“No.” Luke thought fondly of the time his mother, all five feet two inches of her, threatened the neighbor with a baseball bat if he teased her son one more time. Luke had been a runt until well after puberty. “My mom is human.”
“Where are they now?”
“Mom doesn’t live far from here, but my dad, well, he died when I was six years old.”
“That’s awful.”
He could see the pain of her own loss in Quinn’s eyes. Even at thirty, losing his father would have been too soon.
“My mother took on the role of both mom and dad, and of pack. She raised me on her own, and when I turned eighteen, I repaid her by joining the army.” More guilt washed over him.
“But that’s admirable,” Quinn said. She laced her fingers in Luke’s. “You wanted to serve our country. I don’t think enough shifters do.”
“My father had been a ranger. He was killed in a fire-fight in Iraq a few years before Desert Storm. When I joined, my mother must have seen it as the epitome of betrayal. The army had taken her husband, and I’d given my life to them as well.”
“Was she angry with you?”
“No.” He shook his head, his hair falling into his eyes. “She said she was proud.”
Quinn stroked his face. “But?”
“But I knew she was scared. Other than me, Mom has no family. I can almost understand your mom’s obsessive need to hold on to what she has.” Because he felt the same obsession when it came to Quinn. God, every cell in his body was in agreement that Quinn was his last hope for any happiness.
He pressed her palm to his cheek, melting into the warmth of her, the scent of her.
Crap. The spray was wearing off.
Quinn inhaled deeply. “The real you smells sweet like the air in spring after a hard rain.” She smiled. “Dew on fresh cut grass.”
“You think?” Luke chuckled. “I’ve never been described in quite that way before.”
“I don’t understand why everything about you screams that you’re mine, but we’re not even the same species. We shouldn’t work.”
The urgency to touch Quinn, to taste her, to fuck her overwhelmed Luke. He could smell her desire now, thick and heady like clover and oranges mixed with spice. He kissed the palm of her hand, his control rapidly crumbling. “I don’t know how to do this,” he said.
“Do what?” she asked.
“Watch you choose another man.” He kissed the inside of her wrist.
“I don’t want to,” Quinn said. Her other hand moved to his thigh. “I only want you, Luke. I...there has to be a way to save everyone, including us.”
“I could kill Trey.” He narrowed his gaze on Quinn, gauging her reaction. His offer was deadly serious. “He sent someone to take out Brandon, and he sent that woman here to kill you. It would be within your right to retaliate.”
“I won’t lie. Killing Trey is not a new idea for me. Hell, I thought of ten ways I wanted to kill his smug self at my dad’s funeral.” She shook her head. “But the rules of the clan are clear, if Trey, as my father’s second, isn’t defeated in a challenge, I forfeit all the rights to clan, property, and money. The only work-around is if it could be proven without a shadow of a doubt that Trey was behind both attacks.” She squeezed Luke’s thigh. “Proof. Not just hearsay. Even if John or Carly agree to testify against Trey, and I get a strong impression neither of them will, it will be their word against his. He could just say they were fanatics who acted on their own accord.”
“I’ll challenge him.”
“That’s sweet, but unless you actually can change your animal to a bear and not just your scent, if you do manage to take him--”
“I would defeat him.”
Quinn smiled. The spicy fragrance of her lust and desire kicked up a notch. “As you say. Even so, it will be the same as killing him. We still lose.”
Luke’s phone rang. It was Rick. “Hold on.” He answered. “Go.”
“I’ve traced the origin of the audio and visual equipment. The shop owner has agreed to talk to us.”
Luke looked down at Quinn. She nodded. “I’ll be right down.” He hung up the phone. “If all goes well, I’m going to hand you proof on a silver platter before tonight’s events. I won’t let Steele win. This is my solemn vow to you. And even if you must choose another, know in my heart you will always be my mate.” He kissed the healing wound on her forearm. “I’m in love with you Quinn Ann Rachel Orson. And I will never harm you or your family.”
Even if loving her meant letting her go.
