Chapter 28
Quinn
Zay twitched, tossing and turning all night.
I watched her do this a lot before we escaped, and in that first week we were in the bayou.
Being back here in Tennessee took a bigger toll on her than I thought it would.
The reality of everything was really hitting her.
I could see the sunlight around the edges of the darkened curtains.
Her bare back was pressed against my chest, my arms tightly wrapped around her.
I didn’t want to wake her, so I remained as still as I could.
It didn’t take long before she started to stir. Then, she eventually rolled over and lifted her eyes to meet mine.
“Morning, my sweet little doe,” I said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“I feel exhausted,” she muttered.
“You slept like shit,” I said.
“I didn’t realize how much my anxiety would be triggered being back here,” she said.
“There’s a lot of unknown still,” I told her.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
The defeat in her eyes—purple bags beneath them—made me want to put her back in the truck and go back to the cabin.
Instead, we needed to get up. Hyder organized a meeting with several of us who were tired of Ravik’s bullshit.
I wasn’t sure if they knew the extent of our plans or not.
Hyder assured me that neither Daxyn nor Benji caught wind of the plans.
Benji would probably be down to overtake his father, but I wasn’t sure about Daxyn.
He often acted like his parents were scum, but then in their presence, he acted like their best friend. Very wishy-washy.
We got up, and I called Callie and Hyder’s rooms with the phone. Both of them were awake and ready when we were. Zay and I climbed into the small shower, taking a joint shower together. I wanted to touch her in every way, but time was short.
Once we were out and dressed, we headed out of the room, knocking on their doors. All four of us walked along the second-floor balcony and headed down the stairs. Zay was in front of me, leading the way to the vehicles. Callie was between Hyder and me. All three of us were on high alert—
Someone yelled, “Zay!”
All three of us locked eyes on the guy, picking up our pace, walking toward him. She flashed him a big smile and walked faster toward him. I looked back at Callie. She knew him, and clearly, she wasn’t worried about him.
They got to each other, and he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her into the air, and they spun in a circle. My chest tightened, my heart beating faster. I closed the distance between us, tilting my head, narrowing my eyes, and staring at him like he was the prey.
He set her down gently and cupped her cheeks in his hands before I could do anything about it.
I cleared my throat before he decided to kiss her, and I lost my cool.
He looked up at me, his hands not leaving her face.
He turned his head to the side, then looked back down at her.
As I stared at him, I realized that he fit the description of Brenden, a friend of hers.
“Where the hell have you been?” Brenden shot out.
“It’s complicated,” she said.
"Your brother said you were kidnapped, but he thinks you ran away," he said.
“It’s true… I was kidnapped, then I escaped and ran away while I got better,” she said.
“Were… are you sick?” he asked, his hands still on her cheeks, her eyes still locked onto his.
“Yeah…” she said, before reaching up and gripping his wrists and stepping back, putting space between them. I took a deep breath that I didn’t realize I needed. “Can you not tell anyone you’ve seen me?”
“Why? What are you doing with them, anyway?”
“They’re my friends—Quinn and Callie—” she said, nodding our way, “—they saved my life.”
“I remember him. He used to come to the parties with the brothers,” he said.
At least he remembered me.
“We gotta go, Zay,” I said, reaching for her hand.
Her fingers interlocked with mine. Brenden’s eyes immediately dropped to our hands, and red washed over his face.
He made a low guttural sound and shook his head.
We turned and went to the vehicles. Zay didn’t acknowledge it.
Callie rode with Hyder, and we got in the Civic.
With the fresh paint, no one would know it was mine.
“You guys were more than friends,” I muttered.
“It was complicated,” she said.
“It didn’t look complicated for him,” I shot back.
“We were never officially anything… he spent a lot of time at our house growing up,” she said.
“But y’all were something?”
She groaned. “Yes… We hooked up a few times. I care about him, but we’re nothing.”
“What are we?” I asked. I’d never been insecure. Why the hell was I acting like this?
“What?” she shot out, her head spinning to look at me.
“I didn’t stutter, Zay,” I said.
“I don’t know,” she muttered.
The tightness in my chest returned. I knew I was being irrational, jealous in a way that wasn't fair to her. We both had a past.
She loudly sighed. “Firstly, you haven’t asked me anything. Secondly, do we need to be labeled today?”
The realization hit me in the face. She was right. How the hell could I expect her to know what we were when I hadn’t even asked her? To be what, my girlfriend? The term seemed so insignificant to what she meant to me.
“So, ask you after this is all over?” I said, finally managing to get something out.
“Yes,” she deadpanned.
“Deal,” I said.
“You were jealous,” she said, flashing me a smile.
“I was… I actually thought he was going to kiss you,” I said.
“Doubtful, maybe on the forehead. He hates PDA, and even if he did, I wouldn’t have let ‘em,” she said.
“Hmmm… are you okay with PDA?” I asked.
“I don’t know…I’ve never…” she trailed off.
“We shall test that,” I said, giving her a wink.
“We shall… so, who's all gonna be here?” she asked, changing the subject.
“No one you would know, maybe seen them around a couple of times. Just people that are ready for a change,” I said.
“Not your brother or…”
“Raphael, Daxyn and Benji are unaware of this meeting or this little uprising,” I said.
“Good,” she said, with relief in her tone.
“When we get there, there may be some who are surprised to see you alive and well,” I said.
“Yeah… I imagine that’d be a surprise,” she said.
“So, there is something else I should probably tell you before we get there… just in case it’s mentioned,” I told her.
I needed to tell her that I was bound to her. I knew that she didn’t want to put a label on us, but I also didn’t want her to hear me tell someone else this. While they may not like Ravik, they may be upset that she knows what we are and lives.
“Okay?” she replied.
“Um, remember how Lina mentioned something about binding and mating?”
“Yeah… but she wouldn’t say more, and you deflected,” she said.
“Well… time to learn, so buckle up, babe,” I said, then I took a big breath in. “Sometimes wolves are destined to be with people, other wolves, or sometimes mortals.”
“Like destiny?” she asked.
“Yes, like destiny,” I said. “It happens when they meet and lock eyes with each other. Everything in the world stops, except the person in front of them. Their senses hone in, learning the person’s smell, their features, their unique heartbeat.”
“That sounds… intense,” she said.
“If… destiny… has a werewolf and a human together, the human usually doesn’t feel the connection like that.
Most often, they fall in love anyway, because destiny tends to find a way.
If that happens, for wolves, they commit to each other.
If there is a human, then the wolf commits to them regardless,” I said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Why was this a big secret? And why are you telling me this now?”
“The first time I ever met you was on your seventeenth birthday, when you drunkenly ran into me in a line to go to the bathroom. You probably don’t remember because they had you beyond intoxicated, but our eyes locked, and I bound with you,” I said.
Her eyes widened, mouth wide open. Nothing came out. She was silent and still. Too still. The longest minute passed.
“Zay?” I asked.
She blinked her eyes rapidly at me. “Did you just say that you… are like tied to me or bound or…” she stammered.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said, trying to make her feel better about this. It was actually a big deal. It meant she was fundamentally off limits to anyone in the pack.
“Oh… Oh… I think it’s a big deal… like we’re tied forever, forever,” she said.
“You have a choice,” I said.
“Do I really?” she asked.
“Yes, of course. I’d never force you into a relationship, into a marriage, or into anything you didn’t want. Do I want to be with you? Yes, at the core of my fucking being, it revolves around you, and it always will,” I said.
“That’s a lot to process…” she said.
“There’s something else,” I said.
“Shocker,” she deadpanned.
“Once anyone knows what you mean to me, they are not allowed to touch you without declaring war on me. In a normal working pack, every member respects each other, and if there is a human that is bound, they are also treated with respect. Right now, our pack isn’t exactly functioning normally,” I said.
“Why is the pack so… divided?”
“You. What he did to you was unprecedented. Unheard of. We don’t harm humans, unless one of our lives is in actual jeopardy. Some agreed with Ravik, some were indifferent, and some were very upset that he ordered the murder of his grandchild’s mother,” I replied.
Pack politics were complicated. There were so many little rules here and there.
All females were supposed to be treated with respect.
If a werewolf did bind with a female, then she would be treated as a pack member and nothing less.
Every pack had a Novo male, and his female mate was Nova.
In order to be a Novo, you had to be married.
The only time a full human got a title was if they were mated to the Novo.
The two of them led the pack. Below them were Zeniths, which comprised eight members—four couples.
They were the trusted advisors for the Novo.
If someone had troubles, they would start with a Zenith for help.
The Zenith would take the matter to the group or straight to the Novo.
Then there were Meridians—what I was. These were high-ranking members of the pack; they could be mated or not.
They were trusted with tasks and running operations.
Umbras were the last in the hierarchy; everyone else fell here.