We moved the next day, and I got the biggest kick to the butt for acting on instinct, which confused me at the time – what three-year-old even knows about instinct? – and exposing us to the humans – another phrase which confused me. Still, that was the first time I started to understand that I was a freak, that I didn't think or act the same as the people around me. It was also the first time my mom was really disappointed in me, and I didn't even understand why. I now knew she'd been trying to keep me safe, but the truth was, her lecture tore me down and was the first time I started to question who I was. To hate who I was.
No parent should teach their children to deny their true self. Because of that moment I would spend the next nineteen years trying to mold myself to fit in with humans, and since I was not a human, all I really did was lose small parts of my soul, until there was nothing much left but the shell of a supe.
Some of my soul returned when I found out the truth of who I was, when I found out about the supernatural world. When I found my sister. That was when all of the messed up thoughts and events started to make sense. More pieces of soul clicked into place when I fell pregnant, because the pure rightness and love was so all encompassing that it changed me fundamentally. And now there was one more thing that had changed me, that I never anticipated happening.
Maximus Compass.
As he ran at vampire speed through the forest and lands of Connecticut, both of us probably being chased by psychos who wanted to kill us and wear our heads as a hat or some crap, I'd never felt happier or more content. His pure joy and acceptance of our baby, well, it was so much more than I'd expected. It was the first time I felt that I had someone in my corner. A friend even. I knew raising a baby was going to be tough – it takes a village and all that, or so the humans say. In my opinion, Maximus was going to be a pretty darn good village.
"You okay?" His low voice jolted me and I focused on our surroundings again. I was really not good at this stealth and subterfuge thing. "I'm not shaking you around too much?"
Right. He was concerned for the baby, which was to be expected. All of the Compasses had turned into crazy protective monsters over me and Jessa the moment they found out about our babies.
"I'm perfectly fine. Me and bubs are tough."
I tried to lighten the mood, but it was clear that the rigid lines of tension which had Maximus' face looking like it was carved from granite were not going to disappear until we were back in Stratford.
"Don't worry, Misch, I'll never let anything happen to you. There are a few of them following us, but they are going to regret that very soon."
At that moment supes burst out of the trees to our right and charged straight for us. I expected Maximus to go mental then, until I noticed one of them was a dragon … who happened to be carrying my twin on his back. Jessa. She looked like the queen of the dragons. Which was pretty fitting actually, since Josephina, the dragon from her soul, was now the queen of all wild dragons.
Maximus powered across to his brothers and I was gently deposited to the ground beside my sister. Braxton started shifting back, Tyson standing by to clothe him. My twin took two steps forward and threw herself into Maximus' arms; the two of them began whispering furiously. I waited for my normal jealousy to rear its ugly head. I hated to envy anyone, because we all knew that people fought battles you could not see, but the closeness of Jessa and her pack, well, it was a sore point for me.
But the jealousy never came. I felt only a sense of happiness and contentment at their love and acceptance, to see the pack bonds solidifying. Maybe because now I felt like a part of their world, their pack. It didn't hurt that Jessa was solidly mated and it was a true bond. Maximus wouldn't stand a chance even if he wanted one. And according to him, he didn't. Which blew my mind and eased that part of my soul which had always felt used by him.
Tyson reached out and hugged me hard. My heart gave a wrench, which happened every time someone showed me this sort of affection, a hug for no reason other than being happy to see me. "Good to see you and my nephew in one piece, wolf girl."
Pulling back, I shoved him a little. "I keep telling you, it could be a girl."
Maximus was suddenly at my side then. "Boy or girl, it doesn't matter."
Holy shit. I felt a delicate sort of smile lift my lips, emulating all the soft emotions swirling around inside of me.
Tyson hugged his brother then too. "So glad to see you back, bro. We've missed you."
Tyson threw me a questioning glance, eyebrows raised. I knew immediately what he was asking. Why was Maximus looking so happy and not … devastated and broken? We'd have to tell them all about the Cardia theory later and see what they thought on it. Braxton clearly had some opinions, since he'd been the first to ever mention it, but he wasn't the only smart one in this bunch. All of their insights would be useful.
Braxton stilled then, and all of us froze as well. The dragon had the best senses of any of us, but as he slowly scanned the surroundings, he didn't seem to pick up on anything.
Eventually he turned back to us. "I heard your call, Max. What's going on?"
"Mischa and I were being pursued by at least four supes. I detected shifter and magic user. I was making ground on them, but didn't want to risk them being stronger than me on my own. Not with the baby to protect."
"We should join, take them on at our strongest," Jacob suggested.
The fey was often right about these sort of things – I thought he was a bit of a fortune teller myself – so I wasn't surprised when no one argued.
I hurried to Jessa's side and we stood back to back, keeping an eye on the forest around us. The quads reached out and linked to each other, power swirling in heavy arcs around them; they were connecting through their special quad bond.
"I can't believe Braxton let you come," I said to Jessa.
A snort of laughter left her. "Let … oh no, baby girl, I have much to teach you. The key to any solid mateship is to curb that "letting me" bullshit early on. Braxton knows I'm strong, capable, and smart, and he's coming to realize that his over-protectiveness is going to result in a lack of sex and a swift boot in the ass."
It was my turn to snort. "Lack of sex … yeah, right."
I could feel the silent chuckles as Jessa fought to contain her laughter. "Yeah, you have a point. That punishes no one but me. Still, there are plenty of other ways I can make life very uncomfortable for my sexy-ass mate and he knows it."
He most definitely did. But I also knew that Braxton was very good at picking his battles, and he would fight her when he really needed to. That's why they worked so well. Jessa was the epitome of the old adage: if you gave her an inch, she would take three zillion miles. Braxton doled the inches out in small increments, and reeled her back in when she got out of control. The perfect balance really.
Conversation was lost then as the quads finished their joining, energy wrapping around them in visible strands. Braxton wasn't in his beast-man fusion state, which totally reminded me of oldschool werewolf movies where they shifted into a man-wolf, except Braxton's was dragon spec. He seemed to be able to choose now whether he went into the fusion body. As the quads' power grew, so did their control.
I had to clench my fists at my side to stop from moving. The pain of my nails pressing into my palms was just enough to keep a clear head. For some reason, when Maximus was joined to his brothers, the connection I felt to him increased exponentially, like I had to physically restrain myself from the need to touch him. I'd noticed it when I'd seen them join before the battle with Larkspur.
A battle I'd been part of longer than anyone realized. Thankfully I'd managed to stop myself from attacking any of our side, even with the king's voice in my head trying to control me. I had been stronger than Larkspur's call. My entire life people had been forcing me into a fake mold and I had refused to let the dragon king do the same. Thankfully, when things had gotten really bad, Jonathon had found me and knocked me unconscious. Which had brought blessed relief.
Jessa's low voice startled me. "Are you feeling the connection, Misch? When the boys join, the mate bond thing kicks in so hard. It is taking every single piece of restraint I possess to not go over there and start licking my mate."
I saw Braxton grin and knew he could hear our conversation. Then Maximus turned and nailed me hard with his black gaze. The vampire was riding across his skin, and he was so much larger than normal. Holy shit. Really? Like he needed any extra help in the physically dominating and hot-as-hell thing.
"Misch!"
My twin startled me again. Damn, I had forgotten all about keeping an eye on our surroundings. In my current frazzled state, the bad guys could have snuck up and stabbed me, no problem. Of course, they probably wouldn't have made it that far with the way the vampire had his eyes locked on me. Well, not me. Our baby. But still, I got the protection for a while. I was the baby's home for another month at least.
"Mischa … you there?" Jessa was tapping her foot now and I realized I still hadn't answered her.
"Yes, I'm here. And no, I don't know what you're talking about."