Page 56 of Destiny of the Dragons

Mia had accepted that. So had Smoke. He thought it meant they accepted him, but when he told them about joining the clan, they were horrified. Angry.

Maybe he should have talked to them first but he wanted it to be a surprise. They would all be together, safe and protected.

It was a faded dream. Jace sped around the corner, winding up and up to Red Rock Mountain until the buildings were small points of red in the distance. Meaningless. Insignificant.

Jace jerked the wheel and pulled to the side of the road. His temples were pounding, and he had to let his dragon out.

Ten months of hell. Ten months of telling himself this would all someday be worth it.

One look at Smoke, and he knew that was all a lie.

He ripped off his shirt and pants, his cock hard. It had taken everything inside him not to grab Smoke and yank him into a kiss. One that said how dare you leave me. How dare you go.

Jace stumbled onto the hard desert ground, the rocks biting into his knees. His dragon shifted inside him, roaring. He was in the same room as his jewel and he did nothing about it.

His other jewel was in danger, hurting if the bond was anything to go by, and he was doing nothing about it.

Jace yelled, birds startled into the air. His wings burst out and he exploded into a large red dragon, taking to the skies.

He flew for hours, nothing but instinct and need until he was ready to take the last step of letting his Treasure go.

He would take care of this unfinished business with Smoke and Mia, and then he would move on.

For good.

* * *

Jace waited for Smoke to appear around the corner.

After his flight, he’d called Smoke and told him he wanted to help him with Cross.

Jace did some digging and figured out why Smoke didn’t just shoot the bastard. His time in his clan had taught him was to respect the connections.

If Smoke killed Preston, the entire Cross house would come after him.

More digging had revealed that instead of spending his time alone and doing quick jobs, Smoke was building a small army.

He shifted his weight. Smoke seemed to be gathering the clanless dragons of the city in various warehouses and safe places.

Smoke didn’t like being in charge, so there had to be another reason why.

Smoke approached from the corner, and Jace bit his lip. Smoke’s cheekbones were sharp enough to cut your heart on, Jace knew from personal experience.

He was not here to have one last fling with Smoke, he reminded his libido. It didn’t matter. His cock grew hard, reminding him how good it had been.

Smoke arched an eyebrow. “You think this will work?”

Smoke’s tone said he didn’t. But Jace didn’t throw everything in his old life away for nothing. He could use being in a clan to help himself out, just once.

“He’s not an idiot.” Jace shrugged.

“He’s possessive.” Smoke gave him a look filled with scorn.

Jace growled. “I didn’t come to fight.”

“Good, because you’d lose.” Smoke snapped.

Jace ached to see if that was true. Too many nights fighting turned into passionate lovemaking.

---