Mischa held my hand, both of us hating this shithole-box which was our only means of escaping the building. My twin distracted us both by sharing some of her heartache.
“I’m not mad at the Compasses, Jess, I’m embarrassed that I let myself get so involved in something that wasn’t real. It wasn’t like Max made me any promises or did anything besides be a good friend. Sure, we flirted, but that seems to be the way with those boys. They flirt as frequently as they breathe. I just wanted it to be real, and trying to deal with my own stupidity–”
“Led you right into another set of stupidity. Aligning yourself with the fruit twins was not your brightest moment.”
She sighed. “They were good to me, I won’t judge them yet.”
“They threatened to leave you in Krakov!”
“They just needed a way to ensure you’d help. It wasn’t personal.”
Holy shit. Dumbass alert.
Seriously, someone needed to save us from her bleeding heart, they were playing her like a violin. And all of us had to pay now. I was probably going to be caught by the Four and locked under the sea.
It was a relief when the elevator opened again. I pulled my hand free from hers and together we strolled out onto the cobbled path.
“Where do you want to run?” Mischa asked.
“The forest,” I said. I was less worried about the jinn now, it felt as if they’d made their point and would wait now to see what eventuated. Besides they could find me anywhere, and the forest was the place our wolves wanted to be. Quale had explained there was a massive expanse of woodlands, and that we were free to use them. There were no pack territories, and with so much space, other shifters rarely ran into each other.
As we stepped into the cool expanse, I felt my body relax. This was home, this was perfect. Mischa startled as footsteps sounded from behind us, but I’d heard them following us for a while. Not to mention there was no denying the power of an alpha.
“Mind if we join you?”
Jonathon and Lienda were already undressing, so it was a rhetorical question at the best.
I turned around and prepared to shed my own clothing. Once I was naked, I called on the energy of my wolf, dropped to all fours and my body flowed and shimmered. I watched ten fingers morph in a single movement into paws. Then I was wolf. No pain, all awesomeness.
Howls rang out around me, and I turned to find my wolf family waiting and ready. Hell yeah, we had never ran together. This was going to be fun.
Chapter 13
“Oh for fuck’s sake, you have got to be shitting me?” Maximus had been stomping around cursing like an ogre since Mischa and I had explained about the Romanian prison dilemma. He was only partially vamped, so he hadn’t completely lost control. “After Vanguard, I was determined that none of us would be going into any of the prisons again.”
Jonathon had his head tented in his hands. “It seems no matter what I do, I can’t keep my girls out of danger.” He didn’t look angry, more pensive, as if calculating odds and formulating a plan.
All of us were spread around the living room of our apartment, the Compasses doing their sexy lean-against-the-wall thing. Though Maximus was currently giving the carpet a workout as he marched and swore.
Mischa dashed across the room and stopped before our father. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize the trouble I’d be getting into by hanging around with the twins. They seemed so genuine at first and I just needed someone.”
After our run, we’d discussed those biatches again, and she was finally starting to see their evilness.
Lienda captured her daughter’s hand and pulled her down to sit between her and Dad. “This isn’t your fault. They’re ancient, wise and manipulative. You could never have comprehended the means they would go to to bring about the prophesy. They’re determined to return the king and will stop at nothing.”
Jonathon draped his arm over Mischa, pulling her closer. “Your mother is right, so now we just have to figure out how to derail their plans.” He directed the rest to all of us. “Mischa must keep her word, and Jessa has no choice here.”
Sprawled out on one of the single couches, I clashed eyes with a blue so frosty it pretty much iced all the breath in my lungs. I’d been avoiding Braxton’s gaze. I hated when he was upset. Rigid against the wall, he had yet to say anything, which was far scarier than Maximus’ blustering, and I was a touch nervous of his next actions.
Unable to stop myself, I rose, needing to cross to him. He straightened and right before I reached him, he opened his arms. I threw myself into his warmth. Both of his hands ended up under my butt as he lifted me into his body. Some of the heaviness in my chest eased.