Heart of a Lion by Lacey Thorn
Chapter Eleven
Mitch had left Quinn in Aleksy’s capable hands while he went back for Emery. She wouldn’t be completely okay until she could hold her son and make sure there were no marks on him. He had to admit he’d felt the same way when he’d walked into a room full of blood and chaos and hadn’t been able to find Quinn. It had felt as if his heart had stopped until he’d discovered her sitting against the far wall behind Abby, Tah, and Gabriel. She’d looked so alone with her knees clasped against her chest. Her eyes wide with horror. He hadn’t been able to get to her fast enough.
She’d been asleep when he’d ducked in the room to check on her. He’d made a make shift bassinet for Emery out of a clothes basket and blankets then put him close beside the bed next to his mother before heading back down to speak to Aleksy.
“How is she?”
“She’s okay,” Aleksy assured him as they moved toward the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one to Mitch before turning and leaning against the counter. “Bullet hit her in the calf, but considering all she’s been through, she’s not bad at all. I’d say her healing rivals that of any of one of us.”
“Us as in me? Or you?” Mitch asked.
“Me and it makes no fucking sense. She’s got some shifter characteristics, but she’s not a shifter.”
“How’d you get her to head upstairs before I got back?”
“She was anxious for you to get back with her son. She’s been through a lot. I’d say the last few days, but I think it goes back farther than that. Talbot did a real number on her, and I’m not just talking physically. Though that’s beyond fucked up. But mentally and emotionally, as well. I gave her some antibiotic as well as a little something to help her relax.”
“She complied with that?” Mitch admitted that surprised him.
“I didn’t tell her, and I won’t apologize for it. She needs the sleep. Her body is desperate for it. She’ll heal even faster if her body is rested.” Aleksy took a long drink, finishing the water then tossing the bottle into the recycling bin.
“Earlier, she said her healing speeds up when she was awake,” Mitch countered.
“Maybe, she thought so because she was awake to notice it, but I promise you she’ll heal faster while she’s sleeping. It’s the only time she’s relaxed enough to give up control. If we could get her to rest for at least the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours, I’d say she’d be almost good as new, and that’s as far from normal as you can get.”
Aleksy’s glance moved toward the doorway, and Mitch wasn’t surprised when Lyra walked through. She went straight to her mate and rubbed against him before settling with her back to Aleksy’s chest.
“Mitch.”
Her voice was soft and still rusty. She’d been partially deaf when she’d first met her mate. She hadn’t known she was a shifter, but her animal had managed to keep her from completely losing her hearing even in its dormant state. Mating with Aleksy and allowing her tiger to be free had corrected the damage, though from what Aleksy said, the animal muted sounds for her when she was overwhelmed. Lyra also didn’t speak aloud often. At least outside of her mate and Tony.
“Lyra and I talked.” Aleksy had one arm across her chest and the other resting along her hip. “We’re going to stick close to here for a while. As will alpha team. They won’t stop coming for her. Or for her baby if he’s anything like his mother. If things are headed the way they appear to be between you two, you have to be ready for that. We all do.”
Mitch nodded. Things were headed that way, and no hunter would make him back away from the woman he was falling for. They needed to be ready. They didn’t have the numbers to handle another mass assault like the one that had just happened. They’d handled it, but not without casualties.
“What did you find out while you were over there?” Aleksy asked.
“Bad. It’s bad. Both Gabriel and Tah took multiple hits. Tah threw that bed across the room and took out as many as he could then used his body to shield his mate and Quinn. Gabriel tried to shield him, but he was a target. A huge one and I think every hunter in the room aimed for him.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. Gideon took some hits but was conscious and talking. Sounds as if he moved to cover Tah, and Vic intentionally drew the bastards fire her way. I’m sure she was trying to protect Tah, as well. She tried to cover Mueller, too, but once they turned, they turned with a vengeance. Last I heard, Mueller’s coded twice on the table, but they’ve managed to get him back so far. I don’t know on Vic. No one had an update on her.”
That worried Mitch a lot. No news wasn’t necessarily good news. It was just no news.
“How about our guys?” he asked.
“Several injuries but nothing too serious. Those skirmishes were merely distractions. I’ll talk to Tony about calling in some of the other teams. We can’t be caught like this again.”
“No,” Mitch agreed. They couldn’t be caught unprepared again. “Their casualties?”
“A lot. We weren’t playing around. Those who made it out, limped away,” Aleksy assured him. “You know she’s going to blame herself. I could see the devastation in her eyes while I took care of her leg.”
The thought tore up Mitch. He wondered if any of them realized how fragile she really was. She held herself together at the seams, and those were breaking down fast. This might be the final straw to put her over the edge. Hell, the hunters might have inadvertently created what would inevitably bring them down. Quinn.
“Do you need me for anything?”
“No,” Aleksy told him. “You can head up and crash with her. I’ll keep watch down here and listen for updates. You could use the rest, too. You’ve been running yourself ragged since she got here, keeping an eye on her while doing everything Tony wants.”
“She’s worth it,” Mitch swore.
Aleksy glanced down at his mate. “Love always is.”
Where Tony kept his personal thoughts and feelings close to his chest, Aleksy didn’t hide how much he loved and adored his mate. Mitch wouldn’t, either.
“It is,” he agreed. “I’m heading up then. Wake me if anything happens.”
He didn’t say what. It didn’t need to be said. Losing any of the ones currently fighting for their lives would be a devastating blow to the pride. Tah was the alpha, the leader they’d waited for. Gabriel had been known as The Angel to many shifters, an avenging legend who’d hunted down and brought justice for shifters hurt by hunters and their ilk. Mueller was the heart of the pride, a father figure to many of them, especially the shifters who’d grown up without a parental figure. Then there was Vic. Fast-talking former soldier who kept everyone on their toes. She backed down from nothing and no one and loved just as fiercely. That was easy to see when she was with her mate and fellow pride members.
He made his way up to the room Quinn was in. It was at the back, closest to the rear exit, and dark since it only had one window. He easily made out her shape when he eased in the door. Both mother and son appeared to be sleeping soundly.
He kicked off his shoes and shed his shirt, jeans and socks, then slid onto the bed in just his boxers. He’d been going to bed with Quinn stripped down like this since the second night they’d spent together. She’d never said a word, merely cuddled against him, letting him hold her through the night.
Aleksy was right. He’d run himself ragged. He definitely wasn’t on the top of his game. He needed about ten hours of sleep, so his body could reboot. He sprawled out on his back, lifting one arm to cover his eyes while he tried to deal with his emotions. He could have lost her today. Again. How many times was a man supposed to watch the woman he loved almost die?
“Mitch.”
Her voice whispered over him as she moved closer, snuggling against his side. He dropped his arm from his eyes and wrapped it around her, tugging her even closer.
“Thank you for bringing Emery.”
“Of course.” Didn’t she know he’d do anything for her?
“Are you okay?”
He felt her restless energy.
“I’m good,” he promised. “Tired. Will you rest with me? I don’t think I can sleep if you’re not here.”
She was silent for a long moment, then he felt her nod against him before she spoke.
“Yes. For a bit. I need to keep an eye on Emery.”
She didn’t say anything else, but he felt the tremor in her body. What was it about her silent tears that tore him apart faster and more thoroughly than if she’d been sobbing hysterically? It was the stoicism. The way she tried so hard to hold herself together. Which shouldn’t surprise him. She’d lived with hunters. Been at their mercy, subjected to their every whim. Dependent on them for everything. Silence had probably been her golden ticket in the hell she must have endured.
“Let it out, baby,” he urged, pulling her even closer until her head was on his chest. “Let it fucking go.”
The first sob seemed to catch in her throat. Almost like a half-hearted attempt. Or as if after years of bottling shit inside, she’d lost the ability to vocalize. In contrast, her tears were like a river. Soaking his skin and dripping down to wet the sheets beneath him. Her shoulders shook with her grief. Both fresh and old, he imagined. And he hurt for her. He wanted to go back and prevent what had happened today. Hell, he wanted to go back and prevent her from ever joining the hunters to begin with. It hadn’t brought her justice for her mother’s death. It had only brought her to the attention of a madman who’d used her as some experiment as if she weren’t human at all.
Her fist pressed hard against his chest, and he knew she was biting it, probably another habit learned in captivity. He reached down and moved it, pressing her fingers flat and weaving them through his own. She growled, sharp teeth nipping at his skin before licking over the bites then pressing warm, open-mouthed kisses to his chest. As much as he wanted her, he wouldn’t let either of them use the other to forget.
“No,” he told her, forcing her head up so her gaze could meet his. “Not like this.”’
She pulled away, curling into herself, her face broadcasting the rejection she felt. He reached for her, going to her when she wouldn’t let him tug her back to him. He wrapped around her instead, before turning and managing to lift her enough to sit her in his lap before cradling her face in his hands.
“Don’t misread the room, Quinn. You know I want you. I’ve made no secret of it since the day we met. My body wants you. My mind wants you.” He paused, making sure he had her full attention. “My heart wants you. I’m all in. Every part of me. So don’t use me to escape what you’re feeling. That’s not fair to either one of us. When we finally come together, and we will, it will be about that want, that desire, and the other tangle of emotions that keep us coming back to each other. It’ll be about us and only us. Understand?”
She nodded, and more tears leaked from the corners of her eyes to slip across her cheeks.
“It’s my fault, Mitch. Tah and Gabriel. Vic and Professor Mueller.”
She stopped there, swallowing hard before she continued.
“Whatever happens, it’s on me. “
“You know that’s not true.”
“They came here for me. It was never about Talbot. They’ve never cared about him. Every attack was geared toward getting to me.”
“And if it hadn’t been you, it would have been someone else, something else. They were always going to come here. It’s why the pride settled. Why they stopped running. Why they planted roots and encouraged others to join them. It was always going to come to this type of showdown. No matter what happens, you need to know that. This isn’t your fault.”
“This time. This showdown. I’m the catalyst. Me and my son. And this blood is on my hands.”
Mitch didn’t say anything. She wasn’t ready to listen to him yet. She couldn’t hear the truth in his words because she was still struggling to deal with the horror of what had happened.
“We did learn something,” he noted aloud instead.
“What?”
“They’re willing to sacrifice as many as they need to get to you.” He glanced down at the top of her head where she’d lain it against his chest again. “What is it about you that has them so scared?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, and the tremble in her voice told him that lack of knowledge had her scared, too. Then she took a deep breath, pushing away until she slid off the bed and stood beside him.
“Maybe, this has something to do with it.”
She took another deep breath, holding it for the longest moment until he was almost lightheaded from it. She closed her eyes, relaxed her shoulders, then flicked her eyelids back up. Her eyes glowed. Aleksy’s words came back to him.
She’s got some shifter characteristics, but she’s not a shifter.
She lifted her hands, and claws sprouted from the tips of her fingers.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she whispered. “What’s inside me. But every day it gets harder and harder to hold it back. I’m ripping apart, Mitch, and I’m terrified one day I’m going to wake up and…not be me any longer. It terrifies me, and I can’t do anything to stop it.”
He stood and went to her, pulling her against him. “What if you weren’t afraid? What if you embraced it?”
“What are you saying?”
“Every time this side of you has come out, it’s been to protect you and Emery. I don’t think you need to fear it, but obviously, the hunters do. Enough that they’ll sacrifice themselves to try and take you out.”
“Why?” she asked, and he shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he told her. “But I think it’s past time we found out.”