“Ha,” Quinn laughed. “Our lives are chaotic, but I think we’ll get to have peace a little longer. I don’t think it will happen quickly, but that’s just a hunch. The future is constantly changing, as all my visions have. We’re already preparing for it, so that will make a difference.”
“What is it?” Maxon asked, putting us back on track.
“We fled the university,” I started. “That place had been our lives for ten years. We were the personal guard detail for the Arch Mage himself. One morning, we woke up and went to report for duty, only to find him…” I struggled to find the words.
“It was almost like a stasis,” Levi supplied.
“And dark magic was everywhere,” Avi added in.
“He was held in the air by some sort of energy cloud. He looked dead and had no signs of life, but we had no confirmation,” I explained. “The elder council stepped in and accused us, sentencing us to prison. We’d run the show long enough to know what that meant.”
“Death,” Levi said heavily. Farren went over and sat by him, holding his hand. His voice was full of hurt caused by the deceit. “We’d given them everything only to become their scapegoat.”
“So we escaped, ran. We had guards on our side who helped us get out, but ultimately we’re fugitives and always will be,” I finished. My eyes went to Farren, studying her for a reaction. She didn’t say anything, offering Levi comfort and giving us empathetic glances, eyes bouncing from one mate to the next.
“We knew some details when you stopped by, but that’s crazy,” Kylan said heavily.
“The less you knew, the better,” I agreed. “I have a feeling he wasn’t dead, that there was more to it all. But we had no proof.”
“Should we run?” Levi asked quietly. Nearly every single person in the room answered at once.
“Absolutely not,” Quinn said the loudest. “This is your home, and that mountain? It’s Farren’s domain. You need to stay, to defend your home and claim your piece of the world.”
“That was hell of a speech, Quinn,” Draven said approvingly. I was getting the idea that he was the sarcastic bunch. Of course, while talking to his omega, any comments like that were full of teasing undertones that dulled the sharpness of his words. He might have a healthy sense of snark, but there would be no mistake about how he regarded or respected Quinn.
“Any more secrets to throw out there?” Avi asked. “I’d say this is the night to clear the air.”
“I hate pineapple on pizza,” Farren said. “And I think fuzzy socks are overrated.”
“Bite your tongue, woman!” Quinn gasped. “Fuzzy socks are life changing.”
“Give me a cold night and bare feet any day of the week,” Farren shot back. Their playfulness was refreshing. They were both set with their mates and finding confidence in who they were; it was easy to see they’d be quick friends. Good. Farren deserved to live her life, something she’d been denied for far too long.
Now, if we can just keep them safe long enough for that to happen.Because no matter what it took, we’d work our asses off to ensure that the vision never came to pass, and if it did, the outcome would be far different than the one Quinn had seen tonight.
Now that fate had completed our circle, there was no way I was going to let anyone take it away.
17
Farren
Yesterday’s revelations were heavy, but now that everything was out in the open, I felt lighter than ever. My amulet was still firmly in place, but I had considered taking it off this morning. It might be a bit before I was comfortable enough to cast it away. At this point, it had become a part of myself, and I didn’t want to part with it.
Now that the college kids had checked out, the morning shift was fairly quiet. Too quiet. By the time Lucy came in to take over for the afternoon, I was bored out of my mind.
“Farren!” My name was called out from two directions, one from Levi heading from the back hall, the other West behind the front desk. I held up a hand to Levi to ask him to wait before heading for West.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said with a quick nod to Levi. Without saying anything else, he walked away. West knew that I respected him enough to follow without needing to be asked.
“Damn, the office? This can’t be good,” I joked. He didn’t respond, which was definitely a bad sign. When he closed the door behind me, I took my seat and waited for whatever bomb was coming my way.
He sat behind his desk and folded his hands in front of him. For some reason, he looked older today, and when he spoke, I realized why. “Things are changing here, Farren.”
“The guys again?” I sighed. “I’m going to have to talk about them letting me handle some of my own shit.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that Niko likes to take charge in that regard. But it doesn’t change the fact that I know what could be coming.”
“I’m sorry, West. We can go. I know this isn’t what you wanted for life and why you left,” I said. Sadness hit me, and he waved a hand in front of him like he could clear my emotion from the air.