“Good.Take her inside.You know where to put her.”With that, Dennis strode down the steps and continued walking toward a group of males gathered around an old truck.A couple of spotlights shone down on the vehicle.Quinn wondered if that’s what they considered entertainment for a Friday night.
Henry grabbed Quinn’s arm and pulled her toward the lodge.She didn’t fight him.She had counted no less than thirty wolves in the area, and she didn’t have a death wish.The room her uncle led her to was toward the back of the first floor.He shoved her inside before pulling the door closed and locking it from the outside.Quinn looked around, finding nothing in the room except a bucket.Considering she’d needed to pee for a couple hours, Quinn swallowed her pride and used it, praying no one walked in on her.The relief was instant.
Once her pants were pulled up and fastened, she walked over to the window and looked out, surprised there weren’t bars covering the outside.Pushing back the thin, sheer curtain, Quinn found two wolves sitting on the ground underneath, both facing her.She let the material fall back in place before sliding down the wall.
Having read her mother’s journals cover to cover numerous times, Quinn felt as though she knew this pack.Finola not only recorded everyday life, but she documented traits of every person within the pack.Who was alpha, beta, and omega.Which females tended the gardens.Which ones did the cooking and cleaning.Those who held outside jobs.They were few, but Dennis allowed it because the pack needed money.Quinn knew from the journals that Bradley and Henry weren’t her only uncles.She had four more as well as three aunts, possibly more.Dennis took as many mates as he saw fit to keep the family line going.Those aunts and uncles had numerous offspring, and Quinn figured there were many more considering it had been over thirty years since her mother’s passing.
No, her mother’s murder.Quinn wasn’t foolish enough to believe she could challenge Dennis.The longer a wolf lived, the stronger they became, and Dennis was over a hundred by a few years.Quinn leaned her head against the rough paneling and thought about the nearby pack.Were they still around, or had Dennis run them off?They had to have been close for Finola to know of their existence but not close enough she knew the Alpha had a fated mate.Thinking of mates, Quinn turned to her Wolf.
Can you reach our Gryphon?
It is distracted.Trying to keep Kyllian calm.
Quinn could only imagine.Kyllian had been sent to protect Quinn, and she had walked away from his safety into the arms of her enemies.Speaking of enemies...
Tell our Gryphon not to trust anyone.Someone gave away our location to Dennis.
Quinn felt the magic of her Wolf reaching out to Kyllian’s beast.Was this what it had been like for her parents?Finola didn’t mention being able to mind-speak with Trenton, but they had been fated mates, so it made sense they would have the ability.Goddess, her father was going to have a stroke when he found out Quinn had been taken.Her cell phone was back in the rental, but even if she’d had it on her, Quinn had no doubt her uncles would have taken it from her.
Voices echoed through the hallway, and Quinn focused on the muted conversation.A female argued with someone.
“Francine, you’re not getting in there.”
“I am still the Alpha Mate, and that is my granddaughter you have locked up.If you don’t get out of my way—”
“You’ll what, old woman?I do not take orders from you, Alpha Mate or not.”
“Bradley, please.I just want to see her.”
Quinn wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet her grandmother.She didn’t know how to feel about someone remaining with their mate, Alpha or not, after said mate ordered their child killed.But Quinn remembered everything her mother journaled, and Francine wasn’t allowed to leave pack lands.None of Dennis’s mates were.With no outside job, she had no money.No way to survive if she were able to escape.Finola had help in getting away from the pack, and they still found her.Fear was a heady deterrent, and Dennis ruled with an iron claw.
When the lock turned, Quinn pushed off the floor.She wouldn’t allow anyone to see her as anything but strong.Crossing her arms over her chest, she held her breath.Instead of her uncle, an older female entered the room.Quinn’s breath left her chest in a whoosh.If she didn’t know better, she would think the female in front of her was Finola.Trenton had photos of her mother safely tucked away, but he shared them with her whenever she wanted to see them.And since Quinn was the spitting image of her mother, she could see what she would look like later in life.
Bradley stuck his head in the room.“You have five minutes.”He closed the door and turned the lock once again.
Francine’s eyes filled with tears.She reached out a trembling hand, but pulled it back when Quinn didn’t move.“Oh, goddess,” she whispered.“You look just like her.”
“And she looked just like you, and for that, I’m grateful.”Dennis was handsome in a rugged way, but his demeanor detracted from his looks, making him the ugliest being Quinn had ever encountered.Considering what she did for a living, that was saying something.
Francine wrapped her arms around her own waist.“I’m so sorry, Quinn.You have no idea how much.Your mother was such a strong-willed child, but nothing I said got through to her.I always figured she would try to leave.As soon as she started working outside the pack, a change came over her, and...”Francine shook her head and sucked in a breath.Tears streamed down her cheeks, but Quinn remained glued to the floor.“Please tell me she was happy.”
“She was.My father was her fated mate, and even though they had to move often and hide from Dennis, they had each other.At least for a short while.”Quinn didn’t feel the least bit guilty for getting that dig in.
“And then they had you.”
Quinn shifted on her feet but didn’t move closer.“For three years, she had us both.Then your mate had her killed.Nothing, not even pack, excuses the murder of your own child.”Quinn’s claws elongated, and Francine gasped, taking a step back.Quinn willed her Wolf to stand down.As angry as she was, Quinn tried to remember this female was without any choices in life.
Your mother made a choice.
And look where it got her.
With her mate and child.Happy for a while.
That was true.Finola found joy in Trenton and Quinn, if only for a short time.Trenton always reminded her they would have made the same choice again even knowing the outcome.Their happiness was tragically cut short, but he had the memories of their time together to sustain him.
“What happens now?Am I going to be killed the same as my mother?Or will I continue to remain locked in this cell the rest of my life?”Quinn gestured to the empty room.
“I-I don’t know.I had no idea you had been found.”