She had long, midnight-black curls and eyes the color of rich, newly-turned soil. She was stunning, and not much taller than I was. Her fangs were hidden, I knew, because she snarled at me.

“We do not trust strangers, and not all of you are marked. The mystics told us that you were the protectors of the marked twins, but you’re quads. Quads are hunters.”

I understood their fear, they didn’t know and love the Compasses the way I did. And the Four were scary effers. But how had they even known my boys were quads? Clearly the mystics had big friggin’ mouths.

Maximus took a little step closer. “If you pose no threat to our pack, we mean you no harm. But spread the word that if any of you come at us with hostile intentions, we will respond in kind.”

Seeing the vampires face to face, I was reminded that Maximus needed to feed, and soon.

Braxton closed in on his brother, broad shoulders side by side. “What Max is so eloquently saying … we will kill anyone who touches our girls. End of story.”

The pale skin around the female vamp’s eyes tightened. But there was also something more in her expression, respect and acceptance. “Message received loud and clear. You will find no trouble from me or my nest mates.”

Speaking of, I could see quite a few hefty males moving in our direction. Definitely vamps, and they had that look in their eyes. It was a look I was more than familiar with.

“I’m Cardia. Feel free to find me if you need the rundown on the workings of the sanctuary.”

There was less sneer and more smile on her face as she turned. It was then I noticed the small mark on the back of her neck, visible above her strapless top. It was a miniature version of my dragon mark, about a hundred times smaller.

Shit. Did they all have marks that tiny? No wonder Gerard had freaked when he saw mine.

Cardia didn’t look back as she used vamp speed to intercept her worried nest mates. The four of them leaned in closer and I knew she was spreading our message. It would be in the ear of every supernatural by nightfall. Some would see it as a challenge and come at us accordingly, others would respect the sentiment and deal with it by leaving us the hell alone. I couldn’t wait to see which was which. I had plenty of aggression and sexual frustration to work off. Beating the shit out a few morons might just be the ticket I needed.

“What are you looking so animated about?” Mischa asked, examining my face.

Jacob and Tyson both chuckled. “That’s her happy-violence face,” the wizard said. “If that face is ever directed toward you, I suggest you run.”