No, that would only come from a bond. At least that’s what people thought. Hannah and Walker had spent months working on a plan behind Quinn’s back so they wouldn’t get his hopes up, and now the plan seemed to be a potential mate.
Her.
She swallowed hard.
Even three days ago, she’d have leapt headfirst into the mating without a second thought. Fate and the moon goddess would provide for her, and she would come out ahead, with a mate and child that she could cherish…and would cherish her.
Now she wouldn’t have that.
She’d put her heart on the line to talk with Quinn about what could happen before she’d known the full extent of Jesse’s illness, and she’d come back shattered. Quinn didn’t want her. He wanted nothing to do with another woman since the one he’d loved had almost killed him in every way possible. He especially wanted nothing to do with a witch considering how Helena had been able to leave him and Jesse.
The fact that Quinn had been desperate enough to save his son that he’d allowed not only Hannah, but Gina as well, into his home to perform magic was not lost on her.
Quinn would do anything for his son.
Including mate the one person he refused to want.
Her.
She sucked in a breath and looked down at her hands. Mating was supposed to be full of love, hope, and promise. Not dread and loss. She was going to mate with Quinn because it was the right thing to do, the only thing to do, and yet it would kill her.
Her wolf nudged at her, and she closed her eyes. Her wolf desperately wanted Quinn and his wolf, and now her wolf would be happy.
At least as happy as she could be within Gina.
Gina would sacrifice her happiness and be in a loveless mating to save Quinn’s son.
She couldn’t not do it.
But she wasn’t sure she knew who she’d become at the other end of it.
The scent of six unfamiliar wolves filled her nostrils, and her wolf went on alert. She opened her eyes and felt around with her senses to figure out where the scents were coming from. When she inhaled again, she relaxed, but only marginally.
Three were Redwoods while the other three were Talons—however, her wolf didn’t trust them. There was something about the way they came upon her alone on neutral territory that set her on edge.
When the six came out from the cover of trees, she raised her chin. She didn’t recognize three of the males. The other three looked familiar, but she didn’t know them well. They were all older than her, but lower in rank. Though they lived in an age where women were treated as equals in some respects, wolves, older wolves in particular, had a problem with strong female leaders.
She’d been in more than one dominance fight to prove her worth, and from the tension in the air, she might just have to do that again. The fact that the Talons and Redwoods were working together might have made her happy later, considering she was a leader on the council, but right then, she needed to focus on what was happening in front of her.
“What can I do for you?” she asked, her voice calm. She didn’t let her wolf rise to the surface, but she was there, just in case.
The largest Talon wolf stepped forward, and she bristled. “I heard you used your powers to save the little boy.”
She didn’t frown, but it was close. This was about her powers? Well, shit.
“Yes. You heard correctly.” She wouldn’t lie to them, but she had a feeling she needed to be careful.
“We always knew you were a witch and a wolf, but you never showed your powers,” one of the Redwoods said.
“I don’t know if I like the fact that you don’t know what you’re doing with your fire power, and yet you’re touching our children,” one of the other Talons put in.
She growled. “I don’t know if I care what you like, wolf.”
The six came closer, forming a horseshoe around her. Silly wolves. She could take all six of them down, and they knew it. However, if they worked together, it would prove a challenge.
“You’re not in control of your powers, and you think you’re better than us because you got lucky enough to get adopted,” a Redwood said.
She growled again, her wolf rising to the surface. “My birth parents died protecting our Pack. I wouldn’t count that as lucky. Now if you’re here to fight me because you’re a jealous little pup, fine. I’ll fight you and win, but this isn’t a dominance challenge. I’m stronger than all of you, and you know it. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here as a group. You’ll deal with the consequences of fighting outside a match if you provoke me.”
The first Talon snorted. “Running back to Mommy and Daddy Alpha? Some wolf you are.”
She snarled. “Fuck off, Talons. I thought we were trying to support trust. You call coming up on a lone wolf in neutral territory trust?”
The Talon wolf shrugged. “We trust some of you, but we don’t trust you. Witch. Your kind hurt Quinn and the entire Central Pack. We don’t like you.”
Freaking bigots.
“What’s going on here?” Quinn said as he came up from behind her.
He’d been downwind, so she hadn’t scented him. However, because her wolf wanted him so, she didn’t jump.
Thank the goddess.
“This is the wolf that used her powers,” the quietest Talon wolf said. “We want to make sure she doesn’t use them again. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Gina let her wolf rise fully, and she growled, sending out her power. The three Redwoods opened their eyes, shocked, and then went to their knees.
They were not humans. They were wolves. One did not mess with a more dominant wolf. Witch or not.
She dismissed the Redwoods then turned to the Talons. She held open her palms and let a small spark arc through her. It lasted for only a moment, but it gave enough of a show to bring fear into the other wolves’ eyes.
Quinn growled and sent his wolf out. The Talons knelt, and she smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile.
“I’m a witch. Get over it. All of you.” She was talking to Quinn as well, but she refused to look at him. “I’m your dominant. I’m higher ranking. You don’t get to throw a fit because you don’t understand something. Ready to go on the attack here because you don’t like the family that took me in? Shame on all of you.” She turned to the Redwoods. “We’ll deal with you in the den. Now get the hell out of my face.”
They scurried away, and she knew she’d have to keep an eye on them.
“Same with you three. Go to Mitchell.” The three other wolves whimpered then ran toward their den.
When they were alone, Gina sighed and relaxed then stiffened again once she remembered why she and Quinn were meeting.
“What was that about?” Quinn asked.
Gina turned to him and raised a brow. “That was about bigotry and ignorance. We have witches in our den, but not many since there aren’t many witches out there in the first place. Not everyone trusts them because of what happened with the Centrals all those years ago. It’s getting better, but it takes time. As for me personally? They don’t like me because they think I got my power through luck.”
Quinn snarled. “Luck? Your parents fucking died. That’s not luck. That’s a twist of fate that kicks you in the nuts.”
She snorted despite herself. “Eloquent.” She sobered then met his gaze. “I meant what I said about my blood. I’m a witch, Quinn. That’s never going to change.”
He nodded, his face solemn. “I know. For what it’s worth, Gina, I’m sorry for saying what I did.”
The words were nice, but his original words couldn’t be erased. “But not what you felt.”
He ran a hand over his head. “I don’t know what I feel. And before you think I’m here only because of what Walker said, you’re wrong. I felt like an asshole as soon as I said the words. No matter what happened to me before, that doesn’t make it your fault. I do have issues with witches. But in reality, I have issues with one witch. And with Helena, for that matter. I shouldn’
t put my own faults and past issues on your shoulders. That was wrong of me.”
She didn’t say anything; she wasn’t sure she could. While what he said should have made her feel better, she couldn’t allow herself to forget. To forgive. For all she knew, he was only saying this because he wanted her to save his son.
That was the problem with being broken by the one person who was supposed to treasure you above all else. She couldn’t trust his intentions. Couldn’t trust any feelings he might have for her now or one day in the future. Ironic since they’d been brought together to find trust and understanding in the first place.
Yet she would mate with him anyway.
Apparently, she was a glutton for punishment.
“I’m glad you said that, but I don’t know if I believe it.” She might not trust him, but she would be honest, no matter what. It was the one way she could live through this.
He flinched but nodded. “I understand. I don’t deserve anything you could do for me, Gina.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Jesse needs you to mate again so he can have a fighting chance. I get that.”
“Gina…” He paused then sighed. “I can’t ask you to do this. I can’t ask you to risk your future because of something that you had nothing to do with in the first place.”
Rejection stung again, but she pushed it away. Still, his wolf didn’t want her. Even though Jesse could live if she risked her happiness to mate with Quinn, the wolf didn’t want her.
Well, too damn bad.
“Don’t be an idiot. Your son deserves to live. Plus, if we mate, we’ll keep the Talons and Redwoods together in another way.” She paused. “Though this means that one of us will have to switch Packs. You get that, right? We can’t have a mating bond and different Pack bonds. I don’t think we have to do it right away, while we’re letting the bond settle, but it would have to happen sooner or later.” Hell, this was getting more and more complicated. The idea she’d have to leave her family made her want to throw up, but she held herself in check.
Quinn blinked. “I didn’t think about that. Well, okay then. Jesse and I will become Redwoods, if they let us in. You’re going to be the Enforcer, Gina. There’s no way we’d take that from you. Once Jesse gets stronger, we can break the Talon bonds and make our vows to Kade and the Redwoods.” He sucked in a breath. “Shit. I can’t believe we’re talking about this. Gina…I don’t want you to give up a future with a man you could love for me.”
She shook her head, even as her heart was breaking. “I’m not giving up anything for you, Quinn. I’m doing it all for Jesse. You get that? You’re nothing to me. You can’t be more. You said I was the epitome of everything you hate, and even if you didn’t mean that, you still said it. You can’t take those words back. So, yes, I will create a mating bond with you. I will let your wolf mark me as I mark you. I will let you into my body and into my life. I will even let our souls entwine so Jesse can live.” She paused. “I will never love you. I can’t love a man who hates who and what I am. You don’t want my love anyway. You don’t want another mate. We will both survive for your son. It’s all we can do.”
Even as she said the words, she knew she was lying. She’d be honest about everything but that. She had to save part of herself or she’d never make it. She could love this man. He was strong, loyal, and everything she’d ever dreamed of in a mate. Yet she knew she couldn’t allow herself to fall. Once she fell, she’d lose everything else she had within her.
Quinn let out a breath. “You’re willing to give up everything for my son, Gina. I…I don’t know how to repay that.”
She raised her chin. “Be a better man and wolf. Raise your son to be a great man. That’s all you can do.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. “I want to get this over with before I change my mind.”
Not the most romantic way to get a wolf into bed, but she was past romance, past caring. She hurt too much to even try.
Quinn let out a breath. “Jesse is at Walker’s and will be for the night. They wanted to keep an eye on him. We can go back to my place and…”
“Yeah…and…” She snorted. “We’re going to be mates, Quinn. We should at least say what we’re going to do.”
Quinn met her gaze. “We’re going to go back to my place, and I’m going to mark you then fill you with my cock and create a mating bond. You might not love me, Gina, but I’ll do everything in my power to show you that I’m worth this. That I’m worthy of you.” He took a breath then swallowed hard. She watched his throat work, scared of what he’d say next. “I want you to be happy, Gina.”
That’s what she was afraid of.
She didn’t react. She couldn’t. Her wolf howled, and her body ached for the man in front of her.
Her heart, however, fractured that much more.
Chapter Eight
Quinn stared at his hands, not knowing what else to do. It wasn’t as if he was a young pup who’d never been in the presence of a woman, but this was different.
This was unheard of.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
They were in his home, his kitchen, yet he felt like they were on another planet. One where nothing made sense, and yet it had to somehow.
“This is awkward.”
Quinn snorted and looked up at Gina. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
She ran a hand through her hair, the long brown strands touching the top of her breasts. Honest to God, she looked scared, not ready to entwine her life and soul with him.
“I…I don’t know what to do. I’ve never done this before.”
Quinn had been in the process of turning toward the fridge, but ran into the kitchen island at her words. He cursed then blinked up at her.
“Never?”
She narrowed her eyes then rolled them. “I meant I’ve been with someone before. I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
For some reason, his wolf growled at her words. Well, he knew the reason. The idea of her with another male made him want to rip the bastard limb from limb, a response that didn’t sit lightly with him considering he’d been mated before. Hell, he had a kid. He was a couple of decades older than Gina, so it wasn’t like either of them was pure and innocent.
He hadn’t really thought of her past.
He hadn’t thought of her future either.
Yet here he was, ready to take her future away to save his son. Gina was a far better wolf than he was. He didn’t deserve her, and both of them were aware it, yet he knew he couldn’t reject her offer.
Not when it could save Jesse.
“Sorry,” he mumbled and turned toward the fridge, this time avoiding the island. “Want something to eat?” Maybe if they actually did something other than stare at each other, they could figure out what to do next.
Gina let out a breath. “Yeah. I was too nervous to think about food before I left, and now I’m regretting it.”
He just prayed she didn’t regret anything else. He pushed that thought out of his head and pulled out vegetables and a steak he had thawing in the fridge.
“I can make us up a steak omelet if you want,” he said, trying to sound casual but failing.
“I’ll help.”
They were so polite and distant. They didn’t sound like two wolves who were going to end up in his bedroom, sweaty and soul-bound. The thing was, they didn’t know each other. They knew only some of the specifics, but not any of the details that made the human part of their souls want to mate. Their wolves might be ready, and the outcome of Jesse living put a spin on it that changed things, but their human halves were far from ready to be mated for the rest of their eternities.
For one thing, he’d promised himself—and Gina for that matter—that he’d never mate again. He all but threw her out of his house and hurt her more than he’d meant to. Or, rather, he’d hurt her exactly like he’d meant to, even if he hadn’t wanted to when he truly thought about it.
Quinn pushed those thoughts away and
went to the island. “You want to wash the vegetables while I start on the meat?”
“That I can do,” she said softly. He noticed the shaking in her hands, but he didn’t comment on it. They needed to move past the tension and figure out how the hell they were going to make this work.
He started cutting the meat while heating up oil in the pan. Once he finished that, he got started on the eggs, trying not to notice how good Gina felt next to him. They worked side by side in silence for a few minutes when she came back to the island.
He let out a breath, knowing if he didn’t say something, they’d never move past this. “I’m not going to ask if you’re sure, Gina,” he said softly. “If I keep asking that, you’re either going to punch me or just walk away, and I don’t want either of those.” He met her gaze, and she widened her eyes.
No, he didn’t want her gone, but he wasn’t sure of his own motives. Yes, he wanted his son to have a fighting chance, but right then, Jesse wasn’t in the room. This was about Quinn and Gina.
And that scared the hell out of him.
“I’m sure, Quinn. I’m not going to back down because it’s hard.” Her voice didn’t hold a hint of anything but strength. For that he could have kissed her.
And he would.
Jesus, how the hell had he gotten himself into this situation?
Fate fucking hated him.
“What do you want out of this?” he asked then shook his head at the anger in her eyes. “I don’t mean anything bad by it. I mean, what do you want to do with what’s happening? We’re going to eat breakfast and try to calm ourselves, but at some point, we’re going to go back to my bedroom and have sex. You get that, right? This isn’t how most matings go, and I feel like I’m taking something important away from you.”
She sighed. “Stop it, Quinn. Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t ask if I was sure? Because what you said sounds a lot like it. As for what I want? I want your son to be happy and healthy. I want my Pack to be safe. I want the Talons to be safe.”
He set the beef in the pan, ignoring the sizzle of oil as it popped at him. “You didn’t mention what you wanted for yourself.”
Wicked Wolf Page 10