Heart of a Lion (Awakening Pride Book 11)

by Lacey Thor

  “I don’t know how to be that Quinn anymore.”

  God, she was so lost, so unsure, and Mitch couldn’t stand another moment apart from her. He crossed the remaining space between them and pulled her against his chest.

  “Then don’t be that Quinn. Be the woman you are now. Strong. Fierce. Protective. Someone who will stop at nothing to protect her son.”

  “We all grow and change, Quinn. That’s nature. Human and otherwise,” Abby offered. “Let us help you, now. You took the first steps. Going to the trading post and finding Ariel. Asking for help. You’re here. Be here. Take what we’re offering. I can’t promise things will be easy, but I swear you won’t be alone. You’ll have an entire family at your side. If you let us.”

  Quinn clung to Mitch, pressing so tightly against him, he thought she might be trying to burrow inside him.

  “I don’t want to be alone anymore,” she whispered.

  “Never,” he swore as she shook against him.

  “I…”

  “Quinn!”

  It was Abby’s yell that brought realization crashing in. Quinn wasn’t trembling from emotion. She was seizing.

  “Get her on the floor,” Abby commanded. “On her side. Quinn! Quinn, can you hear me?”

  Mitch tried to protect her head and neck as her eyes rolled back in her head and spittle slipped past her clenched teeth. Her body was locked tight, and he was deathly afraid she might truly shatter. Then just as quickly as her body had tightened, she went slack.

  “What the hell’s going on?” he demanded even as he scooped her up, wondering if he should call Tony or try to pull Jess away from her dad long enough to take a look at Quinn.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Quinn was so fucking tired of waking up in a hospital-style bed with shit attached to her and no idea how she’d gotten there. Without concern, she began detaching herself from all the wires and the IV that was once more linked to her. She was out of bed, searching for clothes, when the mate of the alpha wolves walked in. The blonde paused in the doorway, her gaze sweeping around the room, taking everything in.

  “I see you’re feeling better.”

  “Where’s my son?” Quinn demanded, not caring that she stood there in nothing more than her skin. Talbot had stripped her of any embarrassment at being naked around other people a long time ago.

  “Resting in a room down the hall with the other children from the pride. I’m Jess, by the way.”

  “I’d like to my son. Now.”

  “Soon,” Jess said then stationed herself in front of the door as if she could prevent Quinn from leaving.

  A growl spilled from Quinn’s lips.

  “If you think that intimidates me, it doesn’t. I’ll remind you I’m mated to four alpha wolves.”

  “That only makes me question your mental health, not your courage,” Quinn tossed out as she padded closer.

  Jess surprised her by laughing. “I think I’m really going to like you, Quinn. Now, have a seat and let’s talk. Then I’ll get you something to wear and take you to your son. He’s gorgeous, by the way. So alert. And a true miracle from what I understand.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  Quinn blinked when she realized Jess had managed to herd her back over to the bed while she’d been talking. Jess took a seat then patted the spot beside her, not replying until Quinn sat.

  “I understand he was born several weeks early. That you needed serious transfusions once you arrived here, and you needed them more often than the pride is familiar with in shifter pregnancies with human mates. There’s also the whole two umbilical cords thing. I also understand you needed shifter blood when you had emergency surgery. Something else that’s abnormal for a human. Then again, I understand you were held by Talbot for several years, and he called you his personal experiment.”

  “If this is your way of asking me what he did to me, I don’t know. All I can say to you is the same thing I’ve said to everyone else. Anything he wanted.”

  Jess nodded then leaned closer as if confiding a secret. “I’m going to find out what he did. I promise you that. All I need is for you to trust me.”

  “Yeah, I’m not a trusting person. Not anymore.”

  Not in a long, long time.

  “Can’t blame you there, but I’m going to help you anyway. The way I look at it, if Mitch hadn’t called me to come this way for you, I might not have been here in time to save my father’s life. And I will save it.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Guilt ate at Quinn again. She was the reason Professor Mueller was shot up and in a room similar to the one she was in. Only he was fighting for his life.

  “I appreciate that, but my father had a target painted on his back before he joined this pride. Hell, my mates and I faked his death, trying to protect him. But why haven’t you asked me what happened to you? Do you remember what happened?”

  “I passed out.”

  “Not quite,” Jess corrected. “You had a seizure. Have you had one of those before?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  But would she know? She thought of the number of times she’d passed out only to awaken in a different room. Had she experienced seizures? Christ, she needed to speak to Talbot and get some damn answers. The sooner the better.

  “Mitch said you felt warm, but your emotions were high, so he didn’t think anything of it. He thought you were trembling, but those trembles turned out to be something more. Thankfully, there were people there to help you, and they brought you down here pretty quickly afterward. Mitch asked me again if I’d check on you, and I agreed. I’d be lying if I said your physiological changes don’t intrigue me. I gave you more shifter blood, by the way.”

  “What? Why would you do that?”

  “Because your heartrate was all over the place. I couldn’t give you any lion’s blood, so I had to make due with the next best thing. Liger blood. Thankfully, Aleksey was willing to help out. Your body responded immediately to the presence of shifter blood. I find that interesting.”

  Quinn snorted. Interesting didn’t begin to cover it.

  “You no longer have a shifter baby inside, so why does your body still need shifter blood?”

  Quinn knew Jess wasn’t asking her the question but was musing aloud, so she didn’t bother answering. Instead, she spoke what was currently on her mind.

  “You’re pregnant. I wasn’t sure when the hunters who attacked mentioned it, but I can sense the child inside you.”

  “Isn’t that interesting,” Jess commented, dropping her hand to press her palm over her still flat belly. “You can sense my child. I also find it interesting it was mentioned during the attack. Other than my mates, the only other person who knew was my father.”

  “Someone else knew,” Quinn countered.

  “Evidently,” Jess agreed. “But who? And how?”

  Then she waved her hand.

  “We’ll get to that later. Right now, I want to let you know, I did a blood draw before I gave you Aleksey’s blood. Then I did another immediately after. I’d like to do some more intensive testing. See what I can see and go from there. But after speaking with Abby and Diane, I think it’s safe to say you’re going to need another boost of shifter blood in the next seventy-two hours or so. Quite possibly, you’ll need that type of boost for the rest of your life. I can work on creating something for you, but it will take time, and I’ll need your full cooperation.”

  Quinn nodded absentmindedly then stood and paced around the room. Her mind churned. Her gut did, as well. Up until a few days ago, most of her worries had been around carrying Emery to term and making sure she had a healthy baby. Now, he was here, and it was her having all the issues. Which brought her back to Dr. Victor Talbot. She wanted to speak with Amia again and put together a real plan to get down to see him. Or maybe, she should just demand to see him? Would they really try to prevent that? She had to speak to Mitch. Where was he? Why hadn’t he been there when she woke up? Her heartbeat was
revving in her chest. She needed him. Right now!

  “Where are my clothes?” The sooner she had them, the sooner she could get out of the room and find Mitch.

  “Knock, knock!”

  Amia poked in her head then slipped inside with a shopping bag, shutting the door firmly behind her.

  “Abby said you were up. I brought clothes.” She held up the offering, giving it a shake. “Hopefully, everything fits okay. We need to order some things for you.”

  Quinn made a beeline for the clothing, taking it from Amia and turning back to dump it out on the bed.

  “I’ll leave you to get dressed. I want to do those tests, Quinn. Think about it.”

  She nodded at Jess but kept her focus on pulling on clothes. If Mitch trusted Jess, then she would, too. She needed to find her son then find Mitch.

  “Quinn?”

  Jess and Amia both watched her. Amia had called her name, but Jess was the one who moved toward her.

  “What’s going on? Tell me what you’re feeling.”

  Quinn shrugged. “I want my son.”

  “Amia, go get Emery,” Jess ordered over her shoulder, keeping her focus on Quinn. “What else are you thinking? Talk to me.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Your eyes are glowing. I heard it mentioned but wasn’t sure. Now, I am. What else is going through your mind? Let me inside your head. What else is going on?”

  Quinn’s anxiety was going through the roof. Her heartbeat raced. She couldn’t control the change in her eyes, but she was holding back the claws that wanted to pop out as well as the growls filling her throat.

  “Are you afraid?” Jess asked.

  “No.”

  But that wasn’t really the truth. She was scared.

  “Yes.”

  “Which one is it?” Jess demanded.

  “Both,” Quinn snapped. “I need my son.”

  “Amia is getting him. You know he’s safe. You know no one here would hurt him. If it were about your son, you’d have been this way from the start. What else is going on in your head?”

  “Plenty,” she muttered, but she was starting to calm down. She inhaled deeply. Mitch was close. She picked up his unique scent in the air.

  “Your pulse is slowing down, and your eye color has gone back to normal.”

  The door opened, and they both glanced that way. Mitch stood there with the baby in his arms. Everything settled inside her, and she was across the room to him instantly. He tucked her against his side, dropping a kiss atop her head.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded. She was now.

  “Interesting,” Jess murmured as she walked toward them. Quinn was beginning to hate that word from Jess.

  Mitch passed Emery to her then embraced Jess. She hated seeing the other woman in his arms. They both turned to look at her, then Jess laughed.

  “What?” she snapped. “And if you say interesting one more time, I won’t be held accountable for my actions.”

  “Have you bit him?” Jess asked.

  “Mitch? No, of course not.”

  “Maybe, you should,” Jess suggested. “It might calm the part of you that isn’t a shifter but acts like a shifter.”

  “I’m not biting him.”

  But she wanted to. Her mouth was already salivating at the thought of sinking her teeth into his skin and leaving her mark. Except for the fact her teeth were decidedly human.

  “Why do I feel like I’ve missed part of the conversation here?” Mitch asked, stepping away from Jess and moving back to Quinn’s side. She leaned into him and settled again as he wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed her against him.

  Jess opened her mouth, and Quinn growled, which merely made Jess chuckle before chatting with Mitch.

  “Did you have your talk?”

  Mitch nodded then turned his head down toward Quinn.

  “I’ll fill you in.”

  “Can we go now? Or do you have something you need to do?”

  She ignored everyone else in the room and kept her focus on her son though she spoke to Mitch.

  “Are you okay to leave?”

  His glance went to Jess.

  “The transfusion I gave appears to have done the trick. For now. But I want to see you again tomorrow morning for follow up. Plus, there are a few more tests I’d like to run. Tony delivered your son and dealt with the complications of the bullet you took?”

  Quinn nodded while Mitch answered, “Yes.”

  “Have him come see me. I have questions I need him to answer.”

  “I want to be present for that conversation,” Quinn stated firmly. Anything Tony had to say about her could be said to her.

  “Agreed.” Jess’ quick acquiesce surprised Quinn, though she wasn’t sure why. “We’re going to get answers. I won’t stop until we know everything there is to know about what was done to you.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “You’re not alone anymore. Trust us to have your back.”

  Quinn nodded then moved ahead of Mitch out of the room. That seemed to be the thing everyone wanted to tell her. That she wasn’t alone. It meant a lot to a woman who’d spent too much of her adulthood feeling exactly that. Alone. As for speaking with Tony? She wanted answers. Needed them. But she had a feeling she wouldn’t really know what was going on until she confronted Talbot and made him speak to her. It was time to show the doctor the same mercy he’d shown her when she’d been the one in captivity.

  None.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Mitch wasn’t surprised Quinn waited until the drive back before asking questions.

  “What did Jess mean when she asked if you’d had your talk? Has something else happened?”

  “I had a chat with Jonah while we were outside.”

  No need for him to go into detail on what they’d been doing. Quinn knew exactly what they’d been taking care of.

  “What did Jonah have to say?”

  “He suggested there could be someone spying from the inside.”

  “Because of how easily the hunters made it to the medical center?”

  Mitch nodded. “We’ve only mentioned the idea to a select few, so everyone can keep their eyes and ears open in case it turns out we have a mole.”

  Quinn appeared deep in thought for a moment. “It would make sense. The attacks started when I got here, not when Talbot did. We know Talbot’s people don’t want me to live. My son either. Whatever Talbot did, he wasn’t supposed to lose me. I was never supposed to make it out of his labs alive.”

  They were going to be sadly disappointed then because Mitch wasn’t letting them get their hands on Quinn or Emery. After hearing both Abby and Jess vow to Quinn that she was no longer alone, he hoped it would finally sink in. He felt confident she’d finally accepted he wasn’t going anywhere.

  “You said someone on the inside helped you get away?” Mitch asked, wanting her to go over her escape with him again.

  “There was a woman. I hadn’t seen her before. She said she’d been told to locate me and get me out. I didn’t question it. Talbot had been threatening to terminate my pregnancy any day. When she offered a chance for me to flee Talbot, I took it. I didn’t feel I had anything to lose at that point.”

  “What made you head to the Walker Trading Post?”

  “Lander mentioned it several times. He drilled it into my head, making sure I knew how to get there if we were separated. I didn’t know the place had been abandoned until Ariel told me later. Lander mentioned Thomas Walker a lot. I’m pretty sure he knew him personally.”

  “You said Lander was held by Talbot for years?”

  Quinn nodded. “Talbot is fond of keeping his projects around just long enough to fulfill whatever agenda he had in mind for them. I’m not sure what he had planned for Lander. I know I’m the only one he forced to travel with him, but I’m beginning to understand why that was. What with the growls and claws and glowing eyes. Probably wanted to keep a close eye on me.” />
  Mitch was happy Jess was working with them now. He knew she’d find a way to push Tony to share information until they found answers. Like Lyra and of course, little Regan, Jess held a special place in Tony’s heart. Mitch wasn’t sure what had made them so close, but Jess was one of few people who could make demands of Tony without the other man balking.

  He thought of Aleksy as he pulled up in front of the house. He wanted to thank the other man for donating blood to Quinn. It still baffled him that she continued to need shifter blood post-pregnancy.

  “Is Tony at the house?”

  Mitch paused then headed over to help her and the baby out of the car. Once she had Emery cuddled against her, he pulled his phone from his pocket, sending quick texts to Tony, Aleksy, and Jonah.

  “Why don’t we get little man settled? I’ve got a surprise in the room for you.”

  His phone chimed, and he thumbed it open, reading quickly.

  “Tony’s out of pocket until morning, but he’ll meet us then. Sound okay?”

  “I know he has other things to do, but he has information I need. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him since the surgery, and I really need to.”

  “I know you do. I’d like to be a part of that conversation, as well,” he admitted.

  Quinn sighed. “Yes.” Then reluctantly, as if she didn’t want to admit it. “I don’t like not having you beside me. I need to know where you are, or I lose my mind.”

  That must be why Jess had told Quinn to bite him. She must suspect that he and Quinn were mates or would be if one of them was an actual shifter.

  “I feel the same way when it comes to you,” he admitted and watched the tension ease from her frame. He couldn’t resist leaning in and dropping a kiss on her lips. “We’re in this together, remember?”

  She cupped his face with one hand and pulled him down for a longer kiss. “I’ve done nothing in my life to deserve you—”