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After we dress, Ezra flies us to the border of House of Zorah with my arms around his neck and my nose buried in his collar. He won’t touch down on pack territory, not with things still hot between our families. He sets me on my feet outside it and threads his fingers through mine.

My father’s scent comes in on the wind with my uncles’. They all reek of fury. My wolf shrinks back from it, but Ezra doesn’t flinch. When I glare up at him, he meets my eyes without a hint of apology. I slap his chest.

He traps my hand against him. “You cannot be serious right now,” he says. “I have to be sorry for your father threatening to take you from me?”

I yank free. “I want a life with you, Ezra. And not with all this drama.”

Bitter smoke leaks from his nostrils. It’s a good thing I know how to manage my dragon. I step in close and drag my fingers down the front of his shirt. I tilt my chin up and give him the look I stole from my mother, the sultry eye-narrowing that makes my father cave every time.

He blows out the last of his smoke and cracks into a grin. “All right, Aya. You already know how to break me with those beautiful silver eyes of yours.”

He bends down to kiss me and pulls back serious again. “You don’t need to complete the mate bond, Aya. I want it, but you already own me. And you have for a very long time. I’ll do whatever you want.”

My wolf rolls over for him. Honestly, I’m not far behind her. He leads me by the hand across the border and down the dirt road to the clearing, where the pack is waiting. Jacob stands in the center. Beside him, my father stares Ezra down. Gabriel and Kane flank them, and Micah completes the line. Over at Tami’s cabin, Ocran shields her with his body. I can smell his anger from where I stand.

My mother waits on our porch between my brothers, Amos and Arlo. Her raspberry scent is sour with worry. “Aya, come here,” she calls.

Ezra drops my hand and nudges me forward. “Let this be between the men.”

My wolf tugs hard toward my mother. I huff and plant myself in front of Ezra instead.

I turn to Jacob. “We are mated, Alpha.” I go down on a knee.

At Gabriel’s growl, I scramble back to my feet. Kane doesn’t even raise his voice. “You know better, Aya.” I’d rather he yelled.

I reach back for Ezra’s hand. “But you’re going to try to take him from me.”

“We are not,” my father says as he steps forward. “But he needs to give our alpha a proper apology. He needs to submit.”

Jacob grins. “I’ll make it quick.”

My father turns to Ezra. “Well, young alpha.”

I gape at him. He’s called Ezra boy in every conversation they’ve ever had, until today.

“Aya’s no longer House of Zorah,” my father continues. “She is Ash Clan now.”

I knew this was coming. It’s how it works when you mate an alpha, same as Nala stopped belonging to her pride when she left with Torin. My eyes sting to hear my father say it out loud. I press my lips together and stare at the grass. My wolf tries to submit, but I shove her down.

“Command your mate to step aside,” my father says to Ezra. He cuts his eyes over to me. “If you can. My Aya has always been a free spirit.”

I growl at him. He’s baiting Ezra and looks pleased as hell about it.

Ezra grabs my arm and turns me around. He cups my face with his thumbs on my cheeks, and I hush. His hands are hot on my skin. “Baby, I need you to trust me. Trust that I can take care of this. Please, baby. Try.”

My wolf pushes me toward surrender, but I hang on to his wrists and don’t budge. Backing down means trusting my family not to take him away.

“I don’t want to lose my dragon.” I couldn’t care less who hears my voice crack. “I’m scared.”

Ezra’s scent wraps warm around me. He kisses me in front of my father and the entire pack until my claim mark throbs and my wolf drops the fight.

He tucks me under his chin. “You aren’t losing me, baby. I promise you.”

I twist his shirt in my fists. “You better not be wrong.”

“Go pack a bag and say goodbye to your mother and brothers.” He grips the back of my neck. “We aren’t coming back, Aya.”

I peek back at my father and catch a gentleness in his eyes. He gives me a smile I’ve never seen on him and bows his head. I hurry for the porch before I bawl in the middle of the clearing.