Atlas nodded, his voice steady. “They didn’t ask for this, same as us. But we don’t know them, don’t know what Dad taught them, if they’re like us or something else.”
Ryker leaned forward, his hands flat on the table, his voice hard. “Mom’s note says she never reached out. Too much pain,too much betrayal. It’s on us now to find them, to figure out who they are.”
I read her words again, scrawled in her sharp hand:I wish I knew more, but the truth is yours to uncover. Be careful, my boys. They’re Danes, but they’re strangers.
My throat closed, her voice in my head—My Silas—mingling with the ribbon’s promise, fulfilled in blood at Blackthorn Hollow. She’d died to save Portia, to end her father’s reign, and now she’d left us this, a final mission to find our own.
“We go to Montana,” I said, my voice steady, breaking the silence. “They’ve got a ranch, looks like a skeleton crew runs it while they’re deployed. We send feelers, discreet, see who they are.”
Marcus nodded, his grin sharp.
“We reach out, one at a time. Test the waters. Seven on one’s better than seven on seven if it goes south.”
Atlas raised a hand, his voice calm but firm. “Bring them in slow. One brother at a time, see if they’re cut from Dad’s cloth, if they’ve got his heart. If they pass muster, we bring them into the fold, maybe share the fortune. If not …”
He didn’t finish, but we all knew.
The Dane name was ours—forged in blood, loyalty, fire. If these Montana Danes were poison, like my grandfather, we’d cut them out.
A silent agreement passed between us, no objections, our eyes meeting in a pact. We’d find them, test them, maybe make them family.
I thought of my father, his secrets, his flaws, and hoped he’d instilled in them what he had in us—honor, strength, the kind of love that burns through shadows.
“There’s logistics,” Elias said, breaking the moment. “Attorneys, trusts, that sort of thing. We should move fast.”
“We’ll handle it,” Noah said, his voice steady. “Start with a letter, maybe, or a call. Something low-key, see who bites.”
I nodded, my chest lighter, the plan solid.
“I’m good with it,” I said, and I meant it, the weight of my mother’s death easing, replaced by purpose. “Let’s find them.”
The meeting broke, my brothers scattering to their tasks—Ryker to his contacts, Elias to his tech, Marcus to his weapons, each carrying the dossier’s weight.
I stayed behind, the war room quiet, the photos of my half-brothers staring up at me. Caleb, Jacob, Ethan, Lucas, Gideon, Levi, Micah—all Danes, all strangers, their faces a mirror of my father’s, of mine. I wondered what they knew, if they’d loved him, if they’d mourned him like we had. The exhilaration of finding them mixed with the ache of betrayal, but I pushed it down, my focus shifting to Portia, to the life I wanted, the future we could build.
I found her in the courtyard, putting the finishing touches on the weddings, now just days away. She stood by a trellis draped in jasmine, her tablet in hand, her black dress hugging her curves, her curls catching the sunlight. She was more beautiful today than ever, her fire tempered by a quiet strength, a woman who’d faced blood and shadows and still stood tall.
I watched her for a moment, my heart full, her love the anchor that’d kept me from breaking at Blackthorn Hollow, from losing myself to my mother’s ghost, my grandfather’s poison.
“Hey,” I said, my voice low, stepping closer.
She looked up, her smile soft, her eyes warm but tired. “Hey. You okay?”
I nodded, my throat tight. “Better now.”
She set the tablet down, her brow furrowing. “What’s going on?”
I took a breath, my hands in my pockets.
“We found something. A dossier, from Mom. About Dad’s other family.”
Her eyes widened, her voice soft. “The brothers?”
“Seven,” I said, my voice rough. “All military, raised on a ranch in Montana. They’re our age, Portia. Dad’s face in every one of them. It’s … uncanny. Exhilarating.”
She stepped closer, her hand on my arm. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re reaching out,” I said, my eyes on hers. “Slow, careful. One at a time, to see who they are, if they’re like us. If they are, we bring them in, share everything—Dominion, the fortune, the name. If not …” I trailed off, my jaw tight.
