Page 85 of Taming His Vampire Mate
The sudden stinging in my eyes had to be dust, not emotion. The relief was purely because Quinn wasn’t trying to kill Derek. Not because Jeremy was right, and I might actually be able to do some good with my eternity.
“It’s okay to let yourself be happy sometimes,” Jeremy murmured, watching me. “You know that, right?”
“Stay out of my head,” I said automatically, still staring at the pair.
“You can’t change anything you’ve done in the past,” Derek told Quinn, their focus locked entirely on each other, as if they were the only ones in the room. “No matter how much you might wish you could. Trust me, I know I would do a lot differently, too. But you can choose to do better next time. That’s about all you can do now.”
Quinn’s brows knit at Derek’s words, as if he was genuinely hanging on them. For the first time since meeting him, his eyes looked halfway human. He studied Derek a moment longer, and then his expression shifted. Resolve settled in. He looked at us and said, “I’ll come with you.”
“No!” Derek lurched to his feet and swayed, still half-drunk. Quinn caught him by the shoulders without hesitation.
Derek didn’t flinch. He looked right at me over Quinn’s shoulder. “What the hell do you intend to do with him?” His voice hardened. “You’re not going to hurt him. I know you won’t.”
Which served me right for tucking him in one too many times. He didn’t have nearly enough healthy fear of me or what I might do.
“No,” Jeremy replied before I could, in that gentle, placating tone I was starting to recognize—the one you’d use on a frightened, cornered animal to coax it into not tearing you to pieces when you tried to help. “I promise, we’re not going to do him any harm. Quinn just isn’t safe around most other people yet. We need to make sure he doesn’t want to hurt anyone else.”
Derek looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded. He relaxed visibly, certain I wouldn’t lie to him.
“Quinn,” Derek said with a smile, holding the vampire’s gaze. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The vampire returned his smile, his eyes shining.
Derek looked back at me. “You’re not going to keep him forever, right? I’ll be able to see him?”
Quinn all but melted at the idea that Derek wanted to see him again.
I rolled my eyes for what felt like the millionth time. The feelings I was apparently determined to keep having began to ebb, replaced by a whole pack of problems I had no idea how to contend with. The biggest question was: what now? Did we assume Quinn would suddenly behave? How did we proceed? I’d never really imagined we’d get this far, and now that we were here, I honestly had no idea what came next.
“We’ll get the logistics sorted in the morning,” Jeremy told me firmly. Then, to Derek: “Hey, when did you get here?”
Derek seemed as baffled by his question as I was. “About three hours ago, maybe?”
“Quinn escapedfourhours ago,” Jeremy said meaningfully. He glanced at the human. “And Derek, I’m betting you got here, had a few too many, and crashed out back here. You probably passed out about a half hour ago.”
Derek shrugged but didn’t deny it.
At the blank look almost certainly etched on my face, Jeremy grinned triumphantly. “That’s why Quinn didn’t hurt anyone after he escaped. Poppy’s magic led him straight to the shipping yard, stalling him until he and Derek were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to meet. All this happened because it wasmeantto.”
I felt my annoyance spark at his smug tone. But when I met Jeremy’s gaze fully, ready to tell him off, I saw that his eyes were shining.
And then I might’ve melted a bit, too.
* * *
Quinn came down to the dungeon with us willingly after that, strangely quiet. The only time he spoke was to ask Jeremy and me for some water and a rag to clean his face. Naturally, I sent Jeremy to get them. I wasn’t anywhere near ready to trust Quinn not to harm the wolf when I wasn’t looking.
When I called Nathaniel to explain, he sent Sadie to watch Quinn. Apparently, all the vampires in Rookwood had been holed up at the local high school gymnasium, and the witches had contained them with a simple barrier spell. Rendered more or less unnecessary, Sadie had driven back to Seattle.
She wouldn’t have been my first choice for babysitting, but she didn’t seem to mind. Sadie was, under normal circumstances, a cuttingly abrasive vampire—a woman after myown heart, truly. The only exception I’d ever seen was when we’d focused our community on philanthropic works—making our city better for those with so little. The other exception, apparently, was when miracles happened in front of her.
“This will change everything. You are aware of this, are you not?” Sadie said, pulling me aside. From across the room, she eyed Quinn like she couldn’t quite believe it. There was a note of accusation in her voice, but she couldn’t seem to look away. “Everyone in that awful little town will be restored. Many others will be as well.”
I understood the awe in her voice. Any vampire could see the difference in him. For one thing, his eyes weren’t flat and empty anymore. They were human now, filled to the brim with emotion. Granted, he kept glancing toward the stairs like he was halfway ready to break into a rousing chorus ofSomeday My Prince Will Come, but it was still a vast improvement over the murderous, feral version I’d nearly killed an hour ago.
“Let’s deal with one vampire at a time,” I said airily. “And Quinn is your problem for tonight. Please try not to murder him, no matter how tempting he makes it. Derek would be upset.”
“Quinn’s humanity has returned, and so he is an innocent once more,” she said flatly, as if I’d just insulted her. “My justice is meted out only to those who richly deserve it.”
