Reclaiming Quinn - Parker Williams Page 0,70
the truth can be shown.”
“Gareth, please. I don’t want my family or friends to call me anything but my name. Hell, I don’t want anyone to call me Supreme Alpha unless I’m there in an official capacity.”
The door to the bedroom opened and Lyram stepped out, his hair askew, his beard thick and full. He looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. He leaned against the wall, which Quinn believed was the only thing holding him up.
“Dani spoke with Wolfgang, and he reached out to some friends. Zach Clemmons has been a cop in Chicago for eight years. He’s a highly decorated officer who has turned down promotions, stating he wants to stay on the streets because that’s where he can help the most people. He’s been shot twice, stabbed, and pushed off a building. In each case, he still collared the person responsible. His captain said it was a miracle he was still alive after all that.” He let his gaze wander the room. “What about you? Anything?”
“None of it good,” Gareth said with a growl. “If I had only paid attention, maybe—”
“Nothing,” Sean interjected. “There wasn’t anything you could do. You were one person, and you would have been up against all the Alphas who didn’t want the status quo to change.”
Quinn wanted to tell them what Mother had shown him about how Lydon came to be, that Mother Moon hadn’t given her blessings to Lydon. He shook his head but then realized they wanted to uncover all the hidden truths about their history, and this was important.
“Mother Moon didn’t bless Lydon,” he said. “Your ancestor formed the town, made it a haven for wolves. She said that everything accomplished there was because people worked together to make it so.”
The room grew so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop.
“What did you say?” Gareth asked.
“What she told me,” Quinn replied. “It’s a lesson to you, I think. Your great-great-great whatever knew things were going downhill, so he rolled up his sleeves and took in people who decided they needed something real and true in their lives. Lydon was that thing. The forest, the rivers, the people. All of them were part of the harmony that made Lydon special. So what Mother tasked you with? Your ancestor did it, and she knows you can too.”
It seemed to Quinn that Gareth stood a little straighter at that moment. Of course, it was hard to tell with someone who now stood over seven feet tall. Still, he seemed pleased.
“So the Blackthorns were the stewards of the land, and they did a good job.” He gazed at Quinn with such affection. “Thank you, Quinn. See, that’s what I mean. We believed it was the Mother who was behind us, but it turns out a lot of it had to do with the people of Lydon standing strong together. This is why it’s so important to discover our history, as it directly impacts our present.”
“And with the kids, it might hold the key to the future,” Sean added. “I don’t want our children to grow up in a world that seeks to kill them.”
Gareth growled. “No one will ever lay a hand on you or them, at least as long as I draw breath.”
Sean preened. “I love the new, way more possessive you.”
With a grin, Gareth stomped across the floor and pulled Sean to him. “I’d show you how possessive, but right now we have work to do.”
Quinn, we’re going to have to move tonight. No matter what happens, I love you.
“No.” He peered at Gareth. “Deke says they’re going to have to go tonight.”
And without any help, Deke and Zach could end up dead.
Chapter Nineteen
“WHAT ARE we going to do?” Deke whispered. It was a risk because they had to contend with a wolf’s hearing, but time had run out, and they needed to act.
“Kill them all,” Zach replied as he stared down at the workbench and focused on cutting the chicken.
“We don’t even know how many will show up.”
Zach slammed the knife down. “Then what would you have us do? Let them take the humans? Sell off that little girl?”
“No, of course not, but—”
“But what? We’re out of time, and our options are practically nil.”
It was truth, and Deke knew it, but that didn’t make it any more palatable. They needed to play this smart; otherwise they’d die and the humans would be sold off anyway.
“I… I have an idea.” Deke’s stomach churned at the thought, but he couldn’t