by Jaymin Eve
My eyes were tracking small wisps of what looked like dandelion. The air was neither hot nor cold, and there was plenty of light, but I wasn’t outside. It was like a wood-lined cave, which was … odd. Maybe a round cabin?
Bit by bit, piece by piece, the parts that made up Jessa started to fit back into their places. My wolf rose, along with my dragon. When I was unconscious, they seemed to be out as well. As the fluffy aura of my dragon snarled and flicked metaphorical wings, I suddenly remembered that Braxton had broken through the energy cage. What the hell had happened in that clearing? Where had the jinn sent us?
A slice of agony split through my head, as if the clarity of events had reminded my poor abused body that it had just been hurt. Badly. I couldn’t move my head, but that didn’t stop my hands from searching for my dragon shifter.
What if something happened to him? What if that jinn had taken or hurt Braxton?
The wolf and dragon inside both started to howl, a long mournful cry of pain and loss. We couldn’t survive without Braxton. There was no Jessa without him.
I was distracted by a low growl behind my head. I was still struggling to move myself, having to force my limbs through magic that coated my skin and held me immobile.
The contents of my stomach started to roll as the agony of my head intensified. I was about five seconds from hurling. Eff this. I knew what I needed to do.
I reached for my wolf, fighting the remnants of the jinn’s spell on my skin. The shift to animal often cured many ailments, and she was quite impervious to magic, so it was my best option. I was going to destroy my clothes, but I’d deal with that later.
The change was seamless. Four paws hit the hard, rocky ground, and without much hesitation I began to scan and scent the place. It really did look like a round wooden room. There were two doors. From the one in front I could scent something damp and decaying, like the forest; the other held the hot and smoky aromas of the desert.
There was no roof, the ceiling was a natural skylight, a glass barrier in which beams of light caromed in an array of arcs and lines. They must have been the dandelions I’d followed with my eyes.
Circling the room twice, there was no sign of what had growled before. It had to have come from outside. The monochromatic nature of my wolf vision didn’t give the variation that my Jessa eyes would have, but I was guessing there wasn’t much in the way of color in this room anyway.
The growl sounded again, louder this time, and then everything clicked into place. I knew that sound, I’d heard it many times before. It was Braxton. Dragon Braxton.
Door number one. The forest. Which was good, since I wasn’t taking the desert door. It reminded me of the scent of the jinn, and it seemed avoiding their kind was in my best interest.
Shifting back into human form, I rose from my crouch, the light reflecting off my nakedness. I gathered up my rags of clothing and managed to clothe most of myself. Luckily I’d been wearing a reasonably loose shirt. My ragged pants covered my ass, but not much else.
Striding forward, I shoved back strands of black hair which had fallen across my face. At least I seemed to be back in control of my senses and body, and the pain was gone. The jinn’s spell was dissipating and I couldn’t be more grateful.
I was going to rewrite those fucking history books. There was no way they properly prepared me for the piss-myself-fear the mere presence of a jinn had induced.
I reached for the handle on the forest door, expecting it to be locked, but it clicked open without any effort and I was hit with a blast of damp warmth and the scent of home.
The moment I opened the door, the forest started to intrude through the doorway, vines snaking inside. Okay, that wasn’t normal plant behavior, unless this vegetation was filled to the brim with magic, which, recalling the cunning in the jinn’s eyes, was a very real possibility. The general vibe from the elemental hadn’t indicated that it was sending me off for a nice, relaxing holiday.
I took a hesitant step, slowing my breathing until there was virtually no sound from me except the rush of pulse and beat of heart. Even I couldn’t hide those from beings with advanced senses. But still, I needed to be cautious until I knew for certain there was nothing out there but Braxton.
My creeping was slow, silently placing one bare foot in front of another, the ground prickly – soft undergrowth, but there were sticks, stones and other unknowns. I thought briefly of shifting to wolf again. I knew I was faster in my other form, but I wanted to focus, and while my wolf could be the queen of focus at times, if a rabbit bounded past I was screwed. I was scanning as fast as my eyes could process images, my nose elevated as if that would help with the detection of enemy.
Outside the door of the cabin the landscape was overgrown, tangled, ancient. Forest, but unlike any I’d seen before. I catalogued the scene: trees, vines, bushy undergrowth and large, probably poisonous, pink flowers, the kind that drooped over and had some sort of sticky dew rolling out of their center. They lured their prey in with beauty and then killed them.
Where the hell am I? This place was one giant plate of freak-me-the-hell-out.
The growling started again, louder than before, coming from the left, sort of through the vines and on the other side of the round cabin. There was no clear path for me to take, blocked in a cage of greenery so tightly interwoven that I had no idea how to get through. Shifting my hands into claws, I started to rake across vines in the direction of the growl.
It took me a while, but I managed to force a path, the vegetation scratching my exposed arms, but I barely noticed. A flash of black and blue caught my eyes and my heart rate both sped and calmed at the sight. I knew those scales. Braxton was close. But, judging by the vinery around that scaled leg, he was pretty tangled in the vegetation.
I let my claws fade away and whispered in his direction, keeping my tone low and soothing. “Shift back, Brax, you’re too large to fit through this dense undergrowth.”
The growling cut off, and I knew he was working to calm himself. I could sense a minute variation in the air. Usually it was very distinct when a shifter pulled energy to change, but the air here felt so dense with power it dulled everything else. Still, I knew when he was shifting back. And sure enough, within seconds the scales had disappeared. Then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. Braxton.
“Jessa babe … are you okay?”
He was trying to be calm, but the undercurrents of stress strained his voice. The forest rustled as he plowed through to where I stood. Unlike me, he seemed to be cutting a path no problem. His face appeared in a small gap and he wasted no time tearing a larger entrance. It felt as if we’d been apart years rather than mere moments. As more of him was visible, I saw he was wearing just a pair of low slung jeans. He must have removed his pants before shifting earlier. They’d never have survived the change to dragon.
My mouth went a little dry as I drank in the sight of him. Damn, those pants … they were really low, I could see each defined muscle of his two-hundred pack and that delicious “V” which men were blessed with as a tool to tempt women. The pathway to the goods, a pathway I’d like to lick my way along…
Wait, what? Down, hormones, down.
Braxton finally destroyed the last of the vines, and before I could blink he slammed into me with the force of three hundred pounds of muscled dragon man. His arms wrapped around me and lifted me off the ground. There wasn’t much room here so we ended up planted against a large, gnarled trunk, his hands roaming over me. Not in a feel-me-up way, more of a check for injuries and make sure all limbs were accounted for. Of course, someone forgot to tell my hormones that those large, bronzed hands caressing my bare limbs were just checking for injuries.
My hips arched up as his hands crossed over my thighs, the heat of his palms intense through the ragged tears. I almost moaned but swallowed the sound down. What the fuck was Braxton doing to me? I was about to self-combust.
I wasn’t sure when it happened, but the line I’d drawn in the sand
with all the Compasses … well, it was blurring between Braxton and I. Very, very blurry. I was starting to think our friendship pact was going to be tested very soon. Like in the next five seconds.
Braxton had been so focused on examining me for injuries, making sure I was safe, that he’d missed my rapid breathing, dilated pupils, accelerated heartbeat, and that distinctive scent of arousal.
I knew the exact moment he realized. He stilled, his pupils stopped darting across my face, and something dark and dangerous rose in his eyes. Low growls started in his chest, enough to rock us both, a predator in his gaze, built on instinct evolved over the last million years. Both animal and supernatural instinct.
His full lips parted. I could almost taste the scent of him on my tongue, and not only was it his usual combination of spice and heat, but also arousal. Holy shit. Braxton wanted me, in a way I’d never felt from him before.
My eyelids fluttered down, lashes tickling my cheeks. A relief to block him out, but the pulsation of energy between us was too tantalizing. I couldn’t keep my eyes shut.
Unable to pull away, I was almost a hundred and fifty percent certain I was about to burst into flames. My skin was surely an eruption of scarlet, the hot pumping of my blood a roar in my ears. Kiss me, I silently begged.
I’d never wanted anything more in my life. More than want, needed. If he didn’t move his ass, I was going to take what was mine.
Braxton leaned into me, and just as those delicious, morsels-of-sin lips were about to close the final millimeters between us, he stopped. Mere inches from me.
“There is something moving out there,” he said, husky tones brushing over me. “It’s close enough that I don’t think we should be staying still right now.”
I could hear his resigned disappointment as he shifted into protective mode. Probably the only thing which could have stopped him.
I sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to fill my oxygen-starved lungs. He let me slowly slide down his body, his attention still firmly on me as though he was very reluctant to end this moment. As I descended, my bare feet landing on the rough ground, I could feel that Braxton was hard … everywhere. That moment had affected him as much as me. His arousal had not left his melting blue eyes, it had just been shelved while we tried to stay alive.
“Where are we?” I said softly, facing the tawny skin lining his rock hard pecs, still trapped between him and the tree.
He didn’t answer immediately, which was a worry. He was shifting his gaze around the area behind me. What the hell was he seeing?
Finally he focused on me again, still pressing against me pretty intimately. I expected him to move back, place some space between us, but he didn’t.
He dropped his chin so that our faces were closer together. “I have no idea where we are, this is not a place I’ve been, and the scents are … unusual.”
Not reassuring.
I pouted in false annoyance. “You could have just lied and said we were still in the sanctuary. You suck as a friend.”
His expression softened, a ghost of the dimple even appeared. “Sorry, Jess. While your happiness is my number one priority, I’ll never lie to you.”
I thought he was kidding around, but the serious tilt to his head indicated that wasn’t the case.
“Do you think we should start moving? Shouldn’t we wait here to be rescued?” I shifted my head, the rough bark catching in my hair as I attempted to see the room I’d woken in. Maybe it was time to take the other desert scented door. But, of course, a thorough scanning of the area indicated that the forest had eaten the round room.
I wondered if that door had led back to the desert part of the sanctuary. I’d be okay with taking it now, even if we had to deal with the jinn, but it seemed that avenue was gone. Typical magic. I’d chosen the forest, chosen Braxton, and that had negated the other doorway.
Braxton looked around us again. “No. We definitely shouldn’t stay put, the noises are closing in. Let’s move to somewhere higher so I can get a lay of the land. Plus, I need room to shift.”
He was right. If we could get out of the dense jungle, both of us could turn into dragons and fly our asses right out of the Congo, or whichever mess of wilderness held us. I didn’t even care about releasing my marked power. Now was not the time to give a shit about the Four. Let them come at us. I was tired, hungry, and pissed off … it was lucky that wolf shifters only had a fertile window once every three months – and I was still a month out – otherwise we could have added PMS to that list of personality traits. It was only four times a year – useful in preventing unexpected pregnancy – and there was no mistaking when the time was upon us.
Braxton seemed reluctant to let me go, which I was kind of liking … a lot. As his heat finally escaped from me I almost swooned like some human in a romance novel. I hadn’t even noticed how much of my weight he’d been supporting, and despite the fact it was not cold at all in this place, I already missed the warmth of his body.
Braxton forced me to focus: “We should move. I don’t see a sun to track, so it’s hard to determine how much light we have left.” He turned, and I was drawn to the sight of his muscles rippling across his broad back. I leaned forward, my tongue already extended. I was so licking him.
Wait, what? No, Jessa!
I lifted my hand and unobtrusively slapped my cheek. I had to pull myself together. This was not the time. Not. The. Time.
Braxton started to walk. I managed to suck my traitorous tongue back into my mouth and follow him, focusing on the simple task of stepping right into each of his footprints. He was clearing the path beautifully.
“Have you ever seen plants like this?” he asked, a trace of unease in his voice.
Braxton’s words had me looking closer at the greenery around us. I knew this place felt strange, like old magic, but until I really looked I hadn’t noticed how odd the plants were. First, the colors were off. Not only were the leaves a bright, fake green, the trunks and branches were too. Plus the trees were massive, trunks as wide as a building and towering into the air. This forest was ancient. I also noticed that on top of the poison pink flowers, there were other strange blooms, yellow, looking like mini suns with petals like beams of light, and … they were warm. I could feel heat emitting from them.
This sort of weirdness continued as we pushed further through. Braxton stayed in front of me, making sure to clear the path the best he could. The terrain was rugged and I knew without him I’d still be back in the original clearing. I had no idea what the dragon man was using as a guide, but he seemed to be following a line only he could see.
We didn’t talk a lot, attempting to stay below the radar as much as possible. I was mainly trying to figure out where the hell we were. I studied our surroundings, searching for just one defining characteristic. I’d never been out of Stratford before, but I’d paid attention to at least seventy percent of school, and I knew of lots of places in the world. Especially if they were connected to supernaturals.
There was nothing recognizable here. I tilted my head back as far as my neck would reach, scanning hard for a sliver of sky or cloud. I could only see green. Which made no sense, the canopy was thick, but not so thick that I shouldn’t be able to spot blue patches.
It took Braxton a few moments to realize I’d stopped following him. In a flash he was back at my side. “What did you see?”
He followed my line of sight into the canopy.
I rubbed a hand over my eyes; they felt tired and gritty. “Why can I not see sky?” I worked hard to keep my voice low. “It’s not dark, there are gaps in the trees, but all I see is green.”
I looked up again, just in case I’d missed something.
Braxton cleared his throat, a sound I was familiar with. My chin dropped so fast I swear I jarred my neck. “What? … Brax, what do you know?”
While his expression didn’t reflect any unease, I could tell he was worried. “I’m pretty sure you are seeing sky.”
I shook my head, try
ing to understand what the underlying meaning to those words were. I slowly raised my face again. “Are you telling me the sky is green? That’s why I keep thinking it’s the canopy?”
I didn’t want to comprehend the repercussions of this. Sure, I’d seen a bit of a green sky when massive storms had rolled through Stratford. But there was no storm here, it was light and warm. So that meant, if Braxton confirmed my thoughts, that this was just a plain old green sky. The color of leaves.
“Yes.”
Oh shit-ass-face.
“I need a drink,” I sighed, “preferably of the Faerie wine variety, and … a burrito. Yep, definitely. Plus a cookie for dessert. No … two cookies.”
I continued to mutter away to myself before noticing the look Braxton was bestowing on me. I trailed off. I tended to put that same faintly amused, faintly exasperated expression on all the quads’ faces, but Braxton’s held a little more. Memories of our “tree” moment before.
With a shake of his head, he turned again and resumed our journey. I grudgingly trudged along behind him, still suffering from the rough ground, but I’d heal those little nicks quick enough.
Why the hell is this forest not getting less dense?
I was half tempted to shift back into a wolf, but I didn’t want to lose the scraps of clothes I still had. Most of my body was covered. And the way I was practically dry humping Braxton’s leg, I was way too sexually deprived to be naked right now.
Although … no. Jessa, no.
Our journey continued for hours, and even though the silence was as comfortable as always, I could tell both of us were reaching the end of our patience.
