Page 21 of The Lynx and the Llama
“Well, well, well. Fancy meeting all of you here!” Suddenly, Erika’s words—he might come back—came back to haunt them as they turned to face Zagan. “And so close to the talks, I might add! Are you scoping out the lay of the land up close and personal, Rayan? And Lear and Mateo, it’s been a while! You never call. You don’t write.”
Quinn looked at the others out of the corner of his eyes. The women had all stepped back and were speaking into earpieces, while the men—those Zagan had called by name—stepped forward, ready to taunt the man and distract him while they waited for others to arrive.
“How dare you show your face here,” Teo spat.
“Just couldn’t resist another thrashing?” Lear added.
“Show some respect,” was Rayan’s reply.
Zagan branded a smug smile before giving Rayan a slight bow of his head. “I apologize. I should have said King Rayan, Your Royal Highness. That is your title now, is it not?” His gaze broke from Rayan’s and finally met Quinn’s.
“Zagan,” Quinn said, surprising himself with how level and steady his voice sounded.
“Little Quinn.” Zagan shrugged, as though his presence was irrelevant. “It’s been a while seeing you, as well. It’s sad, actually. You left in such a rush from my lair in British Columbia. I never got a chance to thank you properly.”
“Thankme?” Quinn asked, incredulous.
“Yes, thank you. You know, at first, all the failures to turn you into something noteworthy frustrated me. But then, I had an epiphany. Your blood resisted changes from experimentation, so what might it hold if usedwiththe experimentation? It’s thanks to you I was able to make myself into the bull-griffon shifter I am today. But I digress.”
Quinn would have pondered Zagan’s words more, but the man began stalking closer to the group. Carol stepped up, blocking his path.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself,” Carol said in her commanding voice. “Come quietly, and I won’t pummel your ass all the way back to Canada!”
Zagan gave her a slow smile and cackled.
“It will be harder for you to extradite me now that I have dual citizenship between here and Canada. But if you start the paperwork now, I’m sure you’ll have everything in order once the SHIT happens.” His gaze now landed on Erika. “And who is this delicious morsel? Lynx shifter, I take it?”
Thatset Quinn off.
Oh, FUCK NO! He can’t look at her! She’s mine! MINE! I won’t let him take her! FUCK THIS!
“You leave her alone, Zagan.” Quinn closed the distance between him and Erika and was by her side before Zagan reached her. He clamped a protective hand around her waist while glaring at Zagan. “If you touch her, I will be the one kicking your ass, and I won’t stop.”
“I’d like to see you try,llama.”
“I’m not an impressionable kid that you can overpower anymore, Zagan. Go ahead, take a swing! I dare you to give me a fucking excuse, you piece of shit!”
“Uh-uh!” Zagan made a tsking sound with his tongue while waving an index finger. “You best not tangle with me, Quinn. Not if you know what’s good for you. Adults are talking now. It’s best if you keep quiet.”
He then turned back to Rayan, Lear, and Mateo.
“I’m going to cut you a deal, and you have until the talks to think about this. Give me what I want—an endless supply of royal blood—and I won’t harm any of your friends, family, or subjects when the SHIT goes down every year.”
After he said the words, he clapped his hands together, gave them all a toothy grin, and flew into the air. Quinn’s eyes widened, and he darted for the area Zagan was just in, trying to grab him before he was gone. But instead of grabbing Zagan’s leg, Quinn’s intended target, he grabbed air instead.
* * *
“Damn it!” Quinn let out an aggravated sigh.
“Quinn, we will get him.” It was Carol who approached him as the others called different BS and FUC offices to report the Zagan encounter.
“I get it, Carol, but he slipped away from us again, and it’s beyond frustrating. Not to mention, the whole undercover job is a bust.”
“You’re not wrong about that. Now that he knows you are here, you’ll need just as much protection as the rest of us.”
“Why?” Quinn threw up his hands. “You heard him—he doesn’t want me. He’s only after royalty.”
“I don’t know…”
