Chapter four

Jude

Ilead Carlos into the house, doing my best not to check him out too obviously. He's carrying everyone's coffees, his shirt still wet with sweat, clinging to his toned chest. It hugs his pecs just right and my mouth waters, wishing I could push him down and lick between those glorious toned muscles. Fuck, he's so hot!

I look away, trying to get my thoughts back on track. I can't focus on that right now though. Right now he's meeting my family and it wouldn't do anyone any good if I was sitting here lusting after my mate in front of everyone.

"Guys?"

"We're in here!" I follow the sound of Casper's voice until I'm in our living room. "Oh my gods, finally," Casper says, standing up. "What the hell took you so long?"

Everyone freezes as Carlos steps into the room behind me. He holds the carrier filled with everyone's coffees, giving them a shy smile. The sight of that little smile does something to my heart.

"This is why I was late," I say with a bright smile, gesturing up towards Carlos. "This is Carlos."

"The Carlos?"

I nod my head. "Yes, my true mate."

"Holy shit," Willow murmurs under his breath, his eyes wide. "I stand by what I said last night, Jude, you're an idiot."

Carlos chuckles warmly, stepping into the room fully and walking over to the couch. He holds out the carrier for everyone to take their coffees. "It's nice to meet you all."

"I can't believe Jude didn't jump on you the moment he saw you," Bently says and I curse my cousin for making me blush in front of my mate. I also narrow my eyes at him.

"Bently, I swear."

"It's okay," Carlos says, tucking the carrier under his arm once everyone has their drink. "He was really excited to meet Cooper. Like a puppy seeing a ball for the first time."

"Oh my gods, I was not!"

"You kinda were," he says with a soft smile. I cross my arms over my chest, popping out my hip. Carlos' eyes run over me and he smirks.

"If you two are done eye fucking, I'd love to hear more about you, Carlos," Harbor says, making my eyes snap away from Carlos and over to him. I glare at him but he just gives me an innocent smile back. He might be the baby of the group but he's far from innocent.

Carlos lets out a startled chuckle, his eyes filled with amusement at our antics. He sits down on the floor, looking at all my cousins. "Well, my name is Carlos. I'm a shifter. And I like long walks on the beach."

"What sorta shifter?"

"Harbor," I hiss out. "That's rude to ask."

"Is it?"

Carlos tips his head to the side. "I've never been asked before. Well, in all honesty I've never just come out and said that before. I don't even talk to my hunting crew. As far as I know, they just think I'm a super-fast and strong human."

I squeeze Carlos' shoulder, sitting on the floor next to him. "They don't know? They must," I tell him seriously. "After you left, Axel and I had a little talk. I think they all know but they're waiting for you to tell them."

Carlos shrugs, putting on an easygoing act but there's tension in my eyes. "If they all know then there's nothing to tell them."

Bently narrows his eyes. "Why are you hiding yourself from your team? You said they were hunters. You scared they'll turn on you? Is Jude truly safe with y'all?"

"Nothing like that," Carlos says, rolling his eyes. Why is that gesture so endearing? "I trust them with my life. Even more so, I trust them with Jude's life. I'm a shifter, I take true mates incredibly seriously and wouldn't do anything to put Jude's life at risk."

That seems to soothe my cousins' worries, thankfully. I'm not ready to deal with them trying to fight Carlos. Carlos might be built strong, no double coming out on top in a physical fight but my cousins are capable of simple magic and they're not afraid to play dirty. They're terrifying when they wanna be.

Willow lets out a deep sigh. "I don't know, Carlos. How are we to trust you with our precious Jude?"

"Oh my gods," I grit out with a whine, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Stop acting like I'm not the oldest one here!"

Everyone giggles and Harbor turns serious eyes towards me. "This is really, really great news," he says softly, "but I'm also incredibly sad."

Bently nods along. "We're gonna miss you when we head off on our trip."

"When are you leaving?"

"As soon as you hand over the compass."

My hand goes to my pocket, touching the compass gently. I take it out, holding it in my palm. The arrow slowly spins around in a circle, not pointing in any particular direction now that I've found my spark.

"Compass?"

I look over at Carlos, smiling gently. "My grandmother gave me this compass when Willow came of age," I begin to explain. "It leads us to our sparks."

"That's a powerful enchantment," Carlos murmurs, staring at the compass.

"It is. She was worried about giving it to us," Bently says, leaning back against the couch. "She was worried we were trying to force Lady Fate's hand but after a lot of thought over the years, something changed. She figured maybe this was Lady Fate after all."

"Interesting," Carlos says with a hum. "This brought you to Cooper and as a result, also brought you to me. I can't help but agree with your Grandmother about Lady Fate using the compass to lead you to the people you're supposed to find."

"Exactly," Casper says, sipping his coffee. "It's so cool. We're planning this huge cross country road trip, just following the compass and seeing as many sights as possible along the way. It's going to be amazing." He pauses. "Well, it's going to be sad because we're going to miss Jude, but it'll still be awesome."

"Thankfully, there's modern world solutions like facetime and phone calls," Carlos says with a small smile.

My body warms with happiness, radiating like the sun on a warm morning. I run my hand over Carlos' shoulder, sparks lancing up my arm at the simple touch. Just being near my true mate makes me feel safe, makes me feel at peace. I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be.

I hold the compass against my chest. Silently, I say a prayer to Lady Fate, thanking her for using the compass to lead me to Cooper and Carlos. I pray that the next person this goes to find the same peace that I'm feeling right now.

Willow.

I open my eyes, my heart skipping a beat. I've been raised around magic all my life and yet, every time I interact with magic it sparks such wonder and awe in me. I can't wield it myself but there's still magic within me. I have an animal form, I'm a conduit for my spark, and I'm able to sense it around me.

I hold up the compass with a wide smile, tossing it over to Willow. He barely catches it, his eyes so wide it's almost comical. "It seems like your adventure is starting sooner than you all thought."

"What?"

"You heard me loud and clear," I say, excitement welling up inside of me and making me grin from ear to ear. "It's your time, Willow. Take that thing and follow it to your spark."

"But why me? Shouldn't it go to Casper? Or? Or maybe Bently?"

"Hey," Harbor says, elbowing Willow. "What about me?"

"You're the baby. Duh." Harbor narrows his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It doesn't matter," I say, butting in before they can properly fight. "The compass decided. It's your turn Willow. You don't have to use it."

"No, no," he says, sinking into the sofa. "I'm gonna use it. I'm gonna use the fuck outa this thing."

"Alright, rein it in," Bently pretends to whisper, making us all chuckle.

Willow's eyes narrow even further. "I hope you guys are ready for a road trip because we're leaving tomorrow."

"We can't leave tomorrow! What about Jude?"

Carlos' phone pings and he quickly checks it. Looking at me, he gives me a little smile. "You don't have to worry about Jude. That was Jeff. We caught wind of a new case."

"Holy shit. I can't believe this is actually happening," Casper murmurs, running his fingers through his hair.

"It's happening," I say, standing up and pulling all of my cousins into a tight hug. "It's happening and I'm proud of all of us. But you better facetime me every single Sunday so we can catch up. Deal?"

Bently tugs me into a headlock, ruffling my hair and making us all laugh. "Deal."