“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.