Ever since we’d been locked up in Vanguard together, it was like our relationship had gone through an evolution. We’d been best friends for twenty years. Now, though, I had no idea where we were heading. No matter how sexified my thoughts were getting, I wasn’t sure it was worth risking our friendship. What if we didn’t work as a couple? What if something tore us apart? What if one of us found our mate?
So many what if’s … it hurt my head just considering them all. But the biggest of all – what if Braxton didn’t feel the same need? Maybe I was trying to force something because of my own newly discovered emotions? If I acted on it he might be the one to turn me down, and I wasn’t sure I could survive that.
Shit! I was so not thinking about this any longer.
Maximus’s long arm came between Braxton and me; he pointed toward a sign. “There seems to be a lookout or turnaround section just there.”
It took me a moment to focus. I called on my wolf for help, and was finally able to see what he was talking about. Braxton eased our car off the main road, turning left. The wheels lost traction for a moment before we powered out of the slide and drove across the fresh powder into a large circular flat. I was relieved to see the second vehicle pull in beside ours. Of course, while I was happy to see the others, I was not looking forward to getting out in that cold. Luckily, it seemed as if they were coming to us.
How the heck was this going to work? Four large quads – I’m talking far-larger-than-was-necessary – were not going to fit in this car.
But somehow we managed it. Braxton stayed in the front and Maximus took my seat. I ended up on Jacob’s lap and Mischa in Tyson’s. Poor Grace, her red hair subdued under a woolen hat, had to squeeze in between us in the back.
Tyson had his usual shit-kicker grin on, and I was happy that the tension which had been very present between Grace and him seemed to have eased a little. Hopefully the witch healer was over the rejection I’d dished out on behalf of Tyson many years ago.
“You know what I’m thinking of right now?” Tyson’s honeysuckle eyes were sparkling. “All of us, it’s really cold–”
I interrupted him by leaning over Grace and cracking him in the side of the head. “Shut it now.”
Mischa’s nose crinkled a little. “Do you have to be such a pig while I’m sitting on your lap?”
The wizard laughed, dimples and white teeth flashing. “I was going to say that survival 101 was coming in handy. Sharing body heat and all that.”
Sure, that was what he was going to say.
Jacob’s strong arms wrapped around me, hugging me tighter. It was comforting to be in his arms, no tension like that which followed me and Braxton. There was no weird sexual pull between the rest of the quads and me.
I turned my head to see the wizard again. “Did you get anything off the letter, Ty?”
Tyson had been handling Louis’ note for about five minutes, turning it over and over. I wondered if his joking around was to cover his frustration.
“Nothing. It’s as if this has never been touched by magic. No spell residue, no trace marks of Louis. How the fuck does he manage to do that?”
Braxton growled. “He’s a sorcerer without an equal, and I can’t wait to beat his ass into the ground.”
Someone was still a little pissed about the whole knock-out-kidnap-onto-a-plane plan.
Maximus caught my eye and I was reminded that I needed to tell Jacob and Tyson about my secret. But now wasn’t the time. I didn’t trust Grace enough to reveal something like that. Yes, I had known the witch healer for a long time – she grew up in Stratford – and I’d been okay revealing on the plane that Mischa and I were twins, and that we were dragon marked. But my dragon shifting abilities … they were a whole other level of top-secret.
My wolf started to paw inside of me, getting a little fidgety. I was not happy being stuck in this car at the moment. I needed to run, I needed freedom.
“Can you drive for a bit, Brax?”
He didn’t question me, he just shifted out of park and eased the vehicle forward. It was probably a craptastic idea to drive with a car this packed, but it was drive or I was going to lose my shit. Mischa and Braxton, as shifters, would be feeling the urge too.
The storm had eased again. We cut through the soft snow without issue, ending up back on the mountain path.
“Sorry, Jessa babe, I can’t help with this.” Tyson handed me back the letter, his voice rough as he cursed a few more times.
I sighed, smoothing out the paper. It was strange – it had been folded, crumpled, and handled over and over, but still … it looked perfect. Definitely infused with magic.
We continued climbing higher, and I hoped we’d find a place to turn around. Otherwise I was shifting into a wolf and running my ass back to the other car. As I had that thought, the parchment caught my eye. Was it starting to glow? Very slowly it lit up, and after a minute there was no denying the brightness.
Braxton was tuned in to me. “What is it, Jess?” His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.
I returned my attention to the letter again. “Keep driving,” I said.