CHAPTER 5 Chase

　　Amber's POV

　　"What's yours?" I ask, while getting lost in his intense and beautiful eyes.

　　"Chase." He answers in his deep voice. It rolls off his lips, like he is struggling holding his beast back. His eyes keep flickering, showing me his beast is not far from the surface.

　　"That is a strong name," I answer, a blush creeping up on my cheeks. I look down, embarrassed by my body's reaction to his attention. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering around, not relenting even though I try to hold them down. Not that Ignis is helping at all. She keeps sending dirty images in my mind of what we could be doing. Instead, I am rooted to the ground where we are standing in each other's arms.

　　Chase lifts my face with a finger.

　　"Why are you hiding yourself? Please don't do that." He requests with a small smile. His fingers are warmer than anybody I've ever met before. And when his hand makes contact with my bar skin, without me fliching, people around us gasp. This grabs my attention. I completely forgot about the audience standing near us.

　　I take an automatic step back, looking around for my family. Chase seems disappointed by my action, so I take his hand in mine and intertwine our fingers. This earns me a chuckle and a squeeze from him.

　　'His beast is amazing, babe! He has already reached out again, and they are perfect for us! He accepts us, Amber. He really does!' Ignis says in my mind, practically sinning. Her jumps for joy are amusing, and she seems so in love already.

　　'I'm glad. But we need to hear what our parents say before things can go too far. You know Mother will never let us out of her sight being the future witch Queen and all.' I say back to her, dampening some of her happiness.

　　'Well, aren't you just a big ray of sunshine today, huh! Quit the guilt trip, girl. It's not your or my fault that Mira Rose ran instead of fighting for her mate. She chose the easy way out, and Maze might be suffering right now - but he did this to himself. He has been a slut ever since he could, sleeping around, flirting, and promising things he should not. We warned him. Mom and Dad warned him. Hell, even the moon goddess warned him.' Ignis snaps at me. She is not letting anyone ruin this moment for us.

　　I however can see the stern faces of my parents, uncles, and aunts. Even Maze has closed off our twin bond, making me go in blind.

　　"I have to find out what they are deciding over there," I say to Chase who follows my eyes to the adults arguing. His father and the dragonwise have these stern 'we are not budging' faces on. I sigh. This is going to be complicated.

　　Chase leads the way, never letting go of my hand. We are on the same page, and we are both determined to find a solution where we can be together. The problem will mainly be the dragon's attitude towards outcommers or non dragon shifters.

　　"...Out of the question she is leaving our pack!" I hear my mother say with finality, and my heart breaks a little. I knew this would be her answer, but I had my hopes up. Just a little. Flick, who has been hiding in my pocket, sticks her head out. She talks with sounds, trills and whistles. She looks up at me, asking a question. I shake my head, sadness overwhelming me.

　　"Don't worry, my princess. We will find a way for this to happen at everyone's satisfaction. I am not letting you go! Especially when I can finally be with you in person." Chase whispers in my ear. He must have felt my emotions through our bond. It's so rare for mates to be able to do that before the marking, I didn't think anything of it before he said something, but deep inside of me a new and burning sensation is growing stronger. The emotions from the fire in there are so strong and powerful, I thought it was my elemental powers at first, but they are there as well. Not the same, but not strangers either.

　　We make it to the circle of adults facing off. My mother signals to me to come stand beside her, but everything in me is screaming to not do that. I don't want us to be enemies.

　　"Queen Abigail. While I recognize the wonders you have done for your people, I will have to insist for the princess to come with us. She can be taught in our home, and she will be equipped to stand as Queen when the time comes. My son, however, needs to be present to his people. Dragons have other, more... Formal and intricate traditions to follow as the heir to the throne. And your daughter. She has a lot to learn as well, if she desires to be one of our Queens." Chase' father says with a dismissive attitude. The insults to our people weren't overheard or overlooked. Everyone beside and behind my parents tense up, ready to fight for their honor. But my interest is piqued.

　　Queens? More than one? Wow.

　　"King Callus. I do respect the dragon way, as do everyone of our people. But the insult to our ways is not the path you want to go, if this is to end in an agreement." My father interjects politely, but sternly. The King furrows his brows.

　　"Very well, then we'll have to solve this in another manner, it seems." With that his eyes unfocus before he smirks. Two of the men in their party grabs Chase and yanks him away from me.

　　I scream for them to let him go, and try to reach them. But before I can do anything, something grabs my arms and everything goes dark.