Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
QUINN
Idon’t have time to blink, and Aleksei is lifting and placing me in the middle of Kade and Santiago.
“Roshka, Nalla.” He snaps a series of commands off at them in Russian, and the dogs transform from shields to protectors.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
His wrath gentles ever so slightly, but instead of answering, he points at Santiago. “Give her your jacket. Cover her up.”
He goes to leave, and perhaps if I hadn’t seen the darkness in his eyes, or smelled the rage on his skin, I’d let him go. “Aleksei… stop, what are you doing?”
Before he answers, he arms himself. “One of them filmed on their phone.”
“Do you need to rush me out for that?”
“You were the one trying to run,” he whispers, a tiny smile hitting his lips.
And a smile should just be a smile, except when you’ve just bonded your Alpha, apparently, because it’s a whole lot more than a smile.
It’s like I’m seeing the sun for the first time.
Made a hundred times more intense because I feel the emotion behind the expression hit like a bullet train.
I stagger under the weight of what Aleksei shares in the bond, but to everyone else, he appears as nonchalant as ever.
“I’d prefer you not watch what I’m about to do. But more so, I’d prefer you freshen up before he does something I won’t be able to ignore.” His gaze drops to my hand, but it’s so quick I might have imagined it.
I’m struck by his sudden openness, considering only a handful of minutes ago, I was sure he had no clue who I was.
So much is happening because of the moment we both endured, it’s like doors have unlocked deep inside me, and it makes me feel like I’m in the middle of a storm.
It’s confusing. But I lean in to what I know; I’m safe with them.
Whether right or wrong, there’s no disputing I do feel seen and protected by them, and always have.
I watch Aleksei stride towards a man I didn’t notice before.
He raises his arm and barks in Russian. It’s enough for me, and I refocus on leaving.
Behind me, the scene unfolds in typical mafia style, with angry denials and cold accusations.
The argument only stops when the sound of a gun goes off and a body drops.
As I race away, nearly past the door, Bambi grabs a hold of my arm to shove me out of her way.
Her fingers barely grip my forearm, and she freezes on the spot, the sound of her gasping in time with the rumbling threat of warning from Santiago, who catches her arm the way she has mine.
But he drops her hand just as fast, like she’s poison ivy.
“You do not put one finger on her. Fucking ever,” he hisses.
Nalla doesn’t wait for Bambi to start shrieking, instead she uses her giant head to ram her body out of the way. The way Bambi’s feet get lifted off the ground, then loses her balance, makes me want to laugh. Too many people are watching our interaction, so I act like nothing is going on.
Though I stay focused on escaping, I walk slower than Santiago or Kade would like me to because we’re making a spectacle. And while hardly any of the staff speak fluent English, I still stop next to the lady I know who runs the kitchen.
“I’m going to freshen up. Could you please send drinks to Sergey? He’s in the sitting room. He has several men with him. Once I am back, we’re cutting the cake.”
I’m not being a gracious host out of the goodness of my heart; I’m creating a diversion. And giving a reason to the guests watching to explain why I’m walking away from my own wedding reception.
Roshka stalks through the milling crowd, and they move out of his way. He doesn’t stop until he’s at the door to my end of the house, and Kade’s pushing his hand against it.
“Your hand should work, too, Quinny. Let’s test the theory later, though. Let’s get you safe inside,” he says, his voice quiet, even though there’s no one around.
“You know I’m actually okay, right?”
“Of course you are.” A tired smile on his face confirms there’s no shade in his words. If anything, the confirmation he knows I can look after myself does better to soothe my nerves than a large glass of wine would.
The door lock mechanism makes the smallest sound, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Roshka makes a low bark and stares at us until we stop walking further inside our suite.
He and Nalla split up, and without making a sound, they check the other rooms. It’s unnecessary. I’m so oversensitive, I’d feel anyone else’s presence like sandpaper now, but they’re just doing their job.
No one speaks while they move from room to room until Roshka makes another sound, letting us know everything is safe.
I head off towards my bathroom, but Santiago catches my hand. “What did he mean, ‘it was you’?”
He doesn’t let go of my hand, and I change it so we’re holding hands properly, desperately needing his Alpha dependability and stability to counter the rage engulfing Aleksei and rippling through our bond.
I always figured I had a good understanding of bonding and the strangely romantic notion of scent matches.
But it’s learned from medical books and my time with patients.
I never quite believed the papers written about how consuming bonds could be, how primally instinctual they have the potential to be or how, in some rare cases, the connection between some people is so strong the bite doesn’t need to be reciprocated for it to snap into place.
Perhaps it makes sense that I’m in that category. I might not have bitten Aleksei, but that doesn’t detract from the bond we now share.
“I promise to explain everything after. Right now, I want to shower, change, and then get back down there as soon as possible.”
“You don’t need to do that. We can say you’ve got a headache or something.”
I shake my head, laughing under my breath before blurring all the lines I’ve worked so hard to put in place when I cup my hand against Santiago’s cheek and sink further into him. “That’s not who I am, Santiago. I’d rather face what is coming head-on.”
“What is coming?” Kade asks as he stands so close behind me, his warmth heats me.
“Again, that’s a question I’ll try to answer later.”
Kade drops his forehead to my shoulder. Of course, I’m worried how Santiago will read Kade being this way, as much as Kade will question Santiago, and while I know they’ve spoken about our individual relationships, I also know they’re both vaults. My secret is safe with them.
As I walk away from the shelter they provided, I feel surprisingly steady.
Roshka lies in front of the closed door, probably sensing my urgency to wash Aleksei’s scents and ghostly touches from my body.
I don’t banish them from my mind, by any means.
I take the time to vividly remember our time, then bury it deep in my memory, each pleasurable touch locking out the revolting way we were pushed together. I focus on the good and only the good.
Washing Aleksei’s claim from my body is something I never want to experience again. I’m torn and lost in a gamut of emotions, tears track down my face, but I know I have to do it. I desperately don’t want too, though.
I redo my makeup, focusing a lot of time on hiding his bite again. I let down my updo, wearing it over one shoulder, giving myself somewhere to hide before letting the two-piece white Chanel pants and jacket set act more like armor than iconic fashion.
“Jesus, Quinny.” Kade whistles low when I stop, then do a little spin in front of them at the front door. “You look gorgeous.”
His comment comes from a good place, but it strikes a chord.
“Thanks,” I mumble, suddenly questioning and berating myself for dropping my guard.
Since they arrived and we’ve been spending more time together, and then with Aleksei just now, all the lines I swore I wouldn’t cross when coming to Russia seem to have slowly disappeared. It’s frustrating, because I’m not weak-willed, yet I feel like a failure in some respects.
“Don’t do that.” A rumble spills from Santiago’s chest as he speaks.
“What?”
His eyes glint with challenge, and it’s all directed towards me. His influence makes my head spin and my heart race with joy. I’m unable to turn and race away from the situation. He comes closer, his amber scent so thick and heady, my mouth waters.
“I saw you just now starting to edge away from us again. As soon as we get this bullshit reception finished, we are going into lockdown until we sort ‘us’ out. And, yes, ‘us’ clearly includes Aleksei.”
He’s so close, his clothes brush against my front, and being this close to an Alpha, I should feel threatened and worried. In some regard, I do, but none of my concern is based on me being scared of or intimidated by him.
Santiago doesn’t let up, “You have to realize, Quinn, however you want to brand us, we’re not going anywhere.”
He takes a step back before I can say a word and pulls the door wide open.
Roshka walks straight out and Nalla prowls slower past him, the whole time staring him down, which I read as the “us” better include them too.
Obviously, my brain is completely screwed up, which makes sense because it’s been spinning, tornado-style since we met, and I think I just made landfall.
The moment we leave the suite, Kade and Santiago are so indifferent towards me, it almost feels like separation.
Which I’m thankful for, considering my brain is all syrupy.
I need someone here being rational. My thoughts keep getting lost in what the consequence would be if we were in the position to simply tell each other the truth.
It’s my Omega side in hyperdrive, and I lunge onto their levelheadedness, locking away the lure of our discussion later.