Ignoring the quads, I strode over to Louis. I was wearing jeans, shit-kicker army style boots, and a black tank. When we were ready to leave, I’d throw a jacket over the whole thing. Enough protection from whatever was coming at me. Although, I didn’t have many easily accessible spots for Louis to place this “help button” on me.
I stopped right in front of him and he assessed me lazily, starting at my feet and working up to the top of my head. He was about halfway through when heat caressed my back and I knew we had a third in our little group – Braxton behind me, not touching, but staking his claim all the same.
“You better think long and hard about where you decided to touch her, mage.” The tone was casual, but even a deaf idiot could hear the warning in his words.
Louis’ grin got even broader. I really wished he didn’t find such joy in tormenting the quads. “Oh don’t you worry, lizard, I am thinking very long and hard about where to put my hands on Jessa.”
I kicked Louis.
He had been expecting the attack to come from Braxton, so my boot landed cleanly in his gut and knocked him five feet across the room. Loud clunks followed my footsteps as I stomped after him.
The grin was still in place, although there was a little more feral in the eyes as he stared up at me. “Don’t, Louis.” Wisps of growl laced my words. “Just put the effing tracker on me.”
He was on his feet like a bullet. I never even saw him use his hands or legs. “Apologies, I merely like to rile up the reptile. He is a little touchy where you are concerned.”
Braxton placed both of his hands on my shoulders. “Touchy doesn’t even begin to cover my emotional stability when it comes to Jessa.”
“I respect that.” Louis was suddenly somber, something I rarely saw, because he was always projecting an aura of jovialness. But I suspected we saw more of the real Louis in the brief moments he was serious than in all the other times put together. “I would not have approved of a mate for Jessa who showed anything less than the true devotion I see in your eyes. You are a worthy mate for her.”
Jonathon laughed. “Why do I feel as if my father role has been usurped right out from under me?”
I squeezed Braxton’s hands before turning and crossing the room to my parents. I hugged my dad, throwing my arms tightly around him. “Thanks for being so awesome. I take it for granted, but I appreciate you.”
He hugged me back, and his strength made me feel safe. My dad had always been a hero to me, as if he could fix anything that broke. No matter what. Even when he was mourning for Lienda, he’d always been my dad.
I smiled as we pulled back, my voice huskier than usual. “Thanks for not being a hardass. For respecting my ability to make my own choices.”
His eyes flicked up over my head and he scanned the room, before coming back to me. “You already had four males following you around and keeping you out of trouble. I never worried, especially after my little chat with the Compasses around puberty. Once I explained how easy it was for a body to disappear, the dynamics worked perfectly.”
A snort of laughter left me. I could just imagine my father lecturing the quads, all of them towering over him in height, but easily smacked down by his power. “Well, you all did good,” I said. “Really good.”
Our family moment was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and boots clicking across the entrance. Three sets, and the scents were quite citrusy. Okay, they didn’t really smell like lemon and orange, but I knew it was them anyway. And Mischa.
I closed my eyes for a brief second, before taking a deep breath and turning around to stand next to Jonathon.
“Looks like it’s game on. Distract them for me so I can get the spell put on by Louis,” I murmured to my father.
“You got it.”
Jonathon intercepted the trio at the edge of the kitchen. Louis and Braxton strode across to me, using their bulk to help block us from the room.
Louis peered down. “You ready?” I nodded once and lifted up the hem of my shirt. I had made the decision to have the mark on my stomach, it would be hidden but still easy for me to reach if needed.
A warm hand landed on my abdomen, just above the line of my jeans. I flinched as the heat turned to burning and then a sharp jab followed. Louis removed his hand and set my shirt in place again.
“All done.” His voice was low. “To activate, place your palm on the same spot and speak your mate’s name.”
I smiled. Louis had picked the one person I’d be calling for if I ended up in trouble, no matter if it activated a tracker or not.
As Louis and Braxton stepped clear, the twins nailed me with identical glares.
“We have lingered for too long,” Orange said, standing arms akimbo, hands on hips.
Both twins were dressed in black leather, right down to what looked like whips curled up on the side of their legs. I had a few daggers and knives scattered around my person, but I was guessing they had even more stashed on themselves. My sister was in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, all black, but thankfully she wasn’t part of the leather gang yet.
The twins turned and made their way out of the room. Mischa followed, without even a glance for Lienda, who had been hovering close to her. The wolf-mama looked pissed, but there was also fear in those blue-green eyes.
We all held the same worries, Mischa was distancing herself from us and that was bad for a pack animal. Rogue wolves were dangerous, humanity bleeding from them until they became more animalistic. She had the fruit twins, but when they abandoned her, and no doubt they would, the devastation to her animal soul would be monumental.