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.
Before she had been kidnapped, her wardrobe had been similar to what she wore now, but Quinn had only put in the effort because her job had required it of her. The comfortable loose fitting and light clothing she had worn in the manor had come with no fuss management and she generally didn't care about what her hair looked like styling wise. She either left it loose during the day or pulled it back in a ponytail for training.
Now, she felt completely out of place and overdressed. Thanks to Sophia and Melissa, Quinn looked like Alexandra Antanov again, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She wasn't that person anymore.
As she agonized over the unwanted makeover she had been forced into, Quinn lifted a hand to rub at her kohl rimmed eyes and Melissa's hand shot out to grab her wrist tightly.
"Don't even think about it!" the woman snapped from beside her where they sat in the back seat of the SUV that Liam had just put into park in front of the Alpha Prime's home. "You're not smudging our masterpiece."
Quinn cast a glance at Liam in the rearview mirror and saw that he was struggling to hold back his laughter, so she kicked the back of his seat irritably, which only made him laugh harder. Why did the guy always find her discomfort so damned funny?
"I hate this," she groused, folding her arms across her chest. "I feel like I can't breathe in all of this stuff."
"Just try and stick it out for a week or so," Sophia tried to reason with her. "You are who you are, Quinn. Whether you like it or not, you were born Alexandra Antanov. You can't run away from that fact, so own it and make everyone see who you are. Who knows? You might even find you like the new look."
"And remember," Liam added, his humor fading quickly. "It's not just you that the other Alphas will be judging while we're here. You bear the mark of Alpha General. But not just any Alpha General. You have been marked by Christian St. Clair, who has openly sworn to eradicate every single Hunter in the territory. Now, he's got a Hunter under his protection and everyone will want to know why. Everything you do while you're here will reflect on him."
A movement in front of them caught Quinn's attention before she could respond and she watched as Christian and Grayson stepped through the front door to meet them. For the umpteenth time since he had left her to his sister's mercy, she felt Christian trying to get into her mind. He would be sensing her irritation, her unease, and she could feel his curiosity over it in response, but she forced herself to keep the image of her new look in the deepest corner of her mind.
What was he going to say when she got out of the car and he saw her all made up to be put on display? Would he like the change? Would he hate it? Would he even care? As she thought about his reaction, Quinn imagined a wall inside her mind and pushed the Alpha's presence back out behind it.
She watched as Christian's lips formed into a hard, disapproving line when his connection to her mind was forced back and she knew he would give her an earful about it later when they were alone. He didn't like not having his way.
'What do you think you're doing, Little Hunter?' he demanded. 'Why are you forcing me out? What are you trying to hide from me?'
"Come on," Melissa said encouragingly. "Chris looks like he's ready to rip the car doors off. Best not keep him waiting, hmm?"
Quinn waited for the others to get out of the car before she reluctantly followed suit, making her way to the two Alphas so slowly it was as if the ground was trying to latch onto her feet with every step she took. She kept her eyes cast down at her feet, but she could feel her Alpha's gaze running over her.
When she came to a stop in front of Christian and Grayson, she had no choice but to look up at Christian's face and she was a little taken aback by the look of pleasant surprise she saw there. Did he actually like what he was seeing?
"Well?" Melissa asked, forcing Quinn to turn around so the two Alphas could see everything. "What do you think? She's stunning, right? Every Alpha is going to notice her now."
"Very nice," Grayson said appreciatively. "No more little Omega ..."
"I asked you two to help Quinn get ready to meet with the Elders," Christian replied, trying to put his Alpha tone in his voice, but failing for some reason as his gaze continued to roam every inch of her. "Not treat the poor girl like some kind of fashion doll."
Quinn dropped her gaze back to her feet and fidgeted with her freshly painted nails. It really was a shame Sophia had put so much effort into making sure the paint was neat with no smudging on the edges. A few minutes in the gym and the metallic black lacquer would chip right off.
She couldn't keep the mischievous smile from her lips. Is that so? The word 'payback' echoed about in her mind as she pictured Melissa standing in front of her with her hands on her hips and yelling at her for messing up her and Sophia's 'masterpiece'. Would it be worth it?
'You don't want to make my sister mad when she's pregnant, Little Hunter,' Christian warned her in amusement. 'Trust me. She becomes a real harpy.'
"Let's go and see if Mom and Dad are around, shall we?" Quinn heard Liam suggest, jarring her out of her thoughts. Their parents were here? Why?
"Fine," Melissa huffed as she hugged Grayson. "We'll leave Chris to get his 'little wolf' all settled in by himself."
Little wolf? Quinn wondered what that was supposed to mean.
Grayson turned and began guiding his mate toward the door, but Melissa suddenly stopped and fixed Quinn with a glare and pointed a finger at her. "There had better be the same amount of effort put into your appearance when I see you at breakfast tomorrow, Quinn. I mean it! One thing out of place and you and I are going to have issues."
Grayson shot an apologetic look over his mate's shoulder while trying to stifle his laughter and led the way into the huge house, Liam and Sophia following as if they were trying to escape an impending argument.
"Yes, mom," Quinn mumbled under her breath, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out after Melissa like a child. She really did like Christian and Liam's sister and she appreciated the woman's seemingly genuine concern for her. It was like she now had a big sister, too.
There was a long awkward silence as Quinn waited to be told what to do next. Her time spent with Christian's pack was all she had to go on regarding what was acceptable in werewolf society. Was she supposed to play the dutiful Omega? Or was she supposed to be the Hunter her new look seemed to make her out to be?
"You look," he began, but his voice trailed off, as if he didn't know how to finish that sentence.
"Ridiculous?" Quinn suggested half-jokingly. She certainly felt ridiculous.
Christian actually smiled down at her. "Not exactly the word I would use. Sophia was right about the style suiting you when I was looking to stock up your wardrobe."
Quinn's mouth went dry and she could feel the beginnings of a blush coming on. Christian had bought her clothes and it seemed he did like what he was seeing.
"I'm sorry about my sister," he added quickly, as if in afterthought. "I didn't think she would go so overboard."
Quinn flashed the Alpha a small smile to let him know he was forgiven and they lapsed into awkward silence again. It was like Christian didn't know how to act around her if it wasn't in his capacity as an Alpha.
"So, your parents are here?" she asked, deciding to change the subject from her appearance since it seemed difficult for her Alpha to discuss, and she watched all humor drain from Christian's face as he remembered they were there for a reason.
"They serve as the Elder representatives from our pack," he explained. "You'll be meeting with them and the others sometime tomorrow."
Quinn pushed her hands into the pockets of her bomber jacket and looked up at the huge house behind Christian, voicing the question that had been bugging her since Grayson had said the Elders wanted to meet her. "Will it be bad?"
"I don't think so," Christian replied. "The atmosphere is a bit tense inside, given the Meeting was called so early, but Caine seems happy enough to have you under his roof. He seems a little excited about it, really."
He ran a set of fingers through his hair with a sigh. "As for the Elders, I expect they're just curious about you. It's not every day we come across a Hunter who won't kill us, let alone go out of their way to save so many prisoners of the Hunter Order."
As he finished speaking, Christian put an arm around Quinn's shoulders and guided her through the front door. He moved with purpose, barely giving Quinn enough time to really take in her surroundings or process the range of looks she was getting from the people they passed.
Anger. Curiosity. Amusement. Bewilderment. Hatred. Surprise.
"At any rate," Christian said as he led her up the stairs to the second level and then up to the third while pretending he didn't notice the attention they were receiving. "We won't find out what the Elders want until they summon you. For now, it's late and you need to get some sleep."
~*~*~*~*~
So, Quinn got a makeover :P Like it? Not so much? I think Christian does (*nudge nudge* *wink wink*). I wonder what the Elders want to see Quinn about? And what about the Alphas and their meetings?
Just want to thank everyone for reading Hunter's Heart and helping it reach 1.5K reads this week. Thanks for reading and supporting my work.
I absolutely love writing this book and seeing what your reactions to the story are :) Please remember to comment and vote? My writing can only get better with your help!
xx
DarkAngel