by Jaymin Eve
“I’m a shifter, and Max is a vampire. There’s no way for us to be true mates.”
That was the true issue, the one which had been breaking my heart for months now and left me in my current state of knocked-up-ness. I’d refused to accept it before, and look where it got me.
Kristoff gave me a look of derision and sympathy, both of which I wanted to shove down his throat. “You poor, stupid, simple child. The Compasses are many things which have never been seen before. Despite Max’s close bindings to the vampire world, the race he has a physically stronger affinity for, his soul actually contains elements of all four supernatural races. He’s shifter, vampire, sorcerer and fey, all rolled up in one powerful package. All of the quads are. Each of them took on a stronger aspect of one of the races, but they could switch if they knew how to tap into their abilities. The longer they continue to join in their quad bond, the murkier their race distinctions will become. Max’s true mate could have been from any of the supe races, and it just so happens that it’s you.”
No! No! No! No! NO! After everything I’d been through. After accepting that he would never be mine … to find out like this. It couldn’t be true, right? There was no possible way.
He must have read the agony on my face. For the first time I was unable to stop my emotions from showing. Maximus always was my weakness.
“Yes, it’s true. The true bond couldn’t form between you before because he was not linked close enough to the other races within him. He hadn’t joined to his brothers. And then the fake mate spell interfered. It would have faded eventually. That vampire is too strong. Luckily Cardia continued to be a good little soldier. She reinforced the bond. It was in her blood, and every time he fed from her, it secured their fake bond.”
Cardia was an evil bitch. Couldn’t be happier that she’d lost her head. Bet she’d never expected that one when she signed up for her fake mate role.
“It is a shame that she died,” Kristoff said, showing not an ounce of sadness at all. “She delivered a lot of vital intel to me and Larkspur. He almost won because of her. Sometimes kids can come in very handy.”
Was he still talking about Cardia now, or Giselda? The witch was still MIA, and according to Jessa she was as evil and crazy as her father.
The sorcerer stood but I barely even noticed. My body continued swaying, and despite the burning oil seeping into my body, I was shivering, parts of me freezing while other parts burned.
Kristoff wasn’t done monologuing yet. Nope, seemed he still had more to rage about. “I had so many plans, and all of them thwarted by the power of those quads. It’s not natural. They should not exist. So now we have moved on to the less satisfactory but necessary plans for revenge. I find great delight in knowing that I have the power to make them suffer. They took everything from me: my power, my position, my daughter. Maximus didn’t save my child, and now he won’t be able to save his own either.”
My head lolled forward as he left the room. I knew I had to fight, but there was no way to stop the darkness from descending over me.
My last thought was of my daughter, and whether I could keep my promise to protect her.
A multitude of pain and fire slashed at me even as I drifted in a sea of unconsciousness. There was no true rest, but I managed to keep a section of my wolf energy wrapped around my womb, doing whatever I could to halt the spread of poisonous oil from continuing its insidious journey through my body.
Wetness splashed against me, rousing me to a semi-conscious state. “You need to wake. Your subconscious is hiding from him. Call for your damn mate or I will kill your child.”
The sorcerer’s voice was fuzzy and I barely recognized the words, but something resonated within me. I needed to call for Maximus.
I really didn’t want to. I didn’t want him anywhere near this crazy guy who’d been trying to take him down for months. But I had to think of our daughter, and the fact that Maximus would be expecting me to reach out to him. Maybe I could let him know it was a trap.
In my confused, probably dying state, I wasn’t sure where to start. In the end I decided to just throw my spirit at the tenuous and emotional connection I’d always felt toward the vampire.
Maximus! I need help. Kristoff has us and he’s poisoned me with something. Some sort of oil. I’m trying to protect her but I think I’m failing. He wants you to come. It’s a trap. Please…
Whatever else I wanted to say was lost as a spasm of pain rocked through me and I screamed. My stomach started to heave and I couldn’t stop the vomit from expelling everywhere. There was nothing much left in my gut and the bile burned the entire way up. The darkness was in my chest now, and as I continued heaving, the taint of evil pressed in on me.
“That’s good,” Kristoff said, pushing my hair back from my face. With a snarl I found the strength to rip my head back, out of his grip. “Keep calling for him. He’ll come, and I’ll be waiting.”
I had no more strength, no more fight. Holding on to the last facets of who I was, I slumped and started praying to the gods, to the fey, even to Josephina, Jessa’s dragon. She was pretty much a god. Keep my baby safe. Instinct was telling me that even if I died, she was developed enough now to live outside of the womb. Developed and strong enough. Someone had to save her for me, it was my most fervent desire.
Something cold and wet hit my face again, but I had no strength to open my eyes. I barely felt the pain of the chains cutting into me now. It felt as if the blood were sloshing sluggishly through my veins, thick, inky, and evil. A shout penetrated the muffled nature of my head. Kristoff again. Trying to get me to call for Maximus.
Too late, buddy. You didn’t leave me with enough energy to do anything but sit here, fucker.
My mom hated that word, but I think in these circumstances she’d understand.
As my thoughts started to get weird and vapid, the wolf rose. She was often dormant within me, a byproduct of so many years caged. It had tamed a lot of the fire in her, and me also, but we were still wolf, and she did not want us to roll over and show our bellies.
Mate, she said.
If Kristoff’s crazy ramblings were right, then I finally understood why she always said that.
Mate.
I coughed a few times, and my heart was doing this crazy slow beat. My wolf continued to batter me with growls and “I told you so’s.”
Yes, he’s our mate. I’m sorry I always acted like you were wrong.
I sent reassurances to her and all I got in return was another growl. What did she want then? Why did she keep repeating “mate” to me in that way?
Icy cold water slapped me hard, and there was a burn in my arm I wanted desperately to rub at but couldn’t. With a burst of heat, my mind came to life and my eyes flew open. I gasped, trying to fill my lungs with air. Everything was fuzzy in my vision, but there was no mistaking the sorcerer’s evil, pointy, ugly-ass features.
“They’re here,” he said gleefully. “There’s no point in this show though if you die before they get here. That will limit Maximus’ suffering, and I can’t have that. I’ve shot you up with a special blend of adrenalin. It will boost your shifter side and keep you alive just long enough.”
Mate. My wolf sounded a bit smug now, which was really unbecoming of a majestic spirit such as hers.
I could feel Maximus. I’d always been hyper aware of him, something I tried not to think much on. Pretty much all made sense now.
This was the first time in hours I’d been able to properly focus, so I attempted to picture the massive vampire in my mind, aiming to touch the connection between us. It’s a trap. My thoughts were desperate, but I was going to use whatever had been in that shot to reach him. Kristoff plans to capture and torture you. Don’t come alone.
I repeated the warning over and over while my eyes remained locked on the insane sorcerer. He was standing just two feet away, staring at a spot over his shoulder, listening and waiting. I didn’t know much about magic, but I had no doubt that he had this place
rigged with all kinds of security and warning systems.
A coughing fit shuddered through me and I gagged a few times as my empty stomach protested. Even though I could hold my head up now, I wasn’t doing great. Hang on, baby girl. I had to keep reassuring her. I was helpless to do anything else but shower her in love and warmth from my spirit. Thankfully my wolf was there also, adding her own magical spirit to the protection we were creating around her.
Kristoff still had not moved, continuing his statue impression.
I heard a series of crashes, and something fissured inside of my chest, like all the love and emotions I’d ever held toward a stubborn, giant, alpha vampire burst free from me in search of its mate. Damn you, emotions, you get back here.
I couldn’t lose myself like that again. I wouldn’t. Last time it had almost cost my sister her life, and I was not okay with that. I would not be my mother. I refused.
But still, there was no stopping the speeding of my heart and pulse. No stopping my head from turning toward where I could feel him coming from.
Despite my current state of dying and stuff, there was no way to deny that Maximus still had the tightest hold on me. And he was coming for me now, just like Jessa had promised. They never left a pack member behind.
How ironic to finally find the family I’d always craved, who accepted me unconditionally and fought for me, only to be moments away from death.
Screw you, fates … screw you.
Maximus Compass
Rational thought had long since faded from my mind. Instinct was all I had.
“Are you ready, brother? You remember the plan, right?” Braxton was calmer now that he had Jessa back, but the beast still shone from his eyes.
He cared about Mischa. I was way past that. Caring was an insipid word compared to what I felt at this point.
As we stepped through the final magical portal, Braxton growled, his eyes flashing from yellow to blue. He was in protective mode: no one touched his pack and lived. Which was why he had incinerated all evidence of the supe smuggling operation before we left.
Jacob, Jessa, and Tyson then went back to Stratford to alert the council of what we’d found. The supes who’d been in the cages around us were escorted to the sanctuary, where they would be able to decide where to go next. Louis, Braxton, and I went after Mischa.
I was desperate to find Mischa, and desperate to kill the son of a bitch who took her. Louis had picked up a magical essence from the fey stones Kristoff used to purchase Mischa, which he had then used to amplify a connection he sensed between me and Mischa. His step through had led us to a land of cold, stark, desolate expanses of wilderness.
“Russia,” Louis murmured as we moved freely. I did recognize some of the landscape now. We were in northern Russia, near the supernatural prison town of Kreatsky.
The wizard who’d run the smuggling ring had admitted that Kristoff was more than just a simple “buyer,” he’d actually been instrumental in setting up the entire thing. He was the one who made deals with the demons. I tried not to think too hard on it, considering he had Mischa and I was already fearing for her safety.
Goddammit! I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and trying to mentally reach for Mischa. The connection was there, strangely tenuous but it was there. Weirdly enough, it almost felt like the more Cardia’s bond faded from my body, the stronger the connection was between Mischa and me. And my baby. They weren’t dead, I knew that much, but the flickering of the bond was causing me great concern. Mischa was hurt. The taste of dark magic and blood was strong across my senses. And since it wasn’t coming from me, it was definitely from her.
“Hurry!” I bit out, increasing my pace and forcing the mage to step up. He was the one directing this search party, and I hated following when I wanted to charge ahead.
“Patience, vampire. There’s dark magic washed all across this area. It is very hard to pinpoint the actual location when I am sifting through all the waste.”
My answer was lost in the growls as I lunged for him. Braxton caught me before I managed to make contact. “We need him! You can’t kill him yet.”
Louis shook his head. We were sprinting across the tundra now, slipping on mud and ice. “No idea why I bother with you all. If it wasn’t for my love of the Lebron girls, I’d have cast you all into the dead plains long ago.”
I flipped him off before baring my fangs, a direct threat he would recognize. Most supes did their best to run and hide when vampires lost it like this, but Louis simply grinned as though I amused him.
My murderous thoughts were halted by another thrumming along the connection leading me to Mischa. It flared to life in an odd way, and I wondered what that meant, almost as if she’d been unconscious and was now awake. But bonds didn’t work like that. Being unconscious was no barrier to them, so it had to be magic.
“I’ve got her,” Louis said in a hurry. “She’s projecting very strongly. I don’t even need the bond between you two to follow the trail.” He was staring at me now. “A bond which I’m finally starting to understand.”
Great, because I didn’t understand it at all. The only thing that made sense to me was the baby’s essence connecting us, but somehow that just didn’t feel right.
“You will explain all of this to me after we save her,” I growled. There was no time to worry about it now, she was in trouble. We had to get to her before it was too late.
My boots smashed against the cracked ground. The land around us was barren, and not just because of the harsh winters here. Death lingered in the air and among the scrawny scattering of plant life, like something was leaching it of life.
None of us spoke, until Louis ground to a halt. “Where is she?” I said, my head swiveling as if I was missing something. There was still nothing here. For miles I saw nothing but plains of withered land.
“They are below us,” he said, dropping to his knees. I felt the stirring of magic. I didn’t have the same senses as the shifters. Their beasts were more innately connected to magic than vampires, but for one of my race I had always shown a strong affinity for the fey energy which was within all of us.
Louis’ magic was so strong that even humans would feel the vibrations of energy he exuded. As he pressed his hands to the ground and magic started to sink into the earth beneath him, I took a step back as the dirt began to ripple and collapse. Of course my one step was pretty useless when most of the land around us plunged down, taking the three of us with it. I braced myself for the drop, not sure how far we would fall. It ended up being about twenty feet down. The light was dim down here, but not too dark for vampire senses. I saw the ground approaching, and landed lightly.
Braxton and Louis were right beside me. None of us had any trouble with the drop; it wasn’t part of the security here. If Kristoff had been really trying to keep us out, the drop would have been miles down. Nope, this was just the first step to infiltrating his underground bunker, and now he definitely knew we were coming.
The connection in my chest intensified. It was almost as if I could hear her calling me with the faintest of whispers across my mind.
On my way, Misch. Hold on for me.
The area we were in now was a large cavern, filled with rock formations and scattered stalactites on the ceiling, stalagmites on the floor with flat tops. Water had dripped through these caves over the years, although it felt cold and dry.
“No wonder Kristoff was always in the pocket of the human leaders,” Louis said. “This mine is filled with diamonds.”
The single beam of light from the hole above, the one we’d just plunged down through, highlighted the gems scattered about. Everyone in Stratford was wealthy. We had plenty of mines of our own, and the trolls kept us well fitted with gold and gems, but this was so much more than that. This was enough to buy countries. No doubt Kristoff used it for many things.
Diamonds were also the key ingredient in lots of spells and curses. There was nothing more solid to use as a conduit.
B
raxton was striding around, stepping into the shadows. His voice echoed back to us. “I always knew Kristoff was filled with secrets. His power is unstable.”
“Which was why he tried to frame us and then get us killed. Power has sent him crazy,” I said. “No doubt he was responsible for the supes we chased in the forest around Stratford. A distraction we were stupid enough to fall for. Then he could make sure there was a doorway there for the girls to stumble across. It called for them, and they answered.”
Braxton strode back into sight. He nodded to the left. “There’s a path over there. Goes for a long way. I couldn’t see the end.”
A path which had better lead us right to the sorcerer. “What’s the plan? We know he’s waiting for us. He has more than enough power to hide himself if he wanted to, so he wants us here.”
Louis ran his eyes over me. “Do you still have the staff?”
I reached into my back pocket and pulled it free. The powerful relic was still masquerading as a small twig, a few inches long and scraggly like an offcut of a tree.
The sorcerer took a moment to stare between me and it. “It has connected with you. Maybe you will find it a symbiotic relationship, but if you notice at any point that it’s starting to control you, you’re going to have to let it go. Its power knows not good nor evil, it’s all about the wielder, but it will try to influence you if you let it.”
“You want me to use it here, take control of Kristoff? He surely will not expect us to have this staff.”
Braxton clenched his fists. “There’s no doubt this is a trap. He’ll have a plan, and then a backup plan. Do not react without taking a second to think about it. Mischa’s life is at stake.”
