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.