Puck found them.
The smell drew him there. How could it not? Bodies, stiff, scattered about like pick-up-sticks, dozens of bodies, and in the center of them, the girl. And her infant.
With no more than a pinch, she cauterized the cord, then cooed softly to the child, harmlessly holding her with hands that had been lethal mere moments before.
He watched her with his mouth open for some time, until he noticed and closed it. Quinn turned her green eyes on him as they lost their unearthly hue. Her coloring began to return to normal, and he recognized her for what she was— a teenager with a baby.
The smell of heat, blood, and death overwhelmed him. He'd have to call in backup and a cleanup team. He'd have to call in The Morrigan.
"I claim the child for my own," The Morrigan said, when she'd surveyed the scene, "and, as the prisoner is obviously of The Dark, she will serve us."
"Quinn is of an ancient Light family," protested The Ash.
"Not any more, Will," said The Morrigan, "she made sure of that," and the three of them vanished in a dramatic sleight-of-hand that amused The Morrigan immeasurably.
When Puck caught up with them, he couldn't take his eyes off the baby. He volunteered to change the diapers. The Morrigan moved him into the nursery immediately.
Sue Sylvester knew an opportunity when she saw one. Puck overheard her offering to tutor the apprentice. Already Quinn showed promise, initiative, and power. With Sue's skill, drive, and dedication, Quinn would certainly reach her potential swiftly… and profitably, or so she said.
Puck's only problem with being Beth's manny— or wolfie— was that Shelby forbade Quinn to see the child. Puck enjoyed holding and feeding and playing with the baby, but Quinn— he just needed to be near her. For now he'd have to be satisfied with stolen glances in the school hallways and across the football field.
Quinn led naturally, inspired adoration, kept order, and instilled fear. She recruited only the best for Cheerios, which included stalking and drafting girls from other schools. She bragged about Santana, for example. Santana made the change easily, eagerly, drawn by Brittany's sticky sticky web. So simple, really. She picked the right people, and the team assembled itself.
Sue's team under Quinn functioned perfectly. A glance, a curl of the lip, and they knew what they needed to do. Sue made Santana and Brittany Quinn's lieutenants. Quinn ruled with a gleaming smile and an iron hand.
That girl was a genius slapper.
Although she appeared to be a cheerleader most of the time, and the president of the Abstinence Club the rest of the time, Puck felt The Dark in Quinn more than anyone he'd ever met. And still he maneuvered himself to be near her as often as possible.
Shelby was taking a risk allowing Quinn to go to Yale, but she held out the promise of Beth as incentive. Puck was allowed to Skype Quinn with Beth from time to time. Once Shelby heard Beth call him "Daddy," but in a toddler's mouth "Puck" was a little iffy. She told him to teach her "Nanny" or "Wolfie" instead. To Beth, Quinn was always "Quinn", but mostly she was a question mark.
On the seventh anniversary of her capture, the entire compound began to stink of rust and smoke. Throughout the day, the smell intensified. Something tickled the back of Puck's throat. Something raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He caught sight of Quinn, tinged all over with green. She turned her glowing eyes on him.
"Go. Take Beth." Her voice came from her but was not one he recognized. He got Beth and took her as far and as fast as he could. When he was five blocks away, the ground shook. Thunder preceded lightning— not the natural way— and the lightning cracked into the compound. Puck squeezed his eyes shut and sheltered Beth from the flash, but not before they both saw the entire city bathed in green. Hot wind parched them.
And then it was dark. And quiet.
Ozone scorched his nostrils first, then roasting meat and blood. His Wolf urged him to take the child and run, but he fought it. Quinn was back there. Quinn—
He ran, Beth on his back, all the way home.
And when he got there, déjà vu. But Shelby's was not among the bodies.
"Quinn. Where is Shelby?" Puck wanted to shake her, but he didn't dare touch her. She smiled.
"Right here, Puck," she said. "Right in here."
She draped a simple necklace around Puck's and Beth's necks.
"It's for protection," she said. "You and Beth belong to The Morrigan now. You belong to me."