Primal Night Page 24

  Her muscles bunched, and she silently cursed her words. She couldn’t let him get suspicious of her true identity. Hurrying on, she continued, “I mean, it’s not like you expect me to believe you’re some kind of beast awaiting a kiss from the right girl to reveal you really are a prince under all that fur, slobber, and sharp teeth.”

  Quinn’s brow arched, and his lips tugged upward, revealing a dimple on his left cheek. “Trust me when I say my beast needs more than a kiss to be tamed.”

  Sasha huffed out breath. “I feel sorry for the poor soul who’s burdened with that impossible task.”

  He muttered something under his breath. Reaching up, he wiped a hand over his face and exhaled. Bending, Quinn collected the spilled food, placing it on the tray. He stood and headed for the door. Her muscles relaxed, relieved the battle was over and he was leaving.

  Glancing over his shoulder, his lips flattened. “I’ll get you something else to eat and then we leave.”

  Before she had a chance to question his intentions, he left. The key turned once again, securing her in the cell.

  “Leave?” She flopped down, sitting on the edge of the bed, the thin mattress jarring the impact. Leave for where? Did they plan on getting rid of her for good? Looking to the bared air vent she wondered what had happened to the neighboring cell’s previous occupant. It had been over a week since she’d first heard Mackenzie’s voice. The last time she had seen the poor woman, she had been locked up in her cell with nothing more than an animal. While the man still held onto his human form, it was clear he didn’t have much control.

  Was Kenzie dead? The shifter had been clearly out of his mind. Instead of killing it, their Alpha and Quinn simply left a human to fend off the beast while she had been forced to spend the night with Quinn, which had been torture. Every painstaking second of it.

  He’d been over-the-top hospitable, jumping to her every whim. Well, she wasn’t falling for another set of welcoming arms. Not again. Reaching up, she rubbed the tip of her scar on the back of her shoulders. “Each of them is nothing but an abomination.”

  Yet, they weren’t creatures to be trifled with. Sasha still held a healthy amount of fear for shifters. She wasn’t stupid enough to think their hunter technology surpassed shifter animal instincts. Though technology did even up the playing fields. Thankfully, her car was fitted with a GPS tracker. The downside, if her father looked, it would be in whatever side street out of town that Quinn had moved it to. He wouldn’t even know the last place she’d been was Prowlers.

  Rising from the bed, her boots clipped on the stone. Somehow, she had to get a message to her father before the shifters worked out who she was and all hope was lost. A clunk sounded, the lock turned, and she paused mid-step. Looking up, a man she’d never seen before walked in with a tray of food.

  “I’m Hunter. Quinn asked me to bring your meal to you and see to your needs before we leave.”

  Wow, Hunter was big. All the shifter males were an impressive size. Hunter looked more like a weightlifter, with heavily built muscles rolling across his body. Other than the Alpha, this was the first time someone else had entered her cell since the incident with Kenzie and the crazy shifter.

  “A babysitter already? I’m surprised Quinn went to all that trouble. It seemed he took pleasure in seeing me confined in this dungeon.” She spread her arms wide, encompassing the dank room.

  Hunter arched a brow and closed the gap between them, settling the tray with a hamburger, fries and soda. “Trust me, it’s not a hardship seeing to your needs.” He winked.

  Was he flirting with her?

  “I guarantee Quinn won’t be leaving you alone for long.”

  “The only need that needs tending to is a free pass out of this hellhole.” She snorted and picked up the burger, sinking her teeth into the juicy beef. No point in going hungry. Damn, but these shifters could cook.

  Hunter took a position against the opposite wall, pulled out his cell, and started to scroll over the screen. “Looks like you’ll be getting your request soon enough.”

  She took a sip of soda. “Right. Quinn mentioned that we’re leaving. I don’t suppose it’ll be just me taking this little trip?”

  He shrugged. “If you were mine, I’d see to your freedom. But…”

  “But…” Sure, she could pretend to be his for the time it took to get out of there.

  “But the call’s already been made.” Pocketing his phone, he laughed. “Now, you’d have more chance getting rid of your spleen than going anywhere on your own ever again.”

  Her brows pinched together. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Lips tugging upward, Hunter folded his arms. “It means we control everything you do from here on out.”

  A fact that didn’t bode well for her. Was he implying her life expectancy had shortened? Appetite gone, she pushed the tray away, and her mind mulled over the facts. One, she wasn’t going to get out of the cell without the shifters’ say so. Two, there was no way she could overpower shifters. Her only choice would be to bide her time and make her move before it was too late.

  Nine hundred and twenty-three days from his last mission, and Quinn Caver couldn’t get his hands clean enough. Sure, the blood was long gone, but the filth of his crimes still coated his skin. Working the soap into a thick lather, he scrubbed his palms. If he could wash away his sins maybe he might be deserving of his mate. The one person who would stop him from becoming a mindless killing machine.

  He laughed. Too late for that.

  Rinsing his hands, he remembered the day he locked Sasha into a cell. It had been over fourteen days ago since she’d witnessed Xavier—one of his pack mates—turn rogue, and she’d hated his sorry ass ever since. Karma, he supposed. A person like him didn’t deserve redemption. Maybe finding his mate only to have her refuse him was nature’s way of punishment?

  His glyph itched, reminding him of his kind’s curse. Peeling back his shirt he looked at another line of his dark ink joining his wolf glyph just above his hip. To a human it might look like a tattoo that ran from his left heel all the way to his neck. For him, it was a reminder that time was running out. He’d turn into a monster in the true sense of the word if he didn’t mate before the glyph completed. Shoving his shift down, he threw his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Fuck!”

  Quinn gained his composure and turned the faucet off, running his wet hands over his face and up over his shaved head. Shoving your mate in a cell plummeted one’s chances of winning her over. If that wasn’t bad enough, his Alpha, Saint, had hammered the final nail in his coffin with ordering Sasha’s transfer to Wolfden. All hope of claiming his mate would be snuffed out once she understood Wolfden was a shifter-run town she wouldn’t be able to escape.

  Somehow, he had to make Sasha understand, forgive him, and agree to save him before he turned rogue.

  He snorted. No pressure at all.

  His cell buzzed beside him. He glanced over to the counter and saw it was the pack beta, Jaxx. Biting back a curse, he tapped the speaker button. “What?”

  “Oh, hi Jaxx. How are you? Why, I’m good. Thanks for asking, Quinn.”

  Quinn’s lip curled. While he understood his mating dilemma wasn’t Jaxx’s fault, he couldn’t help but hate the shifter a little since he was one of the wolves Sasha had seen morph and therefore contributed to her current incarceration. Especially, since Jaxx had been able to mate with Kenzie and now controlled his wolf completely.

  He snatched the cell from the counter and padded back into his room. “Like I said, what?”

  Jaxx blew out a breath. “I know you’re leaving soon. I just wanted to see if you needed help with anything.”

  Yanking out his drawers, he grabbed some tees, turned, and shoved them in his duffel. “I’ve got it covered. I’m just packing the cuffs to transport my unclaimed mate now.”

  “Quinn, I’m sorry…”

  “Save it, Jaxx.” Closing his eyes, Quinn blew out a breath and forced his muscles to relax. �
�It’s fine. It’s not your fault. I get the situation couldn’t’ be helped. I’m on edge is all.”

  “Say no more, man. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through. I know everything seems like shit now, but don’t give up. Sasha will come around.”

  “Yeah, everyone keeps telling me to have hope.”

  Contrary to the pack’s words of encouragement, things with Sasha kept getting worse.

  “Just remember, if there’s anything I can do to help, call me.”

  He zipped up his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. “Will do.”

  Quinn heard a feminine giggle in the background, and his fingers tightened on the bag straps.

  “You do that. I’ll check in soon. I’ve gotta go.”

  The line went dead. Jaxx was sure to be enjoying time with his mate. While he too would get to spend time with his Sasha in the long drive to Wolfden, he doubted his mate would enjoy any second of it. He couldn’t blame her. If it were up to him, he sure as hell knew she wouldn’t be a prisoner. It was probably one of the reasons why Saint was sending Hunter as an escort.

  Taking a sweeping glance around his bare quarters, it dawned on him he didn’t have one book, photo, or dust collector to personalize his space. On some level he must have known Saint’s pack was too good to be true and he wouldn’t last in a place like this.

  What a joke his life had become. Once he’d been feared by many as a Council rogue executioner; now he’d been reduced to nothing more than half a dozen items of clothes and running from a past he couldn’t shake. There was just one thing of importance he needed to grab before he left.

  Leaving his room, he walked into the main corridor of the pack’s underground den. The flicker of candlelight crept out of the small recesses and cast shadows along the hall. Weaving through the intricate tunnels of the den, he paused before the foliage veil hiding the den’s entrance and let his duffel fall to the ground.

  He removed his clothes and let the change surge through him. Painlessly, bones re-molded. He fell to his hands and knees, his face elongating to his wolf. In the same moment, fur raced over his skin, covering him in a brown pelt. He shook himself and darted out into the pack lands.

  Wind caressed him, and the scent of pine and the threat of rain filled his sinuses. Darkened clouds rolled across the flaming sky as the sun departed for the day. Fitting that his last day within pack territory would end with a storm. Ears twitching, he heard nothing but nature surrounding him and knew no other shifter was in the vicinity.

  Paws digging into the earth, he ran down embankments and over hills until he came to the largest oak tree on pack lands. A scent hit his senses, holding him in place. Smoky earth lingered in the air, an odor he hadn’t smelled in the two and half years. Ever since his last mission. After joining the pack, he thought he’d lost the stalker he’d dubbed Retribution, since that’s what Quinn figured he was after. Apparently, he hadn’t lost him at all.

  He dropped, allowing the long wisps of grass to cover his location, and his senses kicked into overdrive. No reason to let Retribution know his location. While years ago, he may have welcomed death, now he had someone to live for, someone to protect.

  “Quinn. Where you at, loup?” Cade’s voice shot through the pack connection.

  Loup, the Cajun French term for wolf. Great! That’s all he needed. “I just need a minute to myself before we leave.”

  The rush of water came from his right, along with light scurries from deeper in the forest—too light to be a threat. Lifting his nose, he inhaled again. Definitely smoky earth. Yet the fragrance was too weak, indicating his tracker had long left the area.

  “We gonna leave soon. What’s takin’ so long, you?”

  Scanning the horizon confirmed his suspicions. Still on edge, he eased out of the grass. His plans would have to wait. If the unknown threat had finally found him, Quinn would have to track the bastard down first and neutralize the situation.

  “Hunter can wait.”

  Quinn had more pressing matters to worry about than Hunter’s impatience. Prior to finding Saint, Quinn hadn’t given a shit if the unknown shifter found him. He’d hoped for the battle, to finally find release from the shadows that plagued him. Yet Retribution never attacked, never delivered the death blow.

  Why, after all this time, was he back?

  Nose to the ground, he followed the scent toward an embankment deeper within the forest. It didn’t take him long to realize Retribution was headed towards Quinn’s final destination. His hackles rose, and a sinking feeling settled in his gut. Approaching the alcove covered in moss and twisted tree roots, he saw a patch on the wall dug out and knew Retribution had taken his belongings.

  The only possessions that he held sacred. A reminder of who he really was—a monster, a murderer. Why Retribution would want a box filled with his victims was beyond him. Quinn tracked Retribution back to the river, and it was like he’d disappeared. Pack was the only thing he could detect.

  A growl slipped out and Quinn called it in via the pack connection. “Seb, you’re on patrol near the northern perimeter, right?”

  “That I am. I’m glad you caught me. I wanted to say good-bye before you left.”

  Quinn would have rolled his eyes if he were in human form. Frankly, he couldn’t wait to get out of the territory. All these good-byes seemed to pick at his injured ego.

  “Yeah, it’s been good. Look, I’m down by the river and there’s something you need to check out.”

  He gave Seb cliff notes, leaving out his past and connection to Retribution. It wouldn’t affect their search, and Quinn was certain once he left if Retribution was still in the area, he would too. Yet he wouldn’t leave the pack unprotected. Saint would make sure security was tightened. All would be well.

  Making his way back to the den, he noticed the red sunset had been replaced with the darker hues of night. He picked up the pace and approached the den entrance. Saint’s scent thickened. A moment later his Alpha appeared, halting him in his tracks. Quinn shifted and began to dress.

  “Quinn, I wanted to see if you needed anything before you leave.”

  Wasn’t everyone a helpful Hadley when you were being evicted from the pack? If he were being honest, his thought was probably a stretch on the situation, but it was certainly how it felt. “I’m good. Everything is taken care of. I just have to pick up Sasha, and we’re heading out.”

  Saint cleared his throat. “I know you aren’t happy with my decision. It’s the safest one, not only for the pack, but for your mate too.”

  Working hard to keep his features neutral, Quinn nodded. He picked up his duffel and he walked back toward the cells. “I get it. But, as far as Sasha is concerned, I’m a piece-of-shit monster. I don’t stand a chance with her.”

  “You love challenges. I have faith you can work your magic and change her mind.”

  He snorted. Saint was right. He’d always enjoyed the thrill of winning. Maybe he just had to change his plan of attack. His mind started to tick over the possibilities.

  The cell doors came into view, and Quinn slowed his pace. “It’ll be the challenge of my life.”

  Saint’s hand reached out and clasped his shoulder. “The move to Wolfden is temporary. It will give you time and a nicer place for Sasha to get to know you and understand the situation.” His fingers gripped tighter. “At the end of the day, you are still pack—still family. Don’t forget it.”

  Damn it if Saint’s words didn’t ease his hurt of rejection simmering just under the surface. He swallowed hard and inclined his head.

  “Well then, I’ll leave you to it. Safe travels, my friend.”

  For a moment Quinn stood staring at the steel door, trying to harden himself for what was to come, knowing he was drawing out the inevitable. Straightening, he squared his shoulders and opened the door.

  Sasha’s gaze roamed over him, and she curled her lip and looked away. He glanced to the other side of the room to where Hunter stood. “We good?”
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br />   “Good as ever.” He stepped away from the wall and reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a set of cuffs. “Let’s lock her up and get going.”

  Quinn leaned forward, gritting his teeth, and snarled. Simultaneously, Sasha spat, “Like hell.”

  “Whoa.” Hunter held up his hands and took a step back. “That’s my cue to step outside and give you guys a minute alone.”

  Hunter backed away and walked out of the cell. Quinn turned his attention to Sasha. Her chest rose and fell rapidly under a black tee with Outlaw scrawled across it. She threw up her hands and spun away from him. “This is ridiculous! Why on earth do I need to be shackled? How am I a threat to you?”

  He closed his eyes long enough to steel a breath. He had only been joking when he’d spoken to Jaxx earlier. Where the hell Hunter got the cuffs from was beyond him. “You’re right.”

  Sasha turned to face him. He wanted desperately to reach out and touch her. One look on her face told him it would be a move he’d be sure to regret.

  “You aren’t a threat to the pack. I won’t cuff you. But I will have to blindfold you.”

  “Quinn…”

  He held up a palm. “I’m sorry, Sasha. There’s nothing I can do. It’s for everyone’s safety if you don’t know the layout of our home. We have many enemies.”

  Just thinking of any vampires, other packs—or worse, hunters—getting their hands on his mate and seeing no problem in torturing his mate for detailed blueprints of the pack’s den made his stomach turn.

  “I can see why,” she snorted. “I don’t know if it’s your charming hospitality, the medieval dungeon, or the fact you’re not even human that wouldn’t win people over.”

  Her words hurt like a son of a bitch. He could smell she was scared and angry. Anyone would be pissed having their freedom removed, but each time she spat her disgust, he felt his chance to win her over slip further away.

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