CONRAD
FIFTEEN
I hated this, and I stared out the window at the rundown buildings. Madd was next to me, and the tension inside the car was almost visible.
Flint had made the final decision after consulting with me and the rest of the pack because Father had sent word he wanted to negotiate, but on neutral ground.
We were to meet in a warehouse on the border of the territories between families who'd been circling each other for decades. Flint had chosen the location. My father had agreed to it, which suggested he was willing to negotiate. That meant the escape had cost him more than I'd estimated. The damaged compound was inconsequential. That I was missing he didn’t give a damn about, but I’d taken Madd with me, so I’d disrupted his strategy.
Compromise wasn’t part of my father’s vocabulary, so he had an angle. I had to figure out what it was.
Madd stood beside me, and I scented not just him but also his wolf. Like my dragon, he was anticipating trouble. But it was Madd himself who captured my attention. Since we’d met, he’d been the captive, the accomplice, part of a powerful but loving family, and the mate I was getting to know.
Now he appeared as the mafia guy he was. The one who went undercover and risked his life every second he was someone else. The guy who made toast jokes and panicked when I mentioned dragon fire near a kitchen appliance was hidden away behind the tough-guy mask.
Members of Flint's La Luna Noir pack filled the left half of the warehouse. Ranger was positioned near the back wall where he could see both entrances. Flint stood at the front with three pack members flanking him.
The right half belonged to my father.
He arrived with twelve dragons. His enforcer Vasik was there, the one who'd searched for us from the air, and two senior lieutenants. They arranged themselves behind my father.
Evander stood at my father's right side.
I hadn't seen my brother since the night I'd torn through the compound. It’d only been days, but I'd assumed he’d be different because of what had happened. Instead, he sported a neutral expression and didn’t look at me, though he’d never paid me much attention.
I knew every inch of his face because it was mine. It’d never been weird faced with an exact replica of myself, but strangers were often taken aback at being confronted by the Alpha’s sons times two.
My father sat behind a table that had been brought in for the occasion. Even in a warehouse, he required a desk between himself and the rest of the world.
“Flint Durand.” My father addressed the Alpha without standing. “Thank you for agreeing to meet.”
Flint strode toward the table and pulled out a chair. These were two men who refused to stand for each other.
“The situation has changed since my original proposal.” My father folded his hands on the table top.
Flint scoffed at the word “proposal.”
“As the Alpha, any agreement should have been done through me. As such, it wasn’t a proposal but an ultimatum, one I would have refused. I don’t like being taken advantage of.”
Father ignored Flint’s veiled threat.
“The mating between your cousin and my son wasn’t what I intended. But it's done.”
I waited for the “but” because there had to be one or Father could have sent an email or carrier pigeon.
“The bond is legitimate because my son chose it.” He paused. “I’m prepared to recognize it.”
I shivered, and goosebumps paraded over my skin as though a cold wind had slipped into the building.
This was unlike Father. He’d never recognized anything I'd done, whether it was my discipline or the years I'd spent proving myself useful.
And now with enemies watching, he was recognizing the one thing I'd done that defied him because it was politically convenient.
He’d wriggle out of it when he’d come up with an alternative, but right now, disagreeing with my mating would result in bloodletting. Father was a warmonger, and he loved the smell of blood mingling with burning corpses. So he was thinking long term.
“In exchange,” my father continued, "I expect the following. The conflict between our families ends and trade routes through the corridor that separates our territory are shared.” He looked at me again. “My son maintains contact with his family and is not absorbed into your pack.”
Flint pushed his chair back, and I thought he was going to leave.
“The first two are negotiable, but Conrad’s relationship with you is up to him. As Madd’s mate, he’s under La Luna Noir’s protection. But that doesn’t negate your relationship with your son.”
Father mumbled that no son of his would be part of a wolf pack. That was expected. Dragon shifters in general were a haughty lot, looking down on those without wings and especially shifters who couldn’t produce fire, which was pretty much every other shifter.
Flint shrugged. “Again, it’s up to Conrad and his mate, my cousin.”
My father clenched his fist and his jaw, but he nodded. Madd adjusted his position so his shoulder brushed against mine as my dragon studied my twin, trying to work out what he was thinking.
Evander hadn’t moved or spoken since we arrived.
He’d just witnessed our father give away everything he'd been promised.
I knew what that looked like. I'd spent my life on the wrong side of my father's dealings, but Evander never had. He’d been the heir and had been told he'd mate Madd. He’d done everything that was asked of him through thirty-one years as the favored son.
And now our father was giving it all away.
“The trade routes require specific terms.” Flint leaned forward. “I want them in writing.”
“No.” Evander's voice was firm.
My dragon murmured that something was wrong, and I told him Evander had found his voice. But what did that mean for me?
My father narrowed his eyes and glared at his beloved son. “Evander.”
“The wolf was promised to me.” Evander hadn't raised his voice. “That was the arrangement, and I fulfilled my part.”
“The circumstances have changed.”
“Because you changed them.” My twin’s voice echoed around the warehouse. “You're negotiating away what you promised because it's easier than fighting for it.”
My father hissed, and his nostrils flared. “Stand down.”
“Conrad defied you. He took what was mine.” Evander's dragon had taken over my brother’s sight.
I'd never seen my twin so defiant, and my dragon was preparing to take his scales. I couldn’t fathom what Evander was hoping to get out of this other than to take both Madd and me back to the now-crumbling compound.
He’s going to do something rash.
He would never. But as I spoke those words, a prickle of fear crept over me.
“Conrad should be dealt with as any dragon who defies their Alpha. And the wolf is mine. That was the agreement.”
Why was my twin so adamant about wanting Madd? I understood that we often wanted something we couldn’t have. But they weren’t fated. My brother’s heart hadn’t been torn out, it was just his pride that was hurt.
But in the back of my mind, I worried that the universe had made a mistake. Evander and I shared DNA, we were identical in every way. Surely Madd wasn’t also his fated mate.
“There is no agreement.” My father pushed his chair back, and it screeched over the splintered floor. “I am the head of this family, and I have made my decision.”
The room was deathly silent, even the old roof stopped creaking.
“You decided I was the heir and Conrad was the spare. You chose the wolf as my mate, but when we met—”
“Oh gods, no.” Madd gripped my hand, and he caught my eye. There was no need to say anything because he was thinking the same thing as me.
The room erupted in yells, and Flint flung himself backward, tumbling onto the floor as fire surged from Evander. This wasn’t an uncontrolled burst of temper. My twin had precise aim, and my father didn't have time to take his scales.
The smell of burning flesh and Father’s scream abruptly cut off as the fire consuming him would be seared into my memory. And then there was silence apart from the crackling of flames destroying what remained of my father.
Madd was pulling me back as Ranger and another wolf shifter dragged Flint over the uneven floor.
Vasik’s hand grabbed his weapon, but Evander was ready for him and had a gun aimed at the enforcer’s chest.
“This family has a new head.” Evander's firm voice filled the warehouse. “Conrad mated outside the flight without authorization, and this will be resolved.”
I searched his face for the brother I’d grown up with, but that guy had vanished.
“We're leaving,” Evander said. And when he finally looked at me, he said, “I’ll be in touch, brother.” There was a threat in his voice, or perhaps more of a promise.
I leaned against someone or something. Maybe Madd. The scent kept me upright, and there was an arm draped over my shoulder. I bent forward as relief took hold of me, followed by guilt. I’d just witnessed my father’s murder and my first thought was he could no longer both bully and ignore me.
Relief. That was my reaction, and I hated myself for it. The man who'd never forgiven me for sharing my twin’s egg and hatching last was gone, and the first thing I felt was the absence of a weight I'd been carrying all my life.
Next came grief for the father he could have been. And finally horror. Because my brother had just burned our father alive and walked out as though nothing had changed.
“Conrad.” Madd's voice was at my ear. “We need to go.”