Quinn settled in the chair beside the bed as I attempted to pull myself together. "I told him the truth. Is that so bad?" I got out between sobs. Quinn just looked at me with his calculating gaze as he waited for me to continue. "I told him I wasn't attracted to him. That I wanted to leave once it was safe."
Quinn gave me a rare smile as his eyes softened. "Marcus has a hard time of letting go. Especially when he thinks you are his. I wouldn't worry too much about it, he will get over it in time."
"What if he doesn't? What if he hates me now. Or worse, what if he won't let me go?!" I start to panic at the thought of Marcus locking me away somewhere, of not being able to escape.
Quinn placed his warm slender hand on mine to help ground me as I panicked. "Calm down Riley. Marcus is many things but he would never keep anyone against their will. Though I'm guessing from this response someone has locked you away before."
I flinched at the comment. "Right after my mother passed my father locked me in a room at the pack house so I wouldn't run. He had a lineup of Alphas that wanted to bond me to gain an ally in the Dark Pine pack. Marcus was always the desired mate for me. It took three tries before I managed to get away, but in reality my father could have come to get me any time he wanted. He knew exactly where I was. He told me that the time I had in college was all I was permitted and that he would collect me to present to Marcus once I graduated. However that time line was pushed up because of Cynthia." I wasn't sure why I was sharing all of this with Quinn, but once I started all the pain just tumbled out, like a dam that had finally broke.
Quinn nodded in understanding and offered silent comfort as he waited for me to put myself back together. Once my breathing evened out Quinn got up off the chair and returned with a cool cloth. I took it and wiped my teat stained face. "How about we go for that walk?" Quinn suggested as he took back the cloth once I had finished with it and placed it in the laundry bin. "It has started to warm up and the gardens have started to to bloom with early spring flowers."
I nodded in reply. Going outside would be nice. I missed feeling the sun on my face, the wind in my hair. "I'm not sure how far I can walk yet but I want to see it."
I climbed off the bed, wobbled slightly, but my legs held my weight as I walked over to the door with Quinn right behind me.
The walk through the pack house was quiet, there was no staff and no Marcus to stop me from going outside. Not that they would with Quinn escorting me, but it was odd not to see anyone around. We rested at the kitchen table as I was starting to feel the strain on my still weak muscles. The medicine had worked wonders considering the state I had been in, but I was still weak and lacked the stamina so I couldn't go very far on my own. "Where is everyone?" I commented as even the kitchen was empty of staff.
"They tend to make themselves scarce when Marcus is in a bad mood." Quinn replied with a chuckle. "He either growls at everyone or picks one person to trauma dump on so they tend to stay out of his way for a while."
"So they are hiding from the big scary Alpha." I laughed.
That earned me another smile from Quinn as he offered me his hand to help me up.
We made it out to the garden and I tilted my head back to feel the warmth from the sun. The snow had melted and the air smelled like damp earth and new growth. I breathed deeply as I savoured this moment. I knew it was only a month since I had last been outside but it felt more like years.
I walked slowly down the path and Quinn matched my pace without complaint. I took this time to think about everything that had happened to me since I had decided to go home, which may have been a huge mistake on my part but there was no going back now. "Quinn, how much do you know about Kade?"
Quinn stopped abruptly at the question and I had to turn to look at him. His face became guarded as he scrutinized me. "How do you know that name?"
I was deciding on how much to tell Quinn due to his initial reaction but just shrugged and told him what I knew, which admittedly wasn't much.
Quinn sighed and ran his fingers through his sandy hair. "Normally I would tell you to ask Marcus about him, but I doubt he is in the mood to talk to you again." He was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. "Kade is the Lord of the Dark Wood and resides in Sanguinis Manor. He tends to keep to himself and rarely ever leaves the forest."
"Sanguinis?" I asked surprised at the family name. "Does that mean he's a..."
"Vampire?" Quinn finished my question for me. "Yes he is. The only reason we tolerate his presence is because he doesn't bother us and he makes sure the creatures of the Dark wood don't cross into our territory."
"There is no way... vampires don't really exist do they?"
"So wolf shifters are fine, but you draw the line at vampires?" Quinn raised an eyebrow at me.
I just shrugged. I hadn't really given any thought about the possibility of other species living on Terra. I was going to push for more information on Kade but Quinn looked like he didn't want to talk about it anymore so we continued the walk in silence until my legs started to tremble and he had to practically carry me back to the bedroom. With how bad my strength and stamina were I was getting worried about the coming week and the trip into the Dark wood to finally meet Kade.
Once I was tucked back into bed Quinn sent for some dinner and left me with a book then said he had to go check on Marcus. I just thought he didn't want to answer anymore of my questions, and was possibly going to tell Marcus that I knew about Kade, which might cause a bit of a problem in the coming days.
I was alone for an hour when I heard a soft knock on the door followed by the cheerful voice of Grace entering with my dinner. "I am so glad you are looking so much better Riley! You had us all worried." she smiled at me like a caring mother as she placed the tray on the bedside table and adjusted my pillows.
"Thanks Grace." I smiled back.
"Now you eat everything I brought then get some rest." She ordered as she continued to fuss with the blankets. Once she was satisfied she left me to enjoy my dinner.
There was however one problem with that plan. I looked at what was brought up to me and wrinkled my nose at it. I mean it looked amazing, chicken with vegetables and rice was one of my usual go to meals but it smelled off for some reason. I took a small bite of the rice anyway then immediately spit it out. It didn't taste right, so I tried the veggies. The same thing happened. It was like my body was rejecting the food I normally ate. Was I getting sick again? Was there something wrong with the food? Was it going bad? As I inspected it closer it looked normal. I poked the chicken and cut it apart to make sure it was fully cooked and it looked perfect so I tried a bite and it tasted like chicken. I was so relieved that I was able to at least eat something on the plate that I didn't think anymore about the rest of the meal that I didn't touch and pushed the tray away once the chicken was gone.