by Jaymin Eve
I closed my eyes then as a sweep of power washed over me. My father had arrived and he wasn’t alone. Rumbles were trying to burst from my chest, but I forced myself to stay calm. After a few rounds of counting to ten I could even open my eyes and pretend the new arrivals weren’t there. From the corner of my vision I was locked in on everything that was happening. I wrinkled my nose when Lienda took the seat next to Mischa, laying her delicate fingers onto my sister’s shoulder. Jonathon took the chair beside her. They were both nursing coffee, but I’m guessing they would’ve had breakfast hours ago.
Lienda swept her gaze around the table. “I’m very happy to see you all eating together,” she said. “I appreciate you helping Mischa adjust to her new life.” Not that I was looking at her, but it was hard not to notice that the woman had really weird eyes, like they couldn’t make up their mind. One minute they looked blue, the next green.
Her long blond hair was stylishly cut, in layers with a sweeping side fringe. She looked young, early twenties, but we all did until we reached at least a hundred years of age, and then we looked about thirty in human years. It was a slow aging process. I wanted to stare at Lienda, examine every tiny detail of the mother I’d never known. I forced myself to stare at my hands instead.
No one at the table said anything. The Compasses were not giving her particularly friendly glances.
“I know this is difficult, Jessa.” Jonathon’s voice was even, but there was something under the calm tone. I scented the air. It was very subtle; he was nervous. “But you need to hear the entire story before you judge either of our actions. Lienda and I made the decision together, there were no other options.”
So he had lied to me in the hall. He had known.
It hurt deep in my chest when he admitted he was part of this entire scheme to keep me in the dark about my family. When I was a little girl, I asked him all the time why Mom had left us, but he’d never say anything. It was from others in the community that I’d heard the multitude of rumors of why Lienda abandoned us. I figured Jonathon was too heartbroken to speak of it. They were a true-mated pair and losing Lienda would have felt like losing his heart and soul. I’d never understood how she could leave her mate, hence my immense hatred for her. Jonathon had been a dark man for my younger years, but over time he seemed to heal a little, until finally I had a father again. But for a long time I was alone, except for the Compasses. The way they rallied around me, keeping my spirits high, nurturing my wounded soul – not to mention their stupid shenanigans – gave me countless opportunities to laugh my ass off. For all of that they had my eternal gratitude.
Jonathon’s voice was low as he continued. “This is not the place for this discussion though.”
There was definitely no hiding anything in this hall. We were under more scrutiny right now than the human president at election time. Yeah, we didn’t vote, but we watched television.
Lienda leaned forward. “Let’s take a walk through the forest.”
I tilted my head to the side, still not meeting anyone’s eyes. “I’m not quite finished with breakfast.”
I heard a few cleared throats. Tyson was actually squirming as he tried to contain his laughter.
Jonathon was either hiding a grin or fighting the urge to throw me across his knee and smack me, but since I wasn’t a kid anymore he was going to struggle with that. “I’m sure you’ve had enough, Jessa.”
What was he talking about? Okay, yes there were three empty plates, numerous scattered tubs, three mugs, two glasses, and two dessert bowls stacked in front of me. But … breakfast was important.
With a sigh I stood, slamming back my chair with my calves. It screeched across the floor, drawing even more attention in our direction. “Let’s get this over with, then we can all resume our normal viewing stations.” Something told me I was kidding myself. These interruptions were permanent and my life would be forever changed.
We walked in silence, just the four of us. I’d made the boys stay so they could finish their food. Braxton had shot me hooded eyes; he wasn’t happy. Oh well, he’d give me grief when I got back but that was okay, I knew how to handle him. Despite the fact the quads were my pack, I knew Dad wanted to do this with just the four of us. His wide grin when I stopped the Compasses was a bit of a giveaway there.
The deeper we went into the silence of the forest, the easier it was to breathe. The cool, earthy scent surrounded us. The canopy was thick in some places and let in beams of sunlight in others. Wolves don’t like crowds – too many avenues for attack, too many scents disturbing our sensitive noses. Out here felt right and safe. Reaching a small alcove, Jonathon stopped and, reaching out, linked hands with Lienda. I choose to be a mature person and ignore it.
I sucked in a deep breath and almost had myself convinced that I could handle anything that came out of his mouth. Right up until he said:
“You two need to know the truth. You’re not just sisters, you’re twins.”
My mouth fell open. Well … that was unexpected. Why had he not just said that when he’d first introduced Mischa?
He continued before I could ask: “No one knew we had twins. The moment both of you were born, Lienda and I recognized that we had to protect you.” Jonathon didn’t fidget, except for his head swiveling in my direction. “Twins are rare in our world, about one per a hundred thousand supernaturals.” He already knew what I was thinking. “Quads are almost unheard of. It has happened only one other time in our history. That’s how we know the Compasses will be the strongest, and the leaders.” Lienda was silent, letting Dad do the talking, but I could feel her examining me.
“So what if we’re rare?” Mischa said. She’d moved and now stood side-by-side with me, facing our parents. “Why would we have to leave? I’ve spent my entire life running from city to city with Mom, all the while thinking I was a freak. Just to hide the fact we’re twins? That makes no sense.”
Yeah, what she said. Because the quads hadn’t had to run or be separated. Why would we have to just because we were twins? I crossed my arms over my chest, my bare feet scuffing at some of the dead leaves.
Jonathon continued to move his head, listening and scenting, making sure it was safe to keep speaking. “It wasn’t just that you were twins, it was that you were twins born with the dragon mark.” The last two words were said so softly I only just heard them.
Mischa didn’t react, but I couldn’t stop from gasping. I raised a shaky hand and covered my suddenly dry lips. “What?” My voice was a strangled whisper. “You’re mistaken. I’ve never seen the mark.” Yeah, stupid seemed to be falling from my lips today.
Mischa’s voice hardened. “Wait, what’s a dragon mark?” She had her hands on her hips as she leaned her upper body forward.
I liked that she had some fire. It made me think she might actually be my sister … uh, twin.
I started to explain. It was either talk or go quietly crazy in my head. “It’s a legend in the supernatural community,” I said. “Like a thousand years ago some crazy ass dragon shifter tried to rule all five races. He gathered a dragon army and a major war erupted.” According to the history books it had been bloody. “When they finally captured him they found out why he was so powerful – he was a hybrid sorcerer and dragon-shifter.” I cleared my throat. “Just before his head, and the heads of many of his followers, were removed, he cursed the supernatural world. He said that the dragon marked would rise and they would finish what he had started.”
Jonathon added more details. “Nothing happened immediately, but our history records indicate that within a month of the kings death, supernaturals of all different races started to be born with the mark. They have been killed off ever since.”
This was also why dragons were so rare. Many dragons died in that long ago battle, and for years the rest were hunted. Kind of like the human witch trials, but supernaturals targeted dragons. Thankfully, that shit had halted a few hundred years ago; otherwise I wouldn’t have my Braxton. Well the dragon slaying pa
rt had halted; the dragon-marked on the other hand were still hunted.
Lienda hugged her arms tightly around herself. “Any child born with the mark … they were taken from the family and never seen again. We would not let that happen to you two. Jessa was born first, and the moment we saw the mark we knew we had to hide it. Then Mischa came next and she also bore the mark. It didn’t matter that your father was a council member, they would have taken you … killed you.”
Jonathon rubbed at his temples. “We pretended Jessa was the only one born – twins are thoroughly examined for the marks, since almost all twins have them. A very close friend of mine – a sorcerer – spelled the marks, and Lienda disappeared with Mischa. Everyone thought she ran away because she didn’t want kids, and I did nothing to discourage the rumors.”
At some point during this conversation, tears had started running down my cheeks. I’d hated my mother for so many years, cursing her existence and her abandonment of me and my father. But she’d run to save our lives. I should have known this story. I was half sad and half pissed off. I hated being kept in the dark. I slapped at my cheeks, removing the traces of moisture.
“Why is it okay for us to return now?” Mischa asked, her voice husky. She had a few tears too.
Lienda walked forward and wiped a tear off her daughter’s cheek. “You turned twenty-two last month. The spell keeping your wolf contained is due to wear off soon.” She turned, and with the slightest hesitation gently wiped at my cheeks also. I closed my eyes at the feather-light touch. “You need the community to help you, you need a pack.” She glanced at Jonathon. “We figure most of the danger of detection has passed.”
Not to mention that anyone with eyes and a heart could see that she and Jonathan could not stay apart any longer.
Jonathon moved to her side. “Your wolf will break free, Mischa, but don’t worry about the spells muting your marks. They are much stronger, and should last your lifetime.”
I wondered then if the dragon mark had something to do with my demon. Could the mark be something I felt inside just waiting to explode? Was it only the spelling to hide and mute its energy keeping it contained?
There were still so many things I didn’t understand. “Why did you announce that we were sisters?” I knew why he hadn’t said twins, but it might have been better to pretend there were no familial ties.
He bestowed a gentle smile on me, a familiar twinkle in his blue eyes. “Because there was no hiding your similarities, we decided to stick as close to the truth as we could. But no one knows that you’re twins. Mischa is twenty according to her identification.” Jonathon moved even closer until the four of us were in a tight circle. “I told the council that I left Stratford once and found Lienda.”
“And that from our union came Mischa,” Lienda added. “They think Jonathon didn’t know of the second pregnancy, and that’s why he didn’t demand I return. I’m a pariah in the community but I don’t care. As long as you two are safe, it’s all worth it.”
“What are the dragon mark abilities?” I asked.
They both exchanged glances before shrugging. Jonathon tried to explain. “We don’t know. There have been none that we know of make it past the age of one. A few parents managed to hide their children until then, but they made the mistake of only spelling the mark, not the abilities also. There are trackers trained in the arts of detecting the dragon mark energy. They are strong and lethal and will stop at nothing.”
He paused and my heart froze in my chest. His eyes shimmered as he met my gaze and I knew bad news was coming my way. He crinkled his eyes and his lips thinned to a single line. “You can’t tell anyone about this, Jessa, not even the Compasses.”
I just stared at him. He knew I told those boys everything. I trusted them with my life a hundred times over. Finally I shook my head. “I can’t promise that. Why would you even ask me to? What do you know?”
“Remember how I said there had been one other set of quads born to the supernatural community?”
I nodded. Mischa also bobbed her head a few times.
“The Craiz men, which the supernatural world call the Four. They are the first quads, and are the most vicious dragon mark hunters in existence. Even though they’re very old and powerful, they still actively hunt.” His eyes bore into me and I felt he was trying to warn me.
“What are you saying?” My voice was barely above a whisper and my eyes widened at a sudden thought. “That based on one other instance in history, all quads become dragon mark hunters and the Compasses are going to hunt me one day? That they’ll want to kill me and Mischa?”
Nothing in this world would make me believe that.
Jonathon’s features tightened. “I don’t know. Part of the reason I’ve always encouraged your friendship is the hope that your love for each other would keep you safe. That if they did become dragon mark hunters – because that seems to be the calling of the quads – the boys would protect rather than hunt.”
My head was hurting, I reached up and rubbed my temples, hoping to relieve the tension. I was on information overload, and honestly wasn’t sure I could process one more thing. Quads became dragon mark hunters, twins were always marked. This was confusing and heartbreaking and…
“I need to go,” I mumbled, not even caring that Jonathon was there and he had forbidden running alone. Lucky for him, he didn’t say anything.
I had my shirt halfway over my head when I noticed Mischa’s wide eyes on me. I halted. “Do you want to see me shift?”
I felt a kindred spirit in Mischa now. The circumstances of our birth had shaped both of our lives. But somehow I thought she’d gotten the worst, never knowing who she really was and never having her animal to fall back on. It kind of made me sad to think about it.
She swallowed loudly. I could see her throat working as she attempted to speak. She looked at our mom. “I’m going to be forced to shift soon?” Her voice was low and breathless.
Lienda nodded.
Mischa moved closer to me. “Does it hurt?” She locked me in her gaze. My nose was telling me that she was nervous and excited.
“The first time it does.” I gave her a half smile, tilting my head to the side. “It’s like the magic has to learn how the cells change, the way we will be different in wolf form. The first shift takes a while and you’ll probably pray for death.”
“Jess, come on,” Jonathon groaned. “Stop scaring her. I’ll help you,” he said to Mischa.
“But after that, when your wolf calls, or when you need her, you’ll be able to shift without effort or thought.” And with those words I stripped naked. Bringing up my wolf energy, I let it wash over me. Dropping to all fours, the power was visible as it coated my naked skin, then I shifted. It wasn’t instant, but within two beats of my heart I was a silky black wolf.
The world changed. My senses were stronger; my brain morphed into that place of instinct. I hadn’t noticed before, but there’d definitely been some recent sex going on in this spot. Two shifters and a vamp if I was correct. I sneezed a few times to rid myself of the scent.
I realized three sets of eyes were locked on me. Mischa took a step away when I approached. My lips curled up at the thought of chasing her. I liked chasing.
Jonathon placed a hand on Mischa. “Don’t back away. Wolves like to stalk and chase weaker prey.”
“Does she know who I am?” she asked him.
“You don’t lose the person to become the wolf. We are one and the same. She knows you.”
I was sick of this now. I needed to run. It felt good to be wolf, to forget about my worries for a little while. I spun around and took off into the forest, leaving all thoughts of the others behind.
Chapter 6
I ran for a long time before returning to Stratford. I’d passed others in the wolf-pack, but I’d stayed solo for this journey. It was almost lunchtime and I’d more than burned off breakfast. As I shifted to human form, my worries flooded back in.
I was at the front of my house.
I wanted to wear my own clothes for once. We lived in a double-level bungalow-style residence, two blocks from the Compass boys. I loved my home. It was all wood and slate inside, everything very earthy and natural.
Climbing the stairs I pushed open the door to my room. Stepping inside I was so consumed with my thoughts I never noticed or scented that I wasn’t alone. Not until the shadow zoomed across the room and to my side.
I shrieked. “Braxton, what the frick? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
His head was sweeping awfully close to the ceiling as he stared at me, his eyes firmly locked on my face, which was good considering I was butt naked. I quickly grabbed underwear and clothes, slipped into my bathroom and slammed the door in his face.
“Can’t a girl get some privacy?” I grumbled, knowing he’d hear me.
“I’ve been worried about you, Jess.” I could tell by the muffle of his voice that he was resting his head against the door. “You disappeared with your parents hours ago to hear this bad news and … well, let’s just say I was worried.”
How could anyone as caring as Braxton be meant to take innocent children and slaughter them? I could not believe that. Stupid dragon mark, stupid hunters. I examined myself in the mirror, wondering where the hell this mark was hidden. My body looked the same, but now I felt as if I didn’t know myself. As if there was something hidden on and under my skin.
“Jess?” His husky tone washed over me and I shook off the melancholy and dressed quickly.
As I opened the door he pretty much fell in on me. He must have had all his weight leaning on the poor frame. He steadied himself – thankfully, because I’d probably have died if he’d actually landed on me – and reaching out gripped a big hand around each of my biceps.
“What the hell happened, Jess? You’re as pale as anything and I can feel your sorrow.”
I shook my head and pulled myself free. “Please don’t. If you’re nice to me I’ll cry and I don’t want to cry.”
