Suddenly Braxton's tone was a lot less casual. "Seems we might have to have another little chat with our friend."
Mischa stood then. "I should go. I didn't even tell Mom I was leaving."
I stood also.
"I'll see you in the morning?" she asked me, although her eyes also flicked across to Maximus. We all pretended not to notice.
"Yep, I'll be in the dining hall around nine." The night was half over and I was tired. I needed extra time for a nice sleep-in.
She started toward the hallway.
I halted her before she got out the door. "Hang on. Max will walk you home. It's not always safe to wander alone at night."
Especially when she was the council leader's daughter and had no supernatural abilities to call on. She was now a weak link in the Lebron house and we needed to keep our vulnerabilities protected.
I grinned at Maximus as he passed me. His expression was one of resignation. I was about the only person in the world he let order him around. Not even his brothers would try it.
Mischa's eyes widened as she moved to Maximus' side. He was so large and she looked tiny. I hoped I didn't look that small and delicate against the Compasses. I moved across to her, and leaning in gave her a hug goodbye, before whispering in her ear: "He can scent your interest. I'm not sure if you care that he knows, but if you do … try and tone down the arousal."
She hugged me harder. "Thank you," she whispered back, although her cheeks were a pretty pink color when she pulled away.
I waved as they left the house. "See you in the morning."
I shut the door firmly behind. I made it six steps into the living area before I was surrounded by large men.
"What?" I growled, pushing through them. I hated their dominance shit.
"You didn't answer your phone, and then we come back to check on you and you have ignored our rule about letting people in while we're not here." Tyson followed me, practically stalking my ass. I spun around and planted my palm firmly on his chest. I opened my mouth but my tirade was interrupted.
Braxton tilted his head as he spoke. "We were worried about you." As always his words tugged at my heartstrings. The angry reply I'd been about to hurl at Tyson fell away unsaid.
"Shit, I'm sorry, it was my sister. I figured she didn't mean any harm."
Jacob playfully scooped me into his arms. "We know nothing about her." And with a laugh he tossed me through the air and across the room onto the couch. I hit it pretty hard – lucky I was a shifter. "She might not even really be your sister. Her energy is cloaked. I'm getting zero read on her."
Braxton growled. "A little more care next time, Jake."
He dropped down next to me, his big hands coming around to rub out the tension in my shoulders. I groaned, closing my eyes as he worked out the knots I didn't even know I had. His strong hands paused as I groaned again, before the rubbing motion started up again.
"Stop doing that, Jessa babe." Tyson's voice sounded strangled. "We made a pact, no inappropriate thoughts of you. You're making it a little hard right now."
I caught the double entendre there.
I stuck my tongue out at him, my eyes still closed, but I did halt the groans that wanted to emerge. Shit, Braxton was a god with his hands.
"Mischa has never shifted," I said, when I could finally speak again. "I can see that she's been spelled, her abilities cloaked … plus, she looks exactly like me."
Braxton moved, his hands digging deeper. "She looks similar to you, which could be achieved through a spell also."
I started to squirm, moving until his hands were on the spots I'd just decided needed some work.
I bit back another moan. "They would have had to deceive the high council. I'm sure they do some sort of test to detect truth from lie."
There were nods all around.
"They definitely do that, but did you ever stop and think someone on the council might be out to get you and your father? It wouldn't be the first time."
Julianna was a replacement leader, brought in after Derk, the last vampire councilman, was discovered plotting to destroy the Lebron line. Of course, someone removed his head the day before his trial, and no one knew who. The Compasses had been questioned, and they'd had this amazingly detailed alibi. I'd listened hard to their version of events and my senses had told me there was both truth and lie in their story. I just couldn't figure out which part was which.
I had accepted long ago that one of them had done it and it made me love them just a little bit more. True friends have your back no matter what, and in our world, which was fraught with danger, sometimes that meant getting your hands dirty. It might seem a little harsh, but we lived in a kill or be killed world, and I had no problem with death if it kept my loved ones safe.
Jacob came back in from the kitchen, a thick, brown bread sandwich clutched in his hand. "So what is our plan to find the prison now?"
Tyson leaned forward. "It's taken us months to properly scour the forest. It would take just as long to find the right underground area. We need more information." The wizard reached out and in a swift movement snatched Jacob's sandwich before throwing out a shield spell to stop his brother pounding him into the earth. By the time Jacob broke through the barrier, the food was gone.
"Focus." Braxton halted their bitchfest before it started.