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“I figured you would either kill me or listen to me, so weapons wouldn’t matter much either way. Besides, I still have my hands.” She smirks.
A laugh bursts out of me. “Fine, why are you here, Angel?”
“Tate. I have a feeling we are going to be good friends. Can I get to my feet? I fucked up one of my knees last month chasing a dragon. It still hasn’t healed right.” I nod, and she stands, holding her hands out at her sides. “I saw your message. I like your handiwork, by the way. I went and checked it out. My new team is there now, cleaning up the mess and burning the bodies.” I just stare. “Hard, I like that. Anyway, you’re right. The hunters are an ancient group, and we were not always bad. My father was a good man, a good hunter, and he showed me his ways, helping not just humans but your kind too. I’d like to get back to that again, and I think you can help me. So, Quinn, let’s work together. I’ll clean up the hunters, and then we can stop evil in this world—both human and monsters alike—together. Sound good?” She holds out her hand, hope in her eyes.
For a moment, I watch her, and she lets me. I taste nothing but truth in her words, and the goddess brushes across me with the wind, letting me decide, but it’s clear she supports this. Maybe Tate was sent here for a reason.
I lay my hand in hers and shake. “I’d like that, a truce, but only between you and me. I don’t trust other hunters.”
“You’d be stupid to, and you are not stupid, Alpha.” She grins, shaking my hand. I don’t squeeze, but she grins. “Strong grip. Yes, I think we will be friends, Quinn. I’ll head back now and help with the cleanup. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. I’ll send a message once my house is clear, and then I think we should get together, along with some other friends I have, and send out an accord.”
“What other friends?” I ask.
“Oh, some vampyrs I met along the way. They are a good bunch, just slightly crazy, especially their queen. I met her on a hunt. She was hunting them too—sorry, judging them. We worked together at the end.” She smirks, looking around, her eyes closing at the breeze. “Change is coming, and I’m thinking it starts with us women. Queens this time, not kings.” She bows. “I’ll be seeing you again, Quinn.” She glances at my men. “Always room for more hunters with us.”
“Our place is here,” Vale murmurs.
“I had a feeling that was the case. Oh well, once a hunter, always a hunter, that doesn’t change. Best of luck.”
She turns and walks towards the trees, calm and whistling. “Escort her off our territory,” I murmur, “but let her go.” I smile. “I have a feeling Tate is about to become our best asset in this world.”
Dom nods, and he and Fiona hurry after her as I turn to my men.
“I guess you’re not the only hunters changing sides.”
“I guess not.” They smile as we turn to watch her go.
She is right. The world is changing.
I can feel it, and it starts with us.
“Con, what is it?” I frown, dropping my fork into my meal. The guys are helping rebuild, and I had been doing the rounds, healing and speaking to the pack and dealing with day-to-day issues. Word has spread not only about my mating, but the hunter as well, and everyone has questions, but they seemed happy, and every person congratulated me all while calling me Alpha.
I know I shouldn’t get used to that title, but I am, and now Con stands here, which is strange enough as it is. He’s started to come into the pack more, but he still prefers his solitude, and the fact that he has a shifty look in his eyes makes me narrow mine.
“Did you threaten to kill someone again?” I demand.
“No, I don’t just come to you because I nearly killed someone.” I raise my eyebrows, and he smirks. “Okay, not every time.”
“Con,” I warn.
“I need you to come with me.”
Standing, I groan as I stretch. “I knew it. It’s a dead body,” I mutter as I follow him out. “I better be able to heal them—” I stop short.
I thought the gym was empty, and I figured everyone was busy. I released the new restrictions this morning. People are moving back home and returning to work, so I just assumed that’s what was happening. Apparently, I was wrong because the entire pack is gathered in the clearing outside of the gym, and Marie, Dom, White, and my other betas are waiting for me. My mates grin at their sides.
“What’s going on?” I ask as Con pushes me forward.
“We are gathered to vote in our alpha,” Marie explains.
My heart aches as I skip a step, but I nod, stopping before the pack. I knew it would come sooner or later, and I clear my throat. “Of course. Thank you, everyone, for gathering. I appreciate you all listening to me and following me when we had no other leader. I will support whoever you vote in during this transition?—”
“Pack”—I stop at the interruption, turning to Dom as he grins—“as beta, I am taking the right to do the honour for my friend. We are voting. Hands up if you want Quinn as alpha.”
I blink, my head swinging around as almost every hand shoots up, and I gape.
“It was never to swear someone else in, but for you to get the title you deserve,” White murmurs as he steps forward. “Dom is right. Although it’s a bit more . . . informal than usual, I’m beginning to understand times change and so do we. Jang, may he rest in peace, put Quinn forward as his successor, and I know some of you worried she would not be able to handle the pressure as a youngster and as a woman.” He lets that sink in. “I think she has proven every single one of you wrong. Not only did she lead us to safety and keep us alive, but she also healed this pack and kept us together. Quinn is an alpha through and through and deserving of the title. Jang trusted his daughter, and so did I. I selected her too.” He looks back at me. “And I will stand at her side again. She is my alpha.” He kneels.
