Dragon Mystics: Supernatural Prison #2 Read online

  I examined him closely as he answered, scenting his words even though I was pretty sure he was powerful enough to get around my truth and lie hormone detector.

  “I never knew what my brother protected here. I just knew that he lived in a sanctuary for supernaturals. It wasn’t until I chatted with you about the marked being held in the prison that I started to question further. I contacted Quale and applied a little bit of pressure. He finally admitted that this mountain range had been slowly commandeered over the years by the mystics, and that they housed the marked. Their duty was to protect them until the rise of the king.”

  Truth. For whatever that was worth with Louis.

  “The existence of this place is a heavily guarded secret, Quale shouldn’t have told me. But I’m glad he did. I knew this was the perfect exit strategy for you.”

  My lips quirked into a slight smile. “Thank you. For always staying a step ahead. For helping me.”

  He kissed the top of my head.

  I was quiet for the rest of the walk and Louis let me keep my thoughts. He was strangely relaxing to be around. Despite the immense power vibrating from him, he was still a little less intense than the Compasses. I closed my eyes for the ride up in the box, relieved when I could finally step free from all that metal. The door opened for me, silent, letting me into the cool apartment. Louis peeled off toward the kitchen and I followed my nose and stepped into the living room. Maximus was on the couch, his head buried in his hands. I knew the other quads were in the building, but the vampire was all alone right now.

  He shot his face up and I stopped in my tracks. I’d never seen him look so miserable. I wanted to run to his side, throw my arms around him and pull him close. But for the first time I hesitated, he wasn’t mine to comfort now, he had someone for that. Someone who would not appreciate my scent all over him.

  The vampire stood, filling the space with his giantness. “Don’t do that, Jess, don’t treat me differently.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying my best to calm myself. “Things are different.” My scratchy voice irritated me.

  Maximus crossed the room, crowding right into me, warming my cold limbs with his heat. “You’re my girl, you have been our entire lives.” He lifted his head up to stare at the ceiling, as if trying to find the right words to say next. “I love you. I always have.” Truth. He dropped his face again to meet my gaze. “That love has changed over the years. Sometimes it was platonic, sometimes it was romantic. You have no idea how many times I wished I was Braxton and at least had a shot at being your true mate. But I always knew that you were shifter and I was vampire.”

  My mouth must have fallen open at some point during his speech. I flicked out my tongue to moisten my lips. I was processing what he was saying, but I don’t think the true meaning was actually registering.

  “What about Mischa?”

  His eyes darkened, and I sensed it was guilt which tugged at his features. “She was you … but not, if you know what I mean.”

  Ah crap, no wonder my sister was pissed off.

  “Cardia doesn’t change anything about us. She knows you are my family, my pack, and that if she makes me choose, I will choose you.”

  Truth. An absolutely astonishing truth.

  “I have no doubt that the shit will hit the ceiling more than once, but eventually our pack will find its dynamics.”

  I couldn’t hold myself back from him any longer, I dived into his arms, and as the strong limbs wrapped around me – lifting me off my feet – a few tears finally leaked from my tightly squeezed lids.

  “I love you too, Max, I need you to know that.”

  Footsteps sounded behind us. Tyson. “Thank the gods you two finally sorted it out, I’ve been waiting to get my hands on our disappearing Jessa. I’m going to need one of those hugs too.” I pulled back, so happy to see my wizard’s smiling brown eyes.

  Maximus gave me an extra squeeze, as though he was afraid to let go. “I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered against his soft shirt.

  He kissed the top of my head before handing me off to Tyson. I sank into the wizard. I was done now. My exhaustion was going to force me to sleep.

  Tyson reached down and hauled me into his arms. “I think shower and bed for you, babe. I volunteer to be a shower and bed buddy.”

  I snorted. “Missed … you … Ty.” I was all slurring and shit, but he understood.

  Braxton and Jacob were waiting in my room. I assumed Louis was still in the kitchen, but he might have taken off, giving me time with my boys. Braxton had the shower already running, steam filling the room. Tyson set me down, steadying my movements so I didn’t face-plant. I managed to wave them away, before undressing myself and stepping into the water. I slid closed the glass partition.

  “I’m leaving this door open, Jess.” Braxton said. “Call out if you need me.” His husky tones trailed off as he walked away.

  Holy shit, he could have phrased that differently, because I was coming to see with more than a little clarity that I needed him. Goddamn, I needed him.

  I forced myself to focus on the simple task of washing away the filth and keeping my legs steady beneath me. My body felt so sensitive as I ran a cloth slowly over my skin. I forced myself to be quick. I needed sleep, but the low ache deep in my stomach was my first warning that I also needed to get laid. I needed sex … and I had an important decision to make.

  I hadn’t forgotten what had happened in Faerie. The question of the hour: should I burst the friend-bubble Braxton and I were precariously living in? Dive into all the deliciousness that was my dragon. Or was the risk too great? If I was smart I’d be investigating what sort of nightlife was in this sanctuary and heading out to find myself an available shifter. Play it safe. But that thought just wasn’t as appealing as it should have been.

  I shut off the water and pushed the door open, letting the cool air wash over my wet skin. I shivered a little; the exhaustion had my metabolism off kilter. Someone had placed some of my clothes on the sink. I pulled on underwear and a mid-drift tank. I liked to sleep naked, but this was probably safer since I knew some of the quads would be with me and we didn’t sleep naked together. Most of the time anyway.

  I brushed my teeth, and ran a comb through the damp strands of black hair. Hanging up the towel, I padded silently from the bathroom, and almost tripped over my own feet when I saw what was happening in my room. The Compasses had pushed the two big beds together, forming one large sleep surface. All four of them were standing around it, dressed just in shorts, their well-defined chests bare, expanses of tawny skin filling the room. Sometimes they were so alike, it was a little scary.

  It had been a very long time since we’d all slept in the same bed. My heart swelled, I had thought that I’d never have this chance again.

  I stumbled across and crawled into the middle of the beds. I was always in the center, which meant that I had to sleep on the crack between the two beds, but I didn’t care. Jacob slid against the wall, then Braxton, me, Maximus on the other side, and Tyson last. We generally changed around places so everyone had a chance at bonding. The brothers all slept with space between them, but every single one of them crowded into me.

  My eyes fluttered shut. I was unable to keep them open any longer. I felt Maximus turn to me, before his fingers linked with my own.

  “Your mate is going to kill you,” I said.

  He chuckled, and his brothers quickly joined in. “She’ll be fine, she has no choice but to understand.”

  “Besides,” I heard Tyson quip, “she bagged a Compass, she has nothing to complain about.”

  “You are ridiculous,” I mumbled. “Conceited ass.”

  The last sensation I had before drifting off was the scent of vampire and dragon wrapping around me as they both turned toward me. I was warm, safe, and I couldn’t imagine anything in the world could top this moment.

  Chapter 10

  I hadn’t expected to dream that night. An exhausted brain should be blank,
right? Well, apparently that was wrong, very wrong. Apparently an exhausted brain torments you with dreams. Firstly, that ugly one, with Mischa and the other two women. Where the dragons tore into me as I tried to escape across the field. I knew it was a pretty effed up scenario, but I still didn’t understand my overwhelming fear.

  I was starting to get the feeling that the women were placeholders for the real life twins and that whatever path Mischa was on right now was the one which was going to bring this dream to fruition. I had a semi-conscious thought that I needed to find my sister and soon, she needed to be brought back to the right path.

  Warm hands rubbed my back, clearing that dream from my thoughts. I snuggled in closer to that warmth before drifting back into the land of snooze. The next dream hit me hard.

  I was in a cave, long and winding, the air so cold I could see puffs of my breath. I marched along at a rapid rate. I knew where I was going, taking turns left and right and left again. Finally I could see an end, a wall, with some circular pattern right in the center of it. As I stepped closer, the image became clearer and I tried to understand what I was seeing. It was like … a compass, or something with four points. But the writing on there was not in English.

  Shit, damn. Was this the tomb of the dragon king?

  I seemed to know what I was doing, stepping closer until I could reach out a hand and place it against the frigid stone. Each of the four points had a divot at the end, the perfect size for a hand, and then lines ran down from each one. A thumping, dragging noise had me spinning, and now I was facing the way I’d come, my back to the stone. The sound reminded me of the way a dragon’s tail dragged when it was bouncing along behind. I braced myself, hands and back flat against the stone as I waited. Shadows entered the curve first, and then a snout followed around. It was definitely a dragon, but in shades of color unlike any I’d seen before. Red and orange, like a sunset.

  “Jessa!”

  A shriek tore me from my dream world. My eyes flew open as I struggled to free myself from the covers. I was trapped under the heat and weight of Jacob and Tyson. Mischa was standing on the end of the bed. She ignored the Compasses and crawled across the sheets to throw herself onto me.

  “You’re safe, you’re safe.” She repeated it over and over.

  I managed to wiggle an arm free and loop it around her, hugging her close. I thought moisture hit my cheek, but I couldn’t hear any crying, and when she pulled back a few minutes later her face looked dry.

  “I was so worried. Where were you?”

  The six of us stayed snuggled in the two beds – Tyson shifted to the side so Mischa could sprawl between us – while I quickly detailed our little side adventure to Faerie land. Mischa never interrupted me, her eyes wide, the green very light today. I decided there was no point reiterating the part when I found Maximus in bed with his new mate. Despite the fact we were all together, I could feel the tension between those two. I was pretty sure the vampire was only pretending to be asleep.

  “Where have you been?” I asked Mischa when I finished my explanation.

  Her eyes darkened to the murky color of moss, her face transforming from light and open into secrets and heaviness.

  “I’ve made some new friends in here, I’d like you to meet them.” She crawled backwards off me, the warm sisterly feeling from before evaporating with her vague explanation. “I can see you’re busy right now, so later …okay?”

  She spun and started for the door, only turning back at the last minute. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Jess, I’ve missed you a lot. I’m heading over to see Mom and Jonathon. Come find me when you get up.”

  I gave her a nod and she left the room, closing the door behind her. I was sitting in the bed, my thoughts tumultuous. Something big was going on with Mischa. I’d been worried before, but now … now I knew it was bad. I needed to know what had happened with her and Maximus, and where exactly she had been spending her time the last three weeks. Maximus would have figured out that Cardia was his mate the day I disappeared, when he fed on her, so Mischa had been pulling away all of that time. She’d lost her sister and her sort-of-boyfriend in an instant.

  I pushed down my worry for the moment. It was good for her to be with our parents. Jonathon was usually very switched on when it came to the moods of his pack members. I hoped he was aware and dealing with Mischa. I snuggled myself back down into the warm space between the two males. The Compasses remained silent, although I could sense some heavy thoughts.

  I was still exhausted. I was pretty sure I hadn’t slept that long, and the dreams were not allowing me any solid rest. I really just wanted to sleep soundly for a few hours.

  I started tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable, when Jacob reached out and captured my hand. He began to sing, a low soothing melody, and just like that I was unable to hold on to my consciousness. I don’t care what he said, there’s magic in the feys’ singing. This time when I drifted off, the dreams stayed far away.

  Hours later I awoke naturally, sprawled out on my stomach, both arms under my pillow snuggling it toward me. I felt a thousand times better, refreshed, as I turned myself over, stretching my arms above my head, letting my body elongate right down to pointed toes. Nothing better than a good stretch.

  Small particles of light streamed around the room, so when I rolled across to my side I was blindsided by a massive expanse of bare chest.

  I froze.

  My eyes darted left and right as I tried to figure out what to do. I could see – and scent – that there were no Compasses left in the room except Braxton. We had needed sleep the most; the other boys would have bailed earlier and left us to our rest. My body softened as I studied the face across from me. It was only in sleep that Braxton seemed relaxed, young even. When he was awake it was easy to forget he was only twenty-two, he carried so much strength and domination. The power he wielded was the same as that of the elders.

  I scooted a little closer. I couldn’t help myself. I was drawn to him and I was starting to see that this was not going away – the need was increasing.

  And I didn’t want to fight it any longer.

  I continued to watch him. There wasn’t the slightest sign that he was awake, no change in breathing or even flicker of an eye – when suddenly his lids flew open and piercing blue eyes pinned me to place. I held my breath. No doubt, Braxton and I had reached the point where we had to deal with this thing between us. I felt as if I was going to self-destruct if I didn’t touch him. If he didn’t touch me. If we didn’t … damn, I’m in trouble.

  We were silent for many long moments, the flow of energy between us so strong it was almost visible. Braxton reached out a long arm then and cupped his hand around the back of my head. My breath caught in my throat. His other hand scooted behind my ass, and then, with exquisite care – and an anticipation which almost had me moaning – he dragged me closer. So slowly did he close the distance between our bodies.

  The few times I allowed myself to dream about being with Braxton, I’d imagined it hard and fast, passions overwhelming us as we lost control. So far it was the opposite: tender and gentle. I wasn’t sure if he was savoring our moment or if he was giving me the chance to stop him. But if that’s what he was waiting for, he was going to be very disappointed.

  At some point I’d made this decision, and now I was following through no matter what the consequences were. The emotions threatening to burst from my chest were so strong, the attraction and years of love I held for him so overwhelming, nothing could tear me from this moment.

  My body arched as he continued closing the distance between us, nipples tightening in anticipation of having them pressed against his delicious body. Something he’d surely noticed in my very thin tank. I ran my eyes across him. There was not a flaw on Braxton, he was broad everywhere important, narrow in the hips, with strong muscled legs. I’d seen him naked enough to know he was as endowed as you’d expect any dragon to be. Freaking huge. It kind of scared me a little – well, except that i
t also had my insides turning into a quivering mess and my panties wet. Besides that part, it was a little daunting.

  I parted my lips in anticipation, my breathing heading toward the panting side, but who could blame me.

  Braxton’s face was calm except for the smallest of smiles which crept up and flashed dimple at me. I was such a freaking sucker for those dimples. I swear the boys only had to dimple up and I turned into a simpering mess. I was pretty good at hiding it from them, but they could have gotten anything from me if they just hit me with enough of their smiles. Braxton especially.

  He was still staring, the smile fading out to be replaced by a blazing heat. Exactly like a flame: dangerous and tempting.

  “You sure?”

  My breath stuttered as he spoke. His huskiness scraped down every nerve ending I possessed.

  This was the second time he had asked me to be sure about my choice, and somehow I knew it would be the last time. He was giving me one more out. I was not taking it. That ache which had started low last night was something much bigger today. My lower half was a ball of throbbing need.

  Braxton was still slowly inching me toward him; it was torturous, but I was loving every second of it. The anticipation was delicious.

  When there was about an inch between us, our bodies humming but not touching yet, he took the hand which had been behind my head and slowly drew it from my back and along my collar bone. He didn’t stop there though, his massive hand continued lower, brushing over both of my breasts. My nipples were hard, begging for his attention. He followed the path of my body until his hand rested against my abdomen.

  “I can feel your need, your pain…”

  I arched up into him again. “Why are you torturing me then?” I was a little pissed that I sounded so breathy, but this was what Braxton did to me and we had barely touched yet. My need was greater than I’d ever felt with any other shifter.