Dragon Marked_ Supernatural Prison #1(86)

A soft smile graced her lips. “We will do anything … anything to keep our daughters safe.”

My heart swelled at her words, and I sent out a small beam of hope then. Hope that my family would find the time to become the strong unit we should have always been.





Chapter 16




I slept like the dead that night, and was thankful that no nightmares woke me from my slumber. Opening my eyes in the morning I wasn’t really surprised to find Braxton slouched in a chair across from me.

I rubbed my eyes a few times, smothering a yawn.

“You know stalking is illegal right?” I pushed my black hair off my face; it went everywhere when I slept.

He grinned, lazy and smooth. “I’m not leaving you alone while the Four hunt you.”

His words reminded me that I needed to go to Louis’ today. I jumped out of bed.

“I haven’t missed breakfast, right?” I’d never been so excited in my life to get to the dining hall.

Braxton straightened. He didn’t even bother to hide his grin. “You haven’t missed it. I’m going to head home now to change and shower. I’ll be back in forty minutes. Ty and Max are downstairs, so you won’t be alone.”

“Max?” I breathed, a beam of hope shooting through me.

Braxton flashed his dimple at me. “As you said he is hotheaded, but he’s never been able to stay mad with you.”

Thank God.

The dragon shifter dropped a kiss on my forehead before opening the window. With one leg out of the frame, he suddenly paused, looking back.

“I thought you should know, Nash is marked. Mom told me they discovered the branding on him. Louis spelled him, so he should be safe from the Four.”

We exchanged long intense glances for a few moments and I knew he’d told me so I’d know that my theory of the marked being locked in that secret room was true, that my urge to rescue those poor souls had come from somewhere, most probably the link I shared with them.

With an inclination of his head, he launched out the open window and dropped two stories to the ground. I leaned out after him.

“Five seconds to walk downstairs. Seriously, Brax. Five freaking seconds.”

But he was already gone, missing my ladylike cursing. I spun as my door swung open. I was still a little jumpy having anyone come in at my back. Mischa stepped inside; her hair was damp from her shower and she was dressed in dark-denim jeans and a white tank.

“Hey, you’re awake.” She flashed me her blindingly white grin. Way too chipper for this time of the morning. “Just checking on you.”

I stifled another yawn, not fully recovered from yesterday’s ordeal. “Yep, just about to jump in the shower and then … breakfast.” I pretty much rubbed my hands together in anticipation.

She wrapped a strand of her hair around and around her fingers. “I’ll go with you, I can’t wait.”

I snorted. “Oh yeah, I’ll bet you’re dying for your bowl of cardboard and piece of fruit.”

She flipped me off. I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at her. Very sisterly-like.

“So what happened with you and Brax in the prison?”

Her question caught me by surprise.

“What do you mean?” I hedged as I shuffled through my drawers, grabbing some clothes for the day. I went for the warmer items. The open window had let in some icy winds. It was freezing outside.

I could feel Mischa’s eyes locked on me. “Let’s just say he always had that too-gorgeous-brooding thing going on, but now he’s so intense. Like something happened.”

I slammed the drawer shut, clothes clutched in my trembling hands. “You mean besides the fact I was kidnapped by a crazy scar-guy and an ancient homicidal vampire, then almost raped and killed right under his nose.”

Yeah, I was unnecessarily harsh, but I didn’t want to think about Braxton’s intensity right now. It gave me thoughts that I didn’t know what to do with. Or what box I could put these feelings in. I liked my life, I didn’t want to lose anything. My heart was just too fragile to risk.

Mischa’s face fell, the smile wiping itself off like magic. “God, Jess, I am so sorry, that was really insensitive of me.”

I shook my head, waving my free hand at her. “No problem, I know you didn’t mean anything.”

And she hadn’t, my sister had an innocence about her, an innocence most of us in Stratford had lost long ago, despite the fact we were pretty much imprisoned in the town, an innocence that could only have come from … no freaking way – she couldn’t really be. I’d likened her to it when she first arrived but there was no way.

“Are you a virgin?” I blurted.