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I don’t bother climbing to my feet. I hate that I am coming between them.
“That is our daughter, Jang,” she begins. “I don’t know what you think?—”
“She is a traitor,” he says, but under his cold voice is hurt.
The sound of a slap makes my head whip up to see his face twisted. “Don’t ever speak about our Quinn like that. You figure this out, and you figure this out now. I will not stand by and let you hurt our daughter. You may be alpha, Jang, but I will stand against you if you lay one hand on her.”
“My love,” he tries, but she steps back.
“Be the man I know you are. Don’t let your anger blind you, for you will lose us both.”
She departs, and we both stare after her.
“She’s terrifying,” I murmur softly.
“Utterly.” He sighs. “But not wrong. Don’t tell her I told you, I’ll never live it down, but the woman is never wrong.” We share a sad smile, and he sinks to his knees before the cell.
For a moment, we just stare at each other.
“When you were younger, you scared me to death. Did you know that?” he admits softly. I blink, unsure where he’s goingwith this. “You were just always so fearless. I remember this one time when an older wolf had built a swing, and he and his friend were playing on it. It was up on the bluff, and the drop was huge. You wanted to play with them, but they said no. They also called you some nasty names. So what did my little Quinny do? You climbed up that bluff and used the swing, dropping into the water below. They were so terrified after, they were shaking, yet you stood there, dripping wet and smiling brightly.” He chuckles painfully. “So fucking fearless. In that moment, I was terrified because I knew you would always do what you thought was right, regardless of anyone else.”
“I was utterly shitting it,” I mutter. “I was so scared I thought I was going to puke, but I didn’t like the way they were talking about you. I wanted to make you proud and prove to them why you had taken me in.”
“You never had to prove anything to anyone, Quinn. When are you going to learn that?” he mutters.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I lean into the bars. “You’re Jang, the baddest alpha in this country. Your kids were supposed to be the next leaders of our world, and then I came along and ruined it. They thought I was weak, a traitor for surviving that night. They turned on you, they spoke about you, and I hated it. I might not have needed to prove myself to you, but I did to them. I wanted them to look at me and understand why you loved me so much, and maybe understand why you did myself.”
“I love you because I could do nothing but. Even when your father was around and you came with him, I loved you. You just . . . have this aura, Quinn. I couldn’t do anything but love you. You looked at me, the giant, terrifying alpha that others feared, and you smiled. You held my hand and you smiled. I was always just Jang to you, and from that moment, you had myheart, and I swore I would always protect you, but I can’t protect you this time, Quinny.”
“I know.” I smile. “I don’t want you to. I knew the consequences of my actions, and I still did it.”
“But why? Please, help me understand. Please, Quinn.”
For the first time in my life, I see my alpha, my father, beg.
The plea in his voice is my undoing. I don’t want him to fight his people for me. I thought not telling him would make it easier, but staring into his eyes, I know I can’t. I owe him this much. I owe all of them the truth.
“I did it for the pack,” I admit. “The hunters will find us. You know this, Jang. I saw it in your eyes. This time, it’s different. We both know full well what they are capable of, and I couldn’t let another family go through what I did. I couldn’t allow them to create any more orphans. I saw a way out for us, a chance, and I took it, knowing it could backfire, but you once told me all we have is trust. I had to trust this man and his love for his family, the same love I have for mine. I took a chance, Jang, that after showing him what he truly was, he could go back and try to help—not for us, but for him. He knows if they come here, a lot of them will die, including his brothers. He knows it’s wrong.”
Taking a deep breath, I stare into his eyes. “Maybe it’s naïve or foolish of me, but I trusted him. We were both stuck on the other side of a line drawn between us, forced into a battle neither of us wanted. The hunters are coming either way, so I figured why not take a chance that we can stop this before it even starts?”
“Oh, Quinn.” He sighs, scrubbing his face. “What if it was all a trap?”
“What if it wasn’t?” I counter. “I saw this man in action, Dad.” He jerks at the name. “I saw his past, I looked into his eyes, and I saw the truth. He didn’t want this, not anymore. I could have killed him here, but what would that have achieved? Iwanted to prevent further loss of life if I could. I had to try, Jang. I had to. I can’t—” I hiccup. “I can’t lose anyone else I love, so if it means you have to kill me for my crimes against the pack, then I can accept that, but I cannot accept losing anyone else.”
“Did you ever consider that I can’t accept that either?” he booms. “To lose my daughter, to lose my entire fucking world?”
“You have your duty, and I have mine,” I remind him. “I made my choice.”
Jang frowns. “You truly think he will try to convince them to stop?”
“Yes, I do,” I answer. “I think he’ll do anything to protect the men he loves. The hunters don’t know where we are yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I think he might be able to stop it.”
“He was a feral?—”
“Exactly. No one had ever trusted him before. They disregard him because of his past. I didn’t. I saw the value this man could have and trusted in him.”
He goes quiet for a moment, and I stare.
