“I had noticed you are starting to bore me terribly, what with this whining about boring me,” Eva held her serious expression until she couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore. “There is no chance of that happening, I can guarantee that.”
“And how can you be so sure?”
“Will you ever get bored of me?”
Quinn sighed, as he lost the battle to his she-wolf.
Quinn was running the border that night with his men. He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had settled over him earlier in the day, and deciding to be proactive about it, was guarding the eastern border with Clayton and Silas, one of the younger wolves who showed much promise as a fighter.
Eva hadn’t been happy at the thought of Quinn returning to guarding the border; but at his explanation that it wasn’t right to expect his men to do something he himself wouldn’t, she had sighed and acquiesced.
He was right, and she knew that.
The only reason he hadn’t been patrolling often since she’d been there was, she knew, because of her.
So, she had watched him shift and sworn she would wait until he returned.
Quinn came across a familiar scent towards the early morning; Clayton had already returned to the village to rest, and Silas was off on his right somewhere.
He sniffed at the air, to confirm the scent.
Conrad.
Quinn smiled inwardly; he had known this might happen.
A grizzled and scarred gray older wolf slunk out from behind the cover of the trees up ahead. Conrad growled, saliva dripping from his fangs.
He knew the risk he was taking, but Quinn shifted into his human form anyway. He had to trust, not only in himself, but in Silas if the need arose.
“Let’s talk, Conrad,” Quinn said softly.
Conrad’s wolf form snapped and snarled his defiance, saliva flying everywhere.
“You are trespassing, Conrad. Let’s talk like adults, or would you rather snap and snarl at me until I grow bored? You won’t chase me away.”
Conrad growled, as the air around him shimmered.
“You think you know something about me, Quinn. You know nothing,” Conrad snapped.
“I don’t pretend to know a thing about you.”
Conrad hissed; his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was an unhealthy yellow, Quinn noted. Living in the wilds hadn’t been kind to him.
“Your generation are all the same,” Conrad spat. “Self-entitled brats who bitch about a little tough-loving. You think you’ve had it hard because daddy tried to teach you how to be a man.”
“Yes, yes. I know the story. Participation awards ruined my generation. What’s your point, Conrad?” Quinn refused to let the man irritate him.
“You take what doesn’t belong to you, Quinn. I want what’s mine back.”
“By all means. Shall we call a meeting and have my people tell you to your face how they choose me over you?”
“You think you’ve won, little boy. You haven’t. There are others who will take a stand against you.”
“Do you see them here?” Quinn laid his arms out wide, indicating the area around him.
Conrad snarled his anger, throwing curse words at Quinn, who remained unperturbed. He had grown up hearing those same words from his father, and he refused to let them affect him ever again.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked, eyebrow raised, when Conrad seemed to run out of steam.
“You good-for-nothing-”
“Conrad, don’t try. You are not as skilled at cussing me out as my father was. He had a lifetime to break me, and he didn’t manage it. What makes you think you will?”
“Spoilt brat, your father should have whipped you with his belt instead of his words. You don’t know –”
“How lucky I am. Got it. Did you have anything worthwhile to say, or did you come here just to push up your own blood pressure?”
“You are a piece of work, you ungrateful dog,” Conrad spluttered.
“I’ll take that as a no, then?” Quinn inspected his fingernails, feigning disinterest.
“Give my tribe and my land back, damn you.”
“I am not forcing them to stay, unlike you, it seems. They came to me of their own free will. Or did you not realize you don’t have a single person bonded to your alpha powers anymore?”
Conrad laughed, and Quinn instantly knew something was wrong.
Movement in the underbrush behind him caught his attention, as a single wolf launched itself at Quinn’s throat. He dodged to the side as the wolf missed its mark, landing hard on its forepaws, almost tumbling over. Conrad took that split second while Quinn’s attention was diverted to shift into his wolf form.
Quinn spun on his heel and took a running leap into his wolf form, as both Conrad and the other wolf – the man from the meeting he assumed – both rushed him.
He landed on all fours, claws out. He swiped at the younger wolf, grazing his shoulder, as he spun, his jaws snapping at Conrad, who danced out of the way. He was still relatively agile, for his weathered condition, Quinn noted.
A third wolf ran out of the trees off to the right – Silas, Quinn realized. He groaned inwardly; he didn’t want to put Silas in danger – this was his fight and his alone. But he had no way to warn Silas to stay out of it.
Silas jumped into the fray, chasing down the other wolf, as Quinn and Conrad circled each other, hackles raised and fangs bared.
The kept their distance, neither one willing to attack first for the moment, as Silas and the other wolf snapped at each other.
A howl went up as fangs connected with flesh, but Quinn couldn’t look behind him to see who had been injured.
Instead, he howled his challenge at Conrad, putting his alpha powers behind the cry. This was a fight to the death, and Quinn knew he was the only one who had something to lose.
Conrad rushed him, fangs snapping as he tried to hamstring Quinn, who launched himself into the air and over Conrad’s back. He felt Conrad’s teeth graze the inside of his back leg as he flew over him. A minor scratch, he knew. He spun, his movements faster than those of Conrad’s, and bit down on his tail, severing it. Conrad howled his pain, as the other two wolves snapped and fought behind them.
Conrad tried to turn to face Quinn, but his balance was off and he slipped on the stones beneath his paws. He went down, his front paw giving way beneath him, as the pain was surely blooming in the stump that was now his tail.
Quinn stood back, waiting. As Conrad took another step towards him, snarling his agony, the whites of his eyes showing, Quinn waited. He would not attack Conrad first – he refused to kill him when he could barely walk. Blood trailed behind Conrad as he painstakingly dragged himself towards Quinn, his front paw bleeding where the stones had gashed him.
Quinn watched, as Conrad gathered the last of his strength, hackles raising and muscles bunching up beneath his fear, and launched himself at Quinn for the last time.
He was dead before he hit the ground, his throat in Quinn’s jaws. He gagged and spat the blood and gore out, before turning to find Silas in his human form behind him, the other wolf’s body a little way off.
Quinn shifted quickly, and ran over to Silas, who was gripping his shoulder, a gash running down it.
Silas looked at Quinn, and managed a weak smile.
“I’ve never killed someone before,” he said softly.
“It’s not something you’ll ever get used to,” Quinn sighed, inspecting Silas’s shoulder. The gash was deep enough that it needed to be cleaned and stitched, but it would heal well enough. “Let’s get you back to the village and have Adrianna have a look at that, shall we?”
Silas nodded, and they made their way back to the village. A few of the wolves still on duty, having heard the commotion, ran up and formed a guard around them as they walked.
Eva slammed the door behind her as she ran out of the kitchen, her lips set in a hard line.
“Conrad,” Quinn said in answer to the questioning look she gave him
.
“You have got to stop doing this to me, Quinn,” she sighed as she took him and Silas in, thankful that she could see no obvious wounds on Quinn. She could smell that the blood on him wasn’t his, so she nodded and led the way to Adrianna’s shop.
As Silas stumbled, Quinn placed his shoulder under his arm, and they walked together. The wolves who had guarded them on their way in followed at a distance until the made it to Adrianna’s door, at which point they returned to their homes and their beds.
The sun was starting to rise, as Adrianna cleaned her tools and washed her hands. Quinn’s assessment had been correct; a few stitches later and Silas was sent home to rest and recover.
Eva waited until they were in the safety of their bedroom before rounding on Quinn.
“Do you have a death wish or something?” she asked, her unimpressed glare unrelenting in its intensity.
“It’s not my fault everyone wants a taste of me,” Quinn joked as he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
“I’m not joking, Quinn,” Eva sighed in exasperation.
“I’m fine,” Quinn tried to speak around his toothbrush.
“Yes, this time. You could just as easily have been dead out there, and I would have been sitting here, like a moron, not knowing.”
Quinn quirked his eyebrow, “Mi amor, I’m fine. See? Not a scratch on me. I’m God-like, remember?”
“Even the gods know when to take a break, Quinn,” Eva said as he gathered her into his arms.
“It’s over now, that’s what matters.”
“Promise me you’ll try not to get killed for a while? You’ll give me wrinkles at the rate you’re going.”
“I will do my very best,” Quinn promised as he kissed her nose.
“I’m serious,” she said, but the anger ad left her voice.
“So am I.”
“You know I can’t lose you, not like that, not yet.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I haven’t had enough time with you – I want decades, love. Not weeks, hear me?” Eva said, the fire back in her voice.
“And you’ll get them.”
“Not if you keep going like this I won’t.”
“You worry too much,” Quinn said into her hair, inhaling her scent.
“Someone has to. I expect a full life with you.”
“You’ll get it. I won’t get myself killed unless you give me express permission to do so. Deal?”
News of the altercation had spread like wildfire through the tribe. The feeling of relief was tangible, as Quinn made his way around the village, seeing to his usual business. Every second person seemed to want to either congratulate him, thank him, or hear the story first-hand. By the time he returned home that evening, he was exhausted, both mentally and physically.
Eva had calmed down considerably by that time, he was glad to see. She held him close to her, as if to remind herself that he was still breathing, still real.
Sally had cooked up a storm for dinner, and Quinn ate as though he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Eva’s amused expression almost stayed his hand as he went for the third helping.
“It’s hard work, this being an alpha, you know,” Quinn mumbled in his defense
“I didn’t say anything,” Eva’s innocence was written in her smile.
“I’m just saying.”
“We should invite your father over again. I get the impression you gave not only me the fright of my life this morning, but him, too. He’s not exactly used to you being attacked every other week, you know,” Eva said as she started clearing the table.
“I didn’t think of that.”
“I know. That’s what I’m here for.”
“We can do that, then. Just let me recover for a day or two. You know I got attacked last night, right?” Quinn said as he stood and wrapped his arms around Eva, his smile tilting.
She smacked him lightly on the shoulder.
“You’re not funny.”
“I never said I was.”
She raised her eyebrow, lips pursed, as she regarded him.
“You really will be the death of me,” she said.
“I cross my heart, I won’t give you grief unless I absolutely have no other choice. How does that sound?”
“You’d best watch your toes, if you don’t keep that promise,” Eva smirked.
“You leave my toes alone.”
“Then behave, Quinn. Just try, at least.”
“Done.”
Quinn went to see Silas at the first opportunity he got; the young man had seemed beyond shaken up at what had happened.
“I just wanted to thank you, Silas,” Quinn said as he sat down on the chair next to Silas’s bedside. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.”
“It’s no big deal,” Silas shrugged and winced at the movement.
“Go easy on those stitches. You know, you handled that much better than I did, my first kill.”
“I did?”
“Yes. I threw up, you know. Just forgive yourself. It was you or him; they came looking for blood. They knew there was a chance they wouldn’t walk away. And if ever you find you don’t feel this way after something like that happens – you come straight to me.”
“Why?” Silas asked.
“I don’t want you to ever lose your humanity and compassion. I will always want you to remember that. Life is precious; it is a right, not a privilege. We only protect what is ours as far as necessary. We don’t take lives lightly in this tribe.”
Silas nodded.
“You have the makings of a good fighter, Silas,” Quinn said, and Silas beamed back at him, his smile fairly taking over his whole face.
“Rest up, and remember: guilt doesn’t make you weak, it makes you a better man than you think.”
CHAPTER 16
Quinn was making his way through the month’s reports when Thomas burst through the door of his office the next day.
“Quinn, we have a situation. You better come quickly,” Thomas said. There was no mistaking the urgency in his voice, so Quinn dropped the papers he was holding and followed Thomas outside. He groaned inwardly, not willing to believe that he might have to go back on his word to Eva so soon. They made their way to the long hall, where a group of tribes-people had already gathered.
Tension was rife in the air; a group of wolves out in the line of the trees caught Quinn’s attention – they were not of his tribe. His eyes fell then, on the group of men standing outside the hall. Those on the outer circle were his men – those on the inside, were most certainly not.
“What’s going on, Thomas?”
“Eva’s ex-boyfriend and his merry band pushed through our borders and insisted on being brought to you.”
“Why?”
“You have to hear it for yourself.”
Quinn strode to the group up ahead, nodding his thanks to his own men.
“Let’s talk inside, shall we?” Quinn motioned towards the hall.
“We’d just as well stay out here, if you don’t mind. We don’t plan on staying long.” A tall man with sandy hair standing in the group replied, his sneer of distaste unmistakable
“I should think not. You are trespassing, and your fighters will come up short against my men.”
“Oh, of course. The man who needs his men to fight and pay for what he claims wishes to threaten me. Go for it,” the man barked a short laugh.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Quinn refused to rise to the bait laid in front of him.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know who I am,” he sneered.
Quinn laughed, “I’m so sorry, your fame does not precede you in this tribe.”
The man lunged at Quinn, as his men next to him reached out to hold him back.
Quinn smirked; the man had a short temper, he noted.
“I’m Todd, Eva’s boyfriend,” Todd growled.
“Ex-boyfriend, I believe she calls you,” Quinn replied, starting to understand the situati
on better.
“Only because you paid gold for her,” Todd snapped back.
“I don’t think that was it. But whatever helps you sleep at night, Todd.”
Todd bristled, his temper seeming to shorten even further.
Eva rounded the corner then, and Quinn groaned inwardly. Whichever moron had alerted her to this fiasco was going to pay. There had been no reason to involve her in something Quinn could manage perfectly well without involving her.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she stopped next to Quinn, eyes darting between him and Todd, her confusion clear.
“We were just getting to that part,” Quinn replied.
“Todd, what the hell are you doing here?” Eva turned to Todd.
“I’m here to bring you back home, Evie,” Todd grinned as though he were the winner of a trophy for his actions.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “I’ve got no idea what you think you’re doing here, Todd, but you’d best get going back the way you came.”
Todd’s look of confusion was almost comical, Quinn thought to himself. His she-wolf could handle the man rather well, he noticed, deciding to stand back and let her say her piece.
“Evie, don’t be like that,” Todd implored. Eva folded her arms across her chest, and raised an eyebrow.
“You are not welcome here, Todd. Neither are your men.”
“But you knew we were coming, Evie. Your dad said he told you. It’s time for you to come home. You were paid for with blood money; we don’t hold to such values,” Todd spat.
Eva’s eyes widened as she realized what her father had been trying to tell her all along.
“Oh, God,” she whispered to herself. That was the very thing her father had been implying each time they’d spoken on the phone – that Todd was making plans to save her. Only she didn’t need saving. She could have smacked herself for not realizing sooner. Her fury grew in those moments – fury towards Todd for his stupidity, but mostly towards herself, for not ensuring that Angus had known how happy she was.
She’d always kept conversations away from her relationship and happiness with Quinn, as she didn’t want to rub salt in her father’s wounds. Now she could see the error in that. There was nothing she could do now, she could only tell Todd to take his self-righteous attitude back the way he’d come.
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