Braxton, and his brothers were the leaders of the American Supernatural Council, which meant they had a shit-ton of responsibilities. One of the largest was making sure that the prison near our home in Stratford, which housed some of the worst supernatural criminals in the world, remained safe and ran smoothly. There was a network of these prisons around the globe, and since local criminals were usually moved away from familiar territory, the boys were often negotiating prisoner exchanges.
“Yeah, they want to see our facilities for mermaids. Apparently, theirs is a real bitch. I assured them we have the perfect isolation tank for her, but you know how this bullshit works.”
He sounded pissed, and I didn’t blame him. Braxton was a powerful dragon shifter, smart and capable, but he couldn’t stand politics. Because he was strong and feared, he’d gotten the position of council leader for shifters. But he really didn’t want it.
Evie cried then, and Braxton was up and in the nursery in a flash. Jackson was finished, so it was easy to transfer him to his daddy so I could feed my little girl. After that was done, it was time to start the day. Clothes, nappies, kids, toys . . .
My life sure as shit had changed, and I was happier than I’d ever been. As we travelled downstairs, the sound of laughter hit me. We shared this house with our pack, and just like my babies, this closeness never failed to bring me joy. It had been Jessa and the Compass quads for a long time, but it had become so much more.
Mischa, my twin, was mated to Maximus, who was the vampire part of the Compass quads. Grace was a true mate to Tyson, who was the magic part of the quads. And Jacob, the fey of the quads, remained happily single. We were all taking bets about when he was going to be taken down by whatever woman was destined for him.
After so many years of mate bonds being scarce, fate was finally bringing them back, but Jacob was determined to skip out on all the “true love bullshit.”
“Hey, Jess.” Maximus wrapped his arms around me, and I returned the hug with force. Braxton held the twins, which meant I could really enjoy the hug from my favorite vampire.
“Where’s Misch?” I asked, looking around for my twin. We were almost identical, only our eye color and a few freckles differentiated us.
“Lily had a little accident,” he told me, eyes searching up the stairs. Ah, that was why he’d been standing near the base, he’d been waiting for them to return.
“What sort of accident?” Braxton asked, sounding amused rather than concerned. If it had been anything serious, Maximus would not be down here with us.
“She crapped all the way up her back, it was in her damn hair!” Jacob yelled from the kitchen. “If there was ever a need to enforce birth control with supes, they’d just have to show a video of that.”
My chuckle burst out before I could stop it, and Maximus shook his head. “I’m probably going to kill Jacob by lunchtime. I hope you aren’t too attached to him.”
I was very attached to him—to all of my pack—and I would rip the head off anyone who hurt them, but since Maximus was mostly joking, I shrugged. “We could probably replace him easily enough. I mean . . . plenty of fey to go around, right?”
“Hey!” Jacob shouted again before he poked his head around the corner of the kitchen. “You would be devasted without me. I am irreplaceable.”
“Who’s irreplaceable?” Grace asked, stepping in from the back porch. She looked happy and windswept. She and Tyson were spending an awful lot of time in the forest, which bordered the back of our large cabin home, and if the amount of twigs in her hair was any indication, they were not just hiking.
“Just deciding who we’re going to replace Jacob with in the pack,” I told her, and she laughed before hurrying over to Braxton. She relieved him of Evie, snuggling the baby close to her.
“How’s my baby girl today?” she cooed.
Tyson walked in then, his eyes shooting straight to his mate and the baby she held. They darkened, and I recognized that look. Ten to one, we were adding some more babies to our pack in the next few years.
“Breakfast is ready,” Jacob yelled and then added, “you ungrateful assholes!”
All of us laughed, and then we trooped through into the large dining room. I used to think Braxton’s huge-ass table was over the top, but not anymore. We definitely needed the space. Since Jackson and Evie were too young for food, Braxton and Grace put them on their tummies in the specially designed area we had in the corner. I leaned down and ran my hands across their blond hair, needing to touch them.
As I stood, Mischa hurried into the room, her arms full of a sparkling clean Lily. The babies mop of dark curls was getting long already, and they’d have to tie it up soon to get it out of her eyes. She went in with the twins, the three of them started doing their communication thing. I would swear they all talked in little coos and grunts and hand waves.
Jacob dropped the first plate of food down, and as Maximus went to sit at that spot, I kicked him in the side, knocking him four feet back.
“No!” I said, pointing at finger at him. “When you’re breastfeeding two hungry babies for half the night, then you get the first food. Until then . . .” I trailed off, eyeing him as he held both hands up and backed away slowly.
Mischa stood next to me, and I caught her amused look from the corner of my eye. “You think he’d have learned by now.”
“Yeah, it’s only been twenty years,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
I kept an eye on Maximus while I took my seat, and he just chuckled before ruffling my hair. “Don’t ever change, Jess.”
I would have flipped him off, but I was too busy reaching for food. I’d save the extra insults for later. I might have gotten in first, but the pastries, eggs, toast, and bacon disappeared so fast. We all had big appetites, being growing supernaturals and all that.
Mischa was the only one to still eat like she was human or something. Her food didn’t even spill out over the side of her plate when she took her share. Some days, I wondered if we were actually related. When I was finished, I eyed the empty platter with sadness. I’d really wanted another chocolate croissant, but I hadn’t wanted to be completely greedy.
Really regretting that choice.
“Here you go, babe.”
Braxton slid his slice of the chocolate deliciousness closer to me, and I had to physically stop myself from just reaching out and snatching it up. With a sigh, I shook my head. “No, seriously. You have it.”
Snickering laughter started up around the room, and I narrowed my eyes before swinging around to give them all a death stare. “Shut up, I’m trying to be nice.”
Braxton wrapped his arms around me, half pulling me out of my chair so he could kiss me. I forgot all about food and chocolate as another hunger flared to life within me. This morning had not been enough. It would never be enough.
He set me back down gently, and I was rocked for a moment as I tried to remember what year it was. There was a soft scraping sound as he slid his plate closer. “It’s yours, Jess. Always.”
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“Still the only supe I know to cry over food,” Braxton smirked before he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the corner of mine. That kiss, it almost sent the emotions I was feeling into overdrive. A single tear escaped, and he brushed it away.
Lily screamed then, and that distracted everyone long enough for me to pull myself together. And eat my pastry. Because I sure as hell was not letting any of these bastards get their hands on it. Not that they would. Braxton’s dragon shared food with me and no one else. He was likely to get very pissed if anyone touched his offering.
Mine.
The dragon and the food.
Two
I decided to go with the quads the next day to the prison. Mischa and Grace were watching the babies, and I should have at least three hours before one of mine decided they were starving to death. My parents were also stopping by, because they couldn’t go more than half a day without seeing their grandbabies. The Compass grandparents were just as bad.
“Remember all the months we spent looking for this prison?” Jacob chuckled, as we walked through the forest. “I never thought we were going to find it.”