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I walk away without waiting for acknowledgment. If he knows what's good for him, he will stay put. I make my way back to my SUV and place Quinn in the passenger seat. I turn on the vehicle and blast the heat. Quickly, I grab a pair of jeans from the back seat and pull them on. We may be shifters and pretty used to being naked, but we still have some sense of decorum. Plus I don’t need to be hanging out all over the place while I take care of my mate. I grab the blanket from the back seat and wrap it around Quinn. I look over her whole body and see burns around her wrists and ankles.
“Silver chains,” she says. My ire reignites, and I wish I had taken more time killing him than I did. I place my hands on her face and look into her beautiful chocolate eyes.
“That was so stupid, Quinn…” I breathe out and lean my head on her forehead.
“I know, but I couldn’t do it, Eli. I couldn’t let him get Maddie. I couldn’t let him harm your pack…I couldn’t let him harm you.” Leaning back, I stare into her eyes.
“He won’t hurt you anymore, my lilac. He is gone.” She nods her head as a few tears fall down her cheeks.
“Quinn, I know I’ve made many mistakes and will likely make more, but the greatest mistake I have ever made is not telling you exactly how I feel. When I got home and you and Maddie were gone, everything came crashing down around me. I thought I had lost you for good, and I never got to tell you that I love you. I love you so much, and I don’t want to spend a single day without you in my life. You are the other part of my soul, and even if you’re not ready to accept it, you need to know that I love you and will fight for us till the day I die.” A smile breaks out across her face, and the gesture brightens my whole world.
“I love you too, Eli! I was just so scared at first. I was scared you might leave Maddie and me, and then I would have to start all over again, picking up the pieces of my heart and then the added need to pick up the pieces of Maddie’s heart. But this past little while, I have seen you love our daughter and work hard to try and protect us. While I was being held by Jake, I kept thinking how foolish I was not to tell you that you mean everything to me, too. Our bond might be pulling us towards each other, but it’s more than that; I love you with all my heart.” The breath I was holding flowed out of me, and a pressure I didn’t realize was there loosened. Knowing she loves me back relieves a burden off my shoulders that I have been carrying for years.
“Quinn Sullivan, will you be my mate, my Luna?”
“Yes! Yes, I will, Eli!” I slide my hand behind her neck and pull her into a kiss. Our lips melt together, our tongues tangling with each other, searching for the comfort only we can give each other.. We pull away, panting for breath, that little stint is causing a physical reaction that is going to be really damn difficult to hide.
“Quinn! QUINN!”
Quinn looks at me with a shocked expression. “Paige is here?”
“Yeah, to her brother’s dismay.”
“Wait, what? What brother?”
“Her contact in the council is her brother…you didn’t know?”
“No, she never told me.”
“QUINN MAE SULLIVAN, YOU ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!” Paige comes whipping around the side of the SUV and gets a glimpse of me standing in front of Quinn.
“Eli, if you don’t move and let me see my best friend, I will kick your handsome ass! Ugh, you shifters and all your muscles! Move, please!” She shoves at me to get me out of the way. Honestly, she couldn’t move me if I didn’t want her to, but she is obviously very determined to see Quinn.
“You know! When I told you to sign up for that mail-order app to find love, it did not include giving yourself up to a bloody psycho!”
“Well, hello to you too. You know I’ve had a rough day. Do you have to yell at me?”
“You’re damn right, I need to yell at you—”
I can’t help but smile as I walk away to check on everyone else. Thorn and Dominic are talking, and I assume they are coordinating clean-up, so I join in on their conversation.
“The council will see to finding the Clearwater pack and investigate who was involved and who was abused by Jake’s power,” Thorn says.
“What about the land rights and the Twilight Meadows pack?” Dominic says.
“The land will be granted to the Twilight Meadows, making this pack the only one in this area. Some of my men have already reported a mass exit of Clearwater members, no doubt trying to avoid any punishment for the acts they participated in, but that’s no longer a problem or concern of yours.”
“Dominic, there is a shifter in the barn I want you to bring to me. He apparently was helping Quinn escape; I want to talk to him.” He nods and heads in that direction. “Thorn, thank you for coming to help us out. We appreciate the council's help in this matter.”
“Yes, well, I should have heard about this situation from you, not my baby sister. I am not happy she was mixed up in all of this to begin with.”
“I agree, and I understand. I should have contacted the council earlier; my pride got in the way. I won’t make that same mistake again.”
“Thank you.”
“Alpha. The shifter you asked for.”
“Niam, correct?” He looks at me with his head held high, but his eyes are averted to show respect for my position. “Why did you go against Jake?”
