Page 57 of Reclaiming Quinn
Of course he was. What a stupid question. “He’s my mate.”
“Who you’re not helping by trying to force things. Like I said, you need to clear your mind. You shouldn’t even be able to connect, but you’ve done it. The harder you strain, the worse it’s going to get.” Sean slid closer. “Let me try something.”
He closed his eyes, and a moment later Quinn was surrounded by the intoxicating smell of Sean’s pheromones. They permeated his body and his brain, and one by one, Quinn felt his thoughts drifting away.
“That’s it. Relax. Be comfortable.” Sean flicked his gaze at Rupert. “You doing okay?”
“Oh yes, Alpha Mate. So good.”
Sean chuckled. “I’m glad. The two of you have so much stress you’re under, and it’s been hard for me not to try and fix it. I’m glad I have that chance now. Just relax. Let your minds drift. Think pleasant thoughts.”
There were so few pleasant thoughts Quinn could recall before Lydon. The ones he did remember were because of Sean. He was the best big brother, always taking Quinn with him when he could. They’d go down to the lake and soak in the chilly waters, then climb out and dry under the sun. It was a rare treat, and one Quinn always looked forward to. Then came Ryker, and everything Quinn had held dear to his heart was ripped away. First Ryker stole Sean; then he took Quinn’s innocence.
The familiar ache slithered through him. Quinn stood, his chest heaving.
“I can’t do this.”
“You can,” Sean assured him. “Stop thinking of our past. That’s not going to help at all. Instead, think of Deke. Look at the moments where he brought you peace.”
Oh, those were indelibly etched into Quinn’s memory. Since that day at the dining table where Deke had spoken to Quinn, giving him what he needed, Quinn had needed Deke. He chuckled.
“What is it?”
“I’ve always wanted to be near Deke. He was a good and kind master.” He cocked his head. “Only he wasn’t Master. He was mate.”
There were small, gentle touches. A ruffling of Quinn’s hair before Deke had been forced to cut it off. Now it was growing back in, and Quinn had no desire to reach up and tug on it. Deke had done that for him.
“A mate is a powerful thing. The mating bond is impossible to resist, because both partners need to take care of the other. You don’t know how badly I wanted to hate Gareth because he was an Alpha. Despite the things he did that scared me, when I stopped running, I fell for him.”
Rupert sighed. “I wish I could experience that feeling. My wife and I never had that kind of connection. Or really, anything beyond friendship. I love her, but I’m not in love, if that makes sense. Ours is more family emotions. I think of her as my sister, and she appreciates that.”
“You’ll know what a mate is like,” Quinn said, surer than anything in recent weeks. “He’s out there waiting for you. I can feel it.”
Rupert was a small man, with dark hair and soulful eyes. He radiated calm, and Quinn felt good being around him. Usually. He had a sunny outlook, despite the awful things that were happening to him. He couldn’t wait for Rupert to see Lydon and find out that it was a haven.
“What is it you have always wanted to do, Rupert?”
He winced. “I wanted to take classes, but Alpha Klein refused to allow it. He said wolves didn’t need to be smart, they only had to learn to obey. He assigned the jobs we were to do. There wasn’t any discussion on it. If he liked you, you’d get an easier post. If not, you would get work that, although honest, wasn’t clean or turned out to be dangerous.”
“And what did he have you doing?” Sean asked.
Rupert flushed. “He made me process the meat. Most of the time I knew where it came from, but there were instances that I had no idea. The smell alone was enough to make me throw up.”
Sean put a hand on Rupert’s shoulder. “We don’t do that in Lydon. Yes, we hunt, but that’s all natural. No guns, no bows. Gareth always said it was important to hone our instincts. Us against nature. Most times, working together as a pack, we take down our prey, but sometimes people get hurt. Not too often, though. Dr. Franklin makes sure we are safe.”
A wistful sigh slid out of Rupert. “I wish we had been able to come to Lydon years ago.”
“That’s on Gareth,” Sean said. “He wanted to grow Lydon slowly. He never considered the needs of the other people, because being as insular as they were, he never dealt much with anyone else. When I arrived, Gareth had his eyes opened, and he did not like what he saw.”
Rupert turned to Sean. “May I ask, what’s the Mother like? I always believed her to be more myth than anything else.”
“It wasn’t just you,” Sean said, his voice cracking. “The Mother relies on us for her strength. When we stopped believing, she lost all she had. It was how things got as bad as they did.”
“The Mother is good,” Quinn added. “She grieved when she couldn’t help. In fact, she gave up all the energy she had to strengthen Sean’s Omega. She risked everything in order to give us a second chance because she loved us so much.”
And with those words, a peace settled over Quinn. He believed them, more than he thought he ever could. The anguish Ryker inflicted on him was still there, would probably always be there, but now it was suppressed by an overwhelming love for Deke and the desire to make a family of their own.
“Sean? Do you think one day Deke and I could have a family like yours?”
