Dragon Marked: Supernatural Prison #1 (23 page)

Warmth draped over me, and I was gathered into strong
arms. “You’re safe, Jessa.” The deep voice wrapped around me as warm as the
shirt he’d laid over me. I could scent Braxton all over the material, so it was
probably his own shirt he’d removed. “We’re getting out of the prison.”

I wasn’t in pain any longer, but a deep seated
exhaustion had taken hold and didn’t seem to be letting go. It was strange. The
first time I’d shifted to wolf I’d been energized, but now I felt drained.

“What color was I?” My slurred question was unexpected.
Of everything I could have asked, like where had he been, was he okay, or even
how we were getting out of the prison, I’d asked about my color. But I was
trying to picture the dragon in my head.

“Blue and silver,” he said. “Like an iridescent wash
of rainbow but in those hues.” He hesitated. I felt his chest heave.

“What?” I mumbled.

“I’ve never seen this on a dragon before, and there’s
no reference in the history books, but … well, you had fur.”

I squinted one eye, trying to figure out if I’d
understood him correctly.

“Fur?”

He pulled me closer into his chest. “Yes, in most ways
you look like me, only smaller and more delicate. But then, sort of in the same
places as a horse mane, you had this strip of black hair or fur, and the rest of
your body looked like it was … furry. It was almost as if some of your wolf had
bled into the dragon.”

“How is this possible, Brax?” My shivers had subsided
a little as we continued our journey through the prison. “Dual shifter.”

For the first time since he’d found me, some of the
confidence fled his voice. “I don’t know, Jessa. But for now I think we should
keep this discovery to ourselves.”

I nodded into his chest. That sounded like a good idea
to me.

“Where were you and how are we getting out of the
prison?”

I also wondered what had happened to Vlad. I really
hoped I hadn’t eaten him, I’d be picking vamp from my teeth for weeks.

His chest rumbled. “Someone hit me with a dart when I
was climbing out of shower. It didn’t last long in my system, but it was still
enough time for them to disappear with you. When I woke there was a shifter in
the room. She helped me get word to Jeremy, the head guard.  Jeremy ferried my
call for help to your father. Word came back almost immediately; we’re free to
leave, Jonathon pushed for an early trial. We’re on our way there now.”

Clearly it was easier getting information out of the
prison than in.

Braxton lowered his head; his fierce blue eyes met
mine. “They know you’re most probably injured. It should … if Louis has done
his job, be dismissed immediately.”

I hoped so. I needed this nightmare to be over so I
could move on to the next problem. Dragon marked and dual shifting. I was one
special cupcake. Special enough to be dead real fast.

“Vlad was not in the best state when you finished with
him. You smashed him with your tail when you turned around.”

I totally did not remember that.

Braxton’s voice was hard when he spoke again. “I
couldn’t find you, Jessa, I was going crazy, trying not to panic, but thinking
I wasn’t going to make it in time. Then … it must have been when you called the
dragon energy.” Reverence crept in. “I could feel you … like we were connected.
There was almost this string that emerged from my chest and I followed it
straight to you. I made my way into that room just as you started to shift. I
wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

“I’m still not sure I believe it.” I had a sudden
thought. “What shifter helped you and got in touch with Jeremy?”

“I don’t know her name,” he said. “She was standing
over me when I came around after the tranq. I almost killed her.”

I knew it was going to be the same lady. “Red hair?”

He narrowed his eyes as he glared down again. “Yes,
how did you know? She did tell me that long ago she was friends with your
mother. She recognized you when you arrived, and as an owed favor to Lienda,
she tried to look out for you.”

“That first morning in the shower room, she warned me
about the impending attack.”

I waited for his reprimand, we both knew I should have
told him, but he took pity on me and left it for now. I was starting to fade
out. My mind was going to force me to rest and recover. Finally, the motion of
being carried was too much and my eyes closed. I drifted off into a semi-conscious
sleep.

Screams left my throat as I started to thrash around. I was captured,
naked, vulnerable. I wouldn’t let them have me, I’d rather be dead than submit
to these men. When hands touched me I fought harder.

Voices started to penetrate my subconscious. A
symphony of male and female. All of them familiar to me.

“Stop her, she’s going to hurt herself.”

The sound of my twin sister’s voice was what got
through to me first. A door slammed open somewhere.

“Get your hands off her, she doesn’t know who’s
touching her.” Braxton’s voice was icy as he barked out his order.

The warm hands left me and my body started to calm.
Even though a part of me had been aware that I was safe, with friends and
family, I couldn’t halt the racing panic until everyone removed their hands from
me. Braxton understood. My wolf and dragon flexed their energy, each asking if
I needed them. I sent reassurance their way before lifting my heavy eyelids and
taking in the scene around me.

Jonathon, Lienda, and Mischa were along one side of my
bed, and the Compasses on the other. I was in my room. Standing further back,
in the doorway, was Louis. I sat up, I couldn’t stand to be beneath everyone at
that moment. In fact … I got to my feet and stood on my bed. The tension that
had been gripping my chest eased a little as I positioned myself as the most
dominant in the room. No one challenged my place right then. Glancing down, I
was thankful someone had found the time to put Braxton’s shirt on me. It hung almost
to my knees and hid everything important. Right now I wanted none of my body on
display.

“What happened?” My eyes locked on my dad, and as he
tilted his head in my direction I knew he was asking if he could approach.

I sucked in a ragged breath, before nodding. I could
use some pack energy right now, some strength to draw on. He slowly stepped to
the side of the bed and his strong arms enveloped me as they had done so many
times throughout my life. I collapsed into him, letting his energy soothe me, and
despite the fact being touched wigged me out right now, touch also helped heal
some of the hurt.

“Vlad has been taken care of, Jess,” he whispered into
my hair. “He’ll never bother you again.”

Good. The only thing that would have made that better
was if I’d been the one to kill him.

“At this stage they’ve temporarily halted the trial
against you and Braxton. But you will have to be present at a future trial.
Formality, really, Louis has been ‘disappearing’ the evidence but it needs to
be officially dismissed with you there.”

Let’s hope Jonathon was right. One never knew what the
Book of Guidance would decide.

“I have some news.” Louis was still slouched in the
doorway, his broad shoulder nudged against the frame. “Something we need to
deal with immediately. The Four are on their way to Stratford. Something set
off their hunting instinct. They’re going to be looking for marked.”

“Shit,” I said, pulling away from my dad. “That was
probably me. I think I broke the cage you had on me.”

Louis nodded. “Yes, you did, the energy sent a
blastwave through Stratford, and obviously out into the universe. Most wouldn’t
have known what it was, but I recognized the mark.” His eyes flashed. “I knew
you were in trouble. I was coming to the prison when I intercepted the guard heading
for Jonathon.”

Ah, that was how word got to my father so fast. Louis.
I should have known.

“What?” This word from Maximus was slow, drawn out.
There was a hint of anger but more of disbelief.

Jacob and Tyson also straightened and moved closer to
me. “What are you saying, Jessa?” Jacob’s fey features were unreadable, but the
green of his eyes shone in the half-light.

I sucked in deeply. I had forgotten they didn’t know
of my mark. Only Braxton knew.

I held both hands in front of me. It was time to tell
the truth. I should have trusted them with this secret long ago. My voice only
slightly wavered as I started to speak.

“I owe you all the biggest apology. There’s something
about me that you don’t know, something I only just recently found out myself.”

Braxton moved closer and I could tell that he wanted
to jump in and smooth this over with his brothers. To protect me from their
anger and pain. But this was my thing and I needed to alpha up and take the
punishment.

“Mischa and I are twins and we are dragon marked,” I
blurted. My sister straightened and crossed her arms over her chest. She was
waiting for the fallout too.

Silence descended over the room, a heavy silence that
was filled with angry thoughts and three thunderous expressions.

I hurried on: about how Louis had spelled us, and
Lienda had fled to save our lives. That I’d only found out that morning in the
forest, and how Jonathon thought it was best to keep it secret. The entire time
I was babbling I continued to hope they would interrupt and give me a break
from the guilt.

Maximus did finally speak, but it wasn’t what I
thought he was going to say. “You told Braxton?” Hurt poured off him. “Why did
you trust him but not the rest of us?” ‘Why not me?’ was his unspoken question.

Tears were burning my throat again. My wolf and dragon
both wanted to howl.

Braxton interrupted him. “It wasn’t like that. We were
in Vanguard and she needed me to know so I could protect her. Pull your heads
from your asses and stop and think about the situation she was in. This is a
topic so controversial our own father thought all dragon marked should be
imprisoned or dead.”

I could see just the slightest relaxation in Jacob and
Tyson’s rigid features. But Maximus shook his head and stormed from the room.

I pressed my hand to my chest, my body trembling
slightly. Somehow, this moment felt worse than when I’d been held captive by
Vlad. As If I was being stabbed repeatedly in the chest. Jacob and Tyson
stepped right up to me.

Jacob’s voice was low. “It’s okay, Jessa babe. We
understand. Just know there is nothing you could ever tell me that would change
the love I have for you.”

“Ditto,” Tyson said as he kissed me on the cheek. “Max
will come around, he just needs a few moments to think about it.”

I squeezed my eyes shut then and howled like a baby,
hot gushes of tears. Arms encased me and I let free all the emotions that had
been building for days. After a while I managed to pull myself together; the
quads had moved back and I was standing next to my bed. I decided that now the
secrets were out, it was time to ask a few questions.

“Did you hear about the prison breakout?” I asked my
dad. “Was it dragon marked?” I’d been needing an answer to this for days. 

Jonathon moved over and brushed my hair off my cheek,
his warm hand lingering for a moment. “We’ve received bits and pieces of
information. Two women were seen outside the perimeter, and then the next thing
anyone knew they’d disappeared, and the account is that some prisoners are
missing also.” He brushed a hand over my hair. “Strange thing is, everyone in
the main area was accounted for.” His growl was low. “Which leaves me to guess
that it had to be your secret area.”

Louis, who’d had an unreadable expression on his face
during my little breakdown, stepped further into the room. “I have contacts
around the world. It is the same in all the prisons. Prisoners escaped, but
none from the main prison.”

“So the most logical conclusion,” I mused, “they’re
freeing dragon marked.” I was strangely relieved about this. No more babies in
chains.

Tyson spoke up. “We’ve had some other drama here also.
Kristoff has been arrested. The council’s a bit of a mess at the moment.”

I turned to my father. “Kristoff was arrested?”

He nodded. “Yes, caught trying to plant a spell on
Jacob.”