“I don’t know if I can walk away,” Grace said, her voice almost inaudible. “Damn, every female in Stratford would give their right arm to have a Compass.”
Despite her anger, there were still tendrils of awe from her. It wasn’t exactly the same for me, I’d always had the Compasses. I’d never had to fight for their love or attention. I was very lucky in that regard. But Grace was extra right, I was even more blessed now. True mates was a really strange and beautiful concept.
Generally when a supe stumbled across their true mate they had never met that supernatural before. So while there was an instant connection, there were also many unknowns. For me it was different. I’d known and loved Braxton for a really long time. The history and memories were already there, the bonds strong. Which meant I was feeling a tad overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of our new mateship.
Out of nowhere, an ache started low and dull in my chest, odd and out of place. My head jerked up and there was Mischa, her eyes locked on the three of us. She had been near the back of the room with our parents, but my newly formed twin bond was telling me that something in the way us females were grouped against the wall had upset her. Made her feel on the outside again. Mischa’s face showcased about a zillion facets of anguish. With a stifled cry, she stumbled away and left the room. I lurched to my feet to stop her, but she took off like a shot.
Shit!
I really wanted to stay here with the Compasses, I needed to know what was going to happen. I was afraid that if they decided to go all crazy-marked-hunters, there weren’t many supernaturals here who could stand against them. Only Louis and my father had a possible shot. But I also knew deep in my soul that this thing with Mischa was important too. I started to follow her path, it was time to deal with my twin’s drama. I was just about at the elevators when Lienda halted me with a hand on my arm. “I’ll go, Jess, you have other responsibilities.”
I blinked a few times at my mother. “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”
I sort of did, but I was giving this “nice supe” thing a try. Must be all the love pheromones confusing me.
Lienda kissed my cheek and I barely even flinched. See, emotional growth was my bitch. “I’m happy to go,” she said. “I haven’t seen my daughter much lately. It seems we might need a mother daughter chat. I’m worried about her.”
She wasn’t the only one.
I tried not to let it upset me that she’d said “my daughter.” I was her daughter too. But I knew that with so many years between us, it was going to be difficult bridging that gap. For reals … I could have used mother-daughter chats myself over the years. But there was no point dwelling on the past. Had to move forward. Like I told Mischa, there was no other direction to go in.
“You’re my daughter too,” Lienda rushed to add. Either everyone was a mind reader, or I wore my emotions on my face. She wrapped an arm around me. “I love you, but Mischa is just a little more alone than you are, a little less independent. Children need different things from their parents, it doesn’t mean I love you less. You just need me less.”
It was true, I didn’t really need Lienda anymore. I’d learned not to need her.
Lienda gave me a lopsided grin before leaning in and kissing me on the cheek again. I rubbed my face, stepping back. I was at my kiss limit now. With one last shake of her blond hair, she laughed as she turned and hurried out the door.
I strolled back. Nothing in the room had changed: four bored Compasses surrounded by a group of mystics. No one looked to be connected yet. I was wondering what the holdup was when I noticed that a circle of white stones had been placed on the floor surrounding the quads, crystals like those we occasionally used in magic class, primarily for protection spells. The mystics were creating a protective zone just in case the boys lost their shit. Probably a good idea.
One of the mystics was activating the stones, spelling them one by one with magic of the fey. As he moved to the next, fizzling energy followed his path.
I settled in beside Jonathon, next to his warmth and power. It reminded me of home and pack and alpha comforts. I needed the comfort, something to ease my nerves. My eyes briefly alighted on Cardia and Grace still against the wall, both staring at the quads. Grace looked sort of mesmerized and Cardia, even more so, as she locked in on Maximus. That was the face of an obsessed, loved up, supe.
Screw that, I might be riding this mate-ship thing too, but I was not following Braxton around like a lost puppy. I forced myself not to stare at my dragon, and focused on this weird spot on the floor instead. It was white, like a fleck of paint or something.
After about eight seconds of this, I sighed.
“They’re starting,” said Jonathon, and joy crackled through me. I now had a legitimate reason to be staring.
I lifted my head only to realize that all four Compasses were watching me, wearing the widest of grins. Double dimples and all. I sucked in rapidly. Being the sole focus of their attention was like being zapped by electricity, no matter how many times it had happened over the years. I flipped up my middle finger, because even though I had no idea what they were thinking, I knew it was going to be something asshole-worthy. With the Compasses, that was a given.
The mystic had just finished up on the final white rock – eight in total. The moment he stood, energy beamed out, crisscrossing the room and surrounding my boys, thankfully distracting them from whatever nefarious thoughts had brought out those four, identical, shit-eating grins that had been facing me.