"Want company?"
Quinn took a breath. He was still getting used to Eliot asking for his opinion or preferences and not just handing out orders but sometimes it still left him and his wolf at odds. He wanted the freedom to do what he wanted but the wolf worried about what the Alpha wanted. "No. Not right now anyway."
"Alright." Eliot nodded. "There'll be a plate for you in the fridge when you get back."
Quinn waited a moment but Eliot didn't ask when he'd be back or give him any kind of directions.
"Just go already or you'll have company whether you wanted it or not." Eliot smirked as he turned back to his food prep.
With a smirk Quinn pushed away from the counter and hurried down the stairs.
~~o0o~~
Mornings and evenings had a definite chill to them and it would be a while before winter gave up its icy hold on the weather. Autumn hadn't been quite as colorful and didn't have quite the same feel to it here as it did in North Carolina, but winter was a little less intense too.
Quinn looked around the loading dock and the alley, checking rooflines out of habit. He didn't spot anything out of the ordinary so he turned up the collar of his jacket against the misty light rain and started to jog at an easy pace.
Things had stayed busy since they'd all gotten back to Portland. It felt like things had been fairly non-stop and the time had flown. Parker had kept finding jobs and the pub had been busy. He hadn't been helping directly with the pub business but he'd seen how it had been taking up most of Eliot's and Hardison's time. He couldn't picture himself waiting tables outside of a con and he couldn't cook at a level that would be useful in the pub kitchen; and fortunately no one had asked him to be involved there. Besides with everything going on with Nati he didn't think he could take one more thing right now.
Eliot had encouraged him to wrap up whatever he needed to in North Carolina and get whatever he needed shipped to the pub. Frankly he didn't have that much in North Carolina and he wasn't sure what to do about his weapons. He couldn't trust someone else to pack and ship them but even if he did bring them back himself, then what? He wasn't a hitman anymore. Eliot didn't like guns and didn't want them on a job so what was Quinn supposed to do with them?
Parker had been poking at him a lot lately and he wasn't sure what to do with that. It was like she was trying to annoy him into some kind of response but he didn't know what the right move was there. He couldn't imagine there was a way to stop her without some kind of repercussion from Eliot or Hardison. Trying to ignore her was getting him nowhere and asking her what she wanted just made her laugh.
He tried to clear his mind and focus on the moment. He listened to the thump of his shoes as he ran and focused on his breathing. He needed a little time without the pack staring at him while he tried to decide the best way to handle Nati's offer.
The wind blew a scattering of old leaves under his shoes and he listened to them skitter and crunch.
Quinn shook his head to clear his thoughts as he rounded the last corner before Treyson's gym. He stopped in front of the gym and chuckled at the decorations in windows. Santa Clause, reindeer, and elves all using gym equipment.
He pulled the door open and listened to the little bell above it jingle. Looking to the right he didn't see Charlie at the desk. He could hear a treadmill in the next room so he headed in that direction. As he got to the door Charlie started suddenly, and loudly, to sing.
"Rising up, back on the street. Did my time, took my chances!" Her tone was flat but what she lacked in quality she made up for in volume.
Quinn couldn't help it, he laughed.
Charlie yanked her headphones out and hopped off of the treadmill in a ready stance.
"Whoa tiger." Quinn held his hands up. "Easy there."
"Very funny Quinn." Charlie huffed.
Quinn looked her over with a small smile. "So what's going on here?" He noticed her hair was braided back into five braids tight to her scalp and her knuckles were bruised.
"I'm training for the fights this spring."
"Really?"
"What?! You don't think girls should fight or you just don't think I'm good enough?"
"Whoa, hold on. Don't be puttin' words in my mouth." He put his hands in his jacket pockets as he got closer. "I think it's great that you're planning on the fights. Some of the toughest people I've faced have been women."
"Seen some tough grocery store clerks huh?" She teased.
"A few in my time." He smirked. He knew that Charlie wasn't in the know on what he and his pack did or had done in the past, but she wasn't stupid.
"I've seen you and Eliot spar. Why don't we get in the ring and you show me a few things." She smiled as she grabbed her water bottle.
"Okay. Let's see what you got tiger." He smiled, pulling his jacket off.
"You're not gonna let me live that down are you?" She shook her head as she pulled on her gloves.
"Nope. Probably not."
~~o0o~~
"Thanks." Quinn sighed as he leaned back against the ropes that circled the boxing ring.
"For what?" Charlie took a long pull on her water bottle. "We both know I wasn't any kind of match for you."
She was right but the chance to unplug from his worries and help someone with something he knew how to do had been just what he'd needed. "You're better than you're giving yourself credit for."
"Ha!" Charlie's huff of laughter was loud and sarcastic as she bumped her shoulder against his. "Maybe someday."
"You got three months to train?"
She nodded and swallowed another mouthful of water.
"That's plenty of time." He smiled at her.
"If you're offering to coach me up; I'll take it!" She grinned back.
That hadn't been what he'd meant but he couldn't bring himself to tell her 'no' either. "Okay. We start tomorrow then."
He instantly regretted it when she rested her head against his shoulder with a content sigh. How was he supposed to keep a professional distance between them if he was coaching her? How was he going to make sure they stayed in the friend-zone and not get her hopes up? Maybe he could get Eliot to take his place.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Quinn was still sliding back and forth between happiness and regret as he rounded the corner into the alley that led to the back entrance to the loft. He slowed a little but since was already going at a human speed he didn't bother to slow down that much. When he tried to open the door it didn't budge and for a moment Quinn thought he might have damaged his wrist in the attempt.
"What the hell?" He stared at the door handle in confusion.
"Password?" Hardison's voice came over a small speaker near the door.
"Hardison!" Quinn growled. "Open this door before I tare the handle off!"
Quinn heard a click and the door opened when he pulled on it. He hurried up the stairs, all thoughts of Charlie slipped from his mind.
The living area was dark and he wasn't surprised to find that the pack had called it a night before he made it home. He tried to let his irritation at Hardison go as he took the stairs up to the bedrooms. At the top of the stairs a bright light shined directly into Quinn's face. After a second there was a beep and the light switched off.
"What the hell?" Quinn growled as he moved to put his back to a wall until his vision adjusted. He wondered what he'd missed while he'd been at the gym. Surely if there had been some kind of threat to the pack Eliot would have told him.
Quinn decided to find out from Eliot himself what was going on. He tapped a knuckle against Eliot's door.
"Come in."
Quinn wondered if it was the military background or his criminal background or maybe just the man's natural inclination, but Eliot always seemed to wake up completely and at once. Quinn leaned against the doorframe. "Alpha?"
"What is it Quinn?" Eliot came to the door looking rumpled but alert.
"Did something happen while I was gone tonight?"
"No. Why?" Eliot glanced past Quinn and down the hall toward the doors to the other bedrooms.
"When I got back the door downstairs was locked and wanted a password and there's a security light at the top of the stairs here. Are we expecting some kind of trouble?"
"Not that I know about." Eliot closed his eyes and sorted through his pack bonds. "I'm thinking it's just something new from Hardison. We'll talk in the morning." He started to turn a way but stopped and reached out setting a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "You okay? Do you need to sleep here tonight?"
"Nah. I'm good." Quinn gave Eliot a small smile before he headed for his own room. He was a little surprised to find that he really meant it. He didn't care that Nati was next door to him or that everything wasn't totally settled yet. Thanks to Charlie he seemed to have found his place again.
~~o0o~~
Quinn was unsurprised to find Eliot up and cooking breakfast when he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen.
Eliot gave him a nod as he moved past the counter to fix his cup of coffee. Stirring in a little sugar as he settled at the kitchen island Quinn raised an eyebrow as he asked Eliot "So what's with the new security measures?"
"Dunno. I saw Hardison fiddling with some things last night but I didn't ask what he was up to." Eliot flipped over the strips of bacon in his pan. "How was the gym? Have you sorted things out?"
"The gym was good." Quinn couldn't help it as a rueful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like I'm gonna be training Charlie for the fights this spring."
Eliot snorted.
"What?"
"Nothin'."
Quinn quirked an eyebrow and sipped his coffee.
Eliot tapped at his chest. "You feel more settled."
"Yah. Helping Charlie reminded me that I like helping people and if there wasn't all this stuff from my past I'd probably offer to help your friend just because she's your friend." He shrugged.
"You're gonna accept Nati's aegis then?"
Quinn felt a twinge in the bonds and he placed a hand over his belly. "I thought that's what you wanted."
Eliot huffed a sigh. "Doesn't matter what I want. This is about you. What do you want?"
"I want to help. I think this way I can help Parker and Natali." Quinn kept his hand on his belly as he monitored the pack bonds.
Hardison hustled down the stairs and made a beeline for the refrigerator. "Well, with my new security measures you shouldn't have much to do around here." Hardison muttered something else under his breath as he pulled his orange soda out of the fridge.
With werewolf hearing Eliot and Quinn couldn't miss the "not that you do that much around here anyway," that Hardison had muttered.
"Excuse you! What do you mean by that?!" Quinn stepped down from the stool he'd been sitting on.
"What is it that you do around here anyway?" Hardison quirked an eyebrow and took a drink of his soda.
Eliot put up a hand to stall Quinn. "Hardison! What's gotten into you man?!"
"Maybe I'll just beat whatever it is outa him." Quinn growled. "Natali said we'd need to establish a pack order."
"Wolfies!" Parker's voice cracked like a whip from the top of the stairs.
Hardison and Quinn both turned to face her.
"Amulets. Right now." Parker held out her hand.
Quinn's eyes went blue and he growled low in his throat.
Hardison's eyes flashed yellow and he snarled at Quinn. "Not yet Parker. Quinn and I have some things to work out."
"No." Eliot stepped between them. "You don't." He held his hand out palm up. "Amulets. Now." With a push of his Alpha authority, he narrowed his eyes and waited.
Quinn, used to obeying his Alpha, didn't hesitate to hand over the small green tile.
Hardison's chin jutted forward before his head tilted to the side, exposing his neck. He swallowed hard but removed the yellow tile on its leather string and held it out to Eliot.
As soon as Eliot closed his hand over both tiles he could feel the tension in his pack's bonds relax.
Hardison glanced sheepishly at Quinn but Quinn's eyes were fixed on the toes of his shoes.
"Better?" Eliot looked back and forth at his wolves.
"Yes Alpha." Quinn tilted his head exposing his neck
"Ya, sorry." Hardison frowned. "I'm sorry Quinn. I don't know what came over me."
Quinn nodded.
Eliot could smell the eggs as they started to burn and he turned back to the stove. "Dammit!"
Parker moved silently down the stairs and slipped the amulets from Eliot's pocket.
"Be careful with those." Eliot warned her without looking in her direction.
"Do you want me to keep those with the other ones?" Gemma asked when she joined the others in the kitchen area.
"Which other ones?" Parker asked.
"Eliot's, Nate's, and Sophie's." Gemma shrugged one shoulder.
Quinn frowned. "So no one is wearing their tiles now?"
Gemma shook her head.
"Why?" Hardison moved to look at the tiles that were now dangling from Gemma's fist, but he made no move to touch them.
"Everyone seems to have had some kind of bad reaction to wearing them." Eliot grumbled and glanced up when he noticed Nati and Ewen at the top of the stairs. "Why do you think that is?" He waited while Nati joined him on the other side of the counter.
"I dinnea ken." Nati held her hand out. "May I see them?"
Eliot nodded at Gemma and she took Hardison and Quinn's charms to Nati.
Nati held one in each hand with a look of concentration on her face. "I don't feel anythin' amiss." She looked at Quinn and Hardison. "Would ye mind holding onto these bitty things for a wee moment?"
Quinn looked at Eliot and felt encouragement through the bonds. He and Hardison went to Nati and held their hands out. Nati dropped the tiles onto their palms and watched both men closely.
"Interesting…" Nati ran a hand down, first Quinn's cheek, neck and shoulder, then Hardison's.
"What's interesting?" Quinn squinted at the tile in his hand.
"It's a subtle thing…" Nati cocked her head to the side squinting at Hardison. "Eliot, would ye mind joining the lads?"
Eliot moved his skillet and turned off the stove. Wiping his hands on the towel over his shoulder, he rounded the end of the counter and stepped into the space between Quinn and Hardison. "What's going on?"
"Place your hand on Quinn and then on Alec if ye would please." Nati stared and her gaze seemed a little unfocused as she looked from face to face.
Eliot reached up and placed his hand on Quinn's shoulder giving him a little grip of encouragement. He waited for Nati to give him a nod before he reached up did the same with Hardison.
"That's quite interestin'." Nati's gaze focused and she looked at Eliot speculatively. "Do ye remember a few years gone when Jim Skookum said ye might have a magic that's native to here. I think he may ha' been onta somethin'."
"Whadda ya mean?" Eliot stepped just a little in front of Quinn and Hardison, placing himself between them and Nati.
"Werewolf magic has a… let's call it a color. A color that is only seen with werewolves. That color varies pack to pack but is identifiable. Like the difference between school bus yellow and lemon yellow. The magic in those amulets is keyed to that color."
"But Eliot and his pack are a different color?" Gemma asked and she slid under Eliot's arm settling into his side.
Quinn noticed the ease that Gemma had with Eliot and couldn't completely suppress the quirk of a smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. No one else would move into Eliot's space like that when he was in protector mode. No one but Gemma who seemed to fit perfectly there.
"Aye." Nati smiled when she noticed the same thing Quinn had. "I see glimpses of the color that the amulets were keyed to but they are like a staticy radio signal; fading in and out."
"And what does that mean for us?" Eliot pulled Gemma more firmly into his side while he continued to look at Nati.
"It means I've meddled with yer pack fer nay reason." Nati couldn't help the smirk as she shook her head. "I'm sorry lad fer stirrin' trouble."
"I'm glad you came." Quinn smiled and set a hand on his Alpha's shoulder.
Everyone turned with various degrees of shock and surprise to stare at Quinn.
"No, really." Quinn rolled his eyes at the looks of disbelief he was seeing. "Now I don't have to wonder or worry about what will happen the next time my pack sees you or yours." He focused intently on Nati before looking to Ewen. "I know I can't make up for what happened but now at least you have a few answers and I'll do my best to help lift Nati's curse if the time comes."
The pain of Caroline's death showed plain on Ewen's face for a moment before he moved just a tiny bit closer to Nati.
"I hope to like ye someday Quinn. I hope to look at ye and see a friend and not just the man that killed my sister. But right now…" Nati's words trailed off and she sighed at the feel of Ewen's hand on her back.
"Someday." Quinn nodded.
"Do we have to wait till someday to get breakfast?" Parker asked from her perch in the rafters.
Eliot rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Come down here and set the table. I'll have breakfast up in a minute."
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
With Quinn's promise to help and Nati's amulets scrapped, Nati and Ewen felt it was time to get back to their own pack.
Eliot eased into the line of cars that was heading to the airport drop off. "Nati?" Eliot glanced to the side to make sure he had her attention. "I know you said my pack is a different color or whatever but why did the amulets set everybody off like they did. Even Nate and Sophie said they had bad reactions."
"I think your pack's magic was working a little like the immune system. Just like when something gets into a body and the immune system starts a fever to burn out the problem. Your packs magic was pushing the magic in the amulets away."
"So there's no way to use them to help Parker?"
"Ye might contact Jim and see what his thoughts are but I'm afraid these amulets are destined for the rubbish heap." Nati patted her jacket pocket and listened to the clink of the little tiles.
When they pulled up to the curb Eliot hopped out and helped Ewen with the few cases that they had.
"Are you okay?" Eliot asked as he set one of the cases up on the curb.
"I will be. Sorry for any trouble I caused." Ewen thumped a fist against Eliot's shoulder.
"It's all fine." Eliot smirked. "Send your girls my love."
"Will do." Ewen clasped Eliot's hand and they pulled each other into a hug with their hands trapped between them.
Eliot released Ewen, pulled Nati into a quick hug, and gave her a brief peck on the cheek. "I'm sorry."
"Dinnea be." She patted his cheek. "I'll look forward to seein' ye all again afore too long."