Godborn

Chapter One - Quinlin

Chapter 1a:

Quinlin

Thorn drives west while I sit in the backseat and stew angrily over our latest gathering with the Kaniksu pack in upstate Idaho. This was our tenth visit to another wolfpack this year, and, like the nine before, it ended in disappointment.

I growl as I think about all the she-wolves that tried to serve themselves to me with open blouses, midnight visits to my guest room, and love letters carefully crafted to sound desirable. It was grotesque, especially to me.

However, I don't blame them. All of them were clearly being manipulated by their families. A mate is not chosen by anyone but the Goddess Selene. Every wolf knows this, but many power-hungry families openly ignore it, which angers me even more.

I glare at the empty seat next to me. That's where Connor sat on the long drive to meet the neighboring pack. He's a sixteen-year-old delta that we're training to assume a gamma role when he turns eighteen. However, once we arrived, it only took thirty seconds for a she-wolf to rush into his arms. His mate.

Almost every wolf finds their mate by their eighteenth birthday. Yet, here I sit, one of the strongest, most powerful alphas in the northwest clan, almost twenty-five, with no one by my side.

Most days, I try not to think about it, filling my time with training, business calls, pack negotiations, and so on. But my pack's narrowed eyes and pitiful glances have prompted me to be more proactive, hence the gatherings. If I were any other rank, it wouldn't be as devastating. However, since I'm the alpha, my pack support is growing unstable. An alpha without a luna is a weak leader, destined to lose his mind.

"You okay, Quinn?" Thorn asks, and I look up to see his worried eyes watching me from the rearview mirror. He's more than my beta; he's my brother and my friend. Intuitive as always, he smiles and says, "You'll find her, brother. The moon goddess doesn't make mistakes. But, in the meantime, can you take your claws out of the seat?"

I look down and realize my claws are stuck in the thick leather upholstery.

His words have little effect on me as I've heard them before from every family and pack member. Instead, a smaller voice claims my attention, whispering that she's dead and buried. As much as I want it to be paranoia, it's becoming more likely as the years pass by without her.

My mother tells me that other wolves go through this. It's common. The treatment is openly rejecting the missing mate, which frees the wolve from the severe heartache. I can't do it. Every time I consider it, my wolf feels like he's dying and taking me with him. The old druid that runs a healing shop near Mount Rainier says the pain I'm feeling is abnormal, but I don't fully trust him.

Fuck! My rage is rising. This is lunacy. I should have met her by now.

"We should look into other countries," I seethe and run an angry hand through my dark hair. "I won't stop until I find her."

I see Thorn's eyes shift from concern to pity, and it infuriates me.

"Quinn, you're my alpha, and I go where you go. But, as your brother, can I offer you some advice?"

I growl again, this one not as threatening, but don't speak, thus giving him my permission.

"I think you should stand still for a bit. You keep running to every corner of the country looking for your mate. Maybe she's trying to find you and can't catch up. Stick close to the compound, make appearances to outside pack members."

There's logic there, but I can't sit and wait. I've already done that for years. It doesn't work.

Rather than argue with him, I change the subject.