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QUINN
“Quinn, this area isn’t safe.” I can hear the unease in Mason’s voice. “We need to move on.”
“I know,” I mutter.
To a non-shifter, there’s nothing wrong with the small town where we’ve temporarily stopped two days after leaving Otto’s place. A few stragglers come into the diner for a late lunch, barely sparing us a glance before they take seats at the bar or in an open booth.
It’s a small place, barely big enough for ten booths across from the bar that lines the length of the long, narrow restaurant. The linoleum is old, worn and cracking near the door and the register, and the lights that flicker overhead are fluorescents of years past, casting a yellowish glow over our heads as we rest and refuel.
Mason explained when we stopped here to eat and be human for a while that the diner is relatively safe since humans are very obviously coming and going, but we’re deep in the heart of rogue territory. Nothing feels safe.
The odds of anyone actually bothering us are low, but neither of the twins seems interested in settling here for too long.
The problem is that I’m not really sure where we should go next.
My heart stone sits on the bench seat between Willem and I. The guys are all curious about it, but none of them have asked any questions. I expected Sailor to, but he sits in a chair pulled up at the end of our booth, and he’s very carefully not looking toward the stone at all.
I think they’re trying to be respectful, but they might as well not bother. I’m frustrated with my heart stone and tempted to rant about it without any prodding whatsoever. If only we weren’t surrounded by humans here, I might go on a diatribe worthy of a street preacher. I’m uneasy, and for the first time since my dad gifted me the stone, I find myself not trusting its direction.
Annoyance burns my gut as I glance down at the rough-hewn stone. Because the thing is… I’m starting to think my heart stone has been leading us back to Jakob. And there’s no way in hell I’m trusting anything that’s trying to lead me straight to the waiting arms of that jerk. I just don’t know what else it could be doing, though.
Once we got far enough away from the training grounds to actually pick a new destination, I asked the guys to trust me and I let my heart stone lead us. Now I regret that decision.
I might not know explicitly where I am, but the maps all point to the heart stone leading us in one direction—back on the path toward my home. The only reason I can think that it would be taking me there is if Jakob went back to Cupid’s Pack—because ever since I left my home, the heart stone has only led me in the direction of my fated mates. Is my heart stone really guiding me back to the one mate bond I truly do not want?
“Finish your tea, baby.” Ian nudges my mug closer to me.
Sailor slaps his hand down on the table, making the rest of us jump in our seats. “Stop rushing her,” he grinds out, a scowl on his face as he stares at the others, narrowing his eyes at each of them in turn.
My eyebrows jerk up in surprise, and I offer him an appreciative nod. It’s a little weird to hear him speaking on my behalf, but I’ll take it. The last two days haven’t served to lighten him up at all—he’s still the surliest man I think I’ve ever met in my entire life—but at least he’s not outright insulting me anymore.
“I’m not rushing you,” Ian protests. He leans back in his seat and relaxes as if we have all the time in the world to hang out. I pick up my tea and take a sip to hide my smile. I just can’t help myself. Ian is so cute.
“Quinn.” Sailor pulls my attention back to him. “If you want to go home, we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
It’s not me I’m worried about. It’s them. Arielle. My mom. The entirety of Cupid’s Pack. I shake my head because I’m not ready to go home. Not yet. We found another shifter to get a message to Arielle for me, checking in and reassuring her I’m okay. That has to be enough for now because I know the moment I call it’s going to be hard to ignore the homesickness that’s taken up a permanent place in my chest behind my heart.
“I don’t think we should go there,” I admit. I have to fight the urge to bite my lip nervously as they all stare at me, hanging on my every word. “We’ve spent these last couple of weeks so on edge. I’d like to be somewhere we can feel safe and regroup for a few days.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” Willem puts his hand above my knee and squeezes my leg reassuringly. I lean against his side, taking comfort from his warmth as much as I do from the reassuring touch.
“Okay,” Sailor says as he leans his elbows on the table, leaning forward to face me more directly. “Where do you think you would feel safest? Anywhere.”
My traveling experience is so limited that the idea of being able to go just…anywhereis entirely unfathomable. Instead, I think about the places I’ve been with the guys. The safest I felt was when the least amount ofotherpeople were in danger…
“I think we should go back to the campground,” I announce.
“Are you joking?” Mason asks in a flat voice. Sailor glances his way, and his mouth drops into a deep frown.
“What campground? And what’s wrong with it?” I can see a pinch of annoyance between Sailor’s eyebrows. It’s become pretty obvious over the past couple of days that he hates to feel left out.
Mason keeps his exasperated expression turned on me as he answers Sailor. “It’s this small campground in rogue territory a little west from here. And it’s the only place we know for sure that Jakob MacKay knows where to find us.”
“You feel safe there, though?” Sailor looks at me again, brows pinched like he doesn’t quite understand.
“Yes.” As safe as I think I feel anywhere right now.
“No!” Everyone in the diner turns to stare at Ian’s outburst. His face turns red even as he shakes his head profusely. He quiets his voice to explain. “It’s not safe there at all. Jakob attacked Quinn there before we left.”
