Page 53 of Pleasure and Mane
"Marked you how?" Kate leaned forward, her exhaustion forgotten.
Quinn stood and tugged down the waistband of her scrub pants just enough to reveal the raised claw marks across her hip. The skin had healed but left distinctive scarring that would mark her as Caius's for life.
Kate's coffee mug hit the table with a clink. "Holy shit, Quinn. That's... that's actually real."
"It gets better. Tonight I made formal vows to the pride elders to be their new Lioness. I'm not just Caius's mate—I'm their leader too."
For a moment, Kate just stared. Then her face broke into the biggest grin Quinn had ever seen.
"Quinn Marrow, you magnificent woman! I always knew you were meant for something extraordinary. And this Caius—he must be pretty damn special to capture your heart."
"He's not special, Kate. He's perfect. He's everything I never knew I needed and everything I was too scared to want." Quinn's voice caught with emotion. "He makes me feel alive in ways I didn't know were possible."
Kate reached across the table and squeezed Quinn's hand. "I can see it in your eyes. You're glowing with happiness."
"We'll figure out the practice logistics later, but I really need to get back to Leon. Henry—that's Caius and Lavinia's uncle who raised them—he's in the hospital. I need to be there for my new family."
Kate pulled her into a fierce hug. "Go. Take care of your lion and his family. We'll make this work somehow."
Ten minutes later, Quinn was back on the dark highway, her convertible eating up the miles between Denver and Leon. The night air whipped against her face, carrying away the antiseptic scent of the delivery room and replacing it with the crisp mountain air that now smelled like home.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Caius:Henry stable. Resting. How are the babies?
She smiled, typing back with one hand:Both healthy and perfect. Driving home to you now.
Home.The word felt right in ways that surprised her. Leon had become home faster than she'd ever thought possible.
But as she navigated a particularly dark stretch of mountain road, Quinn caught sight of headlights in her rearview mirror that seemed to be maintaining the same distance no matter how her speed varied.
Probably just another late-night driver,she told herself, though unease prickled at the base of her neck.
She pushed the unease away and focused on getting back to Caius, to her mate, to the life that was waiting for her in the mountain town that had claimed her heart as completely as its Alpha had.
The gas station's fluorescent lights buzzed overhead like angry wasps as Quinn pulled her convertible up to pump three. Her scrubs clung to her tired body, and wisps of brown hair had escaped her ponytail during the long drive from Denver. The digital clock on the pump read 2:03 AM, and exhaustion weighed on her like a lead blanket.
Just fill up and get home to Caius,she thought, fumbling with her credit card.Henry's stable, the babies are healthy, and in twenty minutes I'll be back in my mate's arms.
The pump handle felt cold in her grip as fuel flowed into her tank. Quinn's mind drifted to the golden necklace under her top, the reminder of her new role as Lioness.From delivering babies in Denver to leading a pride of lion shifters—my life has become absolutely surreal.
The sound of gravel crunching behind her made Quinn turn, expecting to see another late-night traveler. Instead, a massive hand clamped over her mouth while the other arm wrapped around her waist, dragging her with inhuman strength.
No, no, no!Panic exploded through her system as she struggled against her captor, her feet scraping uselessly against the ground. The scent of predator and expensive cologne hit her nostrils just as she was shoved into the back seat of a black SUV.
"Well, well," Vincent Keale's ice-blue eyes gleamed in the darkness as he zip-tied her wrists with practiced efficiency. "The famous Quinn Marrow. The woman who destroyed my life."
Quinn's heart thundered in her chest as Vincent secured zip ties around her ankles with brutal precision. His black hair was perfectly styled despite the late hour, and his expensive suit looked immaculate—the picture of a successful businessman rather than the monster she knew him to be.
"You bastard," she spat, testing the plastic restraints. They bit into her skin, tight enough to cut off circulation if she fought too hard. "You destroyed your own life when you started murdering innocent babies."
Vincent slid into the driver's seat and gunned the engine, tires squealing as they left the gas station behind. The SUV plunged into the dense forest surrounding Leon, the headlights cutting through the darkness like predatory eyes.
"Murdering?" Vincent's laugh was cold and calculated. "I prefer to think of it as 'strategic relocation motivation.' Do you have any idea how difficult it is to acquire prime real estate when the current owners are emotionally attached to their ancestral homeland?"
He's completely insane.Quinn had to force herself to think through the terror coursing through her veins.He's taking me deeper into the woods, away from any chance of rescue. But Caius will notice when I don't come home. He'll come looking for me.
"You see, my dear Quinn," Vincent continued, his voice taking on the tone of a professor giving a lecture, "my original plan was quite elegant. Gradually reduce the lion population through targeted pregnancy losses, wait for the grief-stricken families to abandon their precious Leon, then swoop in and develop the land into something profitable."
The SUV bounced over rough terrain as Vincent navigated what could barely be called a road. Trees pressed in from both sides, their branches scraping against the windows like skeletal fingers.
