Definitely not mine,” I grumbled as we climbed the creaky steps. “You can have him.”

  Blaine glared at both of us. “Edwin is our best bet to get the knowledge we need.”

  “We could ask Merlin,” I perked up.

  That felt less like a trap.

  “Busy with his potions—and he never gets to the point fast enough,” Blaine said.

  Xavier shot him a glare. “I hate when you’re right.”

  As we reached the porch, the OPEN sign in the window slammed to CLOSED.

  I glanced at Xavier.

  He just shrugged.

  “So… we can go now?” I doubted it, but hey—I had to try.

  “Edwin is shy,” Blaine scowled at the sign like it had personally offended him.

  “We’ll just figure out something else,” I said.

  Blaine stepped forward and pounded on the door.

  “Edwin! We need some information!”

  “We’re very closed!” a disembodied voice snapped from the shadows beyond the door.

  “Edwin! I’ll teleport in there and open this door!” Blaine shouted in a voice that made me want to drop and give him fifty push-ups.

  I like your demon, Chaos said.

  I don’t like when you’re this chatty, I shot back.

  Silence stretched.

  “Fine!”

  The door flung open—and there was no one there.

  “This weird to you?” Jack asked as Blaine stomped inside.

  “This is weird for me, and I’ve been around magic my whole life,” Xavier muttered, following him.

  “Can I go fight shifters now?” I sighed as I trailed after them.

  “No!” Blaine barked.

  Okay then.

  Most ADHD people get distracted by shiny objects.

  My weakness was books.

  I licked my lips as I took in the book-lined walls.

  “Great. Books,” Jack sighed in disgust.

  And there he took after Kathy.

  Dragoon was practically vibrating. So many books… so much residual shadow magic.

  Blaine led us into what would’ve been a large living room—if it hadn’t been completely swallowed by shelves and stacks.

  “Edwin! We need your help!” Blaine shouted.

  A pile of books suddenly slid out of my shadow at my feet.

  I jumped back.

  Deep breath.

  “There! Go!” Edwin was in the shadows—and I could fucking feel it.

  He triggered me—

  and was just going to shove us out?!

  Shadows gathered around me as that cold calm settled in—

  the one I knew too well.

  Jack took a couple of steps back.

  I hadn’t raised an idiot.

  You’re using shadow magic, Dragoon purred.

  Yeah.

  Because I was pissed.

  Blaine glanced at me and immediately backed away.

  Xavier moved in front of Blaine as the shadows swirled around me.

  “Find him,” I snarled at them.

  I was done running from things.

  Done cowering.

  Done letting everything hold me back.

  And a cranky bookstore owner had just made a mistake.

  The shadows slid away from me and flowed through the store, leading the way.

  A faint smile tugged at my lips.

  It had been a while since my last hunting trip.

  The shadows stretched and took shape—hounds of smoke and ink—lowering their heads as if scenting a trail.

  “We can talk about this!” Edwin shouted.

  “Should’ve led with that,” I said. I didn’t raise my voice.

  A whimper.

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  “Blaine!” Edwin whined.

  “You’re on your own, Edwin,” Blaine chuckled. “Should’ve just talked to them.”

  The hounds let out a disembodied howl and raced through the store.

  I followed at a leisurely pace.

  I could feel where they were.

  The store was a maze, but they never wavered in their hunt.

  Soon they led me to a small back room with a bed. The hounds gathered there, growling at the shadows pooled beneath it.

  “Found you.”

  I flicked the shadows away from under the bed.

  “No! I’m not ready!” Edwin tried to scrunch himself farther beneath it.

  The scent hit me then.

  Reptilian.

  And beneath it—something else.

  Faint. Old. Like a forgotten memory.

  I couldn’t place it.

  But it was familiar.

  I waited for the others to come in.

  As I did…

  I frowned as something hit me.

  Guilt.

  The kind that grinds you down over years.

  Pain.

  Like a limb removed and never replaced.

  How the hell was I sensing this?

  Jack had the neural chip—the one that gave him psychic abilities.

  Not me.

  Whoever was under that bed was a mess.

  And I had no idea what to do with that.

  Xavier arrived first—and staggered.

  I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed him and steadied him.

  He stared at me with wide eyes. Then at the bed.

  “Can’t,” he whispered.

  He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

  I could feel the man’s pain—but beneath it was something else.

  Something unexpected.

  Love.

  Pained love.

  What the hell?

  Blaine and Jack arrived behind us.

  Jack pressed his hands to his head and muttered something about stupid, accidental psychic powers.

  Chaos hummed quietly.

  Blaine sighed and crouched, peering beneath the bed. “This isn’t helping at all, you know.”

  A hand shot out and flipped him off.

  “Stubbornness runs in the family,” Blaine said mildly. “You really should’ve thought about this day a little harder.”

  Blaine, I did consider all the options, and nothing will help my case at all. I’ll still be the villain here, so just take me to Hell and punish me like I asked.

  Edwin’s voice echoed in my skull—and judging by the flinches, in theirs too.

  I frowned.

  That wasn’t quite Dad’s voice.

  The cadence was off.

  Xavier had gone pale.

  “Does he have a neural chip or something?” Jack asked, frowning.

  The other two stared at him.

  I groaned and rubbed my face. “Remember? Jack was raised in isolation by me with the emotional range of a potato?”

  Understanding dawned on their faces.

  Jack glared at me.

  ‘Hermit?’ His voice was the same as Dad’s—but off. Or…

  My gaze narrowed.

  Like if Dad hadn’t been who he said.

  Paranoia was something I’d lived with for decades, with a little conspiracy theory thrown in. Hey—it was useful sometimes, as long as you didn’t tumble down the extreme rabbit holes.

  I glanced at Xavier, who had gone pale.

  I reached for the pack bond and found his strand with Dragoon’s help. How many pack members were there?

  Can you show me what you’re feeling, Xavier? I asked through it.

  Emotions flowed into me.

  Anger.

  Betrayal.

  Sadness.

  Images of a father I didn’t know.

  An uncle who—

  I paused.

  The memories and hurt kept coming.

  The uncle moved like my father.

  Acted like him.

  The one Xavier called Dad didn’t.

  I was looking at my brother’s pain from the outside.

  Then he looked at mine—while I was still trying to understand.

  There was no blame in it.

  Just acknowledgment.

  Of what happened.

  I drew a shaky breath and forced myself toward the bed.

  The chances of me ending up curled on the floor afterward?

  Pretty good.

  Blaine watched with a neutral expression.

  I bit my lip as I knelt and peered beneath the bed.

  Wide green eyes met mine.

  They were immediately covered by a pair of hands, hiding his face.

  That hit a little too close to home.

  I’d hidden for twenty-six years.

  This man had hidden longer.

  “Why?” was all I could manage.

  He flinched and peered at me through his fingers. “Because you both hate me.”

  I wasn’t curled up in the fetal position, so…

  I cocked my head. “But I don’t know you. You’re not the same man who—”

  The words stopped.

  Heart pounding.

  I drew a steadying breath.

  A different memory surfaced.

  Rain.

  Cold.

  Soaked clothes.

  Dad yelling at Mom.

  Eighteen.

  Sneaking out with everything I owned.

  Mom knew.

  Helped me pack.

  A stranger gave me a ride at the end of the street.

  Suggested the Army.

  Took me to the registration office.

  I’d never gotten a good look at his face.

  He gave me money to survive until basic.

  The shadows had kept his face hidden—

  not unnaturally.

  Just… human.

  I stared.

  “You…” I whispered.

  I reeled back.

  Psychic powers ran in the family.

  He was showing me in the only way he could.

  “Tyler was Guardian of Shadows,” he whispered. “I couldn’t stand up against him. He was too strong.”

  Xavier slowly joined me.

  “Uncle Tyler was Guardian of Shadows?”

  Edwin nodded, jerky.

  Images followed.

  A shadow barrier only Edgar could see—

  one he couldn’t cross.

  Kept from his mate.

  From Xavier.

  Tyler’s jealousy.

  Rage at his brother’s ordinary life—both before and after.

  His attempt at starting over

  after his mate passed.

  Xavier had been a lot older than me,

  helping him reach Willow Haven.

  Hidden by shadows.

  Xavier turned to me. “I’ll kill him.”

  “Can’t,” I said quietly. “Dead. Car accident.”

  I’d wanted to do the same once.

  “I should’ve fought harder,” Edgar whispered. “I didn’t try hard enough. That’s why Blaine should just take me to Hell.”

  My brain finally caught up.

  Shit.

  I scrambled backward.

  A Guardian of Shadows had harassed Edgar.

  And I had hunted him down with shadows.

  Jack was kneeling beside me, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.

  “No,” he said quietly. “You didn’t know.”

  “Power should be used responsibly,” I whispered.

  Blaine rolled his eyes and rose to his feet, then knelt in front of me.

  “I’m as much to blame as you,” he said. “I got frustrated with Edgar—who goes by Edwin now—and you probably felt some of my anger. That didn’t help.”

  I saw the hounds I’d summoned.

  I dismissed them.

  Dismissed every shadow I’d taken control of.

  Then I drew my knees up to my chest.

  Xavier started toward me as I buried my face against my legs.

  None of them knew what it felt like to have magic used against you.

  Just the scared man under the bed.

  I’d violated him in the worst way.

  ‘Daniel,’ Chaos whispered.

  ‘Needs hoard,’ Dragoon sighed. ‘I really don’t want to explain that to him right now.’

  Trinkets weren’t going to help.

  “Alpha,” Xavier said softly, rubbing my back.

  It helped—but it wasn’t enough.

  I rocked slightly.

  In my head, I was no better than Barton Carmichael.

  “He needs hoard,” Edgar’s voice said gently, closer now.

  “Yeah,” Jack added, “and I don’t think any of us want to explain that to him right now. It’s… weird for humans when they can think clearly.”

  ‘A hoard bond is a connection to people you choose,’ Chaos said gently.

  There was a pause.

  ‘Hoard is people we care about,’ Dragoon added, then, more sheepish, ‘Dragons cuddle hoard.’

  I squeezed my eyes shut.

  Shit.

  I shook my head and rocked faster.

  “I think he just got it explained,” Blaine sighed. “Daniel—you need it to help you calm down.”

  ‘Don’t want to cuddle a man,’ I sent, only to Blaine.

  The demon chuckled. ‘It’s not like that, soldier.’

  ‘Sure as fuck sounds like it.’

  He showed me images—him holding Jack until he calmed down.

  No tension. No ownership. Just… there. Solid.

  …Oh.

  I stilled.

  Still not sure I liked it.

  But my breathing had slowed.

  Chaos intervened.

  Bastard.

  The images lingered.

  Warmth. Weight. Not alone.

  …Shit.

  “How?” I muttered, forehead pressed to my knees.

  “Just say their name and that you claim them as hoard,” Jack said.

  I wasn’t ready to claim Jack.

  Not ready to risk screwing him up.

  “Blaine,” I said quietly, “I claim you as hoard.”

  The words didn’t sound confident.

  But they were real.

  My hands clenched against my legs as the magic snapped into place.

  Not ownership. Not control. Responsibility.

  And with it came something else.

  A pull.

  Not to dominate or command, but to stay close. To anchor.

  To make sure neither of us drifted too far.

  I didn’t like it.

  Relief washed through me anyway when Blaine’s hand settled over mine.

  I squeezed my eyes shut as my shoulders loosened against my will.

  I could breathe.

  That was the problem.

  I hadn’t realized how hard I’d been holding myself together until my body stopped doing it for me.

  “What is this?” I muttered, more unsettled than comforted.

  Edwin moved up beside Blaine. Xavier gave him a small nod.

  Edwin licked his lips. “Dragons can’t regulate their emotions without a hoard.”

  “I’ve been human my whole life,” I said, fighting the urge to lean into Blaine.

  Guilt flared across Edwin’s face.

  “I had a Light dragon cast an illusion spell on you to suppress your nature,” he swallowed hard.

  “If Tyler — my brother — believed you were human…” His voice dropped. “He wouldn’t try to use you.”

  He looked away.

  “And now I’ve screwed you up.”

  I’m going back to bed. Enjoy.

  Order: That explains so much.