Page 54 of Pleasure and Mane
"But then you arrived," Vincent's eyes found hers in the rearview mirror. "You and your meddlesome midwifery skills. Within days, you'd connected the dots that took me months to carefully construct. You systematically destroyed my reputation, tanked my business relationships, and turned me into a wanted man."
Quinn lifted her chin defiantly despite the zip ties cutting into her wrists. "Good. You deserve everything that's coming to you."
"Do I?" Vincent's smile was razor-sharp. "Because I have a new plan now, thanks to your interference. Your mate—the mighty Alpha Caius—is going to hand over every deed to everypiece of property in Leon, plus issue a public apology clearing my name. In exchange, I'll return his precious mate alive."
Quinn kept her expression neutral, not wanting to give Vincent the satisfaction of seeing her fear. "Caius doesn't negotiate with terrorists. And he certainly doesn't surrender. Neither does his pride."
"Then maybe it's time your Alpha and his pride learned what true loss feels like."
The words hit Quinn like daggers to the chest, but she forced steel into her voice. "They've already experienced true loss when you murdered their unborn babies. Your plan is flawed, Vincent. They're unified and strong, and they won't be intimidated by you anymore. You may have gotten away with murder in the past, but you won't get away now."
Vincent's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "Everything was perfect before you showed up! No one suspected the pregnancy losses were connected. The families were devastated, exactly as planned. Within another year, half the pride would have relocated, making my development plans so much easier."
He really believes his own twisted logic.Quinn tested her restraints again, feeling the plastic dig deeper into her skin.I need to keep him talking, maybe find a weakness I can exploit.
"But now," Vincent continued, his voice growing more unhinged with each word, "I'll make your Alpha choose: trade those precious land deeds for his mate's life. Because an Alpha who loses his fated mate? He'll be so despondent, so broken, that he'll either step down or end his own life from the devastating blow."
"Even if Caius isn't Alpha anymore or died trying to save me," Quinn said, her voice steady despite the terror clawing at her throat, "the next one won't be any more willing to sell the land. You're delusional if you think?—"
"Once word spreads about mates being killed," Vincent interrupted, his ice-blue eyes glinting with malice, "I'm pretty sure the next Alpha will play ball with me just fine."
The SUV lurched to a stop in a small clearing, the engine ticking as it cooled. Vincent turned to face her fully, and Quinn saw the complete absence of humanity in his expression—just cold calculation and predatory hunger.
Caius will come for me,she thought fiercely.My Alpha will tear the world apart to find me.
TWENTY-TWO
CAIUS
The steady beep of hospital monitors filled the sterile room as Caius sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside Henry's bed in his white button-down shirt now wrinkled from hours of worry. The fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across his uncle's pale face, making the dark circles under Henry's eyes more pronounced.
This is my fault.The thought had been circling through Caius's mind like a vulture since he'd gotten Lavinia's panicked call.I've been so consumed with Quinn these past two weeks that I've been pushing my Alpha duties onto Henry. He's sixty years old, for Christ's sake, and I've been acting like a lovesick teenager instead of the leader my pride needs.
"Stop looking at me like I'm about to keel over," Henry said, his voice hoarse but carrying its familiar note of dry humor. "The doctors said my ticker's just fine now that they've got me on the right medication."
Caius leaned forward, his eyes burning with guilt and self-recrimination. "Henry, I should have been handling my Alpha duties myself. Instead, I've been?—"
"Courting your mate like any sensible Alpha would." Henry's light blue eyes held no judgment, only the paternal warmth thathad guided Caius through the past twenty years. "Son, you think I don't know what it's like to finally find the other half of your soul? I was lucky enough to find my fated mate, God rest her soul, and she was everything to me."
The admission hit Caius like a knife to the heart. In all his years of looking up to Henry as a father figure, he'd never considered the losses his uncle had endured while trying to raise him and Lavinia at the same time.
"You gave us everything you had, even when some days I bet it was hard," Caius said quietly, his voice filled with emotion.
"I chose to raise you and Lavinia, and give you both everything I had each day, because you were family. My brother's children. Family takes care of each other no matter the circumstance." Henry's weathered hand reached out to grip Caius's forearm with surprising strength. "And watching you both grow into the extraordinary adults you've become has been the greatest privilege of my life."
God, what would I have done without this man?Caius felt his throat tighten with emotions he rarely allowed himself to feel.
"Besides," Henry continued with a wry smile, "the heart attack wasn't caused by stress. Dr. Bateman was very clear—it was my terrible diet and the fact that I've been sneaking those bacon cheeseburgers from the diner when I thought no one was looking."
Despite the gravity of the situation, Caius started chuckling. "I knew about the cheeseburgers. Quinn mentioned she saw you sneak them into the mansion twice last week."
"That woman doesn't miss anything," Henry said fondly. "She's perfect for you, you know. Strong enough to stand up to your Alpha tendencies, compassionate enough to love this pride as much as you do, and stubborn enough to keep you from working yourself to death."
Caius felt the familiar spike of possessive pride at the mention of his mate. "She made her formal vows to the elders tonight. She's officially our Lioness now."
"About damn time. I've been waiting fifteen years for someone to share the burden of keeping you in line."
They shared a comfortable laugh, and Caius felt some of the crushing weight lift from his chest. Henry wasn't going anywhere. The man who'd been more of a father to him than his biological one had been would recover completely.
