Nolan
1806 Words
Quinn’s POV
“Well, Coop obviously isn’t hung up on me anymore. That part is good, right?”
We’re in the car, on our way back to the compound. We asked Finn and Maddy to ride with Marie and Jason so we could have a chance to discuss everything privately.
“I’ll admit it was a bit of a relief when he asked for a private word with Marie,” Dean admits. “Not entirely, though. What a prick, choosing a time like that to let it dawn on him that he might actually reciprocate the poor girl’s feelings.”
I couldn’t agree more, though the flirtation was pretty standard behavior for Cooper the ladies’ man. “I know. But at least he said yes.”
He parts his lips to answer me, but nothing comes out. I know what the look on his face means: someone’s communicating with him via the pack mind link.
“s**t,” he mutters when the transmission finishes. “Alaina's there already.”
I curse, too, then yank out my phone and work my way to Cooper’s contact as quickly as possible. “Have they attacked?” I ask Dean as my fingers fly over the screen. “Is everyone okay?”
“They’re waiting for us at the gate. Everyone’s okay for now.”
I nod, click “call,” and wait impatiently as Cooper’s phone rings.
“Just finished rounding up the troops,” he says when he answers. “Fourteen willing participants. Everything okay?”
“She just showed up at the compound. We haven’t even made it there yet.”
“Shit.” I hear him repeat this to everyone around him, then shuffle—presumably toward the door. “We’re on our way. Don’t start anything until we get there, okay? Stall them.”
As if I was planning on starting anything after he got there. We asked for his help in case of emergency, not in order to justify a fight.
“Thanks,” I say grimly, and I hang up. To Dean I add, “They’re loading up.”
He nods, but his jaw is tight. “I can’t believe they’re already there. I can’t believe we left her there without us.”
He’s talking about Julia, of course. He regrets leaving her.
“She’s safe,” I remind him. “And once we get there—which will be any minute now—she’ll be even safer.”
He nods, but he’s gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles are white. “What do you think Alaina wants?”
It’s hard to say. Alaina Hayworth was certainly an evil b***h in her heyday, but it’s been years. Did she take the advice I left her with and travel the world? Does she still consider herself indebted to me for sparing her life, or is she seeking vengeance?
I really hope she doesn’t make me regret saving her life.
I see her as soon as Dean make the turn onto the compound’s dirt road. She’s surrounded by a group of vamps that’s slightly bigger than Finn’s estimated fifteen or twenty—more like thirty.
“She’s gotten to the Jax Pack,” Dean growls as he parks his car. We haven’t pulled all the way into the compound, of course; we stopped at the closed gate.
He’s right, I realize as I scan the faces of the group surrounding Alaina. They aren’t just vamps; there are wolves among them, too. The Jax Pack.
Just in case you need a refresher, the old Alpha of the Jax Pack, Brett, was the man who killed my parents. So I’m not exactly their biggest fan.
Still, I killed Brett, and the rest of his pack vowed never to cross us again. So unless they’re here to do that, we don’t necessarily have a problem.
There are about fifteen of our own pack wolves gathered around the gate, with Garrett stationed at the front. He must have instructed the rest of the pack to hang back in the safety of the compound until we were sure there was trouble.
“Alaina,” Dean growls as he steps out of the car and heads over to her. He takes my hand as soon as we’ve regrouped. “What are you doing here?”
To my surprise, there’s no vengeance or hostility in Alaina’s cold, blue-gray eyes. Her head hangs low, and her posture is slumped. She almost seems… defeated.
“Alaina,” says the man next to her. I didn’t notice him at first, but once I do, he’s impossible to unnotice. “Tell them why you’re here.”
He’s got amethyst eyes. Which means he’s their guardian.
He’s older than me, though I’m not sure exactly how much older. Tall and lean—not as big or broad as Dean. He’s got wavy, copper hair and a sharp jaw with a hint of stubble. He’s dressed well, in the sort of boiled leather and billowing tunic that suggest he’s prepared for either diplomacy or a fight.
Not a great sign.
“Alpha Dean of the Pewter Pack,” Alaina says, stooping to one knee. “Luna Quinn of the Pewter Pack. I come to you a humble shell of the vile woman that I once was to beg your forgiveness and pardon for the heinous crimes I committed against you.”
Well, that, I certainly wasn’t expecting.
Several more cars pull up to the gate at that—Cooper and the willing participants of the Refugee Coven. Cooper flies out of his Audi—another thing he and Marie have in common: their taste in cars—and sprints over to me and Dean in a matter of seconds, then grabs Alaina by the throat.
“Easy, tiger,” Dean warns him. “She was in the middle of apologizing to us.”
“f**k her apology,” Cooper growls, tossing her to the ground like a piece of trash. To my surprise, no one she came with—not even her guardian—seems remotely bothered by his behavior. “How dare she have the nerve to show up here unannounced?”
“I apologize for the intrusion,” says the guardian—though he speaks directly to me, rather than to Cooper. “I was afraid you would insist on knowing the nature of our visit before approving it, and it really is better heard in person.”
“The nature of your visit?” I repeat. “Meaning you didn’t just come here so Alaina could apologize?”
“No,” he says, glancing down at Alaina with… is it amusement on his face? “There is much I would like to discuss with you; I just figured it best to get the niceties out of the way first.”
Why does he keep using the word “I” instead of “we” or “her?” It’s almost like this guy is the one calling the shots, rather than Alaina.
“My name is Nolan,” the man continues, extending a hand in my direction. “Nolan Everson.”
I lift a hand to shake his, but Dean stops me, glaring fiercely at Nolan. “And you’re what, exactly, Nolan? Alaina’s guardian?”
Nolan spares Dean a disinterested glance, then returns his gaze to mine. “I am a guardian,” he says with a small smile. “Not sure the word needs a possessive qualifier.”
So he is calling the shots—or, at the very least, he’s equal partners with Alaina.
Doesn’t really feel equal, though, given that she’s still on her knees.
“Perhaps you could either forgive her or tell her to get out of your sight?” Nolan asks me cheerfully. “Makes no difference to me.”
My jaw drops. I can’t help it. He clearly has no respect for her at all, so why did he ever agree to let her bite him?
I don’t like this, Dean links to me. There’s something off about this fucker.
I don’t like it, either, but I’m not sure what to do about it. I glance uncomfortably down at Alaina, who seems to be one step away from hugging my legs, before reluctantly saying, “Okay, I forgive you. Now could you please get up?”
Cooper curses at that, but I ignore him.
“Lovely,” says Nolan easily. “Now, then. I’ve come to make a proposition of sorts, but I’d really rather do it in private. Might there be any chance of you letting me in? I’d be happy to offer you up my little clan as collateral, if it makes you feel safer.”
I glance at Dean again. The knot in my stomach only seems to tighten with every word that comes out of Nolan’s mouth. What kind of guardian offers up his entire pack—coven—whatever the hell they are—as collateral? He doesn’t even know us. What if we killed them all?
I don’t get the impression that he’d care, Dean says in response to my overheard thought. Which only makes me more suspicious of him.
I nod in grim agreement.
We should probably invite him in, he admits. I don’t like it, but he doesn’t seem particularly dangerous at the moment, and I’d like it to keep it that way.
I suppose he’s right. Nolan might not seem like a threat now, but he has the potential to be a very powerful one. Like him or not, inviting him in seems to be the right call. Where are Lucy and Julia right now?
At Lucy’s, which means our place is free.
I nod, then take a deep breath, force a smile, and say out loud, “We’d be happy to invite you in, Nolan. Do you mind if we bring our Betas with us?”
“Betas, plural?” he asks curiously.
“It’s more of a figure of speech, in my case. Dean’s Beta and my… protector.”
Cooper clears his throat, which tells me that he doesn’t much care for being left off the list. I ignore him, though. He’s already proven himself too hot-headed for this particular conversation.
“Intriguing,” Nolan says enthusiastically. “Of course, of course—bring your Betas. I suppose I should bring Alaina, too, if that’s alright with you.”
He supposes he should bring her? Like she’s some sort of… afterthought?
I glance at Dean again. I liked the idea of keeping Alaina out here as collateral, but we’ll still have the rest of their clan, right?
He nods.
“Okay,” I tell Nolan. “Follow us.”
And I lead our unlikely little group through the gate and toward my home.
- Writer
