Quinn's Apology
1209 Words
I was in such shock I thought that I had misheard Quinn.
“I was so weak… that…” she hiccupped between sobs, “…that I couldn’t stand up for my own best friend.”
Despite the loud music and drunken state of most of the guests, Quinn’s weeping started to turn a few curious heads.
“Why don’t we go somewhere a little quieter?” I asked.
She nodded her tear streaked face and allowed me to guide her towards the lake.
There were several mated couples sitting together on the shoreline, but I was able to find a slopping area of beach that was completely isolated from any of the other party members. The music and laugher were muffled in the background, giving us much needed silence.
We sat down and I slipped my shoes off so that I could burry my toes in the sand.
I shivered. Away from the heated platform, it was much colder here.
Quinn seemed to have calmed down slightly. She had wiped the tears off of her face and rested her head on her knees, looking towards me.
“Every day after I stopped talking to you was torture. I thought I was taking the easy way out, but I was wrong. I missed you so much. Whenever I’d see you in class or pass you in the halls…” she stopped for a moment, “…or that time we were paired up for that poster project.”
“Oh right,” I recollected, “that poster that we had to make about the history of the Rocky Mountain Pack. We didn’t say a word to each other, even then. You just did the entire thing by yourself. Which honestly, I was thankful for. You were always so artistic.”
“I wasn’t that good,” Quinn murmured.
“Bullshit. You were the best artist the pack had ever seen.”
“I guess I did want to become the pack’s architect at one point,” Quinn supposed sadly.
“Why didn’t you?” I asked, “you would have made an amazing one.”
Quinn pulled her knees in tighter and looked mournfully out across the lake.
“I didn’t really have the support from my parents. All they were concerned with was making sure I found my mate so I could have pups. They were ecstatic after I mated with Davey. The year after I turned 18 and before Davey’s coming of age was a nightmare. My mother hosted so many events, inviting all of the eligible wolves from different packs, hoping that one of them would be my mate. She paraded me around like I was some sort of sacrificial virgin.”
“I’m sorry, Quinn. That sounds dreadful.”
“Don’t be sorry, Scar. I’m the one who ditched you, remember?” Quinn said, giving my hand a squeeze. “And I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“If you regretted it so much, why didn’t you come back to me?” I questioned angrily, “I mean- you ignored me for years. You could have easily woken up one day and decided to talk to me again.”
My question pained Quinn and caused tears to form in her eyes again, but I didn’t feel guilty that I had asked. I had to know.
“I guess…” she started, “I guess I thought you hated me. What I did to you was unforgivable, and I thought you would never want to speak to me again.”
My rage dissolved. Now it was my turn to cry.
“Quinn, I could never hate you,” I sniffled.
I shuffled in closer to her and placed my head on her shoulder. We sat together in silence for several minutes like that, both of us looking out at the black, moon-illuminated water.
Quinn was the one to finally break the silence.
“How’s your dad doing?”
“Oh, same old, same old. I guess I’m just lucky he’s still alive, considering often times wolves cannot live after their mates… die. But he’s only a shell of what he once was.”
“I get it,” Quinn said, “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to Davey. And we haven’t even imprinted on each other yet.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Imprinting was the last step to mating. It created the deepest, strongest bond between two wolves. Once a couple imprinted on each other, they would never have eyes for anyone but each other.
“You haven’t? Why not?” I asked.
“I’m don’t really know,” Quinn said slowly, “I guess… we don’t really need to at the moment. Being mated is enough for now. It’s already unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I’ve never been so emotionally connected to someone like I am to Davey.”
“Really, not even Oliver?” I teased.
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Quinn said as she covered her eyes to hide her mortification.
“I noticed Oliver isn’t Thomas’s Beta.”
“Oh, that’s an interesting story,” Quinn spoke, suddenly becoming sombre.
“Is it?”
“Have you noticed that another individual’s presence was missing from the party today? A certain wicked shewolf with a short stature?”
“Belle,” I spoke.
Quinn nodded. “After you rejected Ben, Belle was convinced that she should be the one to take your place. Two days after you left, she marched right over to the Alpha’s mansion and demanded to see Ben. If she thought that they would mate as soon as they laid eyes on each other, or if she was just going to be his mistress… I’m not sure exactly what her plan was. But he refused to let her in the house. Then, she just… disappeared.”
“Wait, what do you mean, Quinn?”
“I mean she fled the pack, along with Oliver. Someone said they spotted two wolves escaping through the woods in the middle of the night after Belle was rejected.”
“But why Oliver?”
Quinn shrugged. “I guess he was the first guy she could convince to leave with her. He had nothing left here, with his Alpha going insane. Plus, I’m pretty sure the two were sleeping together.”
“He was cheating on you? That bastard!”
Quinn gave me a gentle smile. “When I first felt a hunch that something was going on between the two of them, I was pretty upset. But I realized that I should have never started dating him in the first place. He was a terrible guy.”
“His smile always creeped me out,” I added.
Quinn giggled. “I don’t think that had mattered too much to Belle. She was attracted to power. If she couldn’t have the Alpha, she would at least have the Beta.”
Just then, the music stopped, and the DJ’s voice interrupted us. Due to the distance between us and the party platform, it was difficult to hear him. We both had to crane our necks to listen to what he was saying.
“Hello Rocky Mountain Pack! Are you all having a good time?”
The crowd cheered.
“That’s what I like to hear!” The DJ continued, “but the party is not over yet. In fact, it’s really just beginning. My boy Thomas here is turning 18 in just under… five minutes!”
Another loud applause erupted from the crowd.
Five minutes? How had time gone by so fast?
My heart pounded hard in my chest.
In five minutes, Thomas would become a full-fledged wolf, and quite possibly, find his mate tonight.
A terrible thought then crossed my mind.
And what if it was Emily?
SR
- Writer
