Irwin slammed his office door open and strode in. 

Terrence stayed as still as he could, afraid Irwin would notice him if he dared move. Everyone in the office was as tense as he was, hoping someone else would catch their alpha’s attention.

It never ended well for those who did.

Irwin sat behind his desk. 

Terrence wasn’t sure why they were here, but he didn’t think it mattered. Irwin was angry and wanted to take that anger out on someone. It easier to do so with the people Irwin felt belonged to him. He certainly wouldn’t be able to take it out on the dragons, even though they were who he was angry with.

“We’re attacking the dragons,” Irwin declared.

Terrence sucked in a breath. He wasn’t surprised, but he and his father had hoped Irwin would realize how foolish it was. Irwin had had to kill his own cousin because the man couldn’t let go of the idea of making the dragons pay for whatever he felt they’d done to him. Irwin had to see how stupid this would be, right?

Evidently, he didn’t. Otherwise, he wouldn’t announce that the clan would be going after the dragons.

Terrence wasn’t about to open his mouth and say anything about it, nor would his father. They weren’t the top of the food chain here, and they couldn’t afford for Irwin to be angry at them. The only reason they were at this meeting was Terrence’s sister, and just thinking about her made Terrence want to strangle Irwin, which wouldn’t be a good idea.

“Curt tried, and it didn’t go well,” one of Irwin’s advisors said cautiously.

Irwin narrowed his eyes at him, but thankfully, it looked like he wasn’t willing to shed blood today. “That’s because he was stupid. There are ways to do these things, and he should have known better. He was obsessed with them and could only see revenge, but if we’re going to get rid of the clan, we need to do so smartly. Going at it the same way Curt did will only create problems.”

Curt had created problems for the clan, which was why he was dead. Irwin wouldn’t have allowed him to put the clan in danger, and his obsession with the dragons had caused precisely that.

But he was gone now, and the clan was safe. Irwin had killed his cousin, and he didn’t seem to care one bit about it. He hadn’t shed a tear—not that Terrence had expected him to. Irwin was a cruel and hard man who thought emotions were for babies and women. He probably hadn’t cried since he was a child, and he wasn’t afraid of anything.

Or at least, that was how he behaved. Terrence was pretty sure Irwin was terrified of the dragons, but he would never admit it.

Terrence could admit he was terrified. He wasn’t afraid of being afraid, especially when it came to Irwin. His alpha was a monster. Terrence and his family would already be far from here if things were different.

But they couldn’t leave without his sister. 

The door slammed open again. Terrence turned to it, ready to defend himself even though there wasn’t supposed to be anything dangerous here. The clan was safe in their territory, or rather, they should be. The problem was when the danger came from inside the clan, especially from the alpha.

Irwin wasn’t the danger today. On the other hand, Irwin’s aunt looked like she was ready to kill someone—specifically Irwin.

“What do you want?” Irwin snapped.

“What do I want? How can you ask me that after what you did?”

Irwin shrugged. “I did what was best for the clan.”

“You killed my son.” Elvira almost vibrated with anger.

Terrence wondered if this was it. Was she about to kill Irwin? He was the alpha, and he was strong, but she’d just lost her son, and her anger might give her enough strength to avenge him. What Curt had been doing had been stupid, and as far as Terrence was concerned, he’d deserved to die, but Irwin hadn’t killed Curt because he thought it was the right thing to do and because it had saved people. He’d done it because Curt was annoying him and trying to take over his clan, which he couldn’t accept.

Sometimes Terrence wished his clan would all kill each other and be done with it. Maybe if they did, it would be a safer place to live.

“I killed him because he was an idiot who thought he could take my clan from me.” There was a threat in Irwin’s voice. “If you’re here to complain about that, you can leave. I did what I had to do, and I’d do it again if I had to.” Irwin leaned forward. “In fact, I won’t hesitate to do it again if anyone threatens me.”

Irwin wasn’t kidding. Everyone in the room knew it, including Curt’s mother. It gave her pause, and Terrence expected her to apologize and leave. He was surprised when she didn’t.

She straightened her back, and if looks could kill, Irwin would be deceased. Instead, he looked smug, but she didn’t seem to care.

“I’m leaving,” she said.

Irwin arched a brow. “Are you? It’s about time. You weren’t welcome at this meeting.”

“I’m leaving the clan.”

Everyone in the room was silent. It was almost as if Irwin couldn’t believe what his aunt was saying, which made sense. She’d always been a part of the clan, just like the rest of their family. No one left the clan. It just wasn’t done. The only way to stop being a clan member was death.

“You know I didn’t have a choice,” Irwin said. He wasn’t apologizing, but Terrence doubted Elvira would have stayed even if he had.

“I don’t care what you believe. You killed my son, and you’ll pay for that.”