The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,16

living room. Bianca was there watching one of the new superhero movies with my parents. “Got a second?” I asked.

They paused the movie while I explained everything that had happened tonight.

Dad stayed silent while I explained, then leaned forward. “There’s only one thing to do.”

I nodded. He’d suggested it a long time ago, but I’d rejected it. Now, I didn’t see what other options I had. “I want you to take me to the shooting range.”

6

Jace

I was so fucking pissed at Briana’s ex-husband that I didn’t feel the pain until I was home. I found Sammy sitting on the stairs to my apartment, calmly laying out tarot cards on the next stair up, like she didn’t have a care in the world.

The concoction she’d given me hadn’t been anything but torture. I’d downed it, and within minutes it had felt like my entire soul was being ripped from my body. I’d been in hell for two solid days. Work wasn’t remotely an option. Fuck, I hadn’t even been able to get out of the damn bed. Anthony and Skye brought the babies over a couple of times and cooked me a meal. I’d barely been able to eat. They’d told me that everyone was pitching in to cover me at the bar. I didn’t know who everyone was, but at the moment I hadn’t cared, either.

When the pain had finally subsided, I’d thought it was over. Done. I was free. My body felt like my own again, if a little weak from not eating.

Since I’d finally felt halfway normal, I’d decided to walk down to the diner and get a juicy burger and fries. I needed to run a shift tonight, and luckily it was Sunday, so it would be slow to give me time to catch up on whatever inevitably hadn’t been done on a busy Friday and Saturday night shift while I’d been incapacitated.

But halfway to the diner, the mating pull nearly knocked me off my feet. This was supposed to have been gone. I didn’t understand.

But I did follow it, into the pizza buffet’s parking lot, to find Briana about to be attacked by her ex-husband.

Again.

Seriously, what the fuck was this guy’s problem?

I’d thought it was a fluke, me still feeling drawn toward Briana, until the cops had asked if I knew her. She looked at me with something in her eyes that made me pause. It was hope or appreciation or something, but whatever it was, it was too damn much. I rejected her again.

The fond look on her face had morphed into disdain and possibly hatred. And the vice had gripped my chest… again. I took off for home as fast as I could, only to find Sammy sitting there.

She’d played me.

“What fucking game are you playing at?” I growled out.

Sammy flipped a card over, then slowly turned her gaze toward me. She didn’t blink, just stared. I didn’t know if she was just looking at me or seeing me. I wanted to crowd past her and go back to bed, but I wasn’t going to push her that far.

Sammy’s powers went beyond that of any witch I’d ever known. Even Anthony wasn’t sure of her limits. We’d had this discussion after Sammy had been able to block one of the clan members from shifting as a punishment for hiring a rogue witch to steal the memories of Anthony’s mate. Neither of us was even sure if Sammy knew her own limits. But I wasn’t crazy enough to cross her. That didn’t mean I liked the games she was playing or that I would stay quiet about it.

“Child, I gave you a small dose of what it’s going to feel like when that bond is broken.” She raised her eyebrows to let that sink in.

Shit. “That wasn’t all?” It got worse. “If the pain is more intense than that, it will kill me.”

“It gets worse and it won’t kill you. You are sure that pain is really worth it? Is being free to sleep around with different women for the rest of your life more important than feeling the love of your fated mate until you both die together?” She seemed like she was getting aggravated with me. But she knew it was about a lot more than sleeping around. I opened my mouth to remind her of what I went through, but she held up a hand. “How could you ever question fate and destiny when you were born to a species that the