Epilogue
“What time is it?”
“Exactly three seconds since the last time you asked me that.”
“Don’t patronize me, Tobias,” Quinn snapped, fast strides carrying her back along the path she’d paced all day. Fingers shoving at the short locks of her hair, she tugged at the curling strands. She never should have cut it, the shoulder length feeling awkward and unruly.
“Might I remind you that you were the one that insisted they go?” Leaning over the desk, he rubbed at the short beard he’d begun to grow. Peering at the laptop screen, his brow began to furrow. Distracted, he added, “They’ll be fine.”
“They need human interaction! A fucking private tutor is not human interaction.” Nodding once, decisive again, Quinn made it a handful of heartbeats before she resumed her pacing.
She had insisted the kids go to school. Adam needed friends his own age, other seven-year-olds to run and play with. Not guards with guns. Elise needed it even more, before all of this insanity became something too normal. Knowing the private school was well-guarded, that Rebecca and Ross trailed the kids all day, didn’t help her worry any. Even knowing all the children that attended were the rich, the important, with their own guards and security didn’t change a thing.
Her babies weren’t home and the house felt miserable and empty without them.
Tobias’ expansion hadn’t helped her nerves any either. Alderbrook and Grayfall hadn’t been enough for long. No, he had decided that with the power afforded to him with their bond, he would take over the surrounding cities and towns until he was such a force to be reckoned with that no one would dare try. Too many nights she had sat up waiting and worrying, falling apart when he ambled through the door with some man’s blood still marking him.
He refused to listen to her pleas that he slow down, wait until he solidified his claims on all these places. Now there were rumors of Alphas questioning his sudden command. Wondering what it was that made a man once in control of a middling coastal city a veritable king. Controlling the southern half of the country along with its shipyards, trains, and airports. It was too much, too fast.
Quinn feared it was only a matter of time before they figured out it was their completed bond that gave him that power. That they would come after her or the kids. She couldn’t go anywhere without a dozen men, all armed to the teeth. The SUV Tobias gave her for the rare trips into town when the kids needed more than Dr. Annan was bulletproof with all sorts of bells and gadgets to keep her safe.
None of it made her feel safe.
“What do you think about Brookmoor?”
“What about it?” Quinn whirled on the Alpha not paying half as much attention to her anxiety as she would have preferred. If he’d even shown an iota of nerves, she’d have been satisfied. Yet he remained a source of cooling calm that rankled her to no end. Hand spinning with curt gestures, she listed off what she knew. “Big, dirty, has that cute café with the chocolate covered almonds and dear Gods their coffee was divine. Adam fell and busted his head in the park while you were with that woman.”
“She’s an Alpha, Quinn. I have no more interest in her than her goods.”
“Please do not refer to the helpless women she’s stolen from their homes as ‘goods.’ I really don’t think I can handle that right now. I know you’re not interested, but the fact remains she dresses like a bitch in heat when you two have your little meetings.”
“My sweet little Omega is jealous,” Tobias said, gruff and arrogant. Catching Quinn around the hips as she stalked past, he pulled her into his lap and mouthed the side of her neck with a rumble that was sheer satisfaction.
“Why are you asking me about Brookmoor?”
“Moving.”
A swipe and a tap on the keyboard brought the screen back to life, a sprawling home with high walls and sturdy gates appearing. A slideshow began, showing vast rooms with Carrara marble and liberal gold leaf, intricate murals and sculpted ceilings.
“That is hideous.” Quinn snorted a laugh, waving the idea away as she shoved against the desk to return to her pacing.
“We could paint it. Any color you like.” Holding Quinn right where she was, he scrolled through the list of accommodations the property boasted. “Look, a pool. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Before or after our kids drowned each other?”
“You could teach them to swim.”
“Mmhmm, and will you be letting me parade around the grounds in a swimsuit?”
“A sensible one piece,” Tobias grumbled against her neck. “Something with sleeves and legs, maybe.”
“Oh, no, I want a bikini. Bright purple. Thong.”
“Dear Gods, woman, you’re trying to kill me.” Growling against her shoulder, he nipped at the patch of flesh forever marked by his claim. Lips certain where it sat no matter her clothing.
The front door opening sent Quinn bolting from his arms. Sprinting down the hall towards the foyer, Quinn crashed to a stumbling halt when she saw Adam stomping towards the stairs. Round cheeks rimed in dirt, streaked with tears he glared when Quinn made some sound that caught his attention.
“I’m never going back!” Little fists shaking at his sides, his lower lip trembled with the force of his conviction. Without another word, he raced upstairs, the far away slam of his bedroom door echoing down the stairs.
