Dragon Mystics: Supernatural Prison #2 Read online

The quads were not like the Four – they didn’t look identical or anything – but they were the most alike I’d ever seen them, as if facets of each of them had blended into the others. Braxton’s hair was a little lighter, Jacob’s a little darker, all of them with a highlighted golden brown sheen. All of their eyes were black, their skin the same shade of tawny brown – at least their faces remained true to them. Braxton’s scales were gone, as were the four elemental powers which had surrounded Jacob. They were awash in a glowing energy, power thrumming in the room. Four sets of black eyes leveled on me.

  “Why are they staring me down?” I was proud that my voice didn’t tremor. They wore the look of a predator – well, four predators to be exact – who all seemed to have found what they were hunting.

  Footsteps echoed from the back of the room, near the elevators. I wanted to spin around, hating anyone unknown coming at my back, but the far greater danger was in front of me. I didn’t turn from the dome.

  A high, familiar voice sounded across the space. “They are the same as the others, they are not natural. They need to be eliminated.”

  Okay, now I was turning around. No one talked about eliminating my boys without getting their ass kicked. Louis and Jonathon fell in beside me as we faced off with the fruit twins. And Mischa. My sister had clearly run straight back into the arms of those crazy ass bitches. I glared at Mischa, who remained quiet but didn’t back down from her place in the terrible trio.

  “They are unnatural,” Orange said again.

  Her words triggered a memory. This moment screamed of the dragon dream – where I’d stood on the opposite sides to Mischa in a war I knew nothing of. Those obscure references which had scared me, made sense now. They’d been talking about the Compasses. Didn’t these bitches know I would never turn on the quads? Not in this life, the next or the one after that.

  “There are only two unnatural things in this room,” I said, “and neither of them are inside that dome.” I was determined not to reveal an ounce of my worry or fear but the reality was, the fruit twins were complete and total unknown elements and they did actually scare me a little. Loose cannons are always tough to judge, and I already knew they were slimy and scheming. I preferred foes who came straight at me, I wasn’t great with underhanded. I wished we could have just killed them, but since murder was frowned upon in the supernatural world and I still had a trial pending in Stratford, I probably should find a more diplomatic solution.

  Lemon took over the bullshit advice. “You will see tomorrow, there are greater things awaiting you than being mated to a dragon shifter. After we retrieve the weapon from Krakov, you will have little loyalty to those abominations.”

  Louis and Jonathon both reached out at the same time and captured my arms. I looked down to find my hands partially shifted into claws and my knees bent.

  “Let me go!” I snarled, my voice deeper as my anger took control. “Let. Me. Go!”

  My voice was suddenly overpowered by another, a roar much louder, darker, and spine chillingly scary. Braxton had moved forward in the protective dome, standing as close as he could to the edge without touching the white beams of energy – both hands clenched at his side, eyes locked on me like a heat-seeking-missile.

  Air whooshed around me as Louis and Jonathon stepped away, both of them holding their arms aloft.

  “No one is touching her, Braxton.” Jonathon was using his calm-down-crazy-shifter voice.

  The moment I realized that Braxton’s reaction was about me, slivers of cool started to thread through my previous rage. Now, I couldn’t focus on anything but my mate; his expression was terrifying me to my very core. And apparently I wasn’t the only one. Hearing a scuffle, I whipped back around and all I saw of the terrible trio was the ass ends of them as they scurried into the elevator.

  Weak. I’d scented weakness on them from the start, and this fatal flaw was why they actually worried me. They would not come at me with honor, they would lie, cheat, and manipulate to get what they wanted. My biggest disappointment was Mischa.

  She was a Lebron. Wolves do not cower in the shadow of others. We’re a pack, we stick together, we don’t lie with snakes. You lie with snakes, you either become a snake, or you get bitten and die.

  I was guessing that Lienda either hadn’t found her or Mischa had ignored our mother. It was time for someone to have a slightly stronger chat with her. Judging by the expression on Jonathon’s face, and the low rumbles that spurted from his throat every so often, he was going to be the one. She would learn the power of an alpha wolf, that was for sure. The leniency she’d been receiving was about to come to a swift end.

  I hadn’t forgotten about Braxton. I was giving him a few moments to calm down. But when I couldn’t keep my eyes from him for any longer … holy crap on crackers – okay, there’d been no calming. He’d separated himself from his brothers, blue flames licking across his tawny skin. Still right on the edge of the barrier.

  As soon as we locked eyes, I couldn’t stop myself from stepping toward him. The scent of fear was filling the room. Everyone was afraid. Even Jacob, Tyson and Maximus were keeping a decent distance between them and their brother.

  It was a struggle to pull my eyes from the semi-shifted dragon-fire-ball in front of me but I did look away long enough to see that the other Compasses were back to their own hair colors. Why was Braxton still twice his regular size? He remained in a semi state of fusion, minus the scales.

  Was he still my Braxton?

  I wasn’t even sure he recognized me, and if his calling was to hunt marked … were they right? Would he actually hurt me once freed from this cage? I had to physically stop myself from crying out, the slices of fear and hurt ricocheting through me were enough to double me over. I drew on the strength of my dragon and wolf, I needed them to keep me semi-calm.

  Braxton’s attention never wavered from me, locked in with an animalistic intensity. The mystics were in a sort of semi-circle, no doubt trying to conjure some sort of protective magics to use against the quads. I couldn’t stop myself from taking another step toward the dragon shifter, pausing at the edge of the cage. He was like a statue carved from the smoothest of stone. I barely recognized my best friend. Gone was that twinkle in his eye, that mirth which always curved one side of his full lips.

  “W-what…?” I stuttered, not even sure what to say. “What the hell is up with Braxton?”

  I could sense no one was standing close to me. Even my father held himself back.

  Louis answered me from about ten feet away. “Braxton’s not quite himself right now. He has merged fully with the dragon, so he is very much a fusion of man and beast. Which in some ways is worse than being full dragon.”

  “What do you mean worse?” I asked, without removing my eyes from Braxton. The dragon shifter’s flames increased every time I looked away.

  “He has the strength and instincts of an animal, but with the human emotions attached. Human emotions which are increased a hundred fold. Fear, love, jealousy, anger and … pain.”

  My heart lurched.

  Pain. Oh hells no! I could live with a lot of things, but not Braxton’s pain.

  My fear disappeared, I rocked forward and slammed my hands against the barrier. Energy blasted me back, not enough to hurt or knock me off my feet, but I still ended up away from the cage.

  “Disable the magic,” I was shouting without even realizing it. Deep down I knew I was acting irrationally. Braxton could kill everyone in this room and I wanted to just free him.

  I didn’t throw myself at the barrier again, and no one approached me. Probably because they didn’t want to touch me and rile the dragon shifter even more.

  It was then he must have decided that he’d had enough. He moved swiftly, his arm almost a blur as he reached forward for the barrier, and all it took was a blast of his energy. A partial shift of hand to talon, and the cage simply fell away.

  Note to self, dragons are badass.

  Braxton did not pause, flowing smooth as h
oney, the blue fires flickering as he strode to me.

  Second note to self, dragons are scary.

  “Jessa, do not run from him.”

  The unnecessary warning came from my father, who had moved himself a little closer. I could scent him at my back. Probably five feet away. Jonathon definitely loved me. Nothing else would have a supe braving a dragon’s wrath.

  Louis was close too. “I’m almost a hundred percent certain that he won’t hurt you, Jessa, but you are the only one safe right now.”

  Almost a hundred percent … I liked those odds.

  Braxton paused right in front of me, and the heat he was radiating called to me. My dragon unfurled herself from where she was caged, opened her mouth, and bellowed as the flames filled her with energy. It was like a shot of adrenalin and I knew I couldn’t stay out of Braxton’s arms any longer. I threw myself at him, not caring if I was burnt alive. All I cared about was getting to my dragon.

  A split second of shock softened the formidable planes of his face. He dropped the flames a moment before my body hit his. I felt the graze of burning heat but then it was gone. The flash of disappointment which flickered through me was madness. No one wanted to be burnt alive, right? That would just be weird.

  I wrapped my arms around Braxton’s shoulders, he was far too gigantic for me to reach any further. He was still in his extra hulked out form, so I was like ten feet off the ground, twin bands of steel holding me with a sort of desperate need.

  Something shifted between us. Bonds grew deeper, the semi-frazzled mate link intensified – but still would not completely merge. This partial bond was messing with my head, I just wanted to know how to fix it. At this point Braxton must have started to shrink back to his normal size; my arms were able to close a little further around him.

  Before I could speak he was moving, striding from the room. I lifted my face from where it was pressed to his chest.

  “Put me down.”

  My command received a single raised eyebrow as he stared down at me, but he didn’t drop me and he didn’t stop moving.

  I growled, narrowing my eyes. “Put me down now, Braxton, or so help me I’m going to remove your testicles from their comfortable resting place.”

  Some of the tension from his face eased, and my reward was a flash of dimple as his eyes ran across my face. I tried again: “Listen, dude, we’re establishing our roles now, and I play submissive to no one.”

  Okay, yes, I had been a little more submissive than normal in the bedroom, but I think I was just overwhelmed because it was Braxton. It sort of knocked me for six. In fact our entire coming together had thrown me off my game. But I had to step up at some point or he would be dominating me forever. Which would lead to bloodshed in the end.

  At the elevators, before he stepped into the metal cage, he lowered me slowly and suddenly I had a use for my legs again – you know, since the Compasses seemed to think they were just for show.

  To give myself a breather from his intensity, I threw a quick glance over my shoulder. The room was still recovering from the quads’ joining – and Braxton’s … whatever that was. My other boys looked to be doing okay. Tyson was standing close to Grace, but the witch was doing her best to ignore him. I wondered how long she was going to be able to hold out. Tyson was relentless when he set his mind to something. Maximus and Cardia looked to be two minutes from banging right against the wall. Seriously, get a freaking room.

  Jacob noticed my appraisal, raising one eyebrow at me. He was asking if I was okay. I gave him a single nod. I could handle Braxton. I was clearly born to handle him since we were true mates. Besides, either their calling hadn’t been to hunt marked, or they were strong enough to fight it, since no one had been attacked yet.

  Jacob blew me a kiss. His gentle smile faded away as he turned to speak with Louis. Everyone in the room seemed okay. I knew eventually the mystics would start grilling the shit out of the quads, trying to find out what had happened when they joined. What their calling was.

  Braxton drew my attention again by stepping into the elevator. He stood there, waiting for me to make the decision. It wasn’t a real choice though. I belonged with Braxton. I would follow him anywhere.

  I walked inside. The doors slid closed, and for the first time I felt nervous around my shifter-mate. It was as if a sliver of “stranger” had bled into the relationship. Time to bring some normalcy back.

  “So what happened in that cage? Do you have a calling?”

  Braxton hadn’t said one word since turning into fire-dragon-man, so when he finally answered, the low huskiness of his voice had my blood boiling.

  “We received a calling. We’re the weapon to fight the dragon king. We do not care for the marked, only the king. He will be destroyed.”

  There was a slightly robotic, hypnotic trill to his tone. Which was as freaky as fuck, and I hoped it was just an aftereffect of the joining energy. I also wished he wouldn’t be so creepy with all the “we” stuff. I did not want them to ever be like the Four. They were evil assholes.

  I settled myself back against his side. “So you and the Four are a perfect team. One to destroy or capture the marked and the other to destroy or capture the king.”

  Braxton’s warm gaze rested on me. “We will protect you, Jessa, and we will destroy the king.”

  I tried to contain my feelings of dread. I could feel in my soul that the next few days would be a turning point in this whole dragon king saga. The supernatural world would never be the same. Would the Compasses and I come out with our pack still intact?

  Chapter 16

  It was early the next morning, the day of the Krakov break and enter, and all of us were gathered around the living area. Mischa had just popped in to tell us she was bringing the twins across, and then we had to go. Jonathon and Lienda hadn’t been able to find her yesterday afternoon, and so far no one had had the chance to throttle the shit out of her, which is what she needed.

  I was squeezed into a couch, Maximus on one side and Jacob on the other. They were doing the whole invade my space thing again. Jacob was singing, very low, keeping my nerves at bay. His beautiful fey songs were the ultimate comfort.

  My eyes drifted across to where Braxton was against the wall, Tyson slouched next to him. Blood rushed to my face as mental images of yesterday afternoon flashed across my mind.

  After leaving the training building, Braxton and I had decided to take a run through the forest. He had a lot of energy to work off. We’d stayed in human form, holding hands, enjoying the closeness. In the center of the forest area we’d run across a massive waterfall which descended down to a lake. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Right up until Braxton stripped off his clothes and dived into the water.

  After many moments of staring and drooling, I’d eventually gotten naked and joined. Which of course, quickly turned to touching, heating the lake to hot tub temperatures. Two hours later I’d been satisfied, and wrinkly. Braxton was skilled in many ways. I wanted to ask him where he learned his art, but I was afraid I’d hunt the bitch down and kill her. I’d thank her first of course, and then I’d have to rip her face off. It was just one of those things.

  Especially if she taught him that thing he did with his tongue.

  I had to squeeze my legs together even thinking back to the image of his dark hair parked firmly between my thighs and the way he–

  “Are you blushing, Jessa babe?” asked Jacob. My thoughts came to a screeching halt. The fey had a knowing look on his face. He went back to humming under his breath. Smug bastard.

  I punched him. “I’m not blushing, just suffocating. You’re all oversized.”

  I was grateful when Louis’s voice filled the room. “Did you know Mischa’s new best friends, the twins, were born the same year at the Four?” He directed his words toward Jonathon.

  My father’s expression was serious as he leaned forward in his chair. “So, if that set of quads and twins were born on the same year, and my twins and the Compass
es were born the same year – there has to be a connection.”

  Yep, all twelve of us were connected to the dragon king – on opposite sides of course, but connected nonetheless. It was too big a coincidence to ignore.

  “Jess, we need you to try and keep things under control in Krakov,” Jonathon said. “Clearly the twins have some sort of special means of infiltrating the prisons. For all of the breakouts, there was not a single trace they were ever there.”

  It was really annoying that we might be giving the fruit twins any advantage this close to the “rise of the king.” It worried me what this weapon was.

  “What do you want me to do about Mischa? If things go to shit in there, I need a way to get both of us out.”

  I was locked into this friggin’ scheme because of Mischa, but I wouldn’t leave her to the mercy of those bitches.

  Jonathon sat up straighter, even though he was already as rigid as an army sergeant. “Braxton, Louis, and I will be there, inside the walls. I’ve set us up through the legitimate channels, arranging an official tour with the lead guard. This is common when a council leader arrives in another prison territory. We will get to you if you need us. The other Compasses will stay here in the sanctuary, to make sure everybody is safe should anything go wrong.”

  Jacob’s voice was as hard as diamond. “We should be there. Jessa is our responsibility to keep safe.” Tyson joined him in protest.

  Maximus nodded, a little less vocal. He had a mate to guard now, so I couldn’t be the vampire’s only priority.

  “I’ll protect her,” Braxton said. “If too many of us show up, it will create suspicion.”

  Maximus finally said: “If things go to shit – if Jessa is in trouble – do not hesitate to get us. I expect to be informed immediately.”

  Louis and Braxton both nodded, and an exchange of hard glares seemed to seal this male bonding moment. I sat a little straighter … so we had a cover story, but how was I going to be able to SOS them if things went asshole up?

  Which they were sure to.