He drove his elbow back, felt ribs crack, and the hold loosened. Spun and caught the third lion's jaw with his fist, the impact jarring up his arm.
The fight was brutal and fast. Three on one with no room to maneuver. They had numbers. He had rage and motivation and ten years of wanting to protect something that mattered.
He fought dirty. Clawed when necessary. Used furniture as weapons. Broke what needed breaking until all three lions lay groaning on the cabin floor.
Dante stood over them, breathing hard, knuckles split and bleeding. "Tell Hector his game's done. Tell him the Council knows everything. Tell him to leave Hollow Oak before I make him."
He grabbed the documents he'd photographed, shoving them in his jacket. Then he climbed back through the window and disappeared into the forest.
His phone buzzed. Multiple texts from Emmett asking what the hell he was doing.
Dante ignored them and kept walking. Varric had said discrete. Had said don't make waves. Had said thirty days to build evidence that would stand up to Council scrutiny.
Screw that.
Maeve didn't have thirty days. She had Hector actively working to destroy her while rogues prowled her territory and forged documents built false cases against her character.
And Dante was done playing by rules that only protected predators.
Varric could court-martial him later. Emmett could lecture about protocol. Right now, Dante had evidence in his pocket and a lioness who needed to know the truth.
Council orders be damned.
Some things mattered more than duty.
Like Maeve.
Like proving he'd changed by choosing her over obligation.
Like fighting for what was his instead of waiting for permission.
His lion settled, finally understanding what Callum had tried to tell him. Maeve didn't need saving. She needed someone who'd stand with her. Who'd trust her enough to share the truth instead of hiding it for her own good.
Who'd break rules when the rules were wrong.
Dante took out his phone and texted Maeve.We need to talk. Now. I have proof about what Hector is planning.
Then he started back toward town, bloody knuckles and stolen documents and the certainty that this conversation would either bring them together or tear them apart for good.
Either way, he was done being the lion who chose duty over the woman he loved.
Time to be the lion she needed.
Even if it meant risking everything.
21
MAEVE
Maeve stared at the text for a full minute before responding.
She wanted to refuse. Wanted to tell him she'd said everything she needed to say this morning when she'd shoved him out of her apartment. But the wordplanningstuck in her mind like a burr.
What was Hector planning beyond the Council petition?
Her lioness paced, uneasy and agitated.
Fine. One hour. And this better be good.
