but he’s not ready to hear the words yet.”
“Like me?”
“No, because I did something to him, and I think he feels betrayed by me.”
Before Quinn could respond, the door burst open and in strode Gareth, who had to twist his body to make it through the frame, followed by Sean.
“Where is he? I told him to sit down and wait for us,” Gareth growled.
“We don’t know yet. His wheelchair was found outside, and Quinn says the only way that could happen is if someone took him.”
Gareth slammed a hand on the table, rattling the dishes, then carded it over his hair. “Un-fucking-believable. Doesn’t anyone listen?”
Sean pushed past him and hurried to Quinn. He wrapped his arms around him and held on tight.
“He’s my mate. I don’t even know what that means,” Quinn whispered in Sean’s ear. “And I lost him.”
“If he had listened to me—”
Sean spun on his heel and leveled a withering gaze at Gareth. “You really want to go there? Who was it who went by himself to Ryker’s compound to save me? Even though your beta at the time told you to wait because you had zero fighting skill?”
“That was different.” But Gareth shrank back under Sean’s assault. “I was the Alpha.”
“And I was your mate. Say it.”
He sighed. “You were my mate.”
“Well, Deke and Quinn are mates. Did you really think Deke would sit here and wait for us to show up?”
“But he’s—”
Lyram rose. “If you say he’s in a wheelchair, I will thump you on the head right here in front of everyone. That wheelchair-bound man is transforming Lydon, making it a welcoming haven for everyone. He works as hard as any of his crew. Harder, even. The wheelchair has nothing to do with it, but I won’t have you being a dick to one of my wolves.”
For a tense moment, Quinn thought Gareth was going to take Lyram’s head off, but when Gareth threw his head back and laughed? That was totally unexpected.
“You’re not cowed by me at all, are you?”
“Not in the least. I realize you could kick my ass up and down the block, but I will not have anyone disrespect my pack.”
“Ask yourself again if I thought you should be left in charge.” Gareth came closer. “And it has zero to do with Deke being in a wheelchair. I saw how driven he was. Passion like that won me over the first day. I was going to say but he needs to listen, though Sean is right. Anyone would do what they had to for their mate. I should remember that, and I apologize.”
“This is part of the reason Mother chose him,” Sean announced as he went to Gareth and sank into his embrace. “He’s not afraid to be proven wrong, and when it happens, he will say he’s sorry. He doesn’t rule from a might makes right, and that shows what kind of man he is.”
“But what about my mate?” Quinn whimpered. “I need him back. I have so much to make up for.”
“No, you don’t,” Lyram said. “Deke went slow with you because he didn’t want you hurt more than you have been. He doesn’t regret a moment the two of you have spent together, I promise. And we’re going to find him.”
The words were spoken with a surety that Quinn didn’t feel. Why did he think he’d just lost the best thing in the world?
Chapter Seven
WHEN THE driver dragged Deke from the car, he went limp. It didn’t take much for a wolf to manhandle him, but he wasn’t going to make it easy. The building he was pulled into was a nondescript gray cinder-block bunker with no windows that Deke could see. Weeds grew wild up the side of the blocks, burrowing in where cracks had formed. All in all, it was a building that should have been condemned years ago. When they got inside, he was dropped to the floor.
“Wait here.”
“Because I have a choice, asshole?” he snarled.
That earned him a boot to the ribs. “Damn, I was told you were quiet and submissive, but you have a real bitch streak going.”
The guy laughed as he strode out of the room and pulled the door closed behind him. It was quiet, which gave Deke a chance to think. Okay, so they thought he was Quinn, at least for now. What happened when the Alpha showed up? He apparently knew Quinn, and he and Deke looked nothing alike. Still, he’d cross that bridge when he got to