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Kenton knew what it took for Lawrence to say those words. He knew because saying them would have cost him the same amount of pride. In another life, it was the kind of concession that could have gotten a man killed. When a medieval warrior hesitated, on the battlefield or off of it, they did not survive, simple as that.

But they were no longer living on the borderlands, no longer in charge of anyone but themselves and their families. Which was the rub. For Lawrence, protecting his family meant watching over the ancestors of the very woman who’d set the curse. For Kenton, it meant eliminating those same people.

Alessandra changed everything.

Smart. Bold. Gracious. Full of light and life. And more goddamn beautiful than any woman alive. Or dead.

It was for her Kenton stuck out his hand.

Lawrence didn’t hesitate to shake it. He’d always been the better man.

“I can ensure she is safe here in Stone Haven. You have my word.”

Drake and Rowan would kill him for this.

So be it.

Just as the thought popped into his head, as his brothers’ faces flashed before him, a rush of adrenaline coursed through him.

Could it be?

Fuck. He hoped not. And for God’s sake, please not Rowan.