Who was this asshole, and how was he so damned powerful?
A rumble rocked his chest, the dragon inside of him always one step from losing control. It was the issue I’d had with him long ago. The issue I had with his friendship with my mate—he was not to be trusted. The dragon who killed his parents.
Sure, I didn’t know the entire story, and more than likely there was a good reason, but it made me wary. Family was not immune from punishment, I knew that better than anyone, but he always seemed one step from completely losing control. That was the part I didn’t trust.
“You need us, Asher.” Another fucker approached me. More dragons.
None of them could control me.
“Braxton Compass,” I said with a dark laugh. “Didn’t figure you for suicidal.”
He roared back at me, stuck in some sort of in-between dragon and supernatural form. He was huge, standing a head above me, his arms as thick as my fucking chest. It was impressive, but I didn't fear the dragon. He was strong in this world, but I was not from this world.
“Jessa is gone too!”
I finally deciphered his roaring words, and a stab of something other than fury in my chest. “Maddison is not alone?”
The lightning raged again, slamming into the earth between us, but no one moved. Not me, or Rayge, or Braxton, or the final member of our fucked-up crew. A vampire-dragon hybrid—Maximus, I was guessing, another of the Compass quads.
“My mate as well,” Maximus rumbled, his fangs extended, voice filled with violence.
The three of us turned to Rayge. “What are you doing here?” Braxton asked, voice low and deadly. If I wasn’t too angry to even see straight, I’d have been cautious if that voice was directed at me, but Rayge was a cocky bastard. He feared no one.
The four of us were probably the worst beings to be in close proximity like this. Especially missing our mates. Someone was going to die.
“Josephina has undertaken a fool’s journey,” he said softly. “All to try and save a world that doesn’t deserve her. I will not let her sacrifice herself. Not even for Jessa, whom she loves more than anything.”
Braxton growled and the ground rocked where we stood. “Who the fuck is Josephina?” I bit out, sure that I’d heard the name before, but right now I couldn’t think.
“The dragon queen,” Rayge said, and sorrow filled his eyes. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a soft emotion from him. Not a real one. The few times we’d interacted, it had either been uncontrolled anger or a complete blank slate. There might have also been a sliver of humor when he was with Maddison in the bar—my girl had that effect on people.
Like he’d heard me, his eyes met mine. “I won’t let Maddison die. She’s important and special. The world needs her, and something tells me that if she was to perish, you would kill us all. You clearly have the power to do so.”
I didn’t deny it. I couldn’t deny it. Maddison had been strong and fought for the world when she thought I was dead, but I could not do the same. My rage would know no bounds. No one would be safe from me.
“Maddison is mine,” I told him, not sure if it needed to be said, but I was saying it. “Mine to save. Mine to protect. Just fucking mine. And I’m getting her back now, so you all should step aside.”
My brothers were still a few yards away—I was using my power to hold them in place. Protect them from whatever went down here. Jesse in particular was cursing me. I could see his angry gestures and raised fists. But he’d forgive me eventually. As long as he was alive, it was all good.
The ground around Braxton shook, the land he stood on charring black as his own fury radiated out in visible waves. “Jessa is all that matters,” he said. “She is mine.”
“Mischa is mine,” Maximus added, his voice low. “We have wasted enough time. Let’s move.”
Rayge’s lips almost twitched then. “Okay, now that we’ve laid claim to our mates, I think it’s time we get them back.”
Braxton’s head instantly jerked in his direction and he took a step closer. “Who is your mate? Who do you lay claim to?”
If the name that crossed his lips was Maddison, I was ending him. Fried dragon was my new specialty.
Rayge rubbed at his forehead. “No mate. But Josephina, as stubborn as they come, is my kin and I will not let her be harmed.”
I was almost certain I wasn’t the only one that stared, unblinking, trying to figure out how the fuck a dragon and a supernatural could be kin. I mean, clearly it was through their dragon side…
Rayge did smile this time, the slightest quirk of his lips. “I’ll explain on the way,” he said. “For now, all I’ll say is that the queen of the dragons is not like regular dragons. She has another form. And we are family. She’s the best friend I have. One of the only friends I have. I would not survive without her.”
I didn’t know him well. One of our few interactions was when he killed his parents and was brought before the supernatural courts. He’d been found not guilty, and I should have taken that to mean he was innocent of evil, but there was always something in his eyes that spoke of a soul-deep rage. He lived up to his namesake.
As he talked about Josephina, though, I could see the reason Maddison befriended him. Rayge had hidden depths…
