Page 106 of Broken Dreams

The soft snick of the car door shutting behind us sounds, and when the other remains open, I immediately feel better because Evan is waiting for us to enter. My hearing is working overtime in my hyper vigilance of my surroundings.

“Hello, Hudson,” Cian says politely. “I present to you, Quinn Kelly, your daughter.”

I haven’t seen him in twenty years due to his own actions, I may as well be introduced to him as the stranger that I am. While it may be petty, this is part of the plan: to slowly build the fire of my father’s anger until he blows up in front of his peers.

The only snag in this plan is making sure I don’t leave the room without supervision so that he can’t hurt me. His hands are already fisted, his teeth grinding together in annoyance and fury. It’s really too bad that his tells are just as obvious now as they were when I was a child.

I just didn’t know how awful he was back then. I don’t think anyone did.

“That’s rich,” Dad mutters. “Hello, Quinn. Are you enjoying time with your mother?”

I give him a confused face as if I don’t know what he’s talking about. No one ever told him where my mom was, and it was never caught on the camera because of the looped footage. Dad will be able to figure that out due to the way the cameras never picked up his car entering the gates, but it can’t be proven.

I can play a dumb blonde very well when needed.

“Your hair looks awful, by the way. How am I going to get you packed up now?” he complains.

“The paperwork stating Quinn is part of Pack Kelly has already been signed and submitted to the Healthy Pack Organization,” Cian says. “They’re a matter of public record, as is her name change. Her attendance here is a matter of familial respect. We can leave now if you’re not going to lend the same energy in return.”

God I love this fucking man.It’s sad how much I wish he was my father instead. Cian refuses to back down, while never actually being rude in return.

“She’s my daughter,” Dad grumbles, pushing the door open wide. “We may as well get on with this dinner.”

Inclining my head to acknowledge him, I decide to push the envelope. Stepping forward, I watch as he flings his arm in my way, and I barely manage not to run into him.

“Is it really true, girl? You can’t fucking talk?” he asks.

I shake my head, because out of everyone, he doesn’t deserve to hear my words. My tongue feels so thick in my mouth, I doubt I’d be able to get a word out anyway. Anxiety definitely affects my ability to speak at all.

Maybe some time I’ll get my voice back, but until then, I’ll work around it. It’s also going to piss my father off.

“If you were going to come back at all, the least you could do is be whole,” he grunts, turning to walk inside.

The words don’t even sting, because I’m realizing he doesn’t have as much power over me as he used to, now that I’m seeing him in the flesh. I no longer want to bend over backward to keep him happy. My previous worries about my appearance fade away. I hope he hates my goddamned hair and dress. I hope it tears at him and gives him indigestion, too.

With my head held high, I walk into the house with Cian and Adira following closely behind me. Once we’re inside and the door is closed, they walk right next to me as I trail behind the spoiled alpha who is used to getting his way.

Everyone is seated in the sitting room as I walk in. There’s so many alphas, I feel dizzy at the sea of pheromones.

“Holy hell,” Adira whispers. Cian turns to face her, and she shakes her head. “Quinn and I are going to need two seconds. Stall?”

He looks mildly confused, but he nods, straightening.

“It’s my middle name, my dear,” he says, striding in to greet the room.

Adira grabs my hand, leading me back out, and we both take a deep breath of fresh air.

“Fucking alphas,” she mutters, opening her bag to search through it. “I never thought I’d need alpha pheromone blockers again, but here we are. Found it!”

Removing a tiny tin of cream, she makes a face.

“Wash your face really well when you get home, and you won’t have lasting effects,” she explains. “Put a little just under your nose, and it’ll let you think clearly when we go back in. It doesn’t really bother me the way it used to, but since the room isn’t well ventilated, it’s potent. Hurry.”

There’s nothing else to do but follow her instructions, because I can’t function in that room without some space from the scents. The cream doesn’t necessarily feel like anything and blends really well, as is evident as Adira quickly checks our appearances. Tossing everything back into a Mary Poppins-like clutch, she turns and walks back into the room with me on her heels.

“Here they are,” Cian says with a smile, though there’s a question in his gaze as to whether we’re alright.

Taking an experimental breath together, Adira and I nod. I can’t smell anything at all. It’s a welcome reprieve from how overwhelming it was before. I need to ask her why she even has that cream, since it’s not something someone would typically carry around.

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