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CHAPTER ELEVEN 
     
ROWAN
It’s been a full day since we brought Brennan here, but he hasn’t said much to us even though he woke up sometime during the night. I moved my cot near the door and stayed watching over him, but I don’t know how long I can get away with not participating in the pride’s work rule before Apollo is blatant about his disapproval. I’m already positive he has something against me and wouldn’t mind watching me suffer at least a little.
I stare at my brother who seems horribly displeased by his position, but at least he’s not dying, and I can’t imagine how this could be worse than being with Mercer.
“Fuck you,” Brennan says as a midday greeting when I walk into the room to check on him.
“Fuck you too,” I say. A part of me had thought that the longer he was in here, away from Mercer, the easier it’d be for him to realize just how much better it is here. But maybe he needs more time. Maybe he’ll still come around and realize that we’re trying to help him.
“You’re an asshole,” he says.
“You’re an asshole too.” I sigh, knowing I’m accomplishing little, so I decide to see if he can do something else for me. “Not long before Mercer caught us, one of Quinn’s pack members went missing. A guy by the name of Ethan. Did you ever see him there?”
Brennan stares at me blankly, which tells me little.
“Come on, at least tell me that,” I say.
“No.” He closes his eyes, which he does to tell me he’s just plain done with me, so I sigh and get up before closing the door.
Since Gina returned, Quinn’s showered her with questions, but she couldn’t answer many of them. She could tell us layout and location and explain—in terms I couldn’t quite understand—what was happening to the shifters, but not much beyond that. But she did ask if she could work in Lambridge’s infirmary to see if she could come up with a few things like the reversal to the drug that left us with the inability to shift.
With her set to work on that, it’s left Quinn doing what he can to figure out how to stop Mercer. I wander through the cots to the staircase leading up to an entertainment room and another bathroom. The building is empty besides Quinn, Brennan, and me since it’s during normal working hours and everyone else is at their assigned jobs. The only reason I’m still here with Quinn is because Katalina approved it.
My body aches for my mate that I know is just up the stairs. It isn’t like it’s been that long since I’ve seen him, only an hour or so, but it’s something deeper than that. Something much more unexplainable.
Being suppressed in this place has made me feel like I’m being forced away from him, like I’ll never be able to reach him, which is ridiculous because we’re together more than we’re apart throughout the day. Oh, but I just ache for more of him.
It’s about halfway up the stairs that I suddenly lose control over my body as my leopard side shoots to the forefront with no clear indication that it was coming—and definitely no calling it forward from me. I hit down on my hands and knees as my body roughly shifts. I fight it for a moment, but there’s no use in fighting it, there never is because it always wins out. As soon as I’m in my leopard form, I step forward before remembering that my leopard decided it’d be best to emerge while still in my regular clothes.
My feet are so wound up in clothes that I slip and roll the rest of the way down the flight of stairs, terrifying Cleo as I come crashing down. Talon just sniffs me, like he’s trying to figure out if I’m alright through smell.
Quinn comes running, panicked that there’s something wrong as I’m left horrified my mate is about to see me skidding to a stop on the first floor, wound up in clothes.
I pop my head out of what must be an armhole and look over at Quinn who is halfway down the stairs before breathing out a sigh of relief.
“What are you doing?” he asks with a grin.
“The normal.” I flail a bit, determined to break free.
“You about gave me a heart attack. I thought something bad happened, and here you’re just playing dress-up while being a fluffball.” He starts laughing as he comes the rest of the way down. Clearly he’s amused as I roll around and fight the clothes, determined to get them off me. They’re surprisingly resistant to my struggles. “Do you need help?”
“I am lightning, I am claws and fury, and I’m horribly stuck… Help me.”
“You are only one of those things,” he teases as he tugs at my shirt. It needs extra oomph on my end to get my head out of the armhole, but he manages to help me pull it free. I kick my way out of my pants before looking down at the underwear.
“How do you mistake me for being sexy?” I ask curiously as I question how to get those off.
Quinn ruffles my ears. “Everything about you is sexy,” he says as he snaps the band of my underwear.
I eye my current predicament. “Is it?”
Quinn’s grin makes me feel like maybe this isn’t as bad as it feels like it is. “Extremely. This is my favorite part, you know, where you woo me with a purr and a tumbling down the stairs while wearing sexy lingerie.”
“I was coming up to see what you were doing. I was going to be all irresistible and strut in as a human and just whisper sweet nothings into your ears that’d make your toes curl.”
He scrutinizes me for a moment, looking me up and down. “Nah. This is better,” he says as he turns from me and heads back toward the stairs. When he throws a glance back at me, I notice he’s giving me a sly grin, one of those grins that instantly takes hold of me and refuses to let go. “You coming, Fluff-Fluff? Or are the stairs too big of an adversary?”
“Why yes, I can climb stairs. Would you like to watch?” I ask as I wait for him to get halfway up before I leap up half of them and then slip past him to the top. “Were you impressed?”
“Extremely,” he says as he reaches the top then walks over and slumps down onto the couch before holding his arms out to me.
“You think Apollo has cameras or something and can watch us?” I ask as I look around the room.
“I can’t imagine… right? We’re fine,” Quinn says, and I jump onto the couch before flopping down on his chest.
He has an ink smudge on his cheek, so I lick the side of his face, trying my best to clean up my mate. It doesn’t come off, so I lick it harder because it has to come off. I have to keep my mate clean. Why is it not coming off? I will destroy this stain, I will… I stop myself, tongue out, before quickly closing my mouth and realizing what I’m doing. I casually look away because I am a stoic and normal man.
“My bath is over with so quickly?” Quinn teases.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say as my eyes flicker back down to the ink stain. “Why’s there ink on your face?”
“I… might have nearly fallen asleep and stabbed myself in the face with the pen. Is that what you’re doing? Trying to clean the ink off my face?”
I’m overcome with this ridiculous unimaginable desire to just clean him all up as I pin his face down with my paws and lick him again. I will prevail!
“Your tongue is made of sandpaper. How about you stop?”
“I can’t… must… clean… mate.”
“No!” Quinn says as he grabs me in a headlock and tries holding me down. I’m determined to fight against him, positive he’s lost his mind and the only way he’ll survive is if he’s clean and only I can do it.
He pushes against me, his measly human hands sinking into my fur, but I prevail.
“You’re licking my cheek damn near raw! Stooooop!” he yells, but he must not understand the importance of a clean mate.
He grabs me in another headlock and flips me off him onto the floor before shifting. I’m almost in awe of how easily he slips out of his clothes as a wolf compared to my feeble attempt to climb the stairs in human clothes. He squares up to me, muscles bunched as he stares at me and I’m confused until he strikes. I leap over the back of the couch as he chases after me. I skid into the side of the table and he snatches hold of my tail before giving it a tug. I spin around and leap at him as he dances out of my way.
“What are you going to do? You’re all fluff and no fight,” he says with a play growl.
“I’ll show you what fluff can do,” I growl as I leap onto his back, but he’s so fast he slips out from under me before I get a good hold of anything. Then he prances off, leaving me to chase him. I’m clearly faster than him and I can jump a whole hell of a lot better, but he’s so good at skirting out from under me every time that I don’t manage to make any progress on him. He rushes to the side as I try to corner him, only to have him slip into the upstairs bathroom. I slide in as he shifts into his human form and swings the door shut.
“I have you now,” he taunts.
The moment my eyes run over the absolutely sexy and naked man, I shift back in an instant and press up into him, my naked body sliding against his as I sink my fingers into his hair.
“Are we being dumb?” I ask, referring to the fact that we’re really supposed to be keeping this a secret from Apollo.
“Sometimes… I’m not sure I care,” he whispers against my lips. “I just can’t stop thinking about you and what I want to do to you, and then… I forget everything sensible.”
There have never been words spoken that I relate to more.
I press into his naked skin, his cock against my thigh as my lips press against his. My free hand slides behind his back, wrapping around him and pulling him closer. His lips part and his tongue tangles with mine as his hand slides down my chest. I break from his lips and kiss his throat down to his chest as I drop to my knees, so pleased to finally be touching my mate.
My fingers gently slide under the length of his cock as I glance up and find him watching me, eyes almost mesmerized by everything I’m doing. I draw my tongue over the tip and he draws in a sharp breath. I swirl my tongue around the tip as my fingers slide around the base, rubbing and stroking as Quinn leans against the wall and tips his head back.
There’s something inside me insanely pleased over the idea of making my mate feel so good. As I take his cock deeper into my mouth, I feel his hips shift forward, like he’s aching for me to take more of him but he’s fighting to stay still, and I love knowing that I’m making him ache for me. My own cock is hard, begging for attention as I gently stroke myself. My hand slides back to his balls that I rub as thrills fill me over the pleased sounds he’s making.
As I pull my mouth away from him, I slide my body up until my lips crash against his. He draws me in close as he wipes a hand over our cocks that’s wet with lotion he’d grabbed off the counter.
“I love you, Quinn, so much.”
He kisses me harder, bruisingly hard, like he needs all of me, like all the pent-up frustration of being kept apart is crashing down on us. Everything is so raw, so bare, like we’re just throwing ourselves at each other as he whispers a reply of love through kiss-swollen lips.
I can’t take much more of his touch, I’m already too far gone, and his words just drive me deeper. And as he comes with a moan, his hand quickens on my cock while pleasure ripples through me and I come.
We sink into each other, all our frustration spent, but I feel so relieved. So at peace again just having him in my arms.
“Quinn… how long do we have to live like this?” I ask before it hits me how selfish I’m being. “I’m sorry. This isn’t that bad. I’m acting like a child.”
“No, you’re not. I know how frustrating this must be for you right after becoming a new shifter and having to deal with all of that. Then on top of it, you have the struggle of a new mate and everything else that comes with it. I’m sorry you’re going through so much.”
“But I’m not because I have you here for me and everyone else. Everyone’s been more kind to me than they should have to be,” I say as I kiss his cheek.
“I promise things will be better before long. We’ll figure this out and then we’re going to take my pack back to Winsford and life will be good again. I promise.”
“I know, and I can’t wait to get to live life with you where we’re not trying to keep from being murdered and I don’t have to be annoyed by Ari looking at you,” I say.
He starts laughing. “Let’s get a shower so we don’t smell like we were frolicking together.”
“Can we frolic together in the shower?”
“It might defeat the purpose but why not?” Quinn grins at me as he tugs me toward the shower. “Maybe you can show me more of your sick moves.”
I shake my head while laughing. “Maybe I could.”
“I forgot the catnip, though.”
“Ha, ha. Get in there, mutt. Before the desire to lick you clean strikes again.”
OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWELVE 
     
QUINN
We get a call from Officer Shaw the following day telling us that the police have completely dropped anything pertaining to Gina and Scott. As in, there’s not a lick of evidence about Brennan attacking the officers. When he inquired about the body cams they were wearing, he was met with dead end after dead end.
Clearly, there’s someone higher up in the chain pulling strings that are allowing these things to just disappear. So how far does Mercer’s control lie? Is it not just some crazed scientist trying to make himself his own pack? Could this be a larger issue?
“You okay?” Rowan asks as I hang up the phone.
“What if it’s not just Mercer? What if it runs much deeper than that? What if it’s people who can make more of a difference?” I ask.
“I’m not sure I know what to say that could help because I honestly don’t know what we’re up against. I don’t know what we’re going to have to face.”
The door opens and Gina walks in. She wanted to go get Scott since he’s being released today, but Apollo was feeling unreasonably grumpy, and instead sent Graham and one of his own guys out to retrieve him. I don’t care a whole lot what happens to Scott, so I deemed that more than fine and sent them on their way. Especially because I didn’t want to leave Brennan here, unwatched and alone. Even though we had him fitted with handcuffs that tighten if he shifts, he thought he’d try his hand at breaking out today, which resulted in him being absolutely stuck. He flailed around, destroying all in his path and still unable to get free before shifting back. I doubt he’ll try that again, but I still don’t want to leave him alone.
“Did you find out anything else about that Natalie Davis woman?” Gina asks as she grabs a cup and fills it with water.
She’d told us she knew the name and recognized it as someone Mercer got information from or talked with, but she couldn’t think of anything more. “No, not yet.”
“I wish I could help more but I wasn’t even allowed to converse with anyone, let alone someone of importance to Mercer,” she says. “She is a doctor. I know that much. Like I said, she was involved in medication doses. She’d send me things through Mercer and have me try to adjust the dosage and other things. If I could just think of something that set her apart… something that made her stand out, I’d be more help.”
She seems frustrated as she paces the room. I don’t blame her when she wants more than anything to see her daughter, but we all agreed her daughter was probably safest away from us. Thankfully, she’s been able to call her and video chat with her. The issue is that the child was extremely young when Gina was pulled away, so it’s unclear if she even remembers her mother, but she still seems happy to see Gina nonetheless.
“Let’s get lunch and by then, Scott should be back,” I say as I set down my pen, feeling absolutely useless yet again. It’s my job to keep my pack safe, and instead, we’re running in circles as Mercer plays with us like we’re merely toys. Talon decides to assure me I’m not useless by insisting on pets. He must be bored since Cleo is off doing cat things, probably with Ari, who she seems fascinated by when he’s in his ocelot form.
We get up and head outside when I notice Apollo standing in the middle of the road. Everyone who’s been heading to the dining hall to eat is slowing down or stopping altogether to watch the spectacle.
“What now?” I grumble as I head closer to Apollo.
“What did I tell you?” Apollo asks, voice booming as he stares at the young man who is facing him. It’s like he wants everyone to know he’s displeased, not just the shifter he’s facing, by shouting everything to him.
The young man looks uncertain and I see his eyes flickering out to other pride members, like he’s hoping for help from them. He’s much shorter than Apollo’s large stature and it shows as Apollo pushes into him.
“I-I understand, alpha, but that is my wife. She’s ill and I think I have every right to go with her,” Donny says.
“You are in my pride and you listen to my rules, Donny,” Apollo growls.
The young man shows no sign of wanting to fight, but he looks determined. “I’m going with her and you won’t stop me,” Donny decides as he moves to step past Apollo who grabs his shoulder and flings him back. He snatches the young man by the throat before pinning him to the side of the building.
“You dare talk back to me?” he growls.
Donny’s face darkens as Trenton steps up beside me. “This is about to get ugly,” Trenton says.
“Just watch what his pride does and respond in kind,” I say. “He’s going to put him in his place, and hopefully, that’ll be the end of it.”
I watch as Apollo pushes Donny into the wall. There is a moment where I can see Donny’s decision switch and I can tell that he is going to go against Apollo. His entire body tenses as he takes a step forward and refuses to bow his head for his alpha. I think at first Apollo is momentarily shocked—he’s used to everyone listening, bowing, and respecting everything he says and does—but I can also tell that people are getting sick of everything he’s doing.
So as the man pushes into him, there’s a moment where Apollo decides what he’s going to do. A moment where Donny thinks he has the upper hand, and he allows himself to rush into it without thought.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Donny?” Apollo asks, a smirk on his face that should send Donny stepping back, apologizing, and praying that Apollo doesn’t take further action.
But instead, Donny shakes his head as he looks around at the people who are watching with bated breath. “Are you blind to the hatred your people feel for you? Do you really not see how you’ve driven us all insane? You’re controlling, you’re psychotic, and you’re not going to keep me from seeing my wife.”
Apollo seems to find this amusing. He looks around at his people like he could possibly think that they love the way he’s manipulated them. Even Katalina is standing beside Harper watching the situation unfold. She doesn’t go to Apollo or back him up as he faces Donny, and I can see Apollo’s growing irritation that one of his pride members would dare go against his wishes.
“Oh, how amusing. You think that you… YOU can stand against me?” Apollo asks.
“I don’t need to stand against you; all I want is to go with my wife. You are the one who has driven me into this corner, and I will make you pay for it.” Donny grabs the bottom of his shirt, pulling it off before tossing it to the ground. It’s at this moment I can feel the shock rippling through the entire pride that Donny would dare go against what his alpha has ordered. I take it Apollo isn’t tested very often.
I know little about Donny, besides seeing him around, but I do know that Apollo is ruthless, and if Donny is willing to fight him, he’s prepared for the outcome.
Apollo merely laughs like he’s looking down on Donny as he sheds his clothing and shifts into his black bear form. Apollo even claps his hands and jovially dances back as Donny strikes out at him.
“Do you want to die today, Donny? I might even look the other way if you will shift back, so drop to your knees and submit to me like the parasite you are,” Apollo says.
When Donny shows no sign of backing off, Apollo makes a show of unbuttoning his shirt slowly, tantalizingly slow, like he’s just toying with him. It’s clear he feels like Donny isn’t worth his time and isn’t even a threat to him. And maybe he’s not, but Apollo should still show him the respect he deserves. I know the outcome of this is not going to be good but as Apollo shifts and lands onto his four paws, I wonder just how deep the injustices lie in this pride.
Apollo is as impressive as a lion as he is as a human. He has this air about him that is full of confidence, arrogance, and pride. Just seeing him in his lion form sends many of his pride members stepping back and submitting to him, like they know what’s about to come. My own pack members move behind me, seeking protection from me, but what I find odd is when I notice that part of Apollo’s pride steps closer to me as Apollo stands off against Donny.
It’s like they want to go to me for protection, instead of their alpha.
Donny takes one step forward, and that’s all it takes for Apollo to be on him. He’s ruthless slicing with his claws and moving faster than Donny can even follow. It was clear from the first step that the fight wasn’t going to be even, but Apollo doesn’t care. He leaps onto Donny’s back, fangs tearing into his neck as he drags him down onto his side where he lets out a roar, like he’s proud. Even though Donny stays down submitting, Apollo isn’t done with him. He wants to make a show of what happens to anyone who goes against him. As he rises as a human, he steps down with his bare foot onto Donny’s throat, pinning him to the ground as the bear struggles to breathe.
“What a weak joke of a creature.” Apollo seems highly amused by this as he laughs, as though the suffering fills him with joy.
“He’s going to kill him,” someone whispers behind me.
But he wouldn’t, right? Surely he wouldn’t just kill one of his members over this.
“Does anyone else want to join in?” he asks as he throws his hands up into the air.
“Apollo, please let him up. He’s just worried about his wife,” Katalina says as she rushes forward.
Apollo slowly turns to look at her as Donny thrashes under his foot. “Does my mate dare go against me?” he snarls.
“Katalina, stop, please,” Harper says as she grabs for Katalina, but she’s already out of her reach as Katalina rushes up to Apollo.
Katalina stands her ground. “Apollo, he came to us with a wife. Of course he’s going to be upset she’s at the hospital—”
Apollo backhands her hard enough she falls into Harper who’d been reaching for her.
Anger spikes inside me as I take a step toward him, making Apollo’s eyes flicker over to mine. He’s eager for a fight, and if I don’t play my cards right, the next person he’ll be fighting is me and the odds of a wolf my size going against a lion aren’t grand.
“Oh? Do you want to try something too, Quinn?” Apollo asks.
While I don’t press into him, I stand my ground, facing him as an equal instead of a subordinate. “I want to keep you from murdering a man and hitting your mate,” I say, voice level and calm. I don’t push into him like I want. I don’t want to start a fight. I don’t need a fight. I have much bigger things to worry about than fighting Apollo.
“Oh? You’re going to tell me what to do?” Apollo asks.
I shake my head while trying my absolute best to exude calmness. “No, nothing of what I said was telling you what to do. I simply said I’d like to keep you from killing someone. I think this is a good situation where you can explain to Donny what he did wrong so he understands it and doesn’t make the mistake again. You’re his alpha, and he should listen to you, but running around smacking your mate for being concerned and choking Donny is not the way to do that.”
Apollo steps off Donny’s throat and the man shifts back, coughing and writhing on the ground. As soon as Apollo is past him, he rushes up to me, wanting to force me to back off or engage. He gets up in my face because he knows he’s taller than me and it forces me to look up.
“You come into my pride and try to control things. Who the hell do you think you are?”
I don’t engage; instead, I just stand there, which irritates him further and I can feel the tension in my own pack rise.
He thumps his hand against my chest. “Are you deaf?”
“No.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Standing here.”
“Oh, don’t play fucking dumb with me.”
“I’m not. I’ve said my part, I have nothing else to say.”
Apollo isn’t content with that. He wants to fight but he knows better than to start one. He wants to egg me into it, that way I’m to blame for the fight. Then he can make an example of me for anyone else who might want to face off against him.
“Submit to me,” he growls as he steps into me.
I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I submit to him, I’m giving him permission to control my pack, I’m telling him that he’s my alpha, but he’s not. If I don’t, he might fight me, and I really don’t want to deal with that.
“Are you listening?” His voice is rising with his anger.
“Apollo, I will not submit to you. If you want me to leave, I can. I’ll take my pack and we’ll walk out of here right now. We appreciate the help you’ve shown me so far.”
Apollo’s expression shifts, and for a moment, I wonder if I’ve made him madder, which really wouldn’t be all that surprising.
His hand clenches down on air like he’s wishing it were my throat as he slowly takes a step back and looks around him. It’s at that moment that I also take a chance to see that things have happened around me that I didn’t quite notice. Not only is all of my pack standing behind me but about a quarter of Apollo’s, like they’re prepared to take my side. Even men and women I don’t know are standing closer to me. And while Apollo might not read into it, it shows a crack in his power.
It’s a wonder he hasn’t thrown me out on my ass.
“What a fucking joke,” he says as he turns and heads toward the dining hall. “Let’s go eat. What the fuck are we waiting for?”
The majority of the group follows after him, but there are a small handful, including my pack, that stay behind.
“Go on now,” I encourage, and even Donny gets up and hurries toward the dining hall while trying to pull his clothes on.
Everyone in my pack follows except Rowan who refuses to leave my side. I can just feel how tense he is about the whole situation. I’m glad he didn’t rush forward to stop me or I’m more than positive it would’ve thrown Apollo into fight mode and we wouldn’t have been able to pull him out of it.
“You did good,” I say to Rowan.
His jaw is clenched and he shakes his head like he’s not sure. “I wanted to hit him. How dare he treat you like that? How dare he… Fuck!” He kicks the curb which surely only hurts his foot.
“It’s okay,” I say before reaching out and giving his arm a squeeze. I want to do more but I know I shouldn’t when Apollo is already aggravated. So I walk over to Harper who is hugging Katalina to her. I can already sense that Katalina is enraged as her blood drips onto Harper’s shoulder.
OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
     
QUINN
“Let’s go,” Harper says.
Katalina must hear Rowan and me walking up because she turns to look at us. “Will you two escort me back to my room?” she asks as she wipes at the blood dripping from her nose. She ends up just smearing it across her lip.
We follow her in silence back to Apollo’s grand mansion that towers over the small town. Once inside, we walk together up the stairs and into a large bedroom I assume is Katalina’s. I don’t smell much of Apollo in here, but I can smell Harper, telling me that it’s Harper who visits her room more often than Apollo.
As soon as Katalina shuts the door, she turns to me. “Quinn, we need you. This whole pride needs you.”
“I’m sorry, but there’s little I can do. I’m just a wolf, and I have my own pack to worry about,” I say.
Katalina shakes her head as she grabs my wrists and squeezes them tightly. “No! You’re not just a wolf, you’re a leader. And that’s what this pack needs. We need someone to lead us, to guide us, and to protect us from the dangers that are outside and inside. Apollo only cares about himself. Quinn, we need you.”
“Katalina, you’re asking too much of him,” Harper says as she tries to pull Katalina back. “Come on, let’s clean you up.”
Katalina refuses to budge. “But you know we can’t do it alone. There’s no way we could stop Apollo. He wouldn’t allow it.”
Harper shifts uncomfortably on her feet. “I know… but I fear we have to deal with it. You don’t know how far Apollo will go. You don’t know… what’ll happen next. We just have to grin and bear it.”
Katalina shakes her head. “No. Harper, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of dealing with it as are most of the people here. Seeing how Quinn treats his shifters just reinforces that what we do here, what’s going on here, is wrong.” She turns to me. “You don’t even see the half of it. They’re scared and when people are scared, they’re desperate for something or someone to make them feel safe. That person could be you.”
I watch her closely because what she’s asking is for me to go up against Apollo and either win in a fight or coerce him to back down. Either way, it won’t be pretty, and it won’t end easily.
“Please,” she says.
Rowan steps forward as my mind races. “He’s a fucking lion. You’re expecting Quinn to fight a lion? No. No, I won’t let him put himself in danger like that.”
“This is our fight, Katalina,” Harper says as she gently takes her hand and squeezes it. “We can’t expect them to come in and fight for us.”
I give her a soft smile. “Katalina… I understand your pain and your struggles. I understand all you’re going through, but I’m not sure I’m the answer. I’m… I’m not sure what the answer is, so for now, I’m going to think about what you’ve said and I’m going to pay close attention to what’s happening. Things like this take time, okay? I’m not promising you that I’ll stop him—I’m not even sure I can—but I promise you I’ll take your request to heart and see what I can do.”
“He’s destroying all of us,” Katalina says desperately.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“You could save us.”
That’s such a slim possibility. “Or I could get killed and condemn my whole pack. My mate and my pack come first.”
“Then take us as your pack,” Katalina begs.
“I wish it were that easy. Give me some time, okay?”
The way her shoulders slump and the fight leaves her makes me feel like she’s given up hope, but I just need her to give me some time. A rushed fight rarely goes well as today proved.
“I’m not saying no and I’m not giving up on you guys. I just need time, okay?”
She nods. “Okay. Thank you. Just… be warned that Apollo is fixated on you. I don’t know why he even lets you stay here. He’s constantly looking for something to use to control you, and that’s why I know he’s so fixated on Rowan. He wants to use him against you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you,” I say as I turn toward the door only to find Rowan staring at something. I step up to see that he’s holding on to a picture frame, scrutinizing it.
“Quinn?” Rowan asks quietly.
“What is it?” I ask as I step up close to see that it’s a picture showing a younger Katalina hanging on a tall, smiling young man. The look of pure joy on his face is a strange one when I’ve only seen looks of hatred, anger, and malice grace his features.
“Shit, that must have fallen out of my stuff,” Katalina says. “If Apollo had seen that—what’s wrong?”
“Is that… Raylon?” I ask.
She looks at me in surprise before excitement fills her expression. “You know Raylon? Like you’ve seen him lately? Do you know where he’s at?”
“How… do you know him?” Rowan asks as he looks over at Katalina. The look on his face seems to make her realize something’s off as her smile falls.
“He… we grew up together here. This was… we went to school together and were best friends. A while back he just… couldn’t take it here anymore and left. I… I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t come back or contact me to tell me where he ended up.”
“He told you he was leaving?” Rowan asks.
Katalina’s eyes flicker between us. It’s clear she’s upset about Raylon’s absence, but she also seems to realize we know more than she does about it. “What’s… what’s going on? I just… I mean no, he didn’t pack up and say, ‘I’m leaving’ but he’d told me for a while he was planning on going and then he and Apollo got into a fight, and… he could be a bit hotheaded. He left after the fight.”
Rowan looks over at me, like he’s not sure what to tell her.
“Please, what’s going on?” Katalina asks.
I take a step toward her, not sure how I should explain this to her. “Katalina… that shifter who attacked you at the hotel? The one who had ahold of your leg… that was Raylon.”
She stares at me as she slowly seems to process this information before shaking her head. “What? No… no! No, I would have… that’s not… he’s a bear shifter.”
“Whatever they do changes them. Emery wasn’t originally like that,” I say.
“No… no, he wouldn’t have attacked me. He wouldn’t have… I mean, Emery’s still in his right mind, and Raylon wouldn’t have just… changed. He knows me! He wouldn’t have hurt me. He wouldn’t have tried to kill me. Why are you saying this bullshit?” she asks, her voice breaking.
Harper wraps Katalina up in her arms and pulls her close. “Kat, please, calm down. They’d have no reason to make this up.”
Rowan gives her a sympathetic smile. “You can even ask Emery. He told us after we were arrested that he cared about Raylon before he changed and became what he is now.”
She nods before pulling free of Harper and grabbing the photograph. “Yes! Let’s ask Emery. He was there and should know more about him.”
“Okay. We can show him the picture,” I say.
“Now! We have to show him now,” she says as she grabs my wrist and drags me toward the door.
As we’re walking down the stairs, I hear the front door open and look up as Apollo comes in. He takes one look at the four of us and a wicked grin fills his face.
“Oh? Having a little party that I didn’t get the invitation for?” he asks as he shuts the door behind him, even though it was clear we were headed for it.
“I was feeling dizzy after you hit me, so I asked Rowan to help me home,” Katalina says.
Apollo just gives her a big smile. “Ah, I see. And where are you all in such a rush to now?”
“The dining hall to eat,” Harper says with a soft smile. “Do you need anything before we leave? Could we bring you anything back?”
“No, you three go ahead, Quinn and I are going to have a word.”
Katalina and Rowan hesitate, but I nod toward the door and they grudgingly leave me alone with Apollo.
“Ah, what a dreary day,” he says as he kicks his shoes off. “Very cloudy. Looks like rain.” He heads into the living room as I follow after him. He sinks down onto the couch with a loud sigh. “That chef of yours is exquisite. I’ve started rethinking my no human rules because of him.”
Why he’s turned to mundane small talk, I’m not sure. I always feel like everything he says or does is to manipulate me in some way. Like I have to judge every answer before I give it to him. “Yes, Logan is a great chef.”
“Yes, yes, have a seat.” He waves to the chairs, so I walk over and sit down even though I’d love nothing more than to just leave. “Katalina singing the blues to you?”
I shake my head. “No, I just went with them to help in case there were issues. Everything good on your end?”
“Of course. I’m sure Donny won’t fuck with me again now that he knows I’m serious. But you, Quinn… you…” He stares at me with this look on his face like he’d enjoy just tearing me apart.
I watch him without giving him anything to latch on to since I honestly don’t know where he’s going with this.
“You were a little pipsqueak when I let you and your brother in.”
“Yeah?” It was a mistake coming here before and a mistake again now. But I have no choice but to push forward now, just like I did back then.
“And now you’re just a little too big for your britches.” He leans forward and gives me a grin. “Be a good boy.”
“Of course. Will you give me a treat if I am?” I instantly question why I said it when I’m really trying to be good.
His grin turns sharp. “I might even splurge and get you a bone.”
“Thanks, that’s my favorite,” I say before standing up.
“There’s something about you that makes me keep letting you in here.”
“I wanted help, Apollo. Both times. The first time because my brother and I had nowhere to go and we thought we could have a safe place here, but you were more interested in making us guard dogs than giving us a home. I know the world out there can be tough and scary, but you making us fight people or guard things instead of giving us a home made us resent this place. I still don’t know what you were into, but we were tired of it and we wanted out, and you didn’t want to let us go. You wanted to hold us down.”
“It’s because you’re too naive to know how tough this world can be,” Apollo says.
“As you sit in your grand mansion you tell me I’m naive about the world? Apollo… I just need to keep my pack safe until this is over, and with your help I know we can. So please. Just let us hang around a bit longer and we’ll be on our way. Do you need anything else from me?”
“Nah. We need to hang out some more, Quinn.”
“I wouldn’t like anything more,” I say.
He grins at me. “You’re such a sarcastic little shit. You better watch yourself because next time, I’m not going to be so goddamn nice.”
“Got it,” I say. “One thing, Apollo?”
“What’s that?” he asks.
“It’s a little strange, I know, but people don’t always like being treated like they’re worthless.”
“It’s a wonder your pack doesn’t walk all over you. Or maybe they do and you’re simply good at hiding it.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” I say as I walk away. I know he’s dying to do more but there must be a part of his brain that still works because he just smiles and watches me go.
      
ROWAN
“Yeah, that’s Raylon. Let me burn it,” Emery growls as he grabs for the picture.
Katalina snatches it out of his reach before he can. “How sure are you?”
“Umm… I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t sure… is this a test? What the hell is going on? Can I burn the picture now?” Emery asks. “Buuuurn.”
“You’re not burning it!” Katalina says.
“I won’t burn your face out. Just his.”
That’s when Graham walks in with Scott, who’s looking much better than when I last saw him, by his side. Gina rushes up to see her husband as Graham walks over to us and stops right next to Emery who takes one look at him and slides over to my other side to avoid him.
“Why do you hate me?” Graham asks Emery who is one hundred percent pretending like he’s never heard a single thing come out of Graham’s mouth. “Emery!”
I take a step back, forcing Emery to stop hiding behind me.
“Emery is my name,” he says as he looks over at Graham.
“Why do you hate me? What have I done to you?”
Emery scrutinizes him. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t like anyone,” Emery decides. “I like Rowan’s dog.” He pokes Talon on the nose, which Talon absolutely loves.
Graham grumbles something but then sighs loudly. “There is tension everywhere. What happened while I was gone?”
“I’m going to fucking kill Apollo, that’s what,” Katalina says. “Did he… did he sell Raylon to them? How the hell did Raylon end up with them?”
“Raylon? Isn’t that the name of the guy trying to kill us?” Graham asks.
“It is,” I say. “And Katalina, no. Let’s not aggravate anything more than it is while Apollo is already on edge. We can look into this quietly together. Emery, can you catch Graham up on some things while I get food for Quinn and myself?”
Emery stares at me like I’m a traitor. Maybe I am.
“Fine. Stupid guy one is all ‘blah blah’ to stupid guy two and stupid guy two is all ‘I’ll fuck you up, you fluffy-haired bitch,’ and then stupid guy one is all ‘you wanna fuck me up, I fuck you up’ and then he does fuck him up. And it was the saddest fight ever, like it didn’t even last a minute and there was barely any blood and no guts or anything and then stupid guy two whirls on Quinn and was all ‘bow down to me’ and Quinn just got that funny look on his face and I thought there was going to be a much better fight but alas. No fight.”
I realize that I was supposed to be getting food but listening to Emery’s retelling was surprisingly superior.
“Let me get this straight. So… some guy attacked Apollo who Apollo then beat before wanting to egg on Quinn who refused to bite?” Graham deciphers quite well.
“Correct. You’re smarter than you look,” Emery says before twirling a little keychain with an RS on it around his finger. My eyes are drawn to it as I grab his hand to stop the twirl and snatch it. It looks just like the keychain someone had gotten me years ago.
“Is this mine?” I ask.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says as he plucks it out of my hand and looks like he’s going to hurry off.
“This was on my backpack that was stolen out of my truck. Did you steal this? Were you the one who broke into my truck?”
Emery is just staring at me as I realize all of this was his fault. This whole… chain of events was because of him taking my pills.
“You looked like Brennan, and I needed to figure out what you were! You shot me! I’m pretty sure that’s a good exchange. A keychain for being shot,” he says while nodding like he’s decided this without any input from me.
“You tried murdering us.”
Emery stares at me without saying a single word, clearly having forgotten that tidbit.
“Emery?”
His eyes get extremely wide. “You say someone tried killing you? Huh. How strange… Nah. Not me.”
“How have you hung on to it for so long?”
“I kept it on this neat little bracelet I stol—found. It expands when I shift. I have to go. Someone’s calling me. Hear that? ‘Emery the great!’” he calls out in a weird voice before turning around and hurrying off.
“I apologize for expecting that to go well,” I say.
Graham just snorts. “Yeah… he’s interesting. I don’t know why he doesn’t like me.”
“I don’t think he doesn’t like you. I think he’s just not sure who to trust. Everyone he’s tried trusting seems to have stabbed him in the back, so he appears to be struggling to trust anyone.”
“I get that. But then why’s he like you and Quinn?”
I really don’t know how to answer that and wonder why he even cares. When Graham met me, he wanted nothing to do with me. He would’ve been perfectly fine hating me from a distance.
Katalina stares down at the picture. “How am I supposed to just… go on like I don’t know about this?” she asks.
“Because we can’t let him know we’re looking into it. I’ll talk to Quinn. Okay?”
She grudgingly nods before turning back to Harper. “Okay. Let’s… I don’t know. I need to get away from this.”
Harper guides her away as Graham turns to me. “Where is Quinn?” he asks a moment before the door opens and Quinn walks in.
“It has begun,” Quinn says.
“I heard about the fight,” Graham says before turning to look at the packed room. What I didn’t realize until that moment is that everyone in the room is looking at Quinn like he might be their savior.
“Quinn, you can’t risk your life,” I say, kind of hoping he doesn’t notice the attention on him. But that’s stupid, Quinn notices everything. “They can leave if they don’t like it here.”
“Not so easily,” Graham says. “Once you commit to being a part of Apollo’s pride, you’ve committed your life to being here.”
“And what a mess this is,” Quinn says as he turns from the watching faces to get some food. They stare after him and I can’t help but wonder what he’s getting dragged into.