Chapter 18

On the bank, he wraps his cloak around me, clutching me tight. His hands shake, his eyes wild with panic and fear, voice raw. "Leah, Leah, wake up!"

I stir in his warm embrace, blinking slowly. Seeing his frantic face, I twitch my fingers weakly.

He feels it, relief flooding him, but he holds me tighter, like he's afraid I'll slip away. Then he lifts his head, his gaze slicing through Quinn, who's pale as death. His voice is ice, laced with lethal intent. "Touch her again, and I'll end you."

Quinn's legs give out, collapsing under the weight of his murderous stare, speechless.

Shawn's drowning his sorrows in a tavern when a guard bursts in. "Shawn, trouble! Quinn pushed Leah into the lake!"

"What?!" He leaps up, the jug shattering on the floor.

He races to the lake, arriving just as Jason carries a drenched Leah ashore, Quinn crumpled nearby, face ashen.

"Quinn!" She sees him and throws herself at him, sobbing. "It was an accident—she slipped!"

Slap! A sharp crack cuts her off.

Shawn's hand stings, his eyes blazing with rage. "You venomous she-wolf!"

Quinn clutches her cheek, stunned. "You hit me? I'm carrying your pup!"

He grabs her wrist, nearly crushing it. "I was blind to let you fool me all these years!"

He turns to Leah, cradled in Jason's arms, his eyes full of regret and pain. "Leah, I—"

"Back off," Jason snaps, carrying me away without a glance.

Shawn stands frozen, heart twisting. Quinn tugs his sleeve, voice breaking. "I messed up, Shawn. Forgive me, please?"

He shakes her off, repulsed. "Guards! Lock her in the tavern's storeroom. No one lets her out without my say!"

"Shawn!" Quinn shrieks, struggling. "I'm carrying your pup! You can't do this!"

He laughs coldly. "If that pup's harmed, you'll answer for it."

The tavern, the only one in the frontier market, draws a rough crowd. As night falls, Quinn huddles in the storeroom, tears long dried.

A soft click breaks the silence as the lock turns. She looks up, seeing a tall figure enter. In the dark, she can't make out his face, but who else would come now but Shawn?

"Shawn!" She rushes to him, overjoyed. "I knew you wouldn't abandon me!"

The wolf says nothing, roughly pinning her against a pile of crates. Quinn's thrilled, leaning into him. "I knew you still loved me…"

Clothes fall away, passion rising. She's lost in the hope of winning him back, oblivious to anything amiss.

Until—crash! The door flies open, torches flooding the room with light.

Quinn gasps, seeing not Shawn but a burly, scarred stranger atop her. She screams, shoving him off, scrambling to cover herself.

Shawn stands in the doorway, face livid, fury radiating. "Quinn!" She crawls to him, sobbing. "I thought he was you! Forgive me, for our pup's sake…"

"Pup?" Shawn sneers, kicking her hard in the stomach. "Who knows whose bastard that is!"

Quinn cries out, curling up as blood pools between her legs, staining her skirt. "My pup…" she whimpers, face ghostly. "Save my pup…"

Shawn watches her writhe, unmoved. "Get a healer to check her," he tells the guards. "Then throw her in the brig."

He turns and walks away, his back cold and final.