Panic squeezed her tight. Evie fisted her hands. “You mean Chase is going to die?”
Resuming her frantic search, Lacey nodded. “Eventually, the potion will take full effect and make his heart, his mortal heart, go into overdrive. It’s the same way a Skin drug like heroin can kill with an overdose. The body simply can’t handle the rush.”
“And you were going to give this to me?”
“Not until it was diluted with the water lilies. They keep you mortal, make you cry and bring out all your emotions, you know, the stuff that makes our human half human. The same ones grow in the swamp, which is why Chase needs to immerse himself into it. It’s a delicate balance. I had added only a few lilies to the potion, but needed ten more. Damnit, if only Chase hadn’t found it!”
Evie thought rapidly. “Is there any way of slowing this down without drugs?”
Lacey left the counter and thumbed through the book. “Yeah, I saw a notation here about how the Other taking the potion needs to rest and not perform any powerful magick while the effects are rippling through his body. The more magick you use, the faster the potion progresses through your system. Shifting into his dragon form will ground him, but anything stronger is not advisable.”
Getting Chase to sleep or even relax was nearly impossible. Getting him not to perform magick? Evie groaned. “He mentioned talking with his cousins and reprimanding them about their bullying me on social media. He’s going to use magick, Lace. A lot of it because he probably feels nothing can stop him.”
“Well, something better.” Her sister slammed the book shut. “I’m headed to my store to see if I can find dried water lilies. I think I have a supply in the back. That might diffuse some of the effects. Find Chase and meet me at the shop in one hour. Hurry.”
Chapter 8
Such power. Freedom.
Chase laughed in delight as he soared high above the clouds, dipping a wing now and then. All his life as dragon he’d never experienced this rush of pure magick, a feeling he could do anything and no one would stop him.
Duty. Responsibility. Honor. Loyalty.
The words had been hammered into him from the time he was old enough to babble his first syllables. He’d always strived to walk a straight path and honor his family and their proud lineage, even though it meant setting aside his personal dreams for them.
Now?
He didn’t give a damn.
It’s all about me. What I want and what my needs are, not the needs of my damn family.
Never had he felt so invincible, his magick strong enough to melt mountaintops, his will powerful enough to bend steel.
Now I can avenge you, Evie. I’ll show my cousins they cannot bully the woman I love.
For too long they had kept their love secret, not because he felt ashamed of Evie, but he didn’t want her overwhelmed with his family’s expectations. The ball had been a good start to introduce her to his parents, except the twins ruined that.
And now he would ruin the twins.
Laughing as dragon, he blew out a stream of fire, setting trees in a nearby wooded area alight with flames. Skins ran out of their homes, yelling in panic as they headed for a garden hose. A child playing nearby screamed in terror.
“Puny Skins,” Chase sneered as he winged away, headed for the elite and wealthy paradise where his family lived.
All these years of calling Palm Beach home and not one Skin ever suspected they rubbed elbows with magic, let alone allowed dragons into their homes for cocktail or pool parties. During the high season, his parents frequented all the prestigious charity galas and donated to several causes.
There were plaques erected to his mother and father for their generous gifts.
None because they were dragon.
He would change that. When he finished, the entire world would bow their heads in respect to his family and all dragons.
No, forget his family. Remembering Evie’s distress over his cousins’ treatment, he bellowed out a line of fire from his mouth.
The red flames coming out of his mouth turned blue and cold.
Coldfire, the same power Drust produced.
Stunned, he ceased flying and started falling from the sky. Chase quickly recovered.
He tried again. The burst of coldfire was short, but he knew the damage that he could create with coldfire.
I’m invincible. No one can touch me.
Laughing as dragon, he winged over the packed urban developments and headed for the beach. He flew along the crowded South Florida beaches. A propeller plane, carrying a banner proclaiming EAT AT JOE’S flew offshore.
Grinning, he opened his mouth and chomped down on the banner, ripping it in half.
Blech. Joes did not taste very good.
Caught in his enormous tailwind, the plane sputtered, and dipped, threatening to spiral downward in a nosedive. For a minute Chase thought about letting him crash. Stupid Skins, and their silly lives, cluttering the earth.
But guilt winked through him. These Skins had not been all bad. No, some had called him friend when he was a child, taught him human games, gifted him with laughter and friendship. Chase flew beneath the plane, nudged it upward to gain altitude.
Then he dipped down, far from the airplane’s flight path as the banner plane kept on course.
The pilot would be in for a shock when he returned to the airport and saw his banner now merely read EAT.
Laughing, Chase flew straight to his parents’ mansion.
Green, manicured lawns with tall, imposing hedges swept out to the tawny sands and turquoise blue ocean waters as he flew over Palm Beach. He spied the two-story stone mansion with the dragon statues.
His parents lived here, with Chase’s cousins. His brothers had moved away and started families of their own, but they were always over visiting. Needing privacy, for the house was always packed, he’d moved out two years ago to get a condo of his own on the beach.
Studying the curved brick driveway, he spotted the identical black Jaguar sports cars. Good. Helen and Lynna were here. They liked staying with his parents, who doted on them, having no girls of their own to spoil.
Time to give his cousins a little payback.
Chase landed on the lawn by the infinity pool. A groundskeeper, trimming the rose bushes, looked up as the sudden breeze ruffled his hair and made his clothing flap in the wind. Then he shook his head and continued with his work.
Normally he’d wait until the servants were out of sight before shifting back into his human form and turning visible. Chase snorted. Why wait? He had the power now to do anything. Could feel it in his bones, the magick infusing his cells, making him heady.
Chase shifted back and froze the groundskeeper in place, the man’s hedge shears raised. He walked over and admired his work. Like a statue. Perhaps he’d leave him like this.
Again, the smidgen of guilt nudged him otherwise. He waved a hand and the man unfroze, blinked. He turned and looked even more confused.
“Hello Mr. Chase. I didn’t see you there.”
Of course not. I was an invisible dragon. Chase waved a regal hand. “Greetings, Juan. You may continue.”
Juan frowned. “Are you feeling okay, Mr. Chase? You look a little pale.”
“Never been better. Have you seen my mother?”
“No. But she’s probably inside with your father.”
Turning, he strode toward the back patio. The doors stood open to allow in the fresh air. He stepped inside the house. Such fine taste, the white, gold-veined marble floor, vaulted ceilings, expensive, colorful art on the walls.
Everything screamed money and luxury, two things Evie deserved and did not have.
It was time he evened things up.
“Mother,” he called out.
Twin staccato heels clicked on the tile. Two women, wearing matching silk designer blouses and black silk trousers, entered the living room from upstairs.
“Hullo, cousin. Your parents are out playing golf with friends,” drawled his cous
in Helen.
Good. No witnesses.
“I need to speak to both of you.” Chase leaned against the door, watching them, wondering how best to handle this. Should he roast them in flames or vaporize them with coldfire? “You insulted and threw my girlfriend out of the ball. You need to apologize to her, and to me.”
“Chase, what’s with you?” Helen frowned and flopped onto the white leather sofa. She studied her phone. “It was merely a joke.”
“Please, darling, that slut? Not worth your time. We can find you another sex toy if you’re horny.” Lynna snapped a photo of him with her phone.
He felt himself begin to change, to grow taller and more muscled. I’m the Incredible Hulk Dragon.
The phone tumbled from Lynna’s hand. Her jaw dropped. “Chase, what’s happened to you? You’re … glowing.”
He grinned, showing a mouthful of sharp, dragon teeth. “How’s this for your social media posts?”
Helen tugged at her sister’s hand. “Lynna, let’s get the hell out of here.”
They made it to the front door when the screaming began.
With her crippled wing, Evie had never mastered flying long as dragon. Usually her flights were less than a half hour long, which kept her grounded most times. Today, she pushed on, flying to Chase’s family home in Palm Beach. Panic did wonders for stretching one’s limitations.
Although she’d been there only for the gala, she knew exactly what house was Chase’s. She’d seen it often enough in his snobby cousins’ social media postings. They loved taking selfies on the wide, expansive lawn that bordered the beach.
Even from the air, she could hear the screams as she approached. Evie landed on the soft grass with a hard thud. Ow. Landings were never her specialty.
No time to see if Skin eyes observed her. She shifted into her human form, clothed herself with jeans, a pink T-shirt and sneakers. More screams from inside the mansion.
A wide-eyed gardener, clippers in hand, ran around the hedges and saw her. “Call the police,” he yelled. “Mr. Chase is going insane! He’ll kill Miss Helen and Miss Lynna.”
Fear loaned her legs speed as she ran into the house through the opened patio doors.
Evie ground to an abrupt halt. In the pristine white living room, Helen and Lynna cowered behind one of the white leather sofas as Chase hurled energy balls at them. The sofa was slowly disintegrating with each hurled globe of power. Soon it would vanish, exposing the twins.
For a moment Evie was tempted to do nothing. Ignore the screams of the women who’d made her life hell, who’d bullied and taunted her simply because she was poor and moved outside their social circles.
And then she took a hard look at Chase, her lover.
Red rimmed his eyes and his maniacal expression resembled that of a man who’d tipped the edge and fell into pure rage. He had grown at least a foot, standing seven feet tall, so muscled his shirt bulged everywhere. Blue glowed from his fingertips as he summoned power. Chase cackled with glee as he tossed another fireball at the sofa.
“Come out bitches and play with me,” he roared.
This was not the good, noble dragon she’d fallen for.
He was a monster.
A stranger.
But still Chase.
“Please, don’t hurt us,” Helen wailed.
“We’re sorry,” Lynna screamed.
Evie took a deep breath for courage. “Chase!”
He whirled, and threw an energy ball her way. She ducked and it sailed outside, smashing into one of the elegant dragon statues guarding the serene, turquoise pool.
Snarling, he went to throw another. Somewhere inside that madman was her Chase, the dragon who’d once courted her with wildflowers he’d flown to New England to pick simply because they were her favorite.
“Chase, stop it. It’s me, Evie!”
At the last minute, he hesitated. Squinted, as she stood silhouetted by the sunlight. “Evie? My Evie?”
“Yes, your Evie.” She took another step toward him.
“It’s a trick. You’re Helen, disguised as Evie.” Chase growled and threw another fireball. It sailed past her through the open sliding glass doors and landed with a splash in the pool.
The water instantly froze.
Terror iced her veins. If one of those things hit her, she lacked the immune system to fight off the effects. Other dragons might survive a direct hit from coldfire. Not her.
“No trick.” She spread out her palms, searching for a way to reason with him, make him see she was his Evie. “I’ll prove it. Remember the picnic we had on the beach last October? And how we went swimming after?”
“Not good enough,” he growled, summoning another fireball and bouncing it on his palm.
Evie glanced at the terrified twins hiding behind the half-disintegrated sofa. They already had labeled her a slut. Here goes. I love you, Chase.
“Remember how we made love in the ocean after we swam? You lifted the edge of my bikini and you slid right into my body. It felt so erotic, so wonderful. I never wanted to leave your arms,” she said softly, walking toward him.
He stopped bouncing the ball.
“Every time we made love, it was like flying into the sun. No one can ever take your place, preppy. No one ever will.”
Perhaps it was her favorite nickname for Chase, or the memory of the exquisite sex they’d had, but the energy ball faded in his palm, along with the horrid red glow from his eyes. The pulsing light of power faded and dimmed, then winked out as if someone turned off a light inside him.
“Evie?” His voice broke. “Oh dear goddess, Evie. I could have killed you.”
“Never,” she said fiercely, and ran to him, throwing her arms around him.
Chase rested his cheek against the top of her head. For a few moments, he held her tight, his strong arms sheltering as she listened to the frantic beat of his heart gradually calm. Evie buried her head against his chest, her own heart racing. How much of the potion had entered his bloodstream?
Did they have enough time to counter the effects?
Footsteps sounded on the tile. She glanced up to see Helen and Lynna scurry toward the door. Chase lifted his head and growled as he saw them. He untangled himself from Evie’s embrace and started after his cousins.
“No! I’ll handle this.”
She had to do this because until Chase thought she needed a champion, he would pursue them.
“Wait!” she called out to the twins.
They halted at the door, looking doubtful. Evie smiled at them as she approached. “I can handle him. You can go. But first…”
Whap! First Helen and then Lynna. One sharp slap across the cheek. The twins looked too stunned to cry out.
“That’s for what you did to me. Go, unless you want Chase to turn you into dragon sushi.”
With whimpers, the twins fled out the door. Chase growled and started after them, but Evie intercepted.
“They can’t hurt me anymore, Chase. Please.” She tugged at his arm. “Let them go. I need you.”
He cast a doubtful look at the door. “They deserve punishment.”
“Yes. But not now. Later,” she cajoled. “Right now I need you to see me, really see me.”
At last he turned back, and she reached up to frame his face with her trembling hands. “Chase, something happened to you when you touched the dragonspice. It changed you. I need to find the old Chase, the dragon who loved me and would do anything for me. Come back to me.”
Sliding her arms around his neck, she stood on tiptoe and did the only thing she knew would distract him. Evie kissed him.
“Make love to me,” she whispered. “I want you so much.”
He swept her up into his arms and floated up the stairs. Evie closed her eyes, realizing he was flying without wings, without having shapeshifted.
If the dragonspice potion did this to him, what powers did the real wizards of the Brehon possess?
Chapter 9
Chase needed to get inside hi
s woman, right that very minute. Because if he couldn’t have her, he’d lose his grip on sanity.
“I need to fuck you, Evie. Right now.”
He hardly recognized his voice, deepened by sexual urgency. His cock hardened painfully.
He floated up the stairs as if flying, and set her on her feet at the landing, watching her as he opened the guest bedroom door. With languid grace, she came toward him. Each sinuous sway of her hips sent blood surging straight to his groin. A growl rumbled from his chest.
Mine.
He pulled her into the room and slammed the door shut with a hard kick. Breathing hard, Chase pinned her to the wall, desire cranked up to a frenzy at the flush of sexual heat on her face, the glittering arousal in her eyes mirroring his own.
He had power now, enough power to get whatever he wanted.
He had Evie, all he ever wanted.
He had never been rough with her before. Their lovemaking had been urgent, but always he’d held back, fearing to overwhelm her with his strength. But now he could not hold back.
Not when her need equaled his own.
“I want you so much,” he muttered. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll run out of here and stay as far away as you can before I touch you.”
Chase released her. “I’ll give you until the count of five.”
Breathing hard, she gave a sultry smile. “I never did like what’s good for me. Five. Time’s up.”
They tore at each other’s clothing. His cock erect, Chase held on to his control by a bare thread. With a soft sigh and maintaining that sultry smile, Evie slipped off her panties and bra.
With a rough growl, he lunged, pushing her naked body back onto the bed.
Her lips were warm and soft and she tasted like strawberries, his favorite. He could kiss her all night, if it meant holding her this close.
And never letting go.
Chase cupped the back of her head as he devoured her mouth, licking and teasing.
THE MATING MAGIC: Werewolves of Montana Book 13 Page 5