Her hand rested against her tiny bump again, and I could see the protective way she already cradled the life in her body. If this was what she wanted, I could stay quiet for a few more days.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone – except for Braxton. I will never keep secrets from him again, and there’s no way he won’t demand answers. I’m pretty sure I can get him to give you some time to tell his brother. We understand that this is not our secret, but you can’t wait forever. Our pack is so close because we try to always be open and honest. Not to mention our parents are really worried about you. It will be better for all once they know the truth.”
Mischa gave me a side hug. “Thank you, I appreciate that. I will tell him, and everyone else, as soon as we’ve dealt with this crisis. I just want Max to be able to focus on this fight. Distracting him and his mate now … well, it could be fatal.”
We both knew there would be a massive fallout between Maximus and Cardia – a definite distraction during our fight with Larky. Supes did not share their mates well, and the fact that Mischa would give Maximus his first child would forever grate on his vampire mate.
We were interrupted then by the door swinging open. Jonathon appeared in the entrance. His face was neutral but his eyes darker than usual.
“Louis just arrived back. He said to tell you that it’s all taken care of, but that Larkspur will be here early tomorrow morning. He’s suggesting we all head out now and get some sleep. We don’t know when we’ll be able to rest again after this. Lienda and I are going to stay here with Mischa. Jo and Jack are leaving right now.” He strode closer to the little dragon marked child.
“Come on, Nash. Time for you to say your goodbyes.”
The dragon marked child hugged Braxton hard, before crossing to take Jonathon’s hand.
My father turned to me as he was leaving. “Go and get some rest, Jess. Just make sure to listen out for the alarm.”
I looked to Mischa, silently asking her if she was going to be okay or if she wanted me to stay with her. I was feeling strangely protective over my fragile twin … and the tiny baby nestled inside of her.
“Go,” she said softly. “Spend this last night with Braxton. It doesn’t sound like you’ve had much alone time.”
Try none. I kissed her cheek with a swift peck and jumped to my feet.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
She just nodded before lying back on the couch and getting comfortable. I reached across and snagged a throw and dragged the blanket over her. She closed her eyes. Exhaustion was clear across her face.
My father must have deposited Nash with the Compass parents in record time, because he was back in the doorway before Braxton and I even made it outside. As we stepped into the main hall, he took a second to stare at the still form of his daughter before quietly closing the door and magically locking it down again.
I could see the true worry in his dark eyes; the color was more black than blue. “Is she okay, Jess? She won’t talk to me or Lienda, and frankly, ever since Krakov, she’s been suffering. I don’t know how to help her.”
I refused to flat out lie to him, and tried to think of a way to reassure him without completely spilling her secret. “She’s not exactly fine, but for now she’s dealing with everything, Dad.” I threw my arms around him and he lifted me up into one of his warm hugs. “As soon as we destroy Larky, we can all start to recover, get back to a normal life.”
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it,” he said as he set me back on my feet. “But if anything changes, and you’re worried about her, I expect you to immediately come and tell me what’s going on.”
I nodded. “Promise.”
Braxton was quiet as we made our way back into the main part of the town hall. The members of Stratford were dispersing through the double front doors. Within a few moments the rest of the quads found us in the crowd.
“So are we heading to our place?” Jacob asked. “I’m pretty sure there are some meals in the freezer. It’s not ideal, but better than nothing.”
My eyes were drawn for a brief second to Maximus. Cardia stood beside him, the pretty and petite vampiress had her black curls artfully pinned atop her head. She gave me a nod but there was no friendly smile to follow. She actually looked kinda pissed, which I couldn’t be bothered dealing with right now. I’d never had the best feeling about her in the sanctuary. Something about her attitude screamed fake, even when she was trying to be nice. But for Maximus’s sake I needed to learn to deal with her. They were a package deal now.
Poor Mischa.
I forced a smile across my face. “Yes, I think one night of normalcy in the Compass castle is exactly what we all need.”
I felt homesick and couldn’t wait to get back to my pack home. Braxton tucked me in at his side, his lips grazing my temple while his right hand dropped onto my ass. That move was a hundred percent my dragon shifter, confident with a touch of arrogance.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You love me the right amount of perfect, you know that, right?”
He answered with another kiss, this time on my lips. I could not wait for tonight.
Eventually I was wrenched from his arms. Tyson held me captive before passing me to Jacob like I was some sort of parcel.
“Time to go, lovebirds,” the fey said, giving me a cheesy grin. I punched him in his shoulder, and he conceded by lowering me back to my feet and letting me walk from the hall.