Page 84 of Reclaiming Quinn

“I’m sure you’re not, Mother, but this is important, as I’m sure you’ll understand.”

She looked around the room, and her gaze landed on the Vampyri. She gasped.

“My warriors?” She stood and flowed across the room. “I thought you all destroyed.”

“No, Mother,” Zach whispered. “We… dishonored you by fleeing.”

“What? Nonsense. You survived, and I’m very grateful for that.” She reached out and touched Zach’s cheek. “Are these all your kin?”

“Yes, Mother. We are the only ones who survived. We’ve done… bad things to cling to life.”

Mother clucked her tongue. “I’m certain you did what you had to. You are honorable, and nothing you do could be otherwise. But why are you here?”

Zach related how he came to meet Deke, who told Zach about Sean.

“We have purpose again,” he said, his voice breaking.

“And that’s why I wanted you here, Mother. We need to talk.”

She turned, an amused smirk on her—Sean’s—face. “Oh?”

“For too long the Vampyri have languished with no rudder. They’ve pledged themselves to Sean, but he doesn’t want that. I’d like to propose an alternative, with your blessing.”

“Please, go on.”

Gareth took a seat next to Sean. “I am here to care for Sean. He and the children are everything to me. I am not saying I wouldn’t appreciate the Vampyri’s help, but I would prefer it to be of their own volition, rather than some outdated sense of responsibility to him and you. I ask for you to remove that need from them. Let them choose their future on their own.”

Mother glanced around the room. Everyone sat watching to see what she would do. Then she smiled.

“You do not ask too much, Gareth Blackthorn.” She went to each Vampyri and touched them on the forehead. “I release you from your servitude. Your lives are yours to direct.”

When she finished, she sat down, looking pale.

“Mother, are you okay?”

“Though more wolves believe in me, I am still not quite myself. But when I say this was worth it, you can accept that as truth. Had I known, I would have released them ages ago.”

“But Mother? What shall we do now?” Zach asked.

“You could stay here with me,” Rupert answered. “Make a home in Lydon.”

“I… I don’t know.” He turned his gaze to Lyram. “What would I do here?”

Lyram grinned. “I have an idea about that. Lydon is growing daily, and with it, the need for someone with law enforcement experience to handle issues that crop up. It’s my understanding that you were a police officer in Chicago. How would you feel about being the sheriff of Lydon?”

“I….” Zach closed his eyes. “I would be honored, Alpha. But would your people be welcoming of a Vampyri?”

“Yes, I have no doubt.”

Zach still seemed dubious. “What would we do for food? Our energy came from the Omega. Without him, we have to drink blood.”

“No, not anymore,” Mother said, running a hand over her chest. “While you can still gather energy if you’re near an Omega, you will also be able to take sustenance the traditional way of eating, or by finding it with they who are part of your heart.”

Zach cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

“A mate. All my children were to have them, and that includes the Vampyri. There is someone out there—or maybe even here—who holds half of your soul. They can sustain you in the same way an Omega could.”

“We have… mates?” the raven-haired woman—Katrina, Quinn presumed—asked.