Chapter Eleven

Quinn

When Dennis toldBradley to take her to the cliffs, Quinn was expecting to be dragged to the edge and dangled over the side by her ankles.Instead, she found herself in a rudimentary dwelling carved out of the side of the mountain.What probably started off as a cave, the room was large and filled with the comforts of home, if the dweller were a hunter seeking shelter for the night.Or a wolf looking to hide his niece from her mate.Bradley shoved Quinn down on a worn sofa and took an old armchair across from her.

“Grab me a beer, would ya?”he said to Henry who was digging around in a cooler.Henry tossed a can to his brother, not bothering to offer Quinn one.Not that she’d have taken it, but still.Quinn took in the cavern while both males popped the tops on their cans.Henry returned to the opening and sat with his back to them.Bradley glared at Quinn, but she refused to look at him.She was used to a solitary existence.She and Trenton coexisted well with her father giving her space more often than not.That didn’t mean they never spoke, but they could go hours without seeing one another in their large home.

Quinn really needed to pee, but she refused to drop her pants in front of these males, uncles or not.She had no idea if they held any amount of honor.She would fight claw and fang if they ever moved to touch her inappropriately.

Bradley drained his can, then let out a belch.He tossed the empty aside but didn’t move to get a refill.He waited until Henry got up from his spot to grab another.As the minutes turned into hours, her uncles switched places several times.Whoever sat in the chair held the gun.The beer cans piled up; their shifter metabolism burned through the alcohol as quickly as they drained the alcohol.Eventually, Henry dug through a bag Quinn hadn’t noticed and pulled out what looked like beef jerky.Again, they didn’t offer her any.

Nikita is safe, and the Hounds are coming for us.

Quinn thanked the goddess for that blessing.She didn’t know her daughter, but she wanted to.She needed to find out if she’d had a good life.If she was happy.She wanted the chance to explain her side of the story, even though Mercy said Tarryn had told Nikita the truth about what happened all those years ago.Would Nikita want to move to New York?Leave her friends and siblings behind?Quinn had no idea what it was like to have others her age to hang out with.Confide in.No, that wasn’t true.She’d had that for a short while when she first met the Ozark pack.Scott befriended her, and Quinn had felt normal for the first time in her life.

Then Blake happened.Claimed she was his mate.Quinn had felt honored.After he and his real mate took off with Nikita, Quinn wondered how Bethany felt about her mate having sex with another female.Did she feel less than because she wasn’t a dire wolf like Quinn?It was the reason Blake had seduced Quinn.To have a pup with dire DNA.But to what end?Quinn was only half dire herself, which meant Nikita was a quarter.And if she had her own pup, it would be even less of one unless she were to find a full-blood.And if Quinn hadn’t killed Stewart, if she had stayed with the pack, would someone else have taken her as a mate?

“This is bullshit.I’m going to hunt,” Henry grumbled.He shifted to his animal before leaving the cavern.

Bradley set the gun on the arm of the chair and pulled a pack of tobacco out of the bag on the floor, sticking a wad in his jaw.He held the pack out to her.“Want some?”he asked with a smirk.

“I’ll pass.” Quinn seriously needed to pee.She would have to suck it up and go in front of her uncle.“Is there a bathroom in this place?”

“You’re a fucking wolf.Go piss outside.”

She hadn’t thought of that.Quinn could shift, and it wouldn’t be as horrific.When she rose from the couch, Bradley grabbed the gun.“You try to run, and I’ll put a bullet in your hide.”

“I’m not going to run.”Quinn stretched her neck from side to side, then twisted at the waist.She had no idea how long she’d been sitting in one position.“Do you have underwear in that Mary Poppins bag of yours?”

“Mary Pop— What the fuck are you going on about?”

“Just curious if you have a change of briefs.Like I said before, you’re going to need them.”Quinn took to her fur and padded to the entrance.Bradley cursed her insolence, following a few steps behind.Instead of trotting like she wanted, Quinn kept her steps slow.

“That’s far enough,” Bradley barked.

If she could, Quinn would have rolled her eyes.Instead, she turned so she was facing her uncle and squatted.The relief was instant.Quinn took a few steps to the side of the puddle and stared off into the distance.The valley below was quiet, and the crescent moon glowed above.She usually loved this time of morning with its peacefulness.Except for those nocturnal creatures who roamed after twilight, most everything else was asleep.She often sat outside early enough to observe as dawn broke.It was such a gradual occurrence.Magical in its happening.She stretched out on her belly, ignoring her uncle.

A few minutes later, flashes of red caught her attention followed by the sounds of guns going off.Howls rent the air, and Quinn got to her paws.Bradley took a step closer, the gun hanging down beside his thigh, his attention on the chaos below.Quinn had no idea where Henry was or when he would return.She eyed the pistol.If she were going to take a chance, now would be the time with her uncle distracted by whatever was happening below.The phone in Bradley’s pocket rang, and Quinn lunged, clamping her jaws around his wrist.Bradley howled as the gun dropped to the ground.Quinn shifted and dove for the weapon, landing on her back with the pistol gripped in both hands.

“You fucking bitch!I’m gonna gut you.”Bradley shoved to his feet, his eyes flashing amber.

Quinn didn’t hesitate.She fired off a shot that echoed through the cliffs like a cannon, thankful for her father’s training in weapons.She took out Bradley’s knee, and her uncle writhed on the dirt, cursing her, her dead mother, and everyone else he could think of.Bradley howled, his Wolf trying to push to the front.His face elongated into a snout.Claws protruded from his fingertips, and fur covered most of his body.Quinn scrambled to her feet, keeping the gun pointed at the male.If wolves could grin, his did as he looked at something over her shoulder.Quinn had been so focused on Bradley that she hadn’t heard Henry coming up behind her.Quinn turned, ready to shoot, but Henry was already in the air.

“Quinn, get down!”someone who sounded strangely like her father yelled.She didn’t hesitate.Quinn flattened herself to the ground, waiting on Henry to pounce.A shot rang out, and Henry fell in a heap.His body shifted back to his human form, and the blood pooling beneath his chest was all the proof she needed her uncle wouldn’t be rising ever again.

“No!”Bradley screamed before trying to shift again.

“Quinn!”another voice yelled, this one closer.She turned the pistol back on Bradley, keeping him in her peripheral as she scanned the area.Dawn had crept in without her noticing, and she was able to make out a large bird flying her direction.No, not a bird.She hadn’t seen Kyllian in his Gryphon form, but her beast recognized him.

“Wh-what the f-fuck?”Bradley’s voice tremored as Kyllian landed between Quinn and her uncle.The Gryphon shifted into his Lion, and the scent of urine filled the air.

“I told you you’d need clean underwear,” Quinn muttered as she admired her mate’s feline form.Kyllian roared as he stalked closer to Bradley.And there it was – the stench of Bradley soiling himself.Kyllian wasted no time in clamping his sharp fangs over Bradley’s throat, shaking his mighty head back and forth, ripping through skin and tendons until they reached his spine.With one final, fierce shake, Kyllian ended Bradley’s life.Kyllian dropped the body and turned to face her, shifting to his skin.

Quinn eyed his naked body from top to bottom.Instead of being scared, she was turned on.Who knew murder was an aphrodisiac?

“Quinn.”Kyllian’s voice was low.Deep.Thrilling.She took her time meeting his eyes, because naked Kyllian was a sight to behold.“Quinn,” he repeated, this time with his alpha voice.Or maybe it was his Gryphon voice because she had to obey.By the time she looked at his face, he was inches away.

“Hi.”She couldn’t help but grin at him.

Tags: Faith Gibson Crime
Source: readsnovelonline.net