The Beast and the Homecoming Queen (27 page)

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 M
ajesty, 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 who
m 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 w
e 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 ma
ny dreams of him but never could touch him or smell him until now.

“My love.” H
is 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 tuck
s 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 awaken
ed by her alarm, and she has tears streaming down her face. “I love you Justin, to Neptune and back.”