53. Quin
I struggle to swallow as nerves assail me. I know that Simon and Izzy won’t judge me for what I’ve endured, they’ve already assured me of that. I mean, fuck, Simon has probably suffered the same agonies as me at the hands of my parents, O’Hare, and the other malignant personnel who helped build Vieux Sang into the nightmare responsible for our captivity and torture.
But still, it’s one thing to talk about shared experiences and the like, and another entirely to show the proof of that corporation’s evil.
“How about I start, then?” Simon suggests, to my combined relief and disappointment. I know I need to talk, to get it all out there, but the words just don’t seem to want to come right now.
“Okay, so at Isobel’s suggestion earlier, I made a couple of calls to people I know I can trust. The first was Cyril. He’s a Mundane lion, and I’ve known him most of my life. He’s one of my blood-brothers and has been there for me since just after Tálstrom came into being. He works for U.I.C.I., which most people know as the Urban Infrastructure and Community Integration unit. However, their true name is the Unilateral Insurgent and Containment Investigation task force, and they primarily deal with infiltrating and investigating operations who work against the greater good. They also collect evidence and dismantle illegal operations, such as the organization your parents and O’Hare run.”
I know about Cyril and his mates—Sarai with her unicorn, and my old friend Aodhán. I don’t know how much of his life Simon has shared with Izzy, but from the way he’s talking, I’m guessing she knows the basics.
“Cyril is currently in San Antonio, and he’s already booked a flight for him and his mates. From what he said in his last text, they’ll all be here a little before lunchtime.”
Simon fidgets for a moment, unease and discomfort seeping from him and through our bonds.
“I also called Nox. He’s called in the big guns. He, Sila, and the guys will be arriving around the same time as Cyril, because he’s managed to charter a flight with the Shifter Council. They’ll be accompanied by several members of the Shifter Council themselves, including President Brenin. Apparently, Brenin has a vested interest in this family, which is how Nox managed to have a private jet left at his disposal.”
I gulp.
The President of the entire Shifter Council is turning up, here? I mean, I know my parents have been working against the Council for years, their practices and procedures undermining the very tenets of what the Council has spent centuries building, but it doesn’t mean that I feel prepared or qualified to interact with them.
A horrific thought seizes me. What if they think I’m in on it all? What if the Council believe I’m allied with my parents and the rest of Vieux Sang, and that I’m just as much to blame for Aodhán’s and Simon’s captivities?
“Quin!” Simon barks at me, and I realize he’s been calling my name.
“What?” I croak, my mind still reeling at the idea I could be held responsible for my parents’ actions.
“Bro, chill. Nobody is gonna think you’re a part of it, not if I have anything to say about it. For fuck’s sake, the fact that your parents decided to use you as one of their test subjects, and have manipulated and abused you since fucking birth should be enough to sway their opinions on the matter. And if it’s not? Then they can come bitch at me and I’ll set them straight. I told you, you’re my family. I’ve got your back, always.”
Having that reassurance from Simon means a lot to me, and it’s the push I need to finally share with him and Izzy about my new forms.
“They fucked up my tiger,” I blurt out, and wince at my blunt and clumsy delivery. While there’s no real delicate way to explain what’s happened to me, I probably could have phrased it better.
“What do you mean? What did they do to you?” Simon whispers, his eyes wide and full of fear.
So, I tell them.
I tell them of the surgeries, although I don’t know what their purpose was. I don’t hold anything back, not the experiments, the injections, or the violation at O’Hare’s hands. I expunge it all in a torrent of word-vomit, and it’s only once I’ve recounted my escape that I slow my speech.
Simon sits there in horrified silence, but it’s Izzy who slays me with her words.
“Your parents, they know about me? About our baby?”
I swallow hard and nod.
“I swear to you, Bel, that I didn’t say a word to them about you. I thought I’d hidden myself well enough. When I was taken, it was from Memphis, and they never said anything until a few weeks ago. I won’t let them hurt you, or our little cub. I’ll fucking die before I let them harm a single hair on either of your heads.”
I fall to my knees before Izzy, grabbing one of her hands in both of mine. I stare at her with my heart in my throat, silently pleading with everything I am for her to believe me. The fear in her eyes softens as she gazes down at me, her smile gentle and loving.
“It’s okay, Quin. I know you’d never do anything to hurt us. We just need to stay alert and aware, keep watch for any strangers lurking around. It’s probably also a good idea to let my family know all of this, because they’ll tear these interlopers to shreds at any threat to me or Arina. We’re not weak or powerless here, and it’s to their own detriment if they believe that.”
I bow my head, pressing my forehead to the back of her hand. I whisper my thanks to whichever one of the gods sent those two hunters to shoot me, allowing the dominoes of my fate to fall and lead me to the heart and soul residing outside of my body.
“So, we know now that your parents are the main driving force behind Vieux Sang. O’Hare is their creature, and they’re only too happy to unleash him on innocent and unsuspecting shifters if they think it will benefit them or their doctrine. Chadwick Corbin, Brentley L?nnberg, and Catherine L?nnberg have all aligned themselves with Vieux Sang in the hopes that, what? You’ll mate with Catherine? That’s what’s got me stumped. The three of them are classic narcissists, and they wouldn’t be a part of something like this unless there was something in it for them, something that would make the risk of running afoul of the Shifter Council worthwhile. They’ve experienced first-hand the justice of the Council, so whatever it is needs to big enough to overcome any doubts or fears they may have of repercussion.”
I look over at Simon, thinking back on everything I remember O’Hare and Catherine telling me.
Oh. Fuck.
I leap to my feet, releasing the grip I had on Izzy as I race over to the closet where I left the duffel bag. Wrenching open the door and leaning down, I yank on the handles of the bag and haul it over to the coffee table. I rip open the zipper and start pulling out the drives and folders took before I torched the building back in Missouri.
“I found O’Hare’s research. I have his laptop, drives, and even some of his older files. Anything he’s worked on should be here somewhere, and hopefully what I’ve got here will hold the answers to all our questions.”
Simon’s phone chimes, and he pulls it from his pocket with a frown before his face clears and he answers.
“Nox, what’s going on?”
He’s silent, listening to the voice on the other end of the line speaking. I try my best not to eavesdrop, but I can’t quite tune out the amount of “fucks” being uttered by this Nox person.
“Yeah, that sounds about right. A bit of good news, though, although it means more work for Kane. Quin has a bunch of files, external hard drives, and a laptop that he carried all the way from where he was kept in Missouri. Yeah, you heard that right, man. Missouri. You might wanna check in with Jax, see if any of that sounds familiar to him. But from what Quin can gather, these are all personal notes and files and shit from O’Hare himself. He’s got the fucker’s gods-damned laptop, Nox!”
Sounds of excitement emerge from Simon’s phone, and I look around for a safe place to store the drives until Nox or Kane or whoever can take possession of them all. The coffee table has drawers underneath its top, and I pull one out, happy to see that it’s relatively deep. I empty out the collection of hunting and fishing magazines taking up the space, settling the evidence of Vieux Sang’s perfidy and wrongdoing inside. Once the drawer is closed, there’s no indication of what explosive information the coffee table hides.
Simon disconnects from his call, staring blankly down at his phone screen for a moment or two.
“That was Nox, obviously. They’ve already landed at the airport in Alexandria and are on their way. They managed to get Cyril, Sarai, and Aodhán on a charter flight, and they’re about to land. Everyone will be here in about an hour and a half, if not sooner. They’re gonna floor it the entire way and have alerted local law enforcement so that there’s no hold ups. Isobel, you might want to let your family know. Nox asked me to contact Josiah to call him over. Rhys Brenin wants to speak with him.”
Izzy shifts on the sofa, and I belatedly notice that Arina is asleep in her arms.
“Give her here? I have a whole heap of cuddles to give her, to make up for not being around while she was growing in your belly or there at her birth.”
Even though this isn’t the first time I’ve held my daughter in my arms or snuggled with her, every single time that I do feels precious to me. That I missed so much, even though she’s not even three weeks old, is something I’ll always regret. I’ll never forgive my parents for stealing this from me, not if I live to be a thousand and have a hundred cubs.
Things aren’t over with them, not by a long shot. I know I’ll have to deal with them, and soon. The storm of their retaliation is brewing on the horizon. I just want to take this day—this moment—to breathe in my new family before it crashes down upon us.
I lose myself to the smell and feel of Arina sleeping in my arms. Baby powder, milk, and traces of loam and rosemary float up to me, and my heart sings at the gift fast asleep in my arms. All too soon, Izzy is reaching for her again, and I reluctantly relinquish my daughter back to her mother’s care.
An air of expectancy surrounds us all, and I’m weighed down by the knowledge that Simon and Izzy are waiting for me to shift, to show them what’s now inside of me. I may as well take advantage of the quiet and privacy of the moment, as all-too-soon we’ll be overrun by other shifters.
“Come out front. I think it’s time you met the monsters Vieux Sang put inside me.”
I stand, holding my hand out to Izzy to help her up. When she makes to move past me and put Arina down for a nap, I block her way.
“No, Izzy. My tiger and hybrid need to get used to her in their forms, and I want her to know them, too, if she wakes. Bring her outside, and you can both sit on the porch swing while I shift.”
I wait until Izzy and Simon are outside before following behind.
I can’t help but feel that, once I show them both my new forms, our lives will never be the same again.