Chapter Seven
Quinn
Quinn wasn’t lyingwhen she told Kyllian he made her feel safe.If she’d learned anything about the mate bond from reading her mom’s journals, it was that a true mate was your safe haven.The one being you would do anything for.Be anything for.She was still shaking on the inside from leaving her home for the first time, but it was only because she was with Kyllian she’d been able to do so without having a panic attack.It had been touch-and-go when they first pulled out of the driveway, but she’d used her breathing exercises while listening to Mercy talk about Nikita.The more she learned about her daughter, the easier it was to breathe until she’d been surrounded by all the shifters and taken to her fur.Not her finest moment, but again, Kyllian talked her off the ledge.She had smelled the fear coming off the wolves, and the Gryphons?They’d just looked upon her with awe.
Kyllian parked in a restaurant lot down the street from the bus terminal, and the two other vehicles followed with Jeremy pulled into the space beside them.Jeremy rolled the window down, and Quinn did the same.
“We think Kyllian should go in and ask the ticket agent about Nikita while the rest of us sniff around outside.”Quinn didn’t want to wait in the car by herself, but she was no help to the other wolves since she didn’t know what her own daughter smelled like.Not anymore.Quinn might be able to recall what color Nikita’s newborn eyes had been, how her downy hair stuck up like a Mohawk, and the way she scrunched her forehead when she was about to cry, but her scent had vanished from Quinn’s senses over time.
Kyllian agreed and cut the engine.“Do you want to come with me or stay in the car?Your choice.”
Quinn was anxious about being around strangers, but she’d done well at the campground.If she were going to stop hiding at home, she had to become accustomed to others.Taking a deep breath, she opened her door.“I’ll go with you.”
Kyllian met her at the front of the car and held out his hand.Quinn grabbed onto it like the lifeline it was.She wasn’t sure what she expected, but the inside of the terminal was clean.Several people sat in chairs much like they had in the airport while waiting on their ride.Kyllian strode to the ticket window where an older Black woman sat working a crossword puzzle.
“Where to?”she asked when she looked up.
Kyllian slid the photo of Nikita through the narrow window in the plexiglass.“Hello, ma’am.We don’t need a ticket.We’re looking for our daughter and were hoping you might have seen her.”Quinn’s Wolf perked up at Kyllian claiming Nikita for his own.
The ticket agenttsked.“Such a shame.All the kids that come through here.”She studied the photo for only a few seconds before glancing up at Quinn.“No doubt this one’s yours.Looks like you spit her out, for sure.And yes, she came through here earlier, but she didn’t get a ticket.She did ask if I had any ones since the bill changer over there’s broke.She got her money, bought herself some snacks, and took a seat while she ate ‘em.I try to keep an eye out on the young ones.Too many creeps these days preying on the runaways.Anyway, after she finished her snack, she went to the restroom, and when she came out, she sat down and played on her phone.After about fifteen minutes, she tucked it into her pocket and walked out the front door.”The agent slid the photo back to Kyllian.“Your daughter didn’t look distressed.She seemed like she was waiting on her ride to pick her up.I take it that’s not the case.”
“No, ma’am.Well, not that we know of.Nikita’s best friend moved recently, and it’s possible she was the one our daughter was texting.Please take my number down.I doubt she comes back through, but if you happen to see her, give me a call.”The agent jotted Kyllian’s number down, and they wished her a good day.Silently, they headed back to the vehicles.The wolves weren’t back, so when Kyllian leaned against the rental, Quinn stepped close so they could talk freely.Kyllian pulled Quinn into his side, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“I feel so useless,” Quinn admitted.
“Me too.For now.But that’ll change once we find her.If she happens to make it all the way to the pack, I won’t hesitate to do whatever’s necessary to get her away from Dennis.”
“What if she doesn’t want to come with us?”Quinn turned and rested her head on Kyllian’s chest, taking advantage of the closeness to inhale his scent.
“That’s always a possibility.She’s young and impressionable.She’ll be with others of her kind, but we’ll offer her another option.”
Quinn looked up at him.“What’s that?”
“You’ll sit her down and tell her your truth, then offer for her to be with her real family.You and Trenton.And me,” Kyllian added.
Quinn frowned.“You?”
“If you’ll have me.I know we just met, and we have a lot to work out, but we’re mates, Quinn.You know that.Our animals know it too.We’re meant to be together.”
Quinn’s Wolf yipped in her head.It wanted nothing more than to bare its neck for Kyllian’s Gryphon.Quinn still wasn’t convinced it was the right thing to do no matter how much she longed to have what her parents had before her mom was killed.“What about being a Master?I’m not sure I can handle you going off to the club and being intimate with others.”
“I said I wouldn’t be intimate with anyone if I found my mate.”Kyllian pressed his fingers into Quinn’s back.“If that’s not enough, I’ll give up being a Master completely.”
Quinn’s eyes widened, and she tried to pull away, but Kyllian kept her within the circle of his arms.“Just like that?You said earlier you would compromise, but giving up something you enjoy isn’t compromise, and that’s not fair to you.”
Kyllian pulled Quinn closer until they were chest to chest.Dipping his head, he pressed his mouth to her ear.“What’s not fair is finding my mate, then not doing everything possible to keep her.And Quinn?I want to keep you.We have a lot to learn about one another, but something you can learn right here, right now?When I want something, I go after it.I’m a Lazlo, and you should know we’re a tenacious bunch.”
Quinn pressed her cheek to his chest.Instead of agreeing or arguing further, she asked, “Why a kitten?”
Kyllian smoothed his hand down her back.“Say what?”
“The tattoo on your back.”Quinn noticed the cartoon figure when he was naked outside her home.
Kyllian huffed out a laugh.“Fucking Havyk.My brothers and I like to bet each other, and I lost one to Hayden.He likes to call my subs ‘kittens’, so he drew the cartoon.He also got to choose where it would be inked on my body, the bastard.”
Quinn smiled at the fond tone Kyllian had for his youngest brother.She had always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling.Someone to share secrets with.Get in trouble with.“So he knows about your lifestyle?”
“He does.Besides Maveryck, Hay is the most outgoing, fun-loving one of us.He joined me at the club one night just to see what it was like.None of what went on appealed to him, and that’s okay.But he watched me doing a demo, and it allowed him to understand better what it is I do.Now he knows, and unlike Ryker, Hay doesn’t judge me for it.”