Page 55 of Bitten By Chaos

“And you wanted me for…” she motioned for me to give it up.

“I want to see if your blood responds the same or differently to confirm my hypothesis.” I grinned and lifted a syringe.

Lydia rolled her eyes and held out her arm for me.

Once I’d added a drop of her blood to a clean slate with only mine, I bit my cheek instead of looking. What if I was wrong?

“I’ll look,” she volunteered and bent over the microscope. When she looked up she had a huge smirk. “No dancing. At least not the mamba yours and Julian’s was doing.”

I nodded and took a peek. The magic swirls of gold, blue, and pink remained the same as my blood alone. Now I knew my blood had a big effect on Julian. But how that might manifest, I couldn’t be sure. I trusted my intuition though, and hid my secret smile with another sip of caffeine.

I twirled on the pedestal as Zoe, Hazel, and Em oohed and ahhed.

“It’s so pretty,” my sister squealed.

“I don’t know,” I said, gazing down at the cloud of white surrounding me. “I think it’s a bit much.” Who knew tulle, lace, ruffles, and beading could all be on one dress?

“Try the one I helped pick,” Daphne said over the live video feed as Hazel held up the phone. We were too far from Daphne’s land for her to join us in person.

“Okay, and then I can just get a plain one, right?” I asked, trying to gather the whole skirt in my arms so I wouldn’t trip stepping down. The sale’s agent held my elbow, grinning.

“No!” My entourage shouted, making me laugh.

“I know which one you end up in,” Em said, mischief twinkling in her eyes.

“Don’t tell,” Zoe cautioned. “Oh!” The exclamation came as Binx appeared between her and Hazel on the couch, making Em giggle hysterically.

My helper, Diane, spun around to look. “Oh, hello. Where’d he come from?”

“This is the best man,” Zoe said. “He works the day shift, so he was late to the appointment.”

“Put on something sexier,” Binx advised, as I trailed after Diane toward the dressing room.

Julian had handed me several credit cards and told me to have fun. I suspected it was to take my mind off what had happened the other day at my father’s lab. We both knew that wouldn’t be so easy, but I was determined to try my best. I was done letting anyone, even my father, distract from moving forward toward the rest of our lives. And it didn’t hurt that I personally thought my sister might be having a better time than I was planning this ceremony.

Whenever I thought of Julian’s blushing face, my chest warmed with love. It was an unexpected gift of humanity that felt both new and somehow right at the same time.

It certainly helped when I considered the fact that my body continued to change due to the chaos of the magic. At this point, I felt like I was half vampire, half witch, but thankfully still psychic. Which was odd to admit, considering I’d wanted to get rid of my abilities for so long. But when everything else was in flux, it was nice to know I was still me.

“Wow,” I stated, unable to take my eyes from my own reflection. Daphne had nailed it, and as always, made sure to pick something I could still fight in.

The ivory satin dress dipped off my shoulders and down into a sweetheart neckline that revealed just enough of what was beneath without being too much. The fabric hugged my body in all the right ways, draping over me with a slit that allowed freedom of movement but wasn’t obvious unless I was moving. The blinged out belt was the only heavily detailed part, that seemed, once again, just enough.

“You like it?” Diane asked from over my shoulder.

“Yep.”

I followed her out to show the others, and the silliness and joking halted at once, quiet settling over my friends as tears leaked from Zoe’s eyes.

“Oh my gods, Char, you look amazing.” Zoe leaned into Hazel, who’d put her arms around her while beaming at me.

“Sexy,” said Binx with a roll of his tongue afterward. And next to me, Diane swallowed hard.

“That’s the one!” Em shouted.

“Maybe I should become a bridal consultant,” Daphne mused over the phone, now propped on the arm of the couch everyone sat on.

“I can’t believe they’re letting us sell this one as a sample,” Diane said twenty minutes later. “It’s brand new from a couture collection. You are one lucky bride, coming in days before the wedding and finding a perfect fit!”

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