This was probably the reason the Compass quads and I were so tight; they were powerful too, set to be the next American high council members. In three years' time they would take over from the current council members.
Maximus was vampire, Braxton was shifter, Jacob was fey, and Tyson was a magic user, a wizard. So they would hold four of the positions on the council. The fifth race was the demi-fey: mermaid, gargoyles, trolls, boggarts, pixies, imps, centaurs and the like. Basically any group who would never be able to blend into the human world. The demi-fey were the only supernatural race that the Compasses didn't have a representative in.
My attention was drawn back to the head of the class and a sudden subject change to a myriad of famous wolf shifter deaths through history, with particular and detailed attention spent on our weaknesses. I silently chuckled; the vampire could not be more obvious. He was probably plotting my murder while he lectured, but was too weak to ever do more than play it out in his head.
Next to me Jacob started mumbling under his breath, singing. The fey love to belt out a ballad. His voice was sweet as; I could listen to him sing for days. All four brothers stared off in different directions around the room. The lucky asses were geniuses and never paid attention in class. Truth be told, they were a mystery in the supernatural community. Being the children of two rare hybrids – a vampire-sorceress mother and shifter-fey father – was unusual enough. Hybrids producing offspring, it was pretty much unheard of. But no one had a freaking clue how the quadruplets had come to possess four different supernatural abilities. And in pureblood form, no less.
Vendir finished summing up the six strike-points for a kill on a wolf–dumbass–before waving his hand and turning his back on us. "Class is dismissed early today. Make your way to the town hall."
I moved aside as a short, broad troll barged down the aisle. Don't get in the way of trolls, they're like steam trains. Our class was a mix of supernatural creatures. We attended college until twenty-five and after that we had to choose a career. There were a wide variety of jobs, including many that had reference to the prison. Vanguard was the United States' supernatural prison, hidden, secret, and protected somewhere deep in the forest which bordered Stratford. No one knew the location unless they were initiated into the council. Or if your career was within the walls. The boys and I spent a lot of time searching for it, but so far, nada. That's where we'd been last night; Tyson thought he had a lead. As future council leaders it pissed them right off that they were excluded from information on the prison. This was their way of taking things into their own hands.
But since I'd ended up with mud in unmentionable places and a tick on my ass, the wizard had clearly missed the mark. It wasn't the first time the Compass brothers had led me astray and it wouldn't be the last.
After class I wandered along with the hundreds who were heading toward the town hall. The boys would catch up with me soon, they all had things to do. Things I probably did not want to know about. The town meeting was due to start in about thirty minutes, so they'd have to haul ass to make it in time.
Stratford wasn't huge, and it was set out in a circular pattern, everything revolving out from the large, towering-into-the-air fountain at the center. The town hall was a stone and brick building with old-style architecture that included a pair of large hand-carved stone statues out front, and heavy window frames. The building sat off to the right of the fountain, taking up a pretty decent section of land.
My father caught up with me just before I entered the huge double doors and draped an arm across my shoulders, leading me back to the grassy area off to the side. I smiled as I stared into his dark blue eyes; they were the same color as mine. His hair was blond though, whereas mine was so black it almost looked blue in the sunlight. My father didn't look much older than me. Supernaturals age very slowly. Most live a good eight hundred years or more.
"Hi, sweetheart." Jonathon leaned down to give me a hug. He wasn't tall for a shifter, but height wasn't important when his power followed him around ready to deliver a swift boot in the ass. My father ruled our pack with an iron fist, but toward me he was a fluffy puppy … with claws. He placed both hands on my biceps. "I need to tell you something before the meeting. We have some new and disturbing information."
I opened my mouth, but was interrupted by a shout.
"Jessa!"
I spun my head to see Jacob wave. He was with his brothers and they were making their way across the paved center arcade. The vamp and shifter girls around me started giggling like morons. For some reason these men turned cold-blooded predators into silly human females. It was quite amusing to watch as the quads brushed them off. Most of them were just looking to snare the future leaders of the council. We were a bit superficial like that. And while the Compasses were not exactly picky, groupies were not their thing.
I growled at a very blond wolf shifter. "Get some pride." Damn, she was like three seconds from drooling.
The blonde lowered her eyes, not dominant enough to meet my glare for too long. I turned away with a shake of my head. Silky strands of my straight inky hair brushed against my bare shoulders. In true shifter style I was only wearing a tank and short shorts, clothes easy to shed if my wolf needed to run.
"Try and remember, Jess," Jonathon said, drawing my attention again. "You don't see the guys the same way as the other females."
Narrowing my eyes, I spun my head to observe the four of them as the crowd parted to let them through. I had no idea what my father was talking about, I saw them perfectly fine. I had outstanding vision, almost as good as the eagle shifters.