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He’s not expecting my shift.
My dad taught me plenty of things—manners coupled with a touch of violence. This asshole only deserves one of those things.
My decision to fight back catches Jakob off guard enough that he doesn’t shift quickly enough to defend himself. I launch right at him the second my fur has grown in, sinking my teeth deep into his right hand. I only let go when I’m certain I’ve done enough damage to leave a scar, even on a shifter’s quick-healing flesh, but not enough to leave permanent damage.
I don’t want to face the Luna Sovereign’s wrath, even if the attack of my mate is justified. For now, the deep gash is enough. Let him see the scar left behind and remember what happens when he lays a hand on me.
Jakob groans in pain, reeling back as I release him. I can feel the fur on the back of my neck standing at attention at the sounds of people approaching from every direction.
It seems that the sound of our altercation has traveled to his alliesandmine.
The same wolves that chased me to the campground surround Jakob as two white and one black wolf take up position on either side of me. For a split second, I’m distracted by the realization that all three of my mates have shown up together, ready to fight as a unit. I don’t let myself stay distracted for long.
Jakob has already admitted he’s willing to fight as dirty as he needs to, and that gash in his hand won’t keep him down for long.
I lift my muzzle and glare at Jakob, daring him to make another move. My wolf is already antsy, worrying that my mates are putting themselves in danger for me. If Jakob makes one move toward any of them, I’m prepared to go down fighting and face the Luna Sovereign after all.
“Fuck you, little girl. It’s only a matter of time before I catch your bodyguards slipping again. And the next time I have you alone, you’re going to walk away with a lot more than mud on your paws.” He spits on the ground as if he wishes he were spitting on me instead.
I’m not afraid of you, I tell him across mind link. My wolf sneers.
Jakob pauses in the middle of turning away from me to level me with one last narrow-eyed glare.You should be.
TEN
QUINN
“Why didn’t you call for help? You knew we were within range to mind link!” Mason stomps behind me as I quickly cross the campground toward the cabin. I want to get cleaned up and dressed, get my stuff packed back up, and get the heck out of here before Jakob comes back with more wolves to help him. I have no doubt he’s the sort of man that has no problem letting others fight his battles for him.
No matter how little respect I have for Jakob MacKay, I don’t relish the idea of the Red Ash Pack putting itself in danger for this relentless pursuit of his. I want nothing to do with my first mate, and his pack doesn’t deserve to pay the price for that.
“Are you listening to me?” Mason snaps.
“I’ve heard every word.” His relentless lecturing is exhausting me. The thought of them all throwing themselves into the line of danger hollows out something in my chest that I can’t quite explain. “I barely had time to react, Mason, much less alert you that I needed help. You showed up anyway, so all’s well that ends well.”
Except that doesn’t really feel true either. Because it didn’t end well, did it? Jakob isn’t going to stop his pursuit, and they’re only going to keep being endangered if they’re with me. Guilt gnaws at me.
His footsteps go silent for a moment, indicating that he freezes while I continue walking. My troubled conscience keeps me moving, fists clenched at my side as a twinge of pain radiates outward from my knee. No sooner than he stops, he restarts, jogging lightly to catch back up.
“You have to be joking. I can clearly see you limping on your left leg; I know you’re hurt, Quinn. How can you act so cavalier about this? And why won’t you tell us who that man is to you?” Mason punctuates the last part with a sharp growl.
“Because you already know,” I murmur, heart pounding in my chest as I take a short moment to feel absolutely sorry for myself. I hope maybe the wind will carry the words away.
I saw the knowing look in Mason’s eyes after Jakob retreated, his gaze pinging between the direction he left and me. It’s not like a mate bond is some big secretive thing. Anyone looking closely enough can usually recognize the signs between two Fate-bonded shifters. I imagine my disdain for Jakob makes it slightly more difficult to discern, but IknowMason still saw through it.
I’m not sure why he’s so dang determined to make me say the words, though. Ian and Willem seem content to lag behind, ensuring the others don’t come back and cross into the campground while also giving me the space that I asked for.
Granted, giving me space the first time I asked didn’t go so well, so this time, it seems that none of them are willing to let me out of their sight.
“Quinn, please.” Mason reaches for me and catches my hand. He pulls me gently to a stop only a couple of cabins down from where we stayed last night.
I carefully avoid eye contact by looking at the fire pit where the twins fed me a breakfast of s’mores. I’m glad to see someone put the fire out before they followed me so that we aren’t responsible for potentially setting the whole campground on fire. The way my life is going the past couple of days, it seems like it could’ve been a distinct possibility.
It’s a weird detail to focus on, but I’m trying to ground myself. I won’t do any of us any good with my head all over the place.
And I do know—no matter how much I want to avoid it—that I have to tell the guys about what happened at home with Jakob and my mom. Then the three of them can decide if they would rather bail now, rejecting me before they get roped into my chaos.
Especially Willem, who’s so far only seen the worst of me. I can’t imagine what he’s thinking after I immediately ran from him and our bond before dragging him into all ofthis.
