‘Well, you did accept the position of honor. Think of it as the supernatural version of The Godfather.’Lynx smiles broadly. I’m momentarily shocked yet oddly honored by the position. I just met my in-laws, yet they’ve offered me such a close position within the family so freely.
‘What would have happened if I had said no? And who’s yours?’I ask, not like it would change anything, but needing to know anyway.
He shrugs.‘To be honest, I don’t remember who mine is. And I have no idea what would have happened if you’d said no. I’m not even sure how it works.’
Well then. Maybe it was time for us to find out.
“I’m all for being Tempest’s first connection, but can you explain what all that entails, please.”
Lynx gapes at me as his mother takes in a sharp inhale. “Lennox! You didn’t tell her what it meant before you asked her?” she scolds her husband.
Lennox sighs as his shoulders drop. “I’m sorry. It didn’t even occur to me that you might not know what that meant when I asked. I was just so excited that Tempest was reaching out to someone she felt she could trust.”
“So…how does it work?” I ask, hoping this time I’ll actually get an answer.
“It’s been a long tradition for Storm Shifters to find those of other species to trust,” Sierra says, sitting down. “Protecting and becoming whatever the Four Horsemen needed was our sole purpose, but that alone was a dangerous task. Being a sole protector, we often found ourselves in dire need of teaming up with outside help that we could trust—our own guardian, per se.”
“The first connection we have with someone is reserved for our protector or someone we can go to when we need guidance,” Lennox continues, confirming what Lynx told me. “We normally form this bond with someone as a toddler. I don’t know if it’s our mind, our power, but something inside of us pulls us to someone that’s strong and able to be that for us.”
Wow, talk about a huge honor and a hefty weight. I wish I had known all of this before I said yes, although it wouldn’t have changed my answer.
“Okay, but I have questions,” I admit, holding my hand up like an idiot.
Sierra smiles and reaches across to pull my hand down. “Of course you do.”
“So what happens if you can’t find someone to say yes?”
Lennox purses his lips as he looks at Sierra and Tempest. “Well, most of the time, people do say yes, but…”
“When they don’t?” I push a little harder.
“You get Lynx’s situation,” Sierra blurts out.
“Wait. What?” Lynx jerks back and topples over from his crisscross applesauce position. He scrambles back up and looks at his parents. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing this?”
“Well, first of all, we tried to explain it to you, but you always asked to hear about it later.” Sierra gives Lynx a stern look. “Later just never came.”
“Well, excuse me for needing to go and find my mate,” Lynx pouts.
I pat Lynx’s leg as he crosses his arms and acts like a bigger baby than his little sister. “Sorrows, sorrows, prayers,” I say before turning back to his parents.
“So tell me about this Lynx situation.” I’m on the edge of my seat.
‘Sorrows, my ass,’Lynx spits out at me, and I just roll my eyes.
“Well, if the subject has a weak shield around their mind or is caught off guard, a Storm Shifter canforcea link. Or they will continue to find someone to mentally link to before they link with anyone else or lose out on that passage of gaining a protector. In Lynx’s cases, he broke through someone’s mental capabilities and sealed the deal himself,” Lennox explains.
“Who did Lynx forcefully connect with?”
“Beelzebub, the original Vengeance Demon,” Sierra says.
I choke on my own spit, and Lennox moves to hit me in the back while Lynx just sits next to me with his jaw dropped.
“Breath, Rez. Breath.”
I swear it’s deja vu.
My pseudo father figure from hell is Lynx’s protector. How did we not know that? Why didn’t Bez bring that up, or hell, how did Lynx not know that?
