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Quinn sucked in a breath at his Alpha s words. Damn, Gideon was pissed and yet was saying
everything that had rolled through Quinn s head countless times.
I m sorry, Helena whimpered.
She made a mistake, Gideon, Shannon crooned. Every wolf is allowed to make a mistake.
She wasn t banished back then, so it must not have been too bad.
Quinn s eyes boggled, and Gina squeezed his hand.
I want my mate back, Helena said. I want my son. I was out of my mind when I left, and now I
know I ve made mistakes, but I want my son and Quinn. The moon goddess blessed us, and I can t
keep away from them any longer. She turned toward the rest of the Pack, pleading. I m a mother.
Can t you see that? It was the witch who made me do what I did. It was her power. I m a victim just
like Quinn and Jesse. She fell to her knees, her cheeks stained with tears. Please. Let me have my
baby. Let me have my mate.
Unbelievable, Quinn growled then pulled his gaze away from Helena to stare at Gina. Don t
believe her. She s lying.
Gina met his eyes and sighed. A witch couldn t have taken the threat between your souls
without Helena s free will. At least that s what I think, but she s here now, Quinn. Wouldn t she be
better for Jesse in terms of the bond than me?
Quinn growled and opened his mouth, but Shannon beat him to the punch.
Quiet, Redwood, she snapped. You re here to see the mate Quinn should have had. Don t you
see that you re hurting a bond that came before you?
Back off, Quinn said, his voice low.
Know your place, wolf, Shannon snapped.
Quiet. All of you. Gideon raked his claws over the stone pillar in front of him, and Quinn held
back a wince. The Alpha was pissed. Gina and Quinn are mated now, Helena. You re too late. And
even if you d come earlier, you broke everything you could have had. It s over.
Not so fast, Alpha, Shannon interrupted.
Excuse me? Gideon said, his voice a whip.
Quinn mated both of them. This isn t a trinity bond or a full threesome or that would be one
thing. No, this is unprecedented. Technically, the moon goddess chose both Gina and Helena. We need
to see how this plays out.
Fuck no, Quinn yelled. I have a mate now. Fuck Helena and fuck whatever you think you re
doing.
Quinn, Gina whispered, pulling on his hand. Don t yell at the elders.
I ll yell at whoever I want to. They can t tell me who to mate.
Shannon smiled, and chills slid down his back. Oh. I believe I can. Or at least I can provide the
way. You see, since you ve mated both of them, that s a sign of indecision. And you know what must
happen when someone can t decide between two mates.
You ve got to be kidding me, Gideon snapped. A mating circle? You want Gina and Helena to
fight in a mating circle?
Shannon nodded. Yes. It s the way of the wolves. You can t change the laws, Alpha. She
narrowed her eyes. Though I know you ve tried.
Quinn pulled Gina to his side, wrapping his arm around her. She didn t pull away. Instead, she
put her arm around his waist. His wolf nudged at her, wanting to scent her and make sure everyone
knew she was his.
You can t make them fight, Quinn said, trying to keep calm. This couldn t be happening. This
was ridiculous. I m mated to Gina. We have a bond. You can t force her to fight for me when she
already has me.
Shannon shook her head. We ve never had a case like this before, meaning we must follow the
laws that closely resemble it. Helena has a chance to be your mate, meaning she must fight for it.
Bonds, as we ve seen, can be broken when, I mean if, she wins.
Did the elder really hate the new generation of wolves enough that she wanted to break him
again? What the hell was going on?
Gideon. Do something.
His Alpha glared at Shannon then faced Quinn. I can t make up new laws on the spot, Quinn.
Since the elders are forcing a mating circle, then it will have to be done. He narrowed his eyes.
This will not be happening again though.
Well, bully for the next person, he spat. What about now? I m not forcing her to fight for me.
There s nothing I can do, Gideon whispered, looking for all the world as though the weight on
his shoulders was too much to bear.
And what if she didn t fight?
What if she left him standing there and broke the bond? Not only would it break him if she left,
but it could hurt Jesse as well.
Damn Helena.
Damn himself.
If Gina didn t fight for him, he d lose everything& everything he hadn t known he wanted.
Chapter Eleven
Gina s pulse pounded in her ears, and she had to struggle to breathe. It didn t make any sense.
None of this made any sense. She wasn t even a freaking Talon, and now she had to follow an elder s
proclamation or risk losing the mating bond she d just found in the first place.
Holy hell, what was she going to do?
Quinn put his hands on her hips and brought her back to his front. She shuddered out a breath,
letting his scent wash over her. Her wolf was beyond in love with the wolf behind her and knew that
they should be together through thick and thin.
The woman was more hesitant.
She d had to be.
Quinn put his mouth to her ear, his breath sending warm shock waves down her body soothing
yet putting her near a new kind of edge.
Let s get out of the circle and head back to my place. We can talk then.
She nodded but didn t turn, afraid that once she looked at him she d give in and fight for a man
who might not want her.
He led her to his home, ignoring people calling for them. She didn t want to talk to anyone but
Quinn. She wasn t weak, but goddess, things kept piling up, and she didn t know how she was going
to deal with it. She just needed to stop and think about every detail then lead with her mind, not with
her heart.
If she could.
When they walked into his home, she relaxed marginally and pulled away.
Gina.
She looked up at Quinn, at the sound of his deep voice. Your former mate is a bitch. Her eyes
widened at what slipped out, but she didn t regret it. She was done holding herself back. Done
treading lightly to save someone else pain& to save herself pain. All it had done was put her in a
position where she was going to be hurt anyway emotionally and physically.
Quinn blinked then snorted. Yeah. She is. He reached out and cupped her face. The calluses on
his thumbs brushed her skin, and she shivered.
She loved this man.
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