‘I, Hudson Shadow of the Shadow Rock pack, reject you, Quinn Redwood as my mate and Luna.’
‘You can’t reject me, the Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes’
‘Well, she did this time’
‘Are you sure? You want to break our bond?’
Hudson snaped his gaze to Quinn who was stood in front of him once again, staring at him in confusion and pain.
‘Esme’ he blurted out, surprising the she wolf who staggered back from him in shock.
‘How . . how do you know that name?’ she asked, her voice panicked.
Ignoring her, Hudson reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her toward his truck as she stumbled, trying to keep up with him. ‘We need to go and get her’ he muttered, ‘she needs to be seen by a proper wolf doctor.’
Quinn started pulling away from him violently, trying to free herself from his grip until he turned to face her in surprise. ‘Come on, we need to go to your friends and get her, take her to my pack, get her seen’ he growled.
Finally managing to rip her arm from his hold, Quinn turned on him, her face a mixture of pure fear and anger. ‘How did you find them?’ she demanded, ‘did you hunt them down? Did your warriors hurt them? I swear Hudson, I will rip your balls off and wear them for earrings if so much as one hair has been hurt on any of their heads.’
The Alpha, scrubbed his hand down his face as he turned toward the angry she wolf. ‘Look, no one found your friends, my pack doesn’t know they exist, I just want to help the little girl’ he growled.
Crossing her arms, Quinn stared at him pointedly, ‘so one minute you are rejecting me and the next you have some sort of . . what? Premonition that tells you about Esme?’
Hudson balled his fists, ‘I know it doesn’t make sense’ he started.
‘Hell right it doesn’t’ the she wolf shot back, ‘and I’m not going anywhere with you’ she added. ‘Hell, you could just be using me to try and find them, damned Alphas, all egotistical assholes.’
The werewolf groaned inwardly, ‘Quinn, I’m just trying to do a good thing here, help a little girl that’s ill, why is that so hard to believe?’
Quinn snorted with laughter, ‘you just rejected me because you have an issue with Omegas’ she shot back. ‘If you treat low ranking pack wolves like that, what kind of bastard will you be to a few defenceless rogues?’
‘Fine!’ Hudson yelled, losing his patience, ‘I revoke my rejection, I accept you as my mate, OK? Happy now?’
The she wolf’s eyes widened as she placed a hand on her chest, ‘oh thank you’ she gushed enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically it seemed, as her face contorted into one of rage, ‘is that what you were expecting Alpha? Me to fall at your feet because you accept me just to get me to take you to some unprotected rogues?’ She snarled angrily at him, ‘you disgust me’ she continued, ‘I realised you were a dick but it’s a whole new level of low to try and use a mate bond to get what you want.’
Turning around, she stormed toward the parking lot exit, Hudson hurrying after her, calling out her name.
Whirling around, she let out a growl that sent tiny tremours through the ground around them as her eyes turned jade, her wolf coming to the surface. ‘Go to Hell Hudson’ the she wolf yelled loudly, ‘In fact, regular Hell is too good for a guy like you, I hope you end up in a cage in the darkest recesses of Hell, chained to the floor, and kept as the Devil’s bitch.’
His mouth opening and shutting, the Alpha couldn’t force out any words as Quinn left through the exit, turning toward town.
Turning back toward his car, Hudson jumped in and pulled out of his space, peeling out of the exit in chase of his mate who was already down the street, running at almost full Alpha speed.
Pressing down on the gas, the Alpha closed the distance, pulling over beside her and calling out of the window as she kept running. ‘Quinn, wait!’ he shouted desperately, keeping pace with her on the wrong side of the road as horns blared from cars that were having to pull around him.
‘Leave me and my friends alone Hudson’ Quinn retorted, sparing him a moment to glare in his direction.
‘I’m not going to hurt your friends’ he yelled back, ‘I just want to help them!’
Quinn finally slowed, Hudson stopping beside her as she faced him, ‘why should I believe you?’ she demanded, ‘I don’t even know you!’
Hudson grimaced, ‘I’m a good guy’ he sighed, ‘I swear it.’
The she wolf snorted with laughter, ‘you do realise that there are serial killers that had friends and neighbours who said that they were good guys’ she responded. ‘Just because you think you are a good guy, doesn’t mean you are. Plus, you are an egotistical pig so your words really don’t hold much weight.’
‘Please’ he muttered, ‘just let me help them.’
Quinn’s shoulders dropped slightly as she shook her head, ‘Esme most likely isn’t there’ she replied sadly. ‘Her mother was taking her to a human clinic, she’ll have already left if she’s going.’
Hudson frowned, ‘why would her mate let her go alone?’ he asked in surprise, it was rare for a male wolf to allow his mate, let alone his pup go off alone in rogue territory.
Quinn’s brow furrowed, ‘what mate?’ she asked in confusion.
‘The werewolf that shares a tent with her, umm Peterson is it?’ Hudson said, trying to remember the quiet wolf’s name.
‘Patterson?’ How the hell do you know his name?’ Quinn demanded, ‘he literally talks to no one except me and the group.’
The Alpha shrugged, ‘like I said, I want to help them, I do know of them, this is not me trying to discover where they are, I can find them. I just don’t want to upset them by turning up alone. It’s not good for the she wolf that’s pregnant, having a strange Alpha pack wolf appear and try to take one of their children’ he added with a weak smile.
A small curve appeared on Quinn’s lips at his words, ‘you are not that scary’ she replied primly, ‘I don’t find you at all intimidating.’
Hudson laughed, ‘yeah, I kind of got that impression’ he replied with a wink.
Shaking her head, the she wolf returned to their discussion, ‘Patterson is not Esme’s father’ she explained, ‘her father, Xavier, died, a pack found him when he was going for medication for Esme a few years ago, ripped him apart. Patterson found him, went looking after he didn’t return. Patterson is Esme’s uncle, Xavier’s brother, he took over caring for his brother’s mate and child when Xavier died.’ Quinn cleared her throat before continuing, pain in her eyes, ‘Patterson feels responsible, he wanted to go and get the medication that day as Esme was running a fever, needed her parents. Xavier refused, said he could run quicker, plus it was his family, so his responsibility.’
Hudson felt a lump form in his throat, he knew what it felt like to live with guilt, know you failed your pack, your family.
‘He’s a good man to take on his brother’s family’ he said gruffly, respect growing for the silent rogue werewolf.
Quinn nodded, ‘they are all good people’ she agreed, ‘just bad luck and difficult circumstances have left them living like this.’
‘Do they not want to join a pack?’ he asked, he couldn’t imagine not wanting to be part of a pack, as wolves they had the desire to live with their own kind.
The she wolf nodded, ‘yes, but they also fear approaching a pack to ask, any they have attempted to approach have treated them as a threat. They have been chased off before they reached the border.’
Hudson growled angrily, annoyed that the people he had met yesterday were not being given a chance. Quinn raised an eyebrow, ‘are you saying that your border wolves wouldn’t do exactly the same thing if they approached without warning?’ she queried.
Hudson hesitated, yes, his pack would do it too, Rogues were seen as dangerous so unless severely injured, begging for aid and coming over as completely lucid, they would be deterred from the border with aggression.
Quinn nodded understandingly, ‘it’s the way of packs’ she sighed, ‘we like to live in groups but we also hate to take a chance on anything that might jeopardize our way of life. You seem to know them though I still have no idea how as they have never mentioned an Alpha wolf popping in for a cup of coffee.’
Smiling sadly she reached out and patted his arm, sparks shooting over his skin and making him shudder, ‘look, I understand how frustrating it is, believe me, I know’ she muttered angrily. ‘But even as an Alpha wolf, the chances of your pack Alpha even allowing them to the pack house to ask for sanctuary is slim to none. It’s why I don’t think taking Esme to your pack will work, she’s a rogue and even a child is a threat. Your Alpha won’t allow her inside the border for treatment and could possibly kill her just for being there, even if she’s in your arms.’
‘My father . .’ Hudson started hotly
‘Is an Alpha wolf with a pack to protect’ Quinn finished, ‘and he will not risk the lives of his pack members on the chance that a small rogue child is really sick and not just a ruse to get people inside the territory to scope it out.’
Seeing his torn expression, Quinn’s own features softened, ‘I’ve already tried’ she said softly, ‘with my own pack and our alliances. Esme cannot leave her mother, she’s too little, and it would scare her. Esme’s mother is a Rogue, a possible threat to the pack, so the risk is too great. It’s awful and I hate it but it’s the way we are, the way wolves live. I bring them what I can, help in any way I can think of and hope that they can find a way to get her to a proper doctor for our kind.’
Hudson sighed dejectedly, ‘I really want to help them’ he mumbled.
Quinn smiled, her face lighting up as she nodded, ‘so do I’ she replied, ‘and maybe one day we’ll figure out a way too. Until then, I don’t want to upset them by bringing a big bad Alpha wolf into their midst, nor give them false hope to only have it destroyed again.’
Giving him a small wave, she stepped back from the truck, heading toward the town as Hudson turned around slowly and started back toward his packhouse.
He knew she was right, his pack wouldn’t just accept a sick rogue because he brought her there, he needed a better plan and he was damn sure he wasn’t giving up, he was going to help that sick pup.