Do you know what is going to happen next? Has anyone explained it to you?”
“About what?” she asks.
“You are entitled to the mansion, since you are Queen and you will be crowned tonight.” Kaden says, and Quinn shakes her head. “Quinn, you really don’t have a choice. If you don’t accept, someone will fight you, and I know you aren’t up for that. Please don’t do that, I can't lose you and Justin.”
She closes her eyes. “I'm in mourning, can't it wait a week?”
“No, you were supposed to be crowned last night, but I took you away.” There is a tone in his voice, and she opens her eyes. He looks like he is keeping something.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Quinn raises a blonde eyebrow.
“As leader of the pack you must have a male equal and since you are a pure blood, he must be a pure blood. You two will become betrothal to each other.”
Quinn shakes her head. “No, I don’t want anyone else!”
Kaden stands up and kneels in front of her. He takes a hand in each of his. “You don’t have a choice.”
Tears are running down her cheeks, she will be betraying Justin. “Who?”
“Shade, you met him last night. He was the enforcer that was standing behind you.” She remembers him. He had warm honey brown eyes. “He is in college, and three years older than you.”
“What if I don’t want to be promised to Shade?” Quinn asks, and Kaden tightens his hands around hers.
“You could be killed.” Her shoulders slump in defeat, she has to promise herself to Shade. “Tonight you must wear a nice dress to honor your promise to Shade. Now try to get some sleep.” Kaden kisses her hands, and stands up.
Quinn is left alone with her thoughts, and she cannot believe she is going to be betrothal to someone other than Justin.
She gets up and walks into the bathroom. The thing about her stepmother Quinn liked was she always had a lot of hair dye in her bathroom. Quinn never touched this bathroom and wonders if there is any left.
Under the sink she finds black hair dye, it fits her mood. She doesn’t want to have her blonde hair anymore.
In forty-five minutes Quinn is blow-drying her now black hair straight. She also cut some bangs. Her hazel-blue eyes stand out more with her hair like this, Quinn grabs her black eyeliner. She adds some black mascara, and then walks out of her bathroom to grab the only pretty dress she owns. Her homecoming dress.
Quinn stares at herself in the full length mirror, and thinks she looks amazing. Too bad Justin isn’t the man she is being betrothed to. She looks at the door in the mirror when she hears a knock.
“Come in,” she says, and prepares herself.
Kaden walks in with his eyes down, and when he looks up at her his mouth drops open. Quinn turns to face him, and he is just staring without saying anything.
“Does it look that bad?” She bites her bottom lip, maybe dying her hair black wasn’t the best idea she has ever had.
Kaden continues to stares at her. “I love it, you look amazing.” He walks over to her, and touches her face. “I like yours eyes like this,” he says, and smiles.
Quinn moves away from his touch. “Thanks,” she says.
“We need to go.” Kaden says then walk out of the door.
Chapter Twenty
Betrothal Queen
Quinn, Kaden, Lizzy and Jax walk in to the opening. Justin died here just last night; she stops walking and stares at the stage. “I can't do this,” she whispers.
“Quinn you have to,” Kaden whispers in her ear. She knows that she doesn’t really have a choice.
She looks at the stage and sees Shade and some of the other large men that brought her here last night. They are the pack and leader's enforcers, which means they are now hers.
Quinn takes a deep breath, and continues to the stage. Shade bows to her, as she stands next to him.
An elderly man walks over to Quinn and Shade. He has long gray hair and a long gray beard. His pale blue eyes, smile at her. Her gaze lands on his missing, yellow teeth, and his tongue that pokes through empty spaces.
“We are here to crown our new Queen, and to celebrate her betrothal to a new pure blood male. Last night Quinn Murphy killed Christopher Keto, by pack law she is out new Queen.” The old man turns his pale blue eyes away from Quinn and to Shade. “Shade Walsh, do you accept being promised to Quinn Murphy?”
Slowly Quinn looks at the large man next to her, and that is when she truly notices him. He is about six feet, five inches. His wavy brown hair has caramel highlights, and a touch of red. Shade turns his honey eyes to hers, and Quinn can see specks of green.
“I accept,” his sweet, and accent voice says. She thinks maybe a touch of Irish?
The elderly man turns back to her, and raises a gray fuzzy eyebrow at her. Quinn looks back at Shade. “I accept.”
The older man turns away from Quinn and Shade. He looks at the pack. “We have a new pack leader, she will make a fine queen.”
A young girl probably about eight grabs Quinn's hand, the little girl leads Quinn to the elderly man.
“Kneel,” he says, and she does. She feels a heavy weight on her head. “Queen Quinn.”
She looks out into the pack and people are smiling and clapping. The pack starts chanting Queen Quinn, over and over.
“My queen.” A hand appears in her face, and she stares at it. She looks up from the tanned hand and sees Shade.
Quinn puts her hand in his, and allows him to help her up. “Thank you.”
Shade's smile is charming, and warm. “Your Majesty, there is no need to thank me. I will gladly give you my hand, no questions asked.” His sweet Irish accent wraps around her, and she can feel herself smiling at him. “Would you like to go and talk...alone?” Quinn takes her hand away.
She smiles and nods. They walk off the stage to an empty clearing. They do need to get to know each other; this is the person she will be with for the rest of her life.
“I am sorry for your loss, and I need to tell you something. I won't force you to like me or be with me. I know you love Justin, I could see it in your eyes last night, but know I am here. I will protect you, and I won't let anything else happen to you.” Shade reaches for her hands. “I hope that one day you give me an ounce of your love, and I would be a happy man.” Quinn closes her eyes, she is afraid she might cry. What he said to her makes her want to believe in love again, but not yet.
“Your Majesty, you must choose your personal guard. It has to be two pack members,” the older man says, and Quinn nods.
They all walk back on the stage, and there is no doubt in her mind whom she will choose. “Kaden Webb and Jax Maddox.” Quinn watches as the two men walk forward with smiles plastered on their handsome faces.
Kaden and Jax drop to their knees in front of Quinn, she looks at Shade. “Do you,” the elderly man starts, “Kaden Webb, promise to protect the Queen with your life?”
Kaden bows his head. “I would gladly give the Queen my life.”
“Do you Jax Maddox, promise to protect the Queen with your life?” he repeats to Jax.
Jax bows his head. “I would gladly give the Queen my life.”
After everything is done, and most of the pack is gone, Quinn is sitting on the spot where Justin died. She doesn’t know where Shade is, but has a feeling he is close. Kaden and Jax are being told what they have to do to protect her.
Quinn rubs the hard wood floor. She can still see a blood stain from her love. “I miss you.” A single tear falls from her eye.
“Quinn!” Shade's unmistakable Irish voice yells.
She kisses her fingertips then touches the blood stain. Quinn stands up, and faces her soon to be king. He is dangerously handsome, and she has a feeling he knows it.
“I would like to help you and your sister move into our mansion.”
“What do you mean, our mansion?”
A slowly playful grin appears on his perfect face, and two deep dimples on his cheeks stand out.
“We need to be together, we are meant to be mates. That means we will live under the same roof, don’t worry your pretty head, the mansion has about ten bedrooms.”
Quinn shakes her head; there is nothing she can do about this. She is stuck with Shade or she will be killed. “Then I will see you later.”
She walks away with her two new bodyguards behind her and her arm around her sister’s shoulders.
No one talks until they are in the car.
“Do we really have to move?” Quinn asks, and meets Kaden's eyes in the mirror.
“Yes,” he answers.
“What about Mary, and her children?” she thinks Justin had two little sisters, and a little brother.
“They are leaving,” Kaden says and looks away from her.
“Where will they go?” Lizzy asks before Quinn can.
“Don't know,” Kaden says, and he sounds like he is getting angry.
Quinn will give Mary her house, she can't let Justin's mother and siblings be homeless.
Epilogue
Shattering Dream
Quinn looks around; she is standing in the middle of a meadow. Beautiful wild flowers surround her in every color. She stops and picks a bright blue one, and smells it. Then she smells him, it's a smell she will never forget. It smells of warm vanilla, and of the woods.
“Justin.” Her heart races, she has had many dreams of him but never could touch him or smell him until now.
“My love.” His sweet warm voice says to her.
Slowly Quinn turns around and her knees almost give out, Justin is standing here. He is wearing a gray button up shirt, with black pin strips and white buttons. It makes his eyes stand out, and they are his normal gray-yellow, not what she has been seeing. Quinn can't get the gray-orange out of her head.
She doesn’t even feel her feet moving, it's like she is being pulled to him. Quinn gently lifts her hand to touch the only man to own her heart, and she can feel him. “Oh, please,” she whispers.
Quinn can feel him, he is warm and his hand covers hers. “How can this be? Every time before, I couldn’t touch you. My hand went right through you like you were a ghost.” Her tears are falling from her eyes.
Justin smiles then frames her face with his hands wiping away her tears. “You are too beautiful to be crying.”
Quinn lets herself smile; it has been forever since she has been able to. “God I miss you. It isn’t fair that you were taken from me.” She shakes her head. “We didn’t have enough time together!” She can feel herself growing angry.
Justin puts his finger against her lips. “Shhh, my love. We will get our time.” Justin smiles down at her, and tucks her hair behind her ears.
Quinn narrows her eyes, then shakes her head and closes her eyes. “How will we get our time?” She opens her eye and stares into gray-yellow. “You are....dead.” She almost chokes on the last word.
Justin grins down at her like he is keeping something; there must be something sick and twisted with her subconscious. This isn’t real and she knows it. “Quinn there are some things you don’t understand and somethings you don’t know. But know I am always here.” He takes a hand away from her face and touches her chest above her heart. “I love you Quinn to the moon and back.”
She is awakened by her alarm, and she has tears streaming down her face. “I love you Justin, to Neptune and back.”
Table of Contents
Copyright
Prologue Life is Short
Chapter One Strange feelings
Chapter Two Chocolate Cupcake
Chapter Three Prince Charming
Chapter Four The Spark
Chapter Five Bleachers
Chapter Five Rose Petals
Chapter Six Controlling Ass Face
Chapter Seven The Perfect Dress
Chapter Eight Dark Secrets
Chapter Nine Homecoming Queen
Chapter Ten Dancing with Wolves
Chapter Eleven Pack Law
Chapter Twelve Home Sweet Home
Chapter Twelve Blood Shed
Chapter Thirteen Lizzy and Heartache
Chapter Fourteen Moon & Neptune
Chapter Fifteen Mother
Chapter Sixteen Kaden
Chapter Seventeen New friendship
Chapter Eighteen Middle of the Night
Chapter Nineteen Queen Quinn
Chapter Twenty Betrothal Queen
Epilogue Shattering Dream
The Beast and the Homecoming Queen Page 19
