Sins and Secrets

Quinn

I was gasping for breath, my lungs aching as they filled with air again.

When my vision cleared, I found myself nestled in Jaxon’s arms. He was carrying me down a corridor. The sunlight stung my eyes as we left the dungeon behind.

“Are you okay?” Jaxon asked, his voice filled with worry. “I thought I’d lost you.”

He looked rattled.

“What happened?” I asked, still trying to regain my bearings. Then the memories flooded back.

Carl.

The prison cell.

My father.

The hand around my throat.

And then…

~Vulpes.~

“That beast tried to kill you!” Jaxon spat out, his teeth clenched.

“I’m sorry! I know you warned me not to get too close—”

“Don’t worry about it,” he cut me off, holding me even tighter. “I’m just relieved you’re safe.”

Tears were streaming down my face.

Jaxon looked at me with such tenderness as he gently wiped them away.

I felt foolish. How could I have been so careless? I let my pride cloud my judgment.

“I should have never let you go in there alone. It’s my fault,” he said, setting me down on my feet.

“No, it was my choice. I was the one who insisted on going in there.”

“I could have stopped you,” he said with conviction. I raised an eyebrow at him, challenging his assertion. “But you were pretty determined.”

I managed a small smile.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said.

Then he leaned in and kissed me. A wave of desire washed over me, and I held him close. I felt safe. I didn’t want to let go.

“I need to go back,” he said, pulling away. “We still need to find out what he knows.”

“I can come with you—”

“No!” he snapped. “Stay here. You’ve been through enough.”

I stiffened. I didn’t like his tone. It felt like a command, but I could see in his eyes that he quickly realized his mistake.

“Please,” he said, his voice much softer.

I let my anger fade and gave in.

“Okay…”

He kissed me on the forehead.

“Thank you,” he said, turning back towards the dungeon.

“Vulpes!” I called out, stopping him in his tracks. “That was the last thing he said to me. What does it mean?”

His face turned ashen. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied.

He started to walk away.

“Tell me what it means,” I insisted.

“It’s nothing you need to worry—”

“No, please, don’t do that to me. Tell me! I deserve to know!”

“Quinn!” he shouted. “I don’t have time to explain! Let me handle this.”

I glared at him, my lips pressed together in a tight line.

I was furious.

He was treating me like a child. Just when I thought we were making progress, he pulled that overbearing macho crap again.

“Fine. You obviously know what’s best! I’ll just be your obedient little Luna like you always wanted!”

I turned my back to him and stormed off.

Jaxon

I stormed down the dungeon hallway, berating myself.

How could I have been so foolish? Letting Quinn go in there like that—she could have been killed! I should have never let her down…but I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

I arrived at the villain’s cell.

He was bound to a chair and wasn’t going anywhere. I made sure of that. His puffy eyes and bloody nose were evidence of Alex’s handiwork.

I clenched my fist and slammed it into the rogue’s jaw.

He groaned and spat out blood.

“How dare you fucking touch her!” I roared, pulling out a knife and pressing it to his throat. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you!”

But he wasn’t scared by my threat. Instead, he started to laugh.

“If you wanted me dead, you would have done it already,” he said, chuckling.

I pressed the blade harder into his throat, but it only made him laugh harder.

“You sure about that?” I growled.

“Killing me won’t stop what’s already in motion.”

“It’s a start!” I retorted, but he remained unfazed.

Then his laughter stopped.

His demeanor changed, becoming darker and more ominous.

“You have no idea what you’re up against,” he snarled. “You couldn’t protect her from me in the forest. What makes you think you can protect her now?”

“Her? You mean, Quinn? What does she have to do with anything?”

“Everything,” he hissed. “Others are coming…and there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”

“Others? What others? Who the hell are you talking about?!”

But he fell silent.

I knew then that was all the information we were going to get out of him…for now. Though, it didn’t stop me from beating him some more.

***

“Do you believe him?” Alex asked as we walked down the prison hallway.

We’d left the rogue to rot in his cell.

“I don’t know what to believe,” I replied. “All I know is that their attack showed us how vulnerable we really are. We don’t have enough people, and our resources are stretched thin.”

“What do you think we should do?”

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew we couldn’t handle this alone. I’d never been one to ask for help, but I had to put my pride aside and think of the pack. Their lives were my priority.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” I told him. “We need to ask the other packs for help.”

“Are you sure about this?” Alex questioned. “I mean, I don’t want to doubt your judgment, but the last time all the packs got together—”

“I remember what happened,” I cut him off. “I don’t need a reminder.”

The packs had never been a united front. There was always some sort of squabble going on. Some of the feuds were centuries old—even my own father had a hard time keeping alliances intact.

They saw us as weak because we didn’t have a Luna. But I knew that having Quinn here was going to change everything.

I cared about her more than I could express...I just hoped she felt the same way about me.

“Get in touch with the other packs,” I instructed Alex. “We’re going to host a ball.”

Quinn

“I’ve never even been to a school dance, let alone a ball!” I told Sky, as we were setting up the centerpieces in the ballroom.

A week had gone by since Jax announced the ball, and everyone was busy preparing for the big event.

Cooking food.

Putting up decorations.

Buying a ton of alcohol.

And so on…

There was a buzz of excitement in the air.

Five other wolf packs had accepted our invitation. I was told this was going to be the biggest gathering in years.

And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared out of my mind.

Being Luna in front of my own pack was one thing, but in front of other Alphas and Lunas? The thought alone made me feel sick.

“You’ll do great!” Sky assured me, “You just have to put one foot in front of the other. It’s like our training, just less violent.”

~Oh, wonderful.~

“And if you want to practice,” she offered, “I’d be happy to help. I did ballet for twelve years!”

“I don’t think Jax is expecting a performance of the ~Nutcracker~,” I replied, trimming the stems of a rose.

Sky laughed. “You’re funny, Quinn. Did you know that?”

I wasn’t sure if anyone had ever called me “funny” before.

“Well, if you want to dance the night away, go ahead. I, for one, am not stepping foot on that dance floor,” I declared.

I remembered the tap classes my mother took me to when I was little, back when Aunt Jodie was still around.

I fell flat on my face at my first and only recital, and I’ve been terrified of dancing ever since.

“Oh, I think you’ll change your mind once you get there.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t count on it.”

Just then, Harper walked in, her arms full of supplies.

“Hey, Harper!” Sky greeted her, but Harper just gave a weak smile and sat down at another table. She was clearly avoiding us.

“What’s up with her?” I asked.

“I have no idea.” Sky shrugged. “She’s been like this since the attack. Mostly keeps to herself.”

Now that she mentioned it, Harper had been acting distant…even more so than usual. Not that I was one to talk. I wasn’t exactly a social butterfly myself.

But something was definitely off. Her eyes were red and she had dark circles under them.

~Has she been crying?~

“Maybe you should go talk to her?” Sky suggested. “You are the Luna, after all.”

“What should I say?”

“Anything!”

She was right.

I had a responsibility to look after my pack, so I walked over to her.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?” I asked, forcing a smile.

“If you want,” she replied, mirroring my fake smile.

I reached over and started cutting flower stems.

“I really like what you’ve done with the arrangement.”

“Thanks…”

We sat in silence.

I tried to think of something to say, but my mind was blank. The silence was becoming uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Harper finally said. I looked at her, confused.

“Sit here with me,” she explained, “I know you’re only doing it because you feel like you have to. But I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay.”

She fell silent.

~I shouldn’t have said that.~

I tried to keep working, but the tension was too much. I didn’t know how to get her to open up.

“I’ll leave you alone,” I said, getting up to leave.

“My family was killed by rogues…did you know that?”

I was taken aback.

“No, I didn’t.”

“That’s why I came here. I had a brother—~had~ a brother… He was the kindest person…and my parents. They were so in love. I loved them so much. They would have done anything for me. And when they died, a part of me died with them.”

I was shocked. I might have been the only one in the pack who knew.

“I was starting to forget about what happened, but after the attack, it all came back.”

She started to cry.

Seeing her in so much pain broke my heart. I tried to find the right words, but I didn’t know what to say.

“Harper—” I started, reaching out to her.

“No,” she choked out, “please, just…just don’t.”

“Okay,” I said, pulling back, “I’ll give you some space. But just so you know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

I started to walk away.

“Quinn?”

I stopped, but before I could turn around, she had her arms around me. She held me tightly for a moment before letting go.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Always,” I smiled back.

She took a deep breath and went back to work.

I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of envy towards her. At least she knew what had become of her family. The fate of mine was still shrouded in mystery.

A sudden touch on my shoulder made me jump. It was Jaxon!

“You startled me!”

“Sorry,” he said, his voice soft. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I was just… Harper mentioned something that made me think of my dad.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I’m okay.”

But I wasn’t okay. The unresolved mystery of my father’s disappearance was a heavy burden. There was a time when I thought I could handle the uncertainty, but now it was all I could think about.

It was all-consuming.

There was someone I needed to talk to, but it wasn’t my mate—someone who I knew could shed light on my father’s disappearance.

I started to walk away.

“Quinn? Where are you going?”

“I need to talk to Carl.”