Jacob continued to look murderous as he stared down the grinning Tyson.
I blinked a few times, willing my eyes to stay open. “We need the trolls. They rule the underground and they’ll know, either by the fact it’s spelled or off limits, or because trolls are part of the secret keepers.”
There were a few nods. Tyson started swirling magic in front of him. “First thing tomorrow, we will see if we can snag ourselves a troll to chat with.” The wizard sounded a tad creepy when he spoke like that. I’d been saying it for years, but if there was ever another supernatural war, the Compasses were dead set going to be the cause.
“I’ve got to get some sleep.” I was plenty relaxed now after the truly orgasmic pleasure Braxton had induced in me with just a simple massage. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
Three sets of eyes followed me as I started to drag myself down the hall toward the room which was unofficially mine. I expected to be out the moment my head hit the cloud-soft pillows, but it was then that all of the worries piled in on me. How would the talk with my father go tomorrow? Would Lienda be there? Could I truly accept a sister after all of these years thinking I was an only child? What was with the dead fey and all of the council’s secrets? Could Mischa be a dragon-shifter?
Eventually I had to call on my wolf for help. Animals don’t sweat the small stuff, acting mostly on instinct, and right now she knew we needed sleep. Within moments my worries fuzzed away and the blissful release of sleep claimed me.
I wasn’t one for dreaming. Mostly I slept like the dead, and had no memories of anything from the moment I closed my eyes until I opened them again. But tonight I seemed to be mimicking my sister and was plagued with dreams of dragons.
The dream started out with my wolf running across a field, sunlight glinting off her midnight black fur. The area didn’t look familiar but I wasn’t afraid or curious. Then out of nowhere a dragon appeared above my head, circling me a few times before coming to rest right in my path. I had no choice but to stop, skidding to a halt about twenty feet from the massive animal. It was a light blue color, the sun reflecting off the scales, and more delicate than Braxton’s dragon form. I shifted back to human. I wasn’t surprised by this appearance. Instead, anger flooded me.
“What do you want?” I yelled, hands on hips.
A thump behind had me spinning around. Another dragon was coming in at my rear. One more thump and I was surrounded by three massive dragons. Shit, this was not good. The dream world kept the panic at bay, but still every beat of my heart seemed extra loud as I tried to figure out what was going to happen.
“You must join us or die.” In the spot the original aqua dragon had stood was Mischa.
I shook my head. “I cannot be a part of this, I refuse.” I took a step closer, both of my hands held aloft. “You’re wrong, there’s no way this can come to pass.”
“The shifter law is truth and you know it. They’re an anomaly and must be stopped. We need you.” My sister tried again, but I shook my head, my hair bouncing on my naked shoulders.
“I can’t let you go, Jess, you know that. I’m oath bound.”
“Find a way around it,” I warned her.
“Shift to dragon and we’ll decide this in the old manner.” One of the other females, a short curvy redhead, transformed long enough to speak before turning back into a black dragon.
I simply stared at her, and then in a heartbeat I felt the energy consume me, but instead of my wolf … I became a dragon. My scales were the blue of my eyes, and as I spread my wings the other two dragons launched into me, except for Mischa, who was still human. I clawed and bit back, but was vastly out-dragoned. The pain felt real as they proceeded to tear me to shreds.
Screams pulled me from sleep and I realized they were my own, my fear so very real and pungent that the scent coated the inside of my room. Before I could blink or pull the sweaty shirt off my body, there were four men in my room in varying stages of undress, holding weapons. Tyson had magic energy gathered in his hands.
“Jessa,” Braxton said, as he lifted his head and scented the room. He moved in a blink across to me. In the same moment I was in his arms.
I struggled against him, tears pouring down my cheeks as I fought the fear overwhelming me.
Maximus was growling as he reached the side of the bed. “What the fuck? Is she crying? Who do I have to kill, Jess babe? Tell me what happened.”
I almost laughed, they’d die if they knew it was only a dream. Right now they were still talking over my head.
Braxton had started barking orders. “I can’t scent anyone else in here, but her fear is real. Check the perimeter and I’ll search inside.”
“Wait,” I stuttered out. “It was just a bad dream.”
Braxton’s arms tightened around me, his warmth helping to quell the final shudders of paralyzing fear. In the human world, this relationship the five of us had would probably be viewed as odd, but they were my pack. Supernatural packs always stayed close together. It calmed our souls.
“A dream?” Tyson sounded dubious. “You never dream, and even if you did you were reacting to something physical. That wasn’t just your mind, that was your entire body.”
He was right. Weirdly enough I’d reacted as if I’d really been there, not merely mentally creating the situation.
Braxton lowered me back onto my bed, and when I started to shake and hug my legs, the four of them crowded onto the soft surface and comforted me with touch.