Chapter Seven

 

Griffin went to talk to Ronan and Beau about breaking into the broker’s house, leaving Quinn with Tristan. The omega had left his knife in the kitchen but still seemed pretty uneasy around them, Quinn in particular. Maybe it was the fact that they were compatible, which would have been a terrifying prospect in a breeder house. Griffin wanted him to gain the omega’s trust, but he wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. Dealing with frightened shifters was usually a job left to Griffin and Noah. Even Ronan tended to avoid it. Alphas just weren’t the cute, cuddly, reassuring type. But then, Tristan wasn’t exactly acting like the typical scared omega.

“What now?” Tristan asked. He was still curled up in his chair, his arms wrapped around his knees.

“Well,” Quinn said, deciding honesty was the best plan. “Here’s the thing. You’re our guest, but we’re… careful when it comes to visitors. The safety of our people is most important.”

“Okay.”

“As much as I’d like to give you the grand tour, we’re kind of restricted to the guest wing.”

“Oh.” The omega deflated with disappointment.

“What is it?”

He got an awkward shrug in response, Tristan avoiding his eyes.

“There are no wrong answers here. No wrong questions, either, come to think. Though I’m not a big fan of the rhetorical ones.”

Tristan’s cautious expression became a small smile.

“Duly noted. I… I was just…” He swallowed and tried again. “I haven’t been outside in a while, except the whole escaping thing. I don’t like being cooped up.”

“You mean caged?”

Tristan dropped his gaze to the floor, nodding jerkily.

“So, you’d like to go outside?”

“I don’t need to,” the omega stressed. “I’m fine here.”

“You’re not planning on running out on us, are you?” he teased, expecting a quip in response.

“That depends,” Tristan threw back. “Do I really get to go home or are you selling me on once you get what you need?”

And ouch, the cynicism was so sharp it was cutting. Yep, Tristan trusted them about as far as he could throw them. Not a surprise, under the circumstances.

“We don’t buy and sell people. That’s not our game.”

“What is your game?”

“This and that. Bounties, sometimes. We protect people, find people, find information. I’ve gone on a few treasure hunts in my time. Rescued a few people in bad circumstances before, too.”

“People like me?” Tristan asked softly.

“Omegas do have an unfortunate tendency to end up in trouble, usually through no fault of their own.” Their world wasn’t kind to omegas or alphas for that matter. “But you rescued yourself. We just provided shelter from the storm.”

He pushed away from the wall, walking toward the door.

“Are you coming?” he asked.

Tristan didn’t move. “Where are we going?”

“Outside. We have a garden and a wood.”

“I thought you said I couldn’t…”

“I can’t show you the rest of the house, but I can bring you outside for a walk if you want?”

Tristan almost bounced out of his chair and to his feet. “Please.”

They kept spare clothes in one of the guest rooms’ closets. It took a few minutes to find shoes that fit. A coat and hat were easier, and he even managed to rustle up gloves and a scarf.

While Tristan got kitted out, he went to get his own coat, returning to find Tristan chatting with Darcy at the door to the guest wing. Darcy said something, and Tristan laughed. Quinn felt a flash of jealousy at their easy camaraderie. But then, Darcy was good with people. And a far-from-threatening beta.

“Ready to head out?” he asked. “You’re in luck, we’ve got a winter wonderland out there.”

Tristan nodded, glancing at Darcy.

“See you later?” he asked.

“Sure thing,” the beta said. “And don’t worry. Quinn’ll take good care of you. He has a fondness for circus brats.”

The omega’s smile became a grin, but he flushed when he glanced back at Quinn.

“Come on. Snow’s not getting any deeper.”

He eschewed the nearest side-door, in case Tristan really did plan to run, going for the door closest to the back of the house. They stepped outside to a light fall of snow, and Tristan was lost, taking half a dozen steps at a run. Quinn braced himself to give chase, but the omega came to a stop, raised his head to the sky and spun in a circle. Not running just… embracing his freedom.

He followed after him, keeping his distance as Tristan went exploring around the herb garden. It seemed there wasn’t much there to interest him, most of the plants snow-covered, and he moved on to the woods. Quinn stuck a little closer, wondering if Tristan’s climbing skills were good enough to get him over the wall. But then, where would he go? He still had the ankle cuff on, meaning he couldn’t shift.

“You don’t mind the cold?”

Tristan glanced back at him, raising his gloved hands. “I think I’m too bundled up to notice. It’s good to be out in the fresh air.”

“They didn’t let you outside at all?”

He’d never been in a breeder house, just heard stories.

“There was a courtyard in the middle of the house. They’d let us out in groups for an hour a day. But it wasn’t the same, just this small square of sky above it, the walls of the house surrounding us and I—I couldn’t—”

Tristan stopped suddenly, his hands falling to his side, his breath speeding up until he was panting.

“Tristan?”

Quinn took a cautious step closer. The omega backed away with a whimper. Quinn went still.

“Hey,” he said softly. “It’s okay. You’re not there anymore. You’re here, you’re safe.”

Tristan scrunched his eyes closed, hyperventilating.

“Tristan, you need to breathe, okay? Nice, slow breaths. You’re surrounded by open space, no one’s locking you in, I promise.”

He should go get someone: Griffin, Noah, even Darcy. They’d know what to do. But he couldn’t leave the omega alone.

His words weren’t getting through, so he used the only thing left open to him.

“It’s okay,” he said again, closing the distance between them. “Come on, just try to take some breaths, okay? Slow it down.”

He reached the omega’s side, reaching out his arm and settling his hand lightly on Tristan’s shoulder. The omega twisted away from the touch but didn’t move away.

“Easy,” he said again, staying close, hoping the omega would get his scent. “You’re okay.”

Tristan turned toward him a little, and Quinn knew he’d caught his scent when he leaned a little closer.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, opening his arms. The omega took a step closer, then another, and Quinn wrapped his arms around him in a light hug, letting him take the comfort he needed.

The omega stiffened, and Quinn held still, fully prepared to let go if he pulled away, but after taking a long, deep breath, Tristan settled against him with a relieved sigh.

“That’s the way. Just breathe,” he murmured, careful to keep his hold loose so the omega wouldn’t feel trapped. He knew what it was like to feel the walls closing in on you. He knew how it felt to be on the run, to be hunted.

“I’ve got you,” he said. “You’re safe here, I promise.”

He kept on with the reassurances while Tristan clung to him, his shaking gradually settling, his face pressed against Quinn’s neck as he inhaled his scent.

That was why Griffin had insisted he be the one to take on their stowaway. Compatibility meant he could offer a sort of comfort to Tristan that no omega or beta could. Still, it smacked of manipulation which made him a little uneasy. Using an omega’s biology against them was just plain wrong. Using it to help them… if ever there was a gray area, that was it. But he wasn’t letting go.