Broken Dreams (Unhingedverse)
Broken Dreams: Chapter 26

QUINN

I hate everything in my closet. It’s an exaggeration, but seriously, what does a girl wear for her first date with her pack?

“Quinn, you’re still naked,” Linus teases me as he steps inside our nest and closes the door behind himself.

I’m wearing a cute bra and a thong, that’s hardly naked. My glare at him makes him laugh as he walks over to me.

“We’re going to be outside on a hike, baby. Do you want me to dress you like my gorgeous doll?” he asks. It’s our joke, because he often would.

“Yes,” I say, pouting. Linus’ eyes widen slightly, but he doesn’t make a big deal about it.

“Hang out in the swing and let me work my magic,” he teases me.

Rolling my eyes, I smirk as I climb into the monstrosity of a swing that he picked out. God, this thing is like laying in a fluffy cloud. I can see why he wanted it, even though I give him shit about it.

Linus looks through our shared closet before choosing a few things to come show me.

“Yoga leggings because they won’t be able to stop staring at your ass, but your mom will say you look cute,” he states, showing me a bright red pair. “Next this sports bra has a zipper and will keep you from bouncing uncomfortably. This white top is open along the back so it’ll show off the bra, yet still be perfectly suitable as a peekaboo option. Add the gray and white sneakers and you’re good to go. I’ll braid the top of your hair and let your curls go wild.”

Fuck, I love this man. I really, truly do. I launch myself at him in a hug, forcing him to catch me as he grins.

“I’ve always got you, Baby Girl. Even when it comes to wading through our closet,” he says. “Now go get changed.”

Since I have a direction to run in, it doesn’t take long for me to get ready. Linus fixes my hair while I moisturize my face and put on my sunscreen. Funny enough, my skin appears dewy just from that, so I don’t bother with anything other than a fruity lip balm.

Linus doesn’t have to worry about all of this. He’s wearing a pair of gray cargo pants, a black tank top with large arm holes that show off his torso, and sneakers. Men have it easy.

“Stop being grouchy,” he says. “You’re way too pretty for that shit. Let’s go before you second guess what you’re wearing.”

Shaking my head as I smile at him, I stand and walk out of the nest with him at my side, his fingers linked in mine.

“They were sending me up to come replace you,” Mom says as she stands in the hallway. Her lips are spread wide in a smile, and I swear it’s so nice to see it.

I think I was afraid to miss my mom for all of these years, because I never thought I’d see her again. It’s also why I tried so hard not to think about the Kelly boys as well.

“I solved the crisis,” Linus says, huffing as if he fixed something so much worse.

I can’t help the giggle that slips out of my mouth, a sound I rarely make. My mom sighs happily, looking me over.

“I don’t believe I could have done any better,” she says. “Your father has been very grumbly in my head, so I’m going to bring my headphones today. The asshole isn’t ruining my day.”

“I think that’s the best way to ruin his, though,” Linus says.

He was very skeptical about my mom leaving my father for good, but he’s definitely warmed up in the past week that she’s been living with us. My mom is adamant that she’s never going back to him. She filed paperwork to divorce him, even though the bond will remain until he dies.

I really am worried about what will happen then. No matter how quick I make his death, my mom could still suffer or even be dragged down with him. Fuck, it makes every smile she has mean so much more now.

We head downstairs to where my alphas are waiting for me. They have a picnic basket at their feet, a duffle bag and a gun case, as well as a backpack.

“Are we packing for a bear?” I ask them in my mind.

Duncan snorts, shrugging. “Not quite a bear, sweet girl. We are going to do some target practice, though. There’s a lake with great hiking we want to take you to.”

My mom has a secret smile on her face as if she knows I’ve been speaking to my alphas through our bond, and my cheeks heat. There are so many things I’ve missed out on. I fucking hate that my father chose his own greed over my childhood.

Pushing the thought out of my head because I don’t want Duncan and Callum to worry, I follow them out the door to the SUV. So many little details that show how much they love me. Callum carefully helps my mom into the vehicle while Duncan holds my hand as I climb to sit in the middle seat. He places my mini tablet in my lap with a wink, moving away so Linus can get in next to me.

The drive to where they’re taking us is about half an hour, and I listen to the chatter around me while my mother firmly puts in her earphones. This is the best way she could tell my father to take a flying leap off a cliff. He hates to be ignored.

Dad must be losing his damn mind, because he’s not getting his way, not in the way he imagined he would. While the party plans are being set into motion to happen in three weeks time, the Kelly brothers are not taking his calls. My mother isn’t responding to him, she’s not coming home, and the mafia community at large can sense there’s something amiss between them.

Gossip runs rampant through the families. I should know. I was practically an urban legend parents told their children of what happens when teenagers don’t do what they’re supposed to. Nothing of the sort is actually true, but everyone has heard of my disappearance.

This party is going to be a great reminder of what it’s like to live in a fish bowl, as everyone is going to gawk at me. I can’t wait.

My eyes light up as Duncan takes us off roading down to a gorgeous lake that laps at the sand’s edge.

“Here we are,” he says, turning off the car and getting out.

Doors open, and we all follow him outside, where I take a deep breath of fresh air. I’ll never, ever get used to being able to go outside whenever I want, or enjoying my surroundings without someone shoving a gun in my side to tell me to stop dawdling.

The beauty of the water, trees, and the cliffside surrounding us may give me a permanent smile on my face. I can’t get over how blue the sky is either, and I replace myself walking closer to the lake as I let myself just be.

Duncan sets out the picnic on a huge blue blanket, and I have to tear myself away as I walk back to eat. Even then, I pick up a piece of cheese or fruit to chew slowly before I lose myself again to the view.

“Open,” Callum says, sounding absolutely amused. My mouth opens immediately, and he places a bite sized piece of sandwich into my mouth. “Now go back to your happy place and enjoy.”

Glancing at him as I chew, I can see his eyes sparkling with mischief, and even my mom is snickering under her breath. The earphones are set to the side, she appears relaxed, and enjoying herself. I guess my father finally decided to cut her some slack.

I manage to eat while still getting lost in how pretty everything is. When we’re finished, Callum puts everything away in the picnic basket, and then places it in the trunk of the SUV in a bottom compartment so it’ll stay cool. They’ve really managed to think of everything.

“Hike?” Duncan asks, and my mom looks at the water with a small sigh. “You can stay here, Ayla. It’s completely safe, and no one really comes out here.”

“It’s finally quiet,” she laments. God, my father is a rat bastard for torturing her like this.

“Then you should enjoy it,” Callum says firmly. “Here’s a pillow, a blanket if it gets cool, did you bring your e-reader?”

My mom looks a little overwhelmed as she nods, looking toward the vehicle. My alpha gets her all situated before nodding. There’s even a wide brimmed hat for Ayla in case she needs it. They thought of everything.

“Here’s the radio since the signal is funky for cell towers. If you’re worried or want to check on us, we’ll have the other one, Ayla,” Duncan adds, handing it to her. He makes sure she knows how to use it, and I can see my mom settle on the blanket to read.

I wave at her and she grins back at me.

“Your pack is the stuff dreams are made of, baby,” she says as we start off on our walk.

You’re not wrong, mom. There’s a missing piece that I can feel, but he hasn’t earned his spot with us. It feels as if there’s an entire community who is vetting Christian to see if he’s good enough for me. It’s funny because when you’re a kind of legend in the families, they also pull hard for your happily ever after.

All thoughts of him fall away as Callum grabs my hand to pull me closer, and Duncan throws his arm around Linus. The gun case is in Duncan’s other hand, which means they’re going to put us to work with target practice. I can’t say I’m unhappy or disappointed by it, because I can’t imagine a prettier place for it.

I’m not replaceing the need to speak much, and the guys happily walk in silence with me, only stopping to point out a beautiful tree or flowers. I don’t think I could have ever imagined a better date than this. My guys and nature, it’s perfect.

I realize how not in shape I am as we hit a sharp incline, and my thighs begin to burn. Linus just smirks at me because there are different muscles being used right now. He’s been going for runs with the guys, while I would much rather dance than do that.

Oh my sweet baby Jesus, I’m going to need a bubble bath, candles, and maybe some chocolate after this.

“How are you doing there, Quinn,” Linus teases me, snorting out a laugh when I snarl at him.

“What’s wrong?” Duncan asks, glancing at me. “You’re all flushed.”

“Inclines suck is all,” I tell him in my mind.

Chuckling, he hands the gun case to Linus and moves in front of me.

“Jump aboard, princess,” he says, hunching down. “I know you can get up here.”

Biting my lip, I let go of Callum’s hand to step back. Shaking his head, Callum puts his finger to his lips before dropping to a knee and holding up his linked hands to give me a boost.

Princess treatment indeed.

Placing my foot on his hands, I gasp as he launches me onto his brother’s back. My arms and legs wrap around him like a spider monkey, and Duncan shifts me so that I’m his own personal backpack.

“Well, that’s one way to go up the cliff,” Linus teases me.

I stick my tongue out at him, while he rolls his eyes. This is fun and easy. There’s no hurry to get anywhere, Mom can get ahold of us if needed, and I saw water in Callum’s backpack. I have everything I should ever want.

So for now, I won’t dare wish for more.

Finally, the top of the cliff emerges, the trees appearing to cling to the edge of it. Duncan continues to carry me, so I rest my chin on his shoulder and gaze out at everything. There’s miles of water as far as I can see, along with rock formations that appear as if a huge child left them there when they were done playing.

“I can’t believe this is so close to where we live,” Linus whispers. “It’s like our own paradise.”

“That it is,” Callum agrees. “Sometimes it’s nice to simply leave everything stressful behind and just be.”

I couldn’t agree more.

There’s happiness to be found in so many things. I don’t have to try as hard to replace it anymore.

I want to preserve it forever.

“I want a picture of us,” I tell Duncan and Callum through the bond. Just because their phones won’t work here, doesn’t mean one of them doesn’t have it. “Can we take one?”

“Yeah,” Callum says. “Linus, Quinnie wants a photo. Duncan, don’t drop her off the cliff when you turn with her, yeah?”

His brother rolls his eyes at him, but I notice the way he hitches me higher on his back before turning to face away from the view. Callum pulls out his phone and crowds in with Linus, making sure we’re all smiling before he snaps a few photos.

“Good call, baby,” Linus says with a grin as he checks them out. “I can’t remember the last time I did something like this.”

We both replace ourselves saying or thinking that, because it’s true. The things that everyone else takes for granted were ripped away from us.

“Water break, and then we’re going to do some target practice,” Duncan says, taking a few steps away from the cliff edge before letting me slide down his back.

It’s becoming hotter now that the sun is higher in the sky, so we make sure to hydrate before Callum opens his backpack to line up targets at different heights. There are cans, bottles, and even little cloth dolls that he hangs from the branches of trees.

Those dolls are creepy. You’re going down.

LINUS

Quinn’s open expressions are so much fun. Scowls, grins, laughter, all things she used to hide from the world for her safety. There also wasn’t much joy to be found at Slick Dreams, so I’m soaking up every moment.

She’s currently wearing protective glasses, noise cancelling headphones, and getting ready to take down some targets. The determination in her gaze as she raises the Glock G43X is fierce. I saw the way she glared earlier at the dolls hanging from the trees to taunt her.

They’re not going to stand a chance.

Quinn starts with a few of the cans, easily sighting and shooting them before moving on to the glass bottles, and then going down on the creepy little dolls. She is a really good shot, but I think she’s a perfectionist.

She worries that in a moment of chaos in a real world situation that she’ll fuck up. It’s a legitimate concern.

Slowly breathing out, she takes her finger off the trigger and smiles. Holding it to the side, she pulls off the headgear and glances at Callum. He checks the dolls, shaking his head as he proclaims them all deceased.

Quinn squeals, “Ha!” while we hide our amusement.

She really hates these dolls. Unfortunately, she left some for me.

“You did good, Quinn. Now, tell me why you don’t want to carry in public?” he asks.

Glancing apologetically at me, I shake my head to tell her it’s fine for her to speak to him through the bond. I’m not jealous of it, I just wish she and I could communicate like that. I don’t know if it’s even possible. Usually I’d ask to test it, but I think I’d be even more sad if we tried and it didn’t work.

I think I need to talk to someone about it before we try.

Duncan frowns as he listens to what she has to say through the bond, grunting, “Anxiety about not being able to fire is normal, Quinn. That’s what muscle memory is for. You do it over and over until you just do it. There’s a threat, you shoot the fuck out of it.”

“Exactly,” Callum agrees. “Alright, Linus, you’re up.”

I’m included in the target practice because if there’s ever a chance that I may have to handle a gun, I’ll know how to. I’m still not sure if I’ll be attending the party or not. Callum and Duncan think it’s a risk for the two of us to be together.

To add insult to injury, Cerenity has Quinn and I learning new dance routines, and one of them is fly pole. The ability to constantly be able to learn and grow is a huge incentive to continue working at the club.

Do I have any idea how much I’m making there or what the pay is? Absolutely not. I’m sure Cerenity went over it at some point, but I don’t have a clue when payday is either.

After ten years of being a slave to someone else’s will, it’s a really surreal concept to actually be paid for my work.

I’m still mulling that over as I gear up, and Callum hands me a different firearm to shoot.

“Show me how you set up the gun, and then replace your targets,” he says.

Nodding, I push the magazine into the 9mm gun, smoothly lifting it with my trigger finger ready to fire. Muscle memory is the only reason I’m not overly in my head as I sight down the barrel.

The recoil is a normal part of this, my arms and body aware of how it feels. Even the noise isn’t as jarring as it once was, and I hit my targets without emotion, almost as if it were an out of body experience. I hate taking this position every time, but once I’m here I’m able to just do it.

Blinking, I move my trigger finger, my hands already ejecting the magazine and the round in the chamber before showing the pieces to Callum.

“Damn,” he mutters. “I think we’re good for today.”

“I know we keep hammering this in, but if you have the muscle memory, which you do, you’ll be fine,” Duncan says. “The only other thing I can think of is simulating some moving targets.”

Callum takes the gun from me as I pull off the headgear and glasses so I can hear them better.

“Moving?” I ask, interested.

Quinn makes a face at me before glancing at a doll, and the three of us chuckle.

“I’m interested, though the dolls are probably a hard limit for her,” I say.

Duncan rolls his lips inward, struggling to hold in his amusement.

“I’ll leave the dolls out next time,” he says, even as his shoulders shake as he cleans up with Callum.

As we begin to walk down the trail once we’ve returned everything to what it should be, Duncan reaches for the radio in one of the pockets of the backpack to check on Ayla.

I am willing to admit that I was wrong about her. She’s tough as nails in her determination to live separately from Hudson Hughes. I think her depression laid in Quinn’s disappearance and thinking she could have stopped it.

After hearing her story, I don’t think there’s anything she could have done. Ayla’s husband was resolute about selling Quinn. I can’t wait until he gets his just desserts.

“Hey, Ayla. We’re headed back. Are you doing okay?” Duncan asks.

A slight crackle from the radio sounds before Ayla comes on, “All good here. I fell asleep. Thank goodness for the hat or I’d be fried. Sleep is harder to come by, so this was amazing.”

I have to say that I’m worried about her. Hudson seems like the kind of person who doesn’t let go easily, even when things have clearly gone sour and toxic.

I wait until Duncan tells her that we’ll see her soon and then signs off.

“Does anyone know how Hudson and Ayla met?” I ask.

Quinn looks frustrated for a moment, but Callum nods.

“I do, actually. They met when they were twenty, and their parents set them up,” he says. “They’re not scent matches. Ayla agreed to marry him because at the time, he was charming and sweet. Hudson wanted a lot of children, my dad told me. Ayla had a hard time during pregnancy, and was only able to have Quinn. Ayla didn’t care.”

“God, I almost forgot Dad told us about this,” Duncan mutters. “He got drunk one night and had very loose lips. Quinn says she didn’t even know about this. Hudson wanted a boy and a girl, and was disappointed when he found out Ayla couldn’t get pregnant again.”

“Dad says she tried, but the pregnancies didn’t stick,” Callum adds with a sigh. “I guess I didn’t see how bad their bond was until after Quinn was gone. She deserves the best.”

Quinn brushes away a tear at his words, nodding, and I squeeze her hand. I wish that for Ayla too. If there’s a chance her scent match could be out there, I hope they meet.

Everyone deserves a chance at happiness. Even if it’s a second chance at it.