I was guessing that Lienda either hadn’t found her or Mischa had ignored our mother. It was time for someone to have a slightly stronger chat with her. Judging by the expression on Jonathon’s face, and the low rumbles that spurted from his throat every so often, he was going to be the one. She would learn the power of an alpha wolf, that was for sure. The leniency she’d been receiving was about to come to a swift end.

I hadn’t forgotten about Braxton. I was giving him a few moments to calm down. But when I couldn’t keep my eyes from him for any longer … holy crap on crackers – okay, there’d been no calming. He’d separated himself from his brothers, blue flames licking across his tawny skin. Still right on the edge of the barrier.

As soon as we locked eyes, I couldn’t stop myself from stepping toward him. The scent of fear was filling the room. Everyone was afraid. Even Jacob, Tyson and Maximus were keeping a decent distance between them and their brother.

It was a struggle to pull my eyes from the semi-shifted dragon-fire-ball in front of me but I did look away long enough to see that the other Compasses were back to their own hair colors. Why was Braxton still twice his regular size? He remained in a semi state of fusion, minus the scales.

Was he still my Braxton?

I wasn’t even sure he recognized me, and if his calling was to hunt marked … were they right? Would he actually hurt me once freed from this cage? I had to physically stop myself from crying out, the slices of fear and hurt ricocheting through me were enough to double me over. I drew on the strength of my dragon and wolf, I needed them to keep me semi-calm.

Braxton’s attention never wavered from me, locked in with an animalistic intensity. The mystics were in a sort of semi-circle, no doubt trying to conjure some sort of protective magics to use against the quads. I couldn’t stop myself from taking another step toward the dragon shifter, pausing at the edge of the cage. He was like a statue carved from the smoothest of stone. I barely recognized my best friend. Gone was that twinkle in his eye, that mirth which always curved one side of his full lips.

“W-what…?” I stuttered, not even sure what to say. “What the hell is up with Braxton?”

I could sense no one was standing close to me. Even my father held himself back.

Louis answered me from about ten feet away. “Braxton’s not quite himself right now. He has merged fully with the dragon, so he is very much a fusion of man and beast. Which in some ways is worse than being full dragon.”