N. Walters - Quinn's Quest

No, she definitely didn’t look like his mother.

She could have easily tried to dissuade him from being with Bethany, could have pushed one of her own sons toward the unmated female. After all, female werewolves were scarce. There were four unattached males besides him here. And they were all pack. He was just an interloper.

He shifted uncomfortably. A part of him wanted to run from Meredith’s kindness and understanding. Another part of him wished he felt at ease enough to put his arms around her, hug her and thank her for everything she’d done for him and his family. But he didn’t belong here at Haven with all of them. He’d been alone most of his life, but he’d always had Chris and Craig until eighteen months ago. Those long months completely alone had taught him what true loneliness was. He never wanted to go back to those dark days but they’d shaped him, changed him irreparably.

“You’ll figure it out.” Meredith brushed a lock of hair away from his face and he got a lump in his throat. He missed his own mother with a fierce ache that made his heart hurt. She hadn’t been the best judge of character when it came to men, but none of her children had ever doubted how much she’d loved them. It had never mattered to her that he and Chris were different, and she’d done everything in her power to gather as much information as she could to help them. At times like this, he missed her so damn much.

“Thanks,” he replied, his voice husky with barely suppressed emotion. He lowered his head and stared at the floor as he composed himself. He didn’t know what the hell he was going to do about Bethany. He’d think of something. He always did.

“Any news?” Michael moved down beside them and placed a glass of sparkling water in front of his mother and a beer in front of Quinn. He’d probably heard their entire conversation. Werewolf hearing was exceptional and he’d only been standing a few feet away.

Meredith took a sip of her water. “Damek called and said he’d be over after closing.”

Quinn jerked upright, hope burning in his gut. “Does he know anything?”

“He wouldn’t say. He wants to meet in person.”

Quinn swore. Michael chuckled. “Damek works in his own time and in his own way.”

Quinn wanted to strike out at Michael for his flippant comment even though he knew the other man didn’t mean it in that way. He was simply commenting on the way the vampire operated. But it still burned in Quinn’s gut. This was his sister they were talking about. His fingers tightened around the beer bottle in his hand. He didn’t even remember picking it up.

A slow, burning rage began to pump through his veins until it threatened to devour him. Through the red tinge of his gaze he saw Bethany hurrying toward him, concern on her face.

“What’s wrong?” She touched him and that easily bled some of the fury away, leaving him with a manageable anger.

“Damek is coming later tonight,” Meredith answered.

“That’s good. Right? He could have news.”

“Maybe.” Quinn wasn’t about to get his hopes up again only to have them dashed.

Bethany placed her hand on his arm and squeezed. “Everything will be okay.” He knew she couldn’t promise that any more than he could. Still, it helped soothe the fires of guilt and fury that threatened to consume him.

“I’ll give Hank a rest on the door.” Hank was the club bouncer. Quinn didn’t mind taking over for him. He wouldn’t mind a fight right about now.

Meredith stopped him, shaking her head. “Not a good idea in the mood you’re in. Why don’t you check in with your brother to see if he’s made any more progress with his computer searches. Or, if you really want to keep busy, you could help Teague in the kitchen. Wash dishes or something.”

Meredith obviously sensed his volatility. Smart lady. He nodded. Bethany shot him another worried gaze before grabbing her tray and hurrying off again.

They were all on edge. Tense. Between the ever-present threat of bounty hunters, the search for Chris and Bethany going into heat, this place was a powder keg waiting to blow.

Knowing he wasn’t doing anyone any good here, Quinn took himself off to Meredith’s office where Craig was currently set up. He’d shoved a table against one wall and set up all his own equipment there. He had a desktop computer as well as a laptop. Both were state of the art and he’d modified them himself so they would perform even better. Craig was a bloody genius when it came to the things. He’d written many of his own programs, which he’d used to help infiltrate the paranormal bounty hunters when Quinn was undercover in their group.

“How’s it going?”

Craig held up one hand and kept typing with the other. He hunched over the keyboard, working furiously for a few more minutes. He hit one final key and sat back, rubbing his neck.

His younger brother looked tired. There was stubble on his jaw and dark circles under his eyes. “I’ve got several searches going at once. I’m using Dr. Morton’s name, family names and variations of them to search for property. I’m also running a search in the bounty hunters databases on any information about a werewolf named Brian. It’s a long shot but it’s something.

“You’re working too hard.” Quinn grabbed the other desk chair and dragged it over by his brother.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“I’m sorry, man.” Quinn felt like he’d let his family down. Craig should be in school somewhere learning how to hone his computer skills. He should be drinking with his buddies on the weekend and worrying about girls, not lost in the world of werewolves, kidnappers and vampires.

Then there was Chris. He missed her so damn much. She was the one he’d always talked to, the only one who’d ever understood what he was going through.

He missed her laugh. He remembered her trying out a new recipe one night for dinner. He couldn’t even remember what it was she was trying to cook. All he knew was it had gone horribly wrong. Some kind of mix-up in spices and cooking time. It was damn awful but Chris hadn’t gotten upset. She’d laughed and laughed until she’d cried, pointing at his face and the expression on it until she’d had both him and Craig in stitches too. They’d finally ordered a pizza. The memory brought a ghost of a smile to his face.

Craig swiveled around in his chair and Quinn’s memory slid away. His brother scowled at him, annoyance evident in every line of his body. “It’s not your fault. None of us expected anything like this to happen. We all took precautions, but sometimes shit happens.”

That said it all, didn’t it? Shit happened.

Craig sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s been hard on all of us.” Guilt pierced Quinn. It was quickly followed by shame. He wasn’t the only one dealing with Chrissten’s kidnapping. Craig was too. And while he’d been able to go out and search for her, Craig had been left to deal with things alone. His younger brother had barely been legal when Quinn had been forced to leave him on his own while he searched for their sister.

Quinn reached out and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “I wish none of this had happened.”

“Me too.” Craig took off his glasses and used the tail of his T-shirt to polish them. “Well, not all of it. Only Chrissten’s kidnapping. I kinda like the fact you found your father and met more people like you.”

Like him. It was a reminder that Craig was human. If genetics held true then his brother would die hundreds of years before him. His guts knotted. He hated the thought of losing him.

As for his birth father, well that was another problem he’d deal with some day. He’d met Donovan Brody, spent some time with him. But he felt no real connection to the male. They looked eerily alike except for their hair color, but other than that they were strangers.