N. Walters - Quinn's Quest

“Still.” A heavy vellum card seemed to appear in Damek’s hand as if by magic. He handed it to Craig. “If you change your mind.”

To Bethany’s surprise, Craig took the card and shoved in the back pocket of his jeans. “Thanks.”

Damek studied the list before handing it back to Craig. “I will check the new addresses tonight. I can do it more quickly than you can. Plus, I will attract no attention. I will call you if I come across a likely location.”

Isaiah started to protest, but Damek held up his hand. Isaiah stopped, but appeared ready to throttle the vampire. Bethany held her breath, not wanting to see any kind of battle between the incredibly strong alpha male and the powerful vampire.

“I don’t doubt your skills, my friend,” Damek began. “But this will also allow me to search the minds of those who wander the dark corners of the city, especially the South Side, which seems to be the most likely place for this doctor to try to hide.”

Bethany’s mouth went bone dry. The vampire could read minds. Could he read hers? As if hearing her question aloud, he turned and stared at her. Then he winked. It was such an unexpected gesture it made her grin. It seemed so incongruous for a debonair vampire to be winking at her.

Quinn was practically vibrating with anger. She wrapped her arms around his waist, desperate to keep him from doing something crazy like attacking Damek. That wouldn’t end well no matter what happened.

“I’ll contact you before dawn. If I am successful at finding the location of your missing female it will be up to you to rescue her.” Damek rubbed his fingernails against the sleeve of his jacket to buff them. “I am not at my best during the day.”

Isaiah snorted again. “That’s an understatement.”

“I have several hours until dawn. Plenty of time to search the new locations and do some hunting of my own.”

Bethany shivered at the threat in Damek’s voice. She was glad he was on their side. She wouldn’t want to be the doctor or Brian if Damek found them.

“’Til we meet again, my friends.” Damek seemed to disappear into the shadows. The door opened and closed and he was gone. Tension seeped from the room like air from a balloon.

“That was…that was…” Bethany honestly didn’t know what to say.

Isaiah walked over to the door and bolted it. “Damek is different, but once he’s given his word, it’s gold.” He turned back to address the group, particularly Craig. “Don’t ever try to bargain with him. He’s like the devil. He’ll tempt you, and then find a loophole in any agreement in order to get whatever he wants. He’s the most dangerous creature I’ve ever met.”

No arguments from her. Bethany was scared of the vampire and wasn’t afraid to admit it.

Craig frowned. “I meant what I said. I’m not leaving my family.” He moved closer to Quinn.

Meredith went to Craig and patted his arm. “You have a place here as long as you want one. You may not be a werewolf, but you’re family now, the same as everyone else.

Bethany watched the others in the room, curious as to their reaction to Meredith’s pronouncement. Michael was frowning, but he was staring at the closed, locked door and she couldn’t be sure if his dour expression was because of his mother’s offer to Craig or if he was still thinking about Damek’s visit. Isaiah appeared resigned to whatever his mate wanted. But Benjamin, Teague, Neema, Kevin and Hank all nodded and seemed genuine in their acceptance.

“I appreciate it.” Craig removed his glasses and polished the lenses before slipping them back on. “By the way, I did your quarterly sales and expense reports while I was waiting for the searches to finish. I left them on your desk for you to look at. I highlighted a few areas where you can save money and improve sales. I’ve started your taxes and should have them done tomorrow.”

Meredith’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. When she recovered from her shock, she surged forward and hugged Craig, surprising the younger man. “That’s it, I’m never letting you go. You’ve sealed your fate.” She whirled to face Isaiah. “He has to stay now. He does quarterly reports. Taxes.” She appeared almost dazed.

Craig shrugged. “It was nothing. The paperwork was all there. I figured it was the least I could do to thank you for everything.”

Isaiah appeared impressed, which Bethany didn’t think was an easy thing to do. “You heard my wife, you have to stay now.”

Craig shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll stay as long as Quinn is here. I don’t want to lose my family again.”

The expression on the alpha male’s face softened. “I understand. But you’ll always have a place here.” He nodded at Quinn and Bethany. “You all do. You are pack. Not all werewolves will accept you. You know that, Quinn. There are the paranormal bounty hunters to contend with. And now this new threat from a deranged human scientist.”

Meredith added her voice to the argument. “There is safety to be found in numbers. We’ve all learned that. We protect one another. Help one another. That’s what pack life is all about.”

Bethany swallowed hard, touched by the genuine offer. Sure, Meredith had offered her a job earlier, but this was different. This was a formal offer from the alpha pair of the pack. She might not know everything about her new heritage, but she knew this was a huge deal.

She’d felt so alone for most of her life, even when her mother had been alive. Maybe if her mother had been more like Quinn’s mother, her life would have been different. He’d always known he was different, known what he was. She’d been lied to her entire life. Yes, her mother had been trying to protect her in her own way. Bethany understood that. But instead of protecting her, it had left her vulnerable to Phillip Morton and rogue werewolves like Brian.

Quinn inclined his head. “I thank you for your offer, but I can’t make any decisions until I find Chris.”

“Understood.” Isaiah addressed the rest of the group. “Time to get some rest. Damek will call if he finds something. Be ready to roll if he does.”

They all said goodnight to one another and trooped up the back stairs to the apartments. Michael, Benjamin, Isaiah and Meredith stopped on the second floor, while the rest of them took the extra flight to the third floor.

Quinn’s hand pressed hard against her lower back as he escorted her into their apartment. And how weird was it to be saying their apartment. It wasn’t theirs. They were simply sharing the place. It belonged to Kevin.

It was decorated in what she thought of as man-cave style. It had overstuffed leather furniture in the living room, including the sofa where Craig had been crashing on nights when he wasn’t down in the office, which was most nights. A huge flat-screen television and plenty of other electronic equipment filled out the rest of the room. The small galley kitchen opened up into the living room. It was clean and nice. But it wasn’t hers.

Bethany longed for a place to call her own. The one thing she regretted about having to leave Detroit was the loss of her apartment. It might not be much, but it had been all hers.

“You okay?” Quinn’s low rumble next to her ear sent shivers down her spine. Now that the tension of meeting Damek was passed, Bethany was facing an entirely new set of problems. Her skin was flushed and tight, like it was too small to cover her frame. She wanted to haul her clothing off and scratch at her flesh.

A sense of emptiness filled her. Her sex throbbed with an ever-growing need. The lush folds of her pussy were wet and swollen. Her nipples were peaked and aching to be touched.

Bethany glanced at Quinn and licked her lips. Yeah, that’s what she wanted. Quinn was a prime male specimen. She knew from firsthand experience that his cock was long and thick and hard. She almost whimpered aloud at the mere thought of him pounding into her slick, tight channel, powering in and out, over and over.