Dragon Marked_ Supernatural Prison #1(54)

I flipped him off as a reply.

“Harsh, man,” Tyson piped up. “It was more like drunken chicken ass.”

I refrained from kicking him in the ribs, which is what I wanted to do. “Ha ha hardy har. You’re all freakin’ comedians. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Braxton pulled us in close. “We have one shot to do this, the entrance moves in twelve hours. I don’t want any heroes. Follow my lead. I’m in command here.”

He pointed a finger at Tyson. “For once you’re just going to have to suck it up and listen to someone else.”

The wizard middle-finger-saluted him in reply, but I knew in the end he’d have his brother’s back. Maximus stepped up to Braxton’s side. As always those two were extra close. They had the same sort of badass personality where you knew if they wanted they could destroy you. Not that Jacob and Tyson weren’t badasses, they were. It was just that they joked around more, so you thought they were easier going. It was a great cloaking ability they’d developed. Braxton and Maximus had no cloak. What you saw was what you got.

“Mischa, stay close to me or Jessa,” I heard Maximus murmur. “If things get out of control, I expect you to bail. Don’t you worry about the rest of us, save your own ass.” With a sigh he flicked his head in my direction. “I won’t even bother to give you the same orders, Jess, I know you won’t listen.”

I shrugged. Damn right I wouldn’t listen, I’d never bail on the Compasses. Never. Death would take me first.

Braxton encased me in strong, warm arms. It was a brief hug but … unexpected.

“What was that for?” I asked as he pulled back. I blinked a few times, trying to get my heartbeat under control again.

“Because you’re … damned amazing. And my life is better with you in it,” he said. “But if you sacrifice yourself for any of us I’ll be pissed off, and you don’t want to see me pissed off.”

I snorted. “I’ve seen you pissed off more times than I’ve seen myself naked.”

He blinked a few times, those beautiful blue eyes glinting as he stepped closer. “Nope, you’ve only ever seen me … annoyed. I repeat: you don’t want to see me pissed off.”

What the hell was he talking about?

“I’ve seen it once, and it was not something I’d forget in a hurry,” Maximus said.

I looked between all four of them, unsure if they were kidding or not. Was there actually something scarier than Braxton’s dragon? Since no more information was forthcoming, I guessed only time would tell.

Braxton started to move then, and I recognized that expression: he was focused, nothing would blow him off his current path. In so many ways he was as unmovable as his dragon. The personality of our animal definitely bled into the human, and in turn we tamed the beast inside. It was a beautiful symbiotic relationship. I always felt as if one could not survive without the other. I certainly would not want to exist without my wolf.

We continued through the forest. It was colder today, but no snow. I would guess we were due for another storm very soon. Even with my shifter metabolism at peak, I still had chills racking my arms and legs. It was dark under the canopy. Keen eyesight took care of that; I simply let my wolf out a little and she leant me her senses. From our many years roaming this massive landscape I had a pretty good idea where we were heading – toward the back left pocket, where the very largest of the old redwoods were.

Mischa was close to my right side. I reached out and grabbed her hand, our frozen fingers tangled together. She looked scared, but managed a smile. No one spoke, knowing on instinct to stay quiet. The boys surrounded us like the four points on a compass. Pun intended. I knew when we had reached the spot. Braxton’s back was one mass of rigid muscle as he held a silent hand aloft to halt our progress. I flicked my eyes left and right trying to determine what he had noticed. But nothing looked amiss. We stood at the junction of two large trees; their trunks had grown into each other, swirling around and around in a crazy manner. Branches, leaves, and twigs intertwined; there was no order to their growth and structure, only chaos. There was a small gap at the base of the trunks. Was that the entrance?

Jacob stepped out of our formation and placed both hands on the closest and largest tree trunk. His blond hair was barely visible in the low light, but I could sense his fey energy working. The very forest around us responded, the fey were earthy like that. Jacob spun his head back and gave us one sharp nod. Braxton and Tyson strode forward, and before I could order my feet to follow, the two of them dropped down to their knees, like bookends, heads bowed in submission.