Quinn’s pupils were dilated.She briefly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.When she looked at Kyllian, she said, “Lead the way.”
Rory would kick his ass if he wasn’t a gentleman.At least in this instance.He stepped into the hallway and gestured for her to go ahead of him.“Ladies first.”
When they reached the living room, Mercy was pacing alone.“Where’s my dad?”Quinn asked.
“I’m in here,” Trenton said, coming from the kitchen.“I was going to suggest dinner before you leave.”
Kyllian appreciated Trenton’s thoughtfulness, but they would have to pass.“We’ll grab something at the airport.Mercy, those bikers knew who you are.They followed you here.They also know you’ve been watching Quinn.They said someone told their Alpha, so if you and Jeremy only confided in his mate—”
“No.”Mercy sliced her hand through the air.“Kinsley would never betray us that way.”
“Someone did.You’re wolves.You have enhanced hearing.”
“But why not tell Blake instead?Why go to Quinn’s original pack?”
“That’s something we’ll have to ask when we find out who shared with them.”
“What did you do to the bikers?”Quinn asked.
“I voiced them.Told them you could be found in Oregon, to gather the others in their group, and head that way.”
“Voiced them?”Mercy asked.
“Yes.Something you need to know about me is I have the ability to make you tell the truth.I also have the ability to coerce you into doing whatever I wish.It’s a gift of my species, and since I can also wipe your memories, I’ll let you know I’m a Gryphon, which means if you betray me by sharing my species, I’m strong enough to take out your whole pack, so don’t fucking betray me.”
Mercy trembled, taking a step back.“I w-won’t.I pr-promise.”
“Quinn, do you have any idea where the River Canyon pack is located?”
“I know exactly where they are.”Quinn’s tone was filled with malice, but that wasn’t shocking considering the pack had killed her mother.“In Mom’s journals, she described the area as well as drew a rough map, and with technology such that it is, I homed in using Google Earth.”
“Excellent.We need to get going.I want to make sure nobody follows us to the airport.We’ll take Mercy’s rental so Trenton won’t be without a vehicle.Quinn, go grab you bag while I retrieve Mercy’s car.”Kyllian held out his hand, and Mercy dug in her pocket for the key.Kyllian took off down the driveway at a jog, vaulting over the gate.Once inside the rental, Kyllian checked it for weapons and Mercy’s phone.When he didn’t find either, he drove back to the gate.It opened immediately, and he continued on to the house.Trenton and the females were waiting outside.
“Ace and Ripper are on their way.They should be here soon,” Kyllian told Trenton.
“I’ll be fine until they arrive.”Trenton gripped Kyllian’s shoulder.“Keep her safe.”
“You have my word.”Kyllian took Quinn’s bag and loaded it into the trunk before sliding into the driver’s seat with Quinn sitting next to him.Mercy didn’t protest about being relegated to the back seat.It wouldn’t have done her any good.Kyllian needed Quinn close.He kept his eyes peeled for anyone following, taking a circuitous route to the airport.On the way, Quinn peppered Mercy with questions about Nikita.
“She’s smart.Feisty.She looks just like you did at her age.Nikita is top in her graduating class, but I’m not sure what will happen if she doesn’t finish out the year.It really sucks that Blake banished Tarryn’s family.The girl is set to graduate in a few months as well, so it would make sense her parents wouldn’t take her too far.I know I wouldn’t if she were my kid.I’d hang around long enough for her to finish out her senior year.”
Kyllian still didn’t know enough about pack life, so he asked, “How are packs different from human communities other than having an Alpha?”
Quinn shifted in her seat.She had turned to look at Mercy, but now she focused on Kyllian.“I only know about the River Canyon pack from what my mom wrote in her journals.It was completely different than the Ozark pack.When I was in the Ozarks, they basically live in the same community.Like a large rural neighborhood with a pack house where everyone gathers for meetings and such.Stewart’s house was larger than everyone else’s.The adults work outside the pack and pay into the pack’s central account.That way if one family is ever in need of something they can’t afford, money is there for emergencies.With the River Canyon pack, everyone lived on pack land.Dennis has his Alpha house, and everyone else lives in small cabins throughout the land.It’s more of an insular community.”
“How do they make money?”
“Some have jobs outside the pack too, but all the money goes back into the pack.They hunt for meat and grow their vegetables.The kids aren’t sent to local schools.Instead, they’re homeschooled,” Quinn explained.
“Like a cult?”Kyllian asked because that sounded a lot like how The Ministry operated.
“I guess you would see it that way, but it’s how things have been done since the beginning of time,” Mercy answered before Quinn could.“Our pack started off that way, but Stewart’s father, Grady, changed things up in the nineteen hundreds.Technology had a lot to do with it as did his mate.Stana was a brilliant woman, and she wanted to be a doctor, not just a healer.She begged Grady to be allowed to go to college and then medical school.Grady would have pulled down the moon for Stana if he could, so he said yes.That set the precedent for everyone after.The pack lands were changed over the years, and instead of being a compound like what Quinn described with her old pack, it was developed into a modern community.Like this huge neighborhood.They still own all the land, but if anyone outside the pack wanders into the area, it just looks like any other human neighborhood.”
“And what about the kids going to school?Isn’t the Alpha afraid the kids will shift accidentally, outing the wolves?”
“They have to wait until after they reach puberty and have their shifting under control before they’re allowed to go to public school, generally in high school.Some choose to not go, but most do.Unlike Quinn’s old pack, we aren’t separated from humans our whole lives.We are taught we are different and that we must keep our wolf kind secret.Our pack has been interacting with humans for quite a while, ever since Stana decided to go to college.”
Kyllian turned to Quinn.“If your mom’s pack was insular like you said, how did she meet your dad?”