Page 55 of The Dragon's Mate

“Maybe what? Do you really think that a bearshifter is going to be sympathetic to my grandmother drugging her?”

“It wasn’t meant for her,” Bren said. “Itwas meant for me.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” Elorasaid. “I mean, I don’t even know how I’m going to explain to Kaida why this happened.My grandmother is losing her marbles and -”

Feeling an odd sort of empathy with thewitch, Kaida stepped into the kitchen. “You don’t have to report your grandmotherto the WWC.”

“Kaida.” Bren stood and stared nervously ather. “How, uh, do you feel?”

“Incredibly embarrassed, but the potion hasworn off.”

Relief crossed Bren’s face. “Actually, thetea you drank this morning had a potion to reverse the other one. Elora madeit.”

Wishing she could leave, ignoring the itchin her brain to return to her clan, Kaida sat down across from him. “I’m sorryfor last night.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Bren said.

Kaida cleared her throat. “I said and did alot of inappropriate things.”

“Because you were drugged,” Elora said. “Bymy grandmother. I’m so sorry. I can’t even tell you how sorry I am. She reallywants Bren and me to be together, so she keeps giving him love potions in thehopes that we’ll… but, I mean, we’re not interested in each other in that way atall. Right, Bren?”

“Definitely not,” Bren said.

“Your grandmother must be a powerful witch,”Kaida said. “I didn’t even smell the potion in the muffin.”

“Why did Kaida fall in love with me and notyou, though?” Bren said to Elora.

“Because this one was a general potion. Thefirst time it was tailored specifically for you to fall in love with me, but Istarted locking up my hairbrush so she can’t get strands of my hair anymore,” Elorasaid.

“Wait, there can be general and specific lovepotions?” Bren said.

“Yes. A potion can be created so that theperson who ingests it only falls in love with a certain person. Like the firstone she drugged you with. You saw other people before you saw me, right?”

Bren thought back. “Yeah, I did.”

“Right. So, if it had been a general one, youwould have fallen in love with the first female, or male if she didn’t specify thegender in the potion, you saw. But Helen stole some of my hair and used it in thepotion, tying it to me and me alone.”

“Holy shit,” Bren said.

“This one from last night was a general one,meaning the person who ingested it would fall in love with the first personthey saw,” Elora said. “She told me that she made sure to put walnuts in themuffins so that Tyler wouldn’t eat them.”

“Thank God,” Bren said. He glanced atKaida. “Tyler hates walnuts.”

“But without access to my hair anymore, shewas apparently desperate enough to hope that I was the first person you sawafter you ate the muffin. She said she was going to send me over to your apartmentfirst thing this morning.”

Bren suddenly blanched. “Kaida was herewith Tyler last night.”

“He went to bed before I ate the muffin,”Kaida said.

Anger was starting to seep into Bren’sface. “But if he hadn’t, and if you had tried to…”

“She wouldn’t have,” Elora said quickly. “Lovepotions are strong, but they’re not so strong that they would make a person dosomething they know is fundamentally wrong. Even if Kaida had seen Tyler aftereating the muffin, the potion wouldn’t have worked because she’s not interestedin banging a seventeen-year-old.”

“Definitely not,” Kaida said.

“Anyway,” Elora stared intently at Kaida, “Iwant you to know that I don’t take this lightly and I will be reporting her to theWWC.”

“I appreciate that, but don’t do it,” Kaidasaid. “I’m not excusing what your grandmother did, but I know a little somethingabout meddling grandmothers. I overheard you say that she was remorseful andpromised not to do it again. Do you believe her?”

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