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“My serum could have been perfected by now. Your mate and his worthless father got in the way of it,” Tomas said. “My chances slipped right through my hands. But not this time. Here you are, right in front of me. Don’t think for a second that I’ll let you escape me again.”
The line went dead, and I turned to Sofia, trying to calm her down, but I could barely think past my own rage.
The minute the call ended, the black car behind us accelerated, zipping past the other vehicles while inching closer and closer to our rear bumper. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, contrasting with the fire that burned inside my veins. My dragon seemed to roar within me, my skin felt too tight, and the throbbing of my pulse left me feeling as if I might pass out, pounding against my ribcage like a caged beast.
Suddenly, my fangs burst forth, ripping from my gums as a raw, guttural sound scratched its way up my throat.
“Fuck, he's gaining on us,” Evan muttered. He was clenching his jaw so hard, I was afraid he’d crack his teeth. Without warning, he jerked the steering wheel to the left and weaved through traffic.
I slowly breathed in and out, but he handled the ride with expert precision. Cars honked and swerved around us as Evan evaded every obstacle, keeping us just out of reach of the enemy hot on our tail. We were flying down the interstate at breakneck speed.
“Do you think you can you lose him?” Jax muttered, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of angry horns, screeching tires, and the thunderous sound of blood rushing through my veins.
“I’m doing my best.” Evan’s eyes were concentrating hard on the road. He gripped the steering wheel tighter when he glanced at me in the rearview. “Shit. Mariah. You can’t lose control now.”
Jax turned in his seat, his eyes widening at the sight of my fangs.
My stomach lurched when Evan executed another sharp turn, narrowly avoiding a collision with an unsuspecting minivan. I fought back the urge to scream as the fury of my dragon grew stronger. That wouldn’t help him at all, especially with Sofia’s wails already filling the car.
Jax pulled out his laptop and began working furiously. He pulled up some live satellites, then hissed through his teeth. “Damn it.” He pounded his fist on the dashboard. “There’s a traffic jam up ahead. Less than five miles.”
Things were getting worse by the minute. If we got caught in the onslaught of cars, we’d be even more vulnerable.
“Here we go,” Jax muttered, his voice taut with tension. “There’s an alternate route. It’ll take us off the highway.” He punched the new route into Evan’s navigation system.
“Can we lose them?” My fingers gripped the edge of my seat while the car behind us continued its relentless pursuit. Sofia’s wails had tapered to a regular cry, but I could barely stand it. My maternal instincts kicked in strong, and I felt an echoing response from my dragon.
Protect, protect, protect.
“I’m not sure, but we can’t afford to get caught in traffic,” Evan said, expertly navigating the exit ramp and merging onto a less congested road. He was still flying down the road, well beyond the speed limit, trying to put as much distance as possible between us and the trailing car. The scenery quickly changed from the monotonous expanse of the highway to a winding path in a dense forest, with sunlight filtering through the branches above.
“They’re gaining on us,” Jax warned, and I turned around in my seat again to see the car surge forward.
Searing heat, burning hotter than ever before, radiated from deep within my chest. It was as if my dragon sensed the danger closing in and was preparing to fight. I took shallow breaths, trying to quell the burning sensation, but it only grew more intense, expanding throughout my body as the blood coursing through my veins seemed to boil.
“Mariah.” Evan’s voice was sharp. A warning.
“I know,” I ground out through my lengthening fangs. Suddenly, my claws jutted out, razor sharp, ready to defend myself and those I loved. “I’m trying to control it.”
Jax swore, turned to face me, and reached out to grip my hand. “Stay focused, Mariah. You can do this. Just breathe.”
I nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat, trying my best to practice the calming techniques Evan had taught me, but nothing seemed to be working. All I could think about was Tomas putting me back in that cage.
The car hurtled down the narrow back road, trees and underbrush blurring past us in a dizzying whirl. The other car stayed right on our tail. Panic bubbled up inside me at the thought of being captured again. I could barely hear Evan and Jax trying to talk me down over the wild pounding of my heart.
But I would not be drugged. I would not be drained. I would not allow Tomas to use me any longer for his twisted experiments and evil plans.
I suddenly felt like I was about to come right out of my skin. The heat in my chest had become a raging inferno, and I thought I might burn up from the inside out.
My breath became ragged as the voice echoed in my head, louder and stronger than before. I gasped when I realized it wasn’t my voice at all but that of my dragon.
Protect, protect, protect.
I knew what was coming. There was no denying it. I’d never felt my dragon like this before. It was as if our personalities were merging, becoming something new.
Fight, fight, fight.
My dragon was ready to do whatever it took, and no matter how much I tried to exert my control, there was no stopping what was already happening to me. My body shook, and my vision changed, becoming sharper.
