Page 86 of Reclaiming Quinn

Chapter Twenty-Two

THE KNOCKcame at nine o’clock. Deke snuffled, then rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. Quinn reached out and touched Deke’s back, mostly to prove to himself that it was real. All night, Deke had touched Quinn somehow. A hand on his, an arm wrapped around Quinn’s stomach, or Deke’s chest pressed to Quinn’s back. It had been so transcendent to be near Deke and not filled with fear of what would happen.

The knock sounded again, so Quinn extracted himself from Deke’s hold and trudged to the door. When he opened it, Rupert stood there, holding a small blond boy in his arms.

“I’m sorry if I woke you,” Rupert said quietly. “But I… I needed to talk to someone.”

Sean had been right. Quinn could listen, could hear what bothered the pack members and, hopefully, help them.

“No problem at all. Deke’s still sleeping, so would you mind if we went down to the kitchen? I’d like to get some coffee.”

“Of course, absolutely.”

Rupert stepped aside and gestured for Quinn to lead the way. He took them downstairs to where Dani was busy putting breakfast together. She turned and beamed a smile when she saw Judah.

“Oh, he’s so adorable.” She peered at Rupert. “May I say hello?”

“Of course. Judah, this nice woman is making breakfast for you. Can you say thank you?”

Judah gave a wide, gap-toothed grin. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome, Judah. My name is Dani, and it’s a great pleasure to meet you.”

Judah tapped himself on the chest. “I’m a wolf.”

“Yes, sweetheart, you are. So am I.”

“Listen, Rupert and I need to talk. Is there any way you could—”

“Of course.” She peered into Judah’s eyes. “Since it’s a special occasion, how about if we fix you a plate and go sit out on the sundeck to look at the lands. Then after you eat, we’ll go look for some toys so you can have something to play with.”

Judah’s soulful brown eyes widened, and he gave an enthusiastic nod. Smiling, she put some eggs, a lot of bacon, and some hash browns on a plate, then took Judah, held him in her other arm, and walked toward the back deck.

“We’ll be outside for a while, then head upstairs. Breakfast is ready, so help yourself.”

Dani left the room, Judah in her arms chatting about toys. Quinn turned to Rupert, who stood there, fists clenched at his sides.

“What’s going on?” He gestured to a chair. “Have a seat. Do you want me to fix you a plate?”

Rupert slid into the chair. “No, but thank you. I’m too nervous to eat.”

After Quinn poured a cup of coffee, he held it out to Rupert, who took it with a smile. “Thank you.”

Quinn poured another, then sat across the table from Rupert. “What’s on your mind?”

“I know you have a lot of other things you should be thinking about, but….” He looked away. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”

“Seeing how nervous you are, I think it’s an excellent idea. Talk to me.”

A deep, shuddering sigh. “How do you know if someone is your mate?”

“Do you mean Zach?”

Rupert bit his lip and nodded. “When I saw him, it was like my brain exploded. I needed to touch him or be touched by him or… I don’t know. And the smell! Oh Goddess. Think fresh-fallen snow and pine needles. I couldn’t get enough of him.”

“Does he feel like a missing piece to your heart?”

“Yes,” Rupert whimpered. “I don’t even know him, but I feel as though I’ve known him forever.”