A/N I edited Chapter 31 to include something new in Quinn's description. He has one eye that is completely white but he is not blind in that eye. However, humans think he is and that's why it's white. But he was born with it. Also I apologize for the delay, I've been in the process of moving.
Quinn was acting weird that week in school. By weird I mean he was clinging to me more than usual, wearing sunglasses, and bouncing his leg whenever he sat next to me during lunch. This was odd considering usually he used our long school day to find young couples making out or seducing some humans himself. His reputation around school was quite funny. He appeared to be the shy but sassy kid who was pretty much invisible due to his effort of avoiding attention. Yet, it wasn't hard to miss the constant gossip about his sexual endeavors. Both girls and guys would discuss how amazing their one time sex fling was with Quinn very opening. Even some guys who claimed to be straight say that switching it up for one night was totally worth their amazing orgasms. Obviously none of the humans knew he was an incubus and actually ate their energy while making them cum, but I was surprised there were very few wolves who did not pick up on his supernatural vibes.
Instead of scurrying off to find his own type of lunch during our lunch period, he sat closely next to me with Lilith and her human friends as well as some of Quinn's human friends. He even ate a bit of human food during the time, too. This led me to believe he wasn't eating for some reason unknown to me. I avoided mentioning it the first few days to see if he would eventually break his fasting, but we have approached day 5 and he is still clung next to my side. I've heard a few people gossiping, even the wolves, saying I was his next sexual conquest, but I didn't really react or care about the rumors.
Once lunch began coming to an end, I leaned over to Quinn's ear. "Come to my locker with me," I commanded. Then I stood up, said my goodbyes to our table mates, and walked out of the cafeteria with Quinn following close behind. I felt a few stares burning into us as we left.
"So what's with you starving yourself?" I asked almost immediately after we were out of people's sight.
He flinched at my words, his sunglasses shaking on his face just enough to catch a glimpse of his red eyes. Without permission, I ripped the glasses off his face. He stared wide-eyed at me, which emphasized his bloodshot eyes. His normally snow white eye almost seemed pinkish due to how much his red veins popped out. I remembered seeing such a thing on Joseph when we were imprisoned. It meant he was starving, so my hypothesis was correct.
"Want to explain what's going on?" I questioned, a little softer this time.
He sighed, snatching his sunglasses back before answering. "I'm still eating a bit, but only by absorbing couple's sexual energy not partaking. Ever since I've found my source, I just can't bring myself to have sex with someone else. But people don't do much in high schools but make out, so I haven't been able to absorb enough."
"Since you've found your mate? You mean you've been doing this vegan diet for two weeks?"
He scrunched his eyebrows at my questions. "Vegan diet?"
"Food with no meat." I shrugged, which earned a snort from Quinn.
"Yeah, for two weeks. I'm not completely starving, but I'm just always hungry. Normally if I can't get food from school, I can absorb some if Joseph brings people home. But he's only been bringing your delta home, and I'm getting no energy off them. I'm gonna take a wild guess that Hayden is Joseph's source, but he won't admit it yet." I gave him a tight-knit smile which answered that question for him.
"You don't look very good, so why don't I take you back to my apartment in the pack house, so you can rest to conserve energy while I find you a newly mated couple that you can feed off of. Werewolves give off more energy, so that should help satisfy you, okay?"
His face contorted, but he nodded.
Quinn has gone vegan or something and he's not doing good. I'm taking him back to the pack house. I'll see you after school. I linked Xander.
Woah, why are you taking a human to the pack house? Xander is a little dense sometimes.
Xander, you know Joseph and Quinn are brothers, right? I spoke slowly.
Yeah?
And Joseph is an incubus. If you didn't realize, Quinn is also an incubus. And when I say he went vegan I mean he stopped having sex. I'm taking him to find a mated couple to absorb energy from.
There was a moment of silence.
I am an idiot. He whispered in my mind. I couldn't help but chuckle out loud.
We know. Apollo answered for me, making my smile grow larger with amusement.
I walked Quinn to his locker so he could pick up some books he needed. His locker happened to be by Joseph's classroom. A new class was piling in since lunch just ended. I walked in casually, earning stares from a few of the students. Joseph knew I was there but didn't bother looking up from his desk when I approached.
"I'm stealing Quinn for the rest of the day. Emergency." Joseph looked up, squinting at me.
"What type of emergency?" He asked skeptically, placing his book down on the desk to give me his full attention.
I attempted a reassuring smile even though I knew it rarely helped with trying to seem less cold and demanding.
"A mundane friend emergency," I clarified. His skeptical look did not falter, but I kept up my weird smile.
"Okay, then," he spoke before picking up his lesson plans. I scurried out of the room before he could change his mind. I caught up with Quinn, and with the hallways packed now, we got even more curious looks from our classmates.
I ushered him out of the school and into my car. He, of course, made a face of disgust once he entered my car.
"It smells like wolf in here," he complained, pinching his nose. I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't bother taking offense to his comment.
"Did you ever text your mate like I told you to?" He looked down at his hands. "Well why don't you do it now? I'll help you text him and you guys can set up a date or something. You can even plan it for a few weeks away if you aren't comfortable yet," I suggested.
He sighed, fishing his phone out from his backpack. "What do I say? 'Hey sorry I've been ignoring you and probably making both our lives a living hell for two weeks'?"
I glanced at him with a warning look to stop with the sarcasm. "Why not start with 'Hey, this is the guy from the park the other week' and see if he responds?" He rolled his eyes but typed out the message. Once done, he placed his phone on his lap, but it was barely there for a second before it buzzed.
Quinn's eyes widened with surprise and curiosity as he picked up his phone again. "He said 'Hey, I was hoping you'd text me. I was losing hope.'" I chuckled, thinking about the whirlwind of emotions this wolf has probably gone through these past two weeks.
"What do I say back?" I was probably the worst person to be advising him, but here we are, two boys who've barely managed relationships before trying to figure it out.
"Ummm... what about just 'I guess I made a good impression.' That seems like something you'd say." Quinn laughed loudly, snorting while doing so.
"That is something I'd say! I'll say that. You know me so well, Blazen!" He quickly typed out the message, earning an instant reply back. "Wow this guy is desperate. I like it. He said 'A very good impression. I haven't been able to get you out of my mind.'"
Quinn continued texting this mysterious wolf the whole ride to the pack. I watched Quinn grow slightly uneasy once we entered wolf territory.
"What's your deal with wolves? I know they aren't the most pleasant smelling and can be aggressive, but what did a wolf do to you to make you this uneasy?" Quinn stiffened at the question, pursing his lips together.
"You know Joseph isn't actually my brother, right?" I nodded because it was common knowledge. "We met at a witch coven down south. They had brought me in a few years before Joseph was rescued by them. We were the only incubus children at the time, and he acted like a big brother to me." I wasn't sure why he was explaining this backstory, but I let him. "Before I was taken in by witches, I was in a wolf pack," he admitted, causing me to glance warily in his direction.
"My grandfather was a werewolf. He was my grandmother's source and my grandfather had lost his mate before they met. They had my father, whose wolf was dormant, so he was mainly an incubus. My father accidentally got pregnant and died during childbirth. I don't know who my other father is and my grandparents never spoke of it. My grandparents took me in and raised me for a time until my grandmother died in a rogue attack. My grandfather was incapable of raising me during his grief, and my wolf was dormant too so none of the wolves wanted me. I was only six at the time. They all knew how difficult it can be raising an incubus child, so I don't blame them. The Alpha asked a witch coven he was friendly with if they had any idea on how to raise me, and they offered to take me in."
No wonder Quinn and I got along so well, we both knew what it was like to be tossed to the side unwanted, moved around helplessly, and feel abandoned by our families. It didn't surprise me too much, though. I could tell he had trauma by the way Joseph was so gentle and careful around him, similar to how he acted with me.
"Is he still alive? Your grandfather?" I kept my focus on the road to try to make him feel less pressured by the situation.
"Yeah, he is. He used to visit me a lot when I lived in the coven. He tried, I know he did, but it still hurt feeling like he just gave me up. I don't really talk to him anymore, but Joseph gives him practically weekly updates about me. He writes me letters and sends me presents, but I just haven't brought myself to respond," he sighed, leaning his head on the window. His phone buzzed a few times, but he ignored it.
"You feel abandoned by your grandfather, your wolf pack. The creatures you used to see as a family. The scent that you used to identify as home, is now just a painful reminder. If anyone can understand that, it's me. But don't torture yourself and fuck up your future because of your past. Don't let your trauma define you." I was never very good at pep talks because normally I was on the receiving end, but I tried my best to sound motivational.
"Yeah, I think you are right," he agreed, sounding more exhausted than he did a moment ago. "What should I do?" Quinn rarely sounded serious, and when he did, he never sounded helpless. But here he was, exhausted, serious, and helpless all at once.
"Here's the plan. Ready?" He nodded his head weakly. "We are going to first get you to my room and make you nap and eat some human food. Then we will find you an energy source so you won't look dead. You are going to plan a date with your mystery lover boy. You are going to work things out with your mate, and then you are going to call your grandfather. You don't have to fully reconnect with him, just get some closure, okay?" I glanced toward him as we pulled up to the packhouse. He had a small smile on his lips as he nodded.
"I already set up a date with 'lover boy' for tomorrow. Problem is I can't touch him, of course." We got out of the car and I began leading him to my apartment.
"Why can't you touch him?" This was one of the things I was confused about.
"As an incubus, I try not to touch someone unless I am going to take their energy. You are weirdly immune to it, but most people go into a frenzy once they've been touched. It's even worse if it's your source. The euphoric feeling from the touch is way more intense to the point if you two don't have sex the creature could go into a heat-like state for weeks," he explained as we dodged some people in the packhouse.
"And you don't want to mate yet," I concluded. He mumbled something, but it wasn't very coherent. I think he was cursing out wolves again.
I pulled him into my apartment, he was in such a daze at this point I was surprised he was still standing. I led him to the couch and he sunk right into it, his eyes as droopy as ever. I brewed some tea while I got him an energy bar. He gladly accepted it and ate it. It was funny watching him eat considering he normally doesn't. He was awkward about it as if it was completely foreign to him.
I forced him to drink some peppermint tea before he finally passed out on the couch. I sighed, and took out my bookbag to continue my research on my current fixation: Wilson Wager.