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“It’s going to be a while before I can bring myself to touch her.”

A ball of heat formed in my chest.

Power. Not Alec’s. Not Lachlan’s or the vampire’s.

MINE.

The vampire tensed.

I ripped his arm from my neck, spun, and grabbed his throat.

His red eyes widened, and his lips parted, revealing needle-sharp fangs.

As I lifted him onto his toes, my hand and arm glowed like they were lit from within. The wall of fire leaped in my peripheral vision. Staring into the vampire’s eyes, I could see it leaping in mine, too.

“I’m done being useful,” I said, my voice rippling with power that shook the ground.

Then I flung the vampire into the flames.

Chapter Eighteen

ALEC

Chloe was gorgeous before.

Now she was breathtaking.

Her body glowed as she tossed Andrei all the way across the circle. He crashed into the fire, sprang to his feet, and slapped at the flames that climbed up his legs.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, which glowed like two sapphires. For a second, it seemed she might pursue him, but then she threw her head back and roared. The car’s windows shattered. The flames around us shot upward. Her pale hair snapped around her shoulders, tossed by an invisible wind. For the briefest moment, her body wavered, her form going blurry.

My heart thumped like a wild animal in my chest, and emotion burned my throat. When I glanced at Lachlan, his eyes swam with unshed tears.

Understandable. This was the closest either of us would ever get to seeing a female dragon.

Chloe lowered her head and pinned Andrei with a look that dripped menace. “I serve no one.”

He swept her an elegant bow that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an eighteenth century ballroom. Which was exactly where he’d perfected it. “My sincerest apologies, my lady. I will inform my prince.”

She let her gaze rest on him a moment longer, then looked away, as if he was a bug she’d decided not to smash.

At least not today.

Andrei smiled at Lachlan and me. “Best of luck claiming her. I have a feeling you’ll need it.”

Lachlan lunged at him, but he winked out of sight, disappearing in the way only a vampire could.

Which left Lachlan and me alone with Chloe. Power seethed around her, crackling and distorting the air. But the light had gone from her eyes, and her chest rose and fell quickly.

Too quickly.

I dared a step toward her. “Chloe… You hold too much power. You have to release it.”

She shook her head. “You lied to me.” Her skin glowed…then flickered. “You have to let me go.”

“We can’t do that, lass,” Lachlan said. “You belong to us. And us to you.”

“Why did you run?” I asked, unable to stop the question. She’d been so happy at the penthouse. Sure, the miscarriage was a blow, but her recovery had brought the three of us closer than ever.