She came awake to the feeling of lips gently pressing against the corner of hers. She was warm and comfortable, too warm and comfortable to want to emerge from sleep just yet. Through the fog of sleep, she felt that the mattress in front of her was depressed and the scent of sandalwood told her it was Christian sitting next to her. Almost as if to confirm what she already sensed, she felt a large hand gently stroke her hair, the touch unmistakable.
"Time to wake up, little wolf," Christian said softly as he gently ran his hand over her hair.
Quinn kept her eyes firmly closed, determined to try and fall back to sleep, even when the Alpha General chuckled softly and leaned down to brush his lips against hers again. "Come on, little wolf. You can't sleep all day."
She made a sleepy sound of protest and shifted, burying herself under the covers. It was Christian's fault she was so tired anyway. His possessiveness and jealousy that had been gradually building throughout the day before had finally got to breaking point and he was on her the moment they were finally alone in their suite. It seemed the Alpha General's wolf had not been pleased with having to endure seeing other males being so close to its new mate and led to him feeling the need to stake his claim on her in the most basic way. It didn't matter that the males in question were members of his family and didn't mean anything by their embraces. They'd just been glad to see she and Christian were alright after thinking they would never see them again. No, Quinn belonged to the Alpha General and he had ensure both his wolf and Quinn herself were reminded of that.
"There's breakfast waiting for us in the living room," Christian told her, his tone making him sound like he was trying to bribe a small child into doing something they didn't want to do.
"... will eat later," Quinn mumbled sleepily and rolled over away from him, pulling the covers over her head as she turned. Maybe that way he would get the message and let her sleep. The annoying male had been almost insatiable during the night and it hadn't helped that her own wolf had been all too willing to give him whatever he wanted, for however long he wanted. The moment he decided he was ready to go again, her wolf was happy to oblige. Which was why she was so exhausted now. Didn't he get that?
She sensed something similar to mischief coming from Christian for a moment, just before he pulled the covers back down and said, "The Alpha Prime is in the living room as well. Waiting for us to give him that report he needs."
"What!?" Quinn lurched up wide eyed, throwing the covers off of herself. "Why didn't you say so?"
Without another word, she shoved her mate aside without even looking at him and made to get out of bed, only to get tangled in the sheets and topple out of the bed in her haste to leave it. Christian chuckled softly in amusement and reached down to help her to her feet.
"Calm down," he said, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her close. "Caine's not particularly in a rush just yet, little wolf. You can take your time."
He leaned down to slant his lips over hers in a soft and teasing kiss, and she grudgingly kissed him back, unable to resist. But she forced herself to pull away before he managed to distract her, and stalked over to the dresser to pull out a couple of things before she made her way into the bathroom.
"Want me to join you in there?" Christian asked suggestively and Quinn shut the door with a snap in response before her wolf decided it was tempting enough to override her human side.
*
Caine clasped his hands tightly behind his back and paced back and forth across the middle of the suite Christian and Quinn shared, mostly silent save for the odd displeased growl that rumbled from his chest every couple of minutes. His expression was dark, his brow furrowed deeply, and anger rolled off of him in waves as he contemplated everything that he had just been told. His big body was almost completely rigid it was so tense, his back so straight his spine may as well have been a broomstick.
Quinn sat practically curled into Christian's side on one of the two couches in their suite, silently watching her grandfather pace back and forth across the width of the living room and waiting to hear whatever it was he was going to say once he had finished stewing in his rage and decided what was to be done about the current situation. The food that had been brought up for them for breakfast was mostly gone and now sat on the low coffee table that Christian had been astute enough to move to the side and out of the way of Caine's pacing. Perhaps he had foreseen the dark mood that the Alpha Prime was now in.
It had taken the better part of two hours to get through explaining everything that had happened to them, answering any questions the Alpha Prime had down to the very last minute detail of their time in Hunter custody, and his expression had darkened progressively the more Christian told him. And the darker his expression got, the fiercer his pacing got. There had been a brief moment at the end of their report where his dark mood had lightened as they told him about them finally sealing the mating bond between them, genuinely pleased with the development just as he had seemed to be upon seeing the bite marks the day before. But he had lapsed into pensive silence afterwards and his mood had darkened while he paced.
Beside her, Christian was almost as tense as her grandfather, his ice blue eyes following the other male's movements warily. He had his arm slipped around her waist to keep her against his side while they made their report and his hold on her had tightened steadily the more uneasy he got seeing Caine's mood darken. Quinn reached over and slid her hand into Christian's free hand and loosely curled her fingers around his. And as if the simple action had broken through some kind of spell, he relaxed a little bit and out of the corner of her eyes she saw his lips twitch briefly in a tiny smile.
'Thank you, love,' he murmured in her mind, sending a surge of gratitude along with his words while he turned his head and pressed a kiss to her temple.
Her stomach did a little flip in response. Love? He'd never called her that before, not even when they were alone at the motel and away from everyone else. Such an intimate term of endearment was definitely going to take some getting used to if he was going to continue using it with her. The wolf inside her sat up and wagged its tail with its tongue lolling to the side, very pleased at what it was hearing, and Quinn internally rolled her eyes at the beast. One little word of affection from Christian and her normally fierce and stubborn wolf turned into an airhead.
'What happened to 'little wolf'?' she asked the Alpha General silently. 'Did you get tired of it already?'
She sensed his amusement and felt him subtly turn his body slightly towards her own as he arched an eyebrow at her. 'And here I thought I could reserve calling you my 'little wolf' to tease you. You are positively adorable when you're annoyed. Have you gotten used to being my little wolf now?'
Quinn bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at his comment. Now wasn't exactly the time to be smiling like an idiot. The situation they were currently discussing with her grandfather was definitely nothing to smile about. That being said, she couldn't help wanting to smile at Christian's remarks. Because she realized she had started to like it when Christian called her 'little wolf'. As annoying as it had been initially, so far he was the only person to call her that, and she found she would miss hearing it if he stopped. Especially when he said it with the affectionate tone he'd been using lately. His little wolf.
'Maybe,' she replied. 'But you're the only one who gets to call me that. Anyone else who calls me 'little wolf' is going to get it.'
The amusement coming from her mate deepened and he squeezed her hand gently. 'Don't let my little brother hear that from anyone, or he'll start using 'little wolf' at the end of every sentence like it's a full stop.'
Liam could try, Quinn thought to herself. But he would be doing so at his own risk. Though she adored the man like her own brother, one of these days he would push her buttons way too far and he was going to lose a hand to her wolf's teeth. And she doubted Sophia would even take issue with it, knowing he would deserve it.
A decidedly loud and angry growl had them both emerging from their private conversation, both remembering that they weren't alone, and they turned their attention back to Caine. The Alpha Prime had stopped pacing and chosen to move from the middle of their suite's living room to the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the estate grounds. Quinn and Christian both turned in their seats to look at him over the back of the couch, waiting to hear what he was about to say.
"We're going to need to call an emergency assembly of the Alphas," he finally said in a hard tone as his golden eyes stared out at the view. "Today. I want the traitors to our people found and dealt with immediately. I cannot allow these attacks from within to go unpunished."
Quinn went tense at the words. It wasn't so long ago when that word had been flung her way. Hell, there were so many currently within the walls of the Alpha Prime's home who still regarded her as such. It still stung whenever she heard it.
"And Chris," the Alpha Prime added, turning from the window to level a stern look at Christian. "I need you to get my granddaughter up to speed on all the politics surrounding all of the packs before I call the assembly."
"Yes, sir," Christian replied with an assenting nod. "She'll be ready."
Quinn looked from her grandfather to her mate and back, sure she was missing something. "Ready for what?"
Caine moved his gaze from Christian to rest it on hers. "To take your place as the mate of an Alpha General and take a more active role in the politics of our people. Your expertise with the Hunter Order will be pivotal in how we plan our next move in this war."
She turned her gaze to Christian, waiting for him to object, to tell her she didn't have to, but her mate was looking at her like he had all the faith in the world in her. He wanted her by his side, as his equal, and he was certain that she was perfectly capable of fulfilling the role.
Oh shit, she thought.