Maurice looks pointedly between me and Vlad. I raise my hands in surrender, though the idea of tracking Quinn down and ensuring he made it home safely may have already crossed my mind more than once.
Surely he has. His pack would be up in arms if not—or will be, come the morning. No. He will be fine. He is a young, strong wolf, and I am sure he headed straight home after our encounter.
“No,” Vlad says. “It is not long until sunrise.”
The dismissal is clear, and Maurice sniffs in response but does ruffle Grant’s hair before he heads to the door. There is some greater rift between Maurice and Vlad than him maybe offending Grant, but that’s for them to work out.
Vlad turns his attention immediately to Grant, who is fishing behind himself for a book. I drift out of the room and follow Maurice out of the house.
He pauses on the steps and looks back at me with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not usually one for ominous silences.”
I frown. I’m not one for talking, either.
Maurice rolls his eyes. “Emphasis onominous, Asher. What’s wrong?”
“Kieran’s pack,” I say, and Maurice shifts his weight, settling in to listen. “You’re still in contact with them?”
“I talk to Sam from time to time. Have you not been to them since…”
He trails off. Since everything changed. Since he, apparently, got his blessing back and was allowed to keep his crai and help the fae in the same breath.
The Hunt was never designed tohelpthe fae. We help humans. We defend them against tricks and worse.
But Maurice… He saw what we’ve all seen, I think, because I do not think any of us are any less compassionate, deep down. Maurice is simply the fiercest amongst us. The only one of us willing to challenge the Huntsman, willing to sacrifice everything for it.
“No. I just—” I don’t want to tell him about Quinn; at least not before I’ve had a chance to talk to him again. “They should be prepared for new members. I think all the fae in the pub were there willingly, but I don’t know about the fighters.”
“The fae who were fighting?”
“Wolves, too.”
Maurice’s face does something complicated, but after a moment, he nods. “I’ll warn them,” he says. “And you should consider dropping by and speaking to them, too. I know you met Kieran when you were watching over Deacon, but it would be polite.”
Have I been putting it off? I know it’s the polite thing to do; Deacon did introduce me to all the alphas under him when I took the assignment to be his bodyguard, but Kieran’s pack is the one taking any fae who want support, bridging a gap we had not considered until very recently.
“I-I’ll go soon,” I say. Will Quinn be there? I can’t turn up without warning him. He might think I am there to reveal to them what he has done.
“All right,” Maurice says. He purses his lips, eyeing me speculatively before he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Don’t worry about me and Vlad, either. We’ll get through it.”
“I wasn’t.”
Maurice hums, the sound amused. “Of course you weren’t, mother hen.”
He walks away as I splutter, but there is no point in arguing with him. And at least he has acknowledged it, so it is something I don’t need to concern myself with.
I might have my own place to stay away from the base, but I let myself back into the house all the same and head upstairs to the room designated as mine. This is an old townhouse with several floors, and I am above Vlad and Grant’s rooms, which are side-by-side on the first floor. After our encounter with the twins, staying close will do me good.
So will a few hours’ sleep. I can go hunt for the little wolf later this morning.
Chapter Four
Quinn
Imakeitbacktomy flat without anyone noticing—or, worse, popping their heads out to see who’s wandering by—and let out a sigh of relief when I lock my door. Asher didn’t follow me, thank fuck, though I’m not sure he’ll keep the fact that he saw me to himself.
Shaking my head, I wander into the bathroom and turn on the shower before I strip. No blood on me this time at least,considering our fight was cut short, but I still need to wash away the scents of the pub in case I run into Drew or Dax.
They must have already noticed something. There’s no way Sam can’t know. I appreciate his discretion all the same.
