The black wolf was filled with an urgency he had never felt before. Something was wrong, he just knew it.
He ran through the trees as quickly as he could, every passing minute that went by making his anxiety grow more and more.
He caught the scent of blood in the air and kicked up the speed. He needed to get home. Now.
Only when he reached home, he almost wished he hadn't.
The scene was utter carnage. There was blood everywhere, the ground soaked with it. His pack brothers and sisters were all dead around the den grounds. They had been butchered, there was no other way to describe the sickening scene around him.
He turned his attention to the house and bolted inside, his heart hammering hard against his ribs. Where were his parents? Where was his uncle? He ran through the house with an urgency he had never known before, trying his best to block out the scenes around him as he searched for his family. He had to find them. Please let them be okay!
And then he found them, or what was left of them.
Humans shouldn't have been able to do it, but his family had been strewn around the study in pieces. Only the fact that he knew them enabled him to tell which body part belonged to whom. Bile rose up in his throat.
No! he thought in horror as he looked at what had once been his loving family. NO! Those monsters!
His mother, his father, his uncle ... his whole family gone ... taken from him by Hunters ...
As the rage at the loss of his entire pack boiled through his blood, the black wolf sat back and howled out his pain.
*
Quinn came awake with the howl of pain ringing in her ears. It hadn't been her nightmare that she had just experienced, she was certain of that, but the touch of Christian's mind was now as familiar to her as her own. It seemed their bond was allowing her a little further access into her Alpha's mind so that she could get inside even when he was asleep.
It was still dark, which told her that it was most likely the middle of the night and it took her a moment to remember why her surroundings were unfamiliar, to remember that she was in Christian's room and not her own.
After her sudden fit of rage from Liam's teasing the night before, it had felt as if all of her energy had been drained. She had barely had enough left in her to eat the pancakes Christian had thoughtfully brought her to eat.
The huge bed the pair of them had been sitting on while she ate had looked so inviting when she was done, but just having her Alpha sitting so close to her as he watched her eat made her reconsider. She hadn't known what she had done to make him angry with her before he had left to get her something to eat, but she hadn't wanted to provoke him any more than Liam had.
"I think I'm going to go turn in," she had said as she got to her feet, stifling a yawn. "Thank you for the food, Alpha."
"Not a chance," Christian had objected, his lips forming into the hard disapproving line Quinn had become accustomed to while his gaze came to rest on the bruises forming around her throat. "Silvia won't be the only one to try and lash out at you out of some misplaced sense of jealousy."
The disapproving expression had turned into a lazy one while he had lain back with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
"You're staying right here where I can keep an eye on you," he had said with an almost contented sounding sigh. "I'll have Sophia bring over some of your things a bit later. I'm sure she'd love to visit with you now that you're up and about again."
Quinn had made to object, to tell him she wasn't comfortable staying in a room other than her own. Why would Sophia need to bring some of her things if she would just be spending one night, anyway? But he had cut her off. "Don't make me have to command you, Little Hunter."
So, Quinn had had little choice but to stay in the Alpha's suite, lying down as close to the edge of the bed as possible so she didn't inadvertently invade his space. This had earned an irritated sound from him and she had been pulled back towards the middle of the bed so that she wasn't in any danger of being dumped on the floor if she so much as shifted.
As she lay in the darkness, Quinn turned to look at the sleeping man beside her and her lips twitched in a smile for the briefest of seconds. He was facing her. Just like he had before.
While she watched him, fighting the urge to touch him, to make sure she wasn't dreaming, his expression changed from peaceful to troubled and she was suddenly hit with a sense of urgency and rage again. But they didn't belong to her.
This time, she really did reach out and touch his shoulder. "Alpha? Christian?"
The big man slowly calmed at her touch and she was startled when he mumbled her name in his sleep. She could have sworn the corners of his lips had twitched in the briefest hint of a smile. She was startled even further when he reached out and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close to his chest.
"Christian?" she whispered uncertainly. Would he be disgusted if he woke up and realized what he was doing?
It was so tempting to just fall back asleep right there in his arms. He was so warm. And the sense of safety that washed through her was surprisingly comforting.
It was at this point that her body made its needs known and with a reluctant sigh, Quinn carefully extricated herself from Christian's hold before slipping out of the bed. She quietly padded across the room to the en suite bathroom and took care of her body's needs.
The cold water of the tap felt good as she washed her hands. When she was done, she looked up at her reflection and ran wet fingers through her hair. She looked a little pale and drawn, and disappointingly, one of her eyes was still gold. There was no way she was going to get used to seeing that every time she caught her reflection in something shiny. It was just too bizarre.
Her gaze slid down from her eyes to the bruises around her throat. Anger flared through her, thinking of how Silvia had made it her mission to make her life a living hell from the very first time they met. There was nothing but vitriol in the woman when it came to Quinn.
And all because she wanted the status of an Alpha.
It had nothing to do with Christian, which made Quinn even more angry. Sure, he was a hard man most of the time – mostly when it came to her – and he had a terrifying reputation as an Alpha. But he was also a good man. The way his people loved and respected him made that very clear. The burden he shouldered by caring for all of them, for making sure they were all safe, was immense. It was too much for one person to carry.
Silvia and her friends only saw him as the Alpha and what the position of being his mate could get them. They weren't interested in being there for him, in trying to ease his burden or heal the emotional scars he carried. And Silvia had tried to kill her just to get that spot back.
The rage burned through her like wild fire and as she focused back on her eyes, something in the back of her mind began to make its presence known. It was strong and feral, something she hadn't felt before. If she tried to picture it, it was like something wild was trying to get out of a cage in her mind.
While she fought to keep control, she gripped the counter so hard her knuckles turned white. Her vision began to shift and swim. Colors began to change, so that she no longer saw anything in normal color but in a range of blues and yellows. A soft growl rose from her chest and she clenched her teeth.
Stop, she begged silently, shutting her eyes to stop the disorienting shift in her vision. Please stop. I don't want to change. Not like this!
A large hand coming to rest gently on the back of her neck had her eyes snapping open wildly and she saw Christian's reflection behind her own in the bathroom mirror, his ice blue eyes concerned as he watched her. Sudden anxiety must have woken him, she thought guiltily.
"Deep breaths, Little Hunter," he said in a soothing tone. "It'll pass. Just take deep breaths."
Strangely enough, just as when he had pulled her close only a few minutes earlier, a sense of safety washed over her and the fit of rage slowly passed, just as he said it would.
"That's it," he said, shifting his hand to the side of her neck. "Good girl."
Quinn was calm enough to take slight offence at the 'good girl' comment. She wasn't a dog – at least not the house pet kind, anyway. And the jury was still out if she would ever be the howl at the moon kind, but still.
"Seriously?" she almost growled and while his lips twitched in amusement in response to her minor irritation, Christian didn't really seem to be paying attention. He seemed to be focusing on the back of her neck now, his thumb tracing the lines of her Hunter's mark.
"Remarkable," he said, almost to himself.
Remarkable? Quinn wondered. What was so remarkable about her tattoo? Was it the lack of 'x' marks beside it?
Christian's fingers moved again so that he traced the bruises Silvia had left around her throat and Quinn watched his expression change.
"This was my fault," he said, his tone dripping with what could only be described as self-loathing. "Liam warned me about Silvia before. I shouldn't have left you alone, especially knowing I could have killed you when I bit you."
Quinn's heart was beating in overdrive. Christian was being so gentle with her and it was a welcome change to the normal behavior she had come to expect from him. It sounded like he actually gave a damn about her.
Cash in on this as much as you can before it goes away in a few days, the little voice in the back of her mind encouraged and Christian chuckled, reminding her that he could hear her thoughts.
Her cheeks burning in embarrassment, Quinn dropped her gaze to the sink in front of her.
"Is that what you want, Little Hunter?" she heard him ask. "To 'cash in'? Maybe we can make good on Liam's suggestion with the pillows, hmm? How does that sound?"
Quinn's stomach flipped. Oh. That's what Liam had meant the night before.
What was she supposed to do now? Imagining and doing were totally different things. Her old life hadn't really prepared her for that kind of situation. She barely knew the Alpha, for crying out loud!
She ventured a glance up at Christian in the mirror and was relieved to see that he seemed to be trying to hold back his laughter while he watched her agonize over the prospect of sleeping with him. Just like Liam, he was teasing her, only Christian was just doing it to get her to relax after her little fit of rage.
"You're teasing me," she said, managing a relieved smile.
Christian's hand left her neck and he stepped back with a sigh. "Of course. I would never take advantage of you like that, Quinn."
If she didn't know any better, Quinn could have sworn he looked almost disappointed that he had to let her go. She was about to ask him about it when a quiet knock on the bathroom door broke the spell and they both turned to see Grayson standing in the doorway, a grim expression on his face.
"Alpha Grayson," Quinn said in greeting.
Christian's reaction to his friend took her by surprise. A vicious snarl escaped his lips and he quickly stepped in front of her so that he was firmly placed between Quinn and the other Alpha.
"Mine," he growled.
Quinn's heart almost stopped. Mine?
Grayson lifted an eyebrow in amusement and lifted his hands, palm outwards. "Easy, my friend. I'm very much happily mated to your sister, remember? You're in no danger of losing your woman to me."
Quinn's mind was spinning. Christian thought Grayson was trying to take her from him? That made no sense to her at all. Only true mates ever felt threatened like that. The bond thing had been an accident and it would wear off in a few days. Why was he being so possessive?
She didn't know why she did it, but something compelled her to reach out and place a hand on Christian's back. And when she did, he slowly began to relax.
He blew out a long breath and then glanced over his shoulder at her in thanks.
"Sorry, Grayson," he said. "What brings you to my suite in the middle of the night?"
Quinn watched as the amusement melted away from the other Alpha's face to be replaced by a cold, hard mask.
"The Prime has called a Meeting," Grayson reported. "We're all expected to attend."
His gaze turned to rest on Quinn. "And he's commanded that you bring the Hunter along. Apparently, the Elders want to meet her."