Hunter's Heart

Chapter 24

Quinn tried her best to relax as she looked up at the Alpha Prime's house through the windscreen of the SUV. Even in the darkness of the late evening, she could tell it was a palace compared to Christian's home, reminding her of the kind of palaces that were built in the English countryside during the 1700s. It had the same baroque architecture to it and she could tell just by looking at it that there were more rooms inside than she could count.

She had no idea what to expect once she stepped foot through the front door. Christian had left with Grayson almost immediately after the older Alpha had told him of the Alpha Prime's command, but not before he had instructed Sophia and Melissa to fill Quinn in on everything she needed to know before she was brought into Caine McTyre's home and to get her ready to meet with the Elders.

As Quinn had been dragged back to her room by Sophia and Melissa, the older of the two women had explained what was happening to Quinn, who felt like she had suddenly been caught up in a whirlwind of activity that seemed to be centered around her. She was pushed into the shower while the other two women began raiding her drawers, pulling out clothes she didn't even know she had been given.

While Quinn showered, the other two women had explained to her that the Elders were the spiritual leaders of the packs, made up of members of each of the packs. They governed the Alphas and ensured all the laws of their kind were enforced. They also performed the official binding ceremonies between mates, which Liam and Sophia would be going through once all the official talks between all the Alphas had ended.

"A Meeting only happens once a year around the summer solstice unless there is an emergency," Sophia had said as she packed clothes into a large duffle bag. "The Elders must want to meet you very badly if they got the Alpha Prime to call a Meeting a full two months before it's time."

As Sophia and Melissa had told her about what was expected of her in front of the other Alphas, Quinn had been surprised to learn that Christian had been quite lenient when it came to her being in his pack. He had allowed certain concessions that apparently would not be tolerated by the other Alphas. She would need to be on her best behavior, even if that meant trying to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible when she was in public. Some Alphas would not hesitate to put her in her place if she did something to offend them.

"We have gotten to know you," Melissa had said as Quinn had waited for her to pick out an outfit for her to wear that was deemed acceptable to be seen in when in a house full of Alphas and Elders. "The others haven't. To them, you are still a former Hunter in our midst, a potential security risk. Putting a toe out of line in any way will not help your cause or Christian's."

"Then why are you dressing me to stand out?" Quinn had demanded, watching Melissa make up an outfit for her. "Wouldn't staying under the radar be better?"

"Because you are a member of Christian St. Clair's pack," Melissa had responded. "He's allowed you to breathe free air, trusted you enough to help on a raid of a Hunter compound and you bear his mark on your shoulder. Your actions will have reached the ears of the other Alphas and you need to make an impression to back up those actions the moment you step through Caine's front door. Above all else, Alphas respond best to strength."

The change in Quinn's wardrobe was not the only thing that Melissa had insisted be changed for the duration of the Meeting. The faded blue and green balayage coloring that had been done to her hair would have to be touched up and the damaged ends would need to be removed. Only, the green and blue colors had not been available in the manor to try and recreate the look Quinn had gotten so used to and there had been no time to go into the closest town to track them down.

Now, Quinn's hair was back to black, had been cut to just below her shoulder blades and had been forced into loose curls with a styling wand. She no longer wore the comfortable cotton pants and tank top that she had gotten so used to back at the mansion. Instead, Melissa had dressed her in dark blue skinny jeans that clung to her like a second skin, black ankle boots with a heel and some buckle and zip embellishments, a deep green cotton camisole style top and a black leather bomber jacket.