It wasn’t easy to find a true mate, but if you were mated or in a relationship with a supernatural who found their true mate, you had no choice but to accept that it was over. No fighting, arguing, or even thinking twice about it, it was understood and very little drama occurred.
Which is why I never thought for a second that Mischa would take the whole Maximus and his little mate thing so hard. Firstly, I was pretty sure my sister and the vampire had never really been together, they just had this weird flirtation going on. And secondly, she knew they could never be true mates.
But the whole human part of her clearly felt differently. And now to ease her heartache she’d jumped straight into bed with what was quite possibly the enemy.
I catalogued the twin’s features. They were like Mischa and I, mostly the same but with a few flairs of difference. One was a little finer boned than her sister, and her hair had orange streaks through the blonde. I was going to call her Orange for the hair, and the other one Lemon.
The fruit twins.
Orange was speaking to me. “We have much to discuss with you, Jessa. You’re the fourth of our compass.”
I shook my head. “No thanks, Orange. I have my own set of Compasses, I don’t need to be the fourth of another.”
Jacob cracked up then, he drew the attention of most of the supernaturals in the street.
I snorted. “It wasn’t that funny, Jake.”
He doubled over as he continued laughing. “Shit, yes, it was funny as hell. You named her Orange. I’ll bet the other one is yellow … no, not yellow.” He squinted, his laughter trailing off. “Lemon.”
Our pack had clearly spent too much time together over the past twenty years.
Lemon – ignoring the comedian fey – took over the negotiations. “The dragon king rises in a few days, and you’re important. Don’t you want to fulfill your destiny? You’re chosen.”
“Chosen for what? To murder everyone?”
She shook her head. “Our destiny isn’t to kill anyone–”
“No, but the dragon king will kill the lot of us. I won’t be a part of it.”
“You have no choice. It’s your destiny.”
I sighed, shifting my fingers for a better grip on the knife. Jonathon was standing at my side and I could see the tension radiating off him, his hands were clenched. Most of us around the table were standing now. It was like a high-noon showdown. Mischa was looking more and more miserable from where she lingered between the two groups.
I let my wolf and dragon rise to the surface, just enough that my energy was strong. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up, fruit twins. I am never freeing the dragon king. Never. Ever. Ever. Ever.” I drifted my gaze across to Mischa. “You need to step away from them, they are just using you for their own gains. You can’t trust them.”
Lemon grinned, showing all of her teeth. “Mischa has sworn an oath to help us with this task.”
In my head I had already flung the knife into her smug face, somehow I restrained myself. And more than a little of my annoyance was directed toward my twin. Could she really be so stupid as to promise these bitches anything?
Mischa’s large eyes widened even further. “No, you never said the task was for the dragon king. You said it was to help proliferate the supernatural race.”
Okay, apparently she wasn’t stupid, just na?ve again … or maybe both. We needed to get her a keeper or something, because she was shithouse at making decisions herself.
“The rise of the dragon king will proliferate the supernatural race. He will bring about a strength and unity which has been sorely missing with all of the divided races.” Orange waved her arm in a circle. “Look here at the sanctuary, all different races existing together, all bound because of the mark we wear. That mark is our birthright, our loyalty to the king of all races.”
I held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there, because the crazy train has already left the station and I think you missed your seat.” I sat back down and turned away from them. “I’m done giving you any of my time.”
Lemon and Orange took a step toward me, but the growl and wash of power from my father had them pausing. Braxton hadn’t said anything, but together with his brothers they were more than intimidating as they stood side by side.
I continued watching the fruit twins, even though I was acting dismissive. They were examining the powerful members of my family. Then they straightened, and dialed back some of the dominance they’d been broadcasting.
“Mischa…” Lienda’s voice was soft but to the point. She held out her hand for her daughter to join her.
Thankfully the fruit twins didn’t have their slimy grip too tight yet, because there was barely any hesitation before Mischa crossed back to us. I thought for a moment Lemon was going to reach out and grab her, but she didn’t.
“We’ll see you both soon.” I got double grins of malice before the twins faded off.
I turned to Quale. “Tell us everything about those two before I smash you in the face.”