The Beast and the Homecoming Queen (26 page)

Kaden puts Quinn in the back of her car, and she curls in a ball and cries. Justin is dead, her happily ever after vanished with him.

She feels the car stop. “Quinn do you want me to c
arry you inside?” She doesn’t answer him. Kaden picks her up and walks into the house. Jax opens the door, and stares at her. Quinn closes her burning eyes. She doesn’t want to see his pity.

Kaden walks up the stairs, past
her old bedroom and to her new room - the one where she and Justin made love. Fresh new hot tears burn behind her eyelids. He gently lays her on her bed, and she can smell Justin. Quinn cries harder, she wants him here with her.

“Tell me what to do to make things better.” Kaden says, and Quinn looks at him. There are tears in his eyes.

Quinn sits up, and then pats the bed for him to sit. She closes her eyes, and tries to find the right words to say. “I never felt so much love from one person before. When Justin would look at me, his love shined from his gray-yellow eyes.”

She looks at Kaden and he shakes his head. “I love you like that.” Quinn smiles, he doesn’t love her like that. Only Justin will ever love her
like that.

Quinn grabs Kaden's hand. “You will make some girl so happy, but it's not me. Justin is my prince charming.” Her heart breaks
, knowing what she says is true; she will never have her happily ever after.

“Are you going to be alone forever? You know we live a really long time, right?” Kaden says, and smiles. She knows but also knows that no one will compare to Justin.

“I need to be alone,” Quinn says, and takes her hand back.

Kaden nods, and walks to her door. He stops and turns to look at her. “Fine but I am here for you, now and forever.”

“I don’t want you, I want Justin,” she whispers pass the lump in her throat.

As soon as he leaves she gets up and walks to Justin side of the bed. Once again tears are running down her cheeks, their time was short but she will cherish it for the rest of her life.

Chapter Nineteen

Queen Quinn

Kaden knocks on Lizzy's door. He didn’t want to wake her last night and tell her, and he already called the school. He told Lizzy's principal that there has been a death in the family and she won't be in today.

“Come in
!” Lizzy yells over the loud boy band music. “Hey Kaden, I am almost ready. Are you bringing me today? Or is Quinn?”

Kaden walks over to her desk and pulls out the chair. “Come and sit Liz
, I need to tell you something.” Fear flashes on her sweet innocent face.

“Please tell me it isn’t Quinn.” She has gone pale and he shakes his head.

“Justin was killed last night,” Kaden says, and she jumps up.

“What?” She looks at the door, and he knows she is thinking of.

Kaden puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes. “She's fine, well not really. She has a broken heart, but she is alive.”

“I should be with her,
” Lizzy says and tries to walk away, but Kaden holds on to her shoulder.

“No she needs to be alone right now.” Plus he doesn’t want Quinn to say something hateful to Lizzy and regret it later.

Lizzy turns around and her big blue eyes are shinning with her unshed tears. Kaden holds her and tells her that everything will be alright, and he promises he won't let anything happen to her. He just hopes he can keep that promise to her.

***

Every time Quinn closes her eyes she sees Justin chest and his blood. She opens her eyes and wants happen to be just a nightmare, but she is reminded with the empty bed that it wasn’t. Justin is dead and it is all her fault. Quinn's whole body hurts from crying, her eyes feel puffy from crying all night.

Kaden came in every ten minutes to check on her last night. Quinn knows that he is worried about her, but she doesn’t want to talk so just wants her Justin back. A soft knock at the door has her taking her attention away from the cold empty bed.

“Come in,” Quinn says, and sets up to tell Kaden to leave her alone, but Jax walks in. The room is filling with the morning sun and his spring green eyes find hers.

“Hey,
” he says as he walks in, Jax closes the door behind him. “I came to check on you.” He leans against the closed door, and stares at her.

Quinn
lies back on the bed and close her hazel-blue eyes. “Kaden gave up?” She hasn’t been nice to him, but he was the one holding her, she could have saved Justin.

She opens her eyes when she feels the bed move. Jax is laying in her normal spot, with his head turned to her. “No but he knows you blame him.”

Quinn doesn’t feel bad. It's true she does blame him. “You checked on me, I’m still breathing. You can leave now.”

Jax smiles at her. “Not happening, you shouldn't be a
lone. I am staying with you my Queen.”

Quinn tries to narrow her
eyes, but fails. “I'm not your Queen.” Anger bubbles up and she wants to explode.

A warm hand finds hers, she tries to pull away, but he just tightens his hand around hers. “I get that you are broken over Justin. But you are the one that killed Chris, that makes y
ou the new pack leader and our Queen.” Quinn's eyes widen, she never thought about that.

She shakes her head and can feel new tears threaten to break free, she can't rule without her king. “I can't, not without him.”

Jax tugs on her hand. “Look at me Quinn.” She shakes her head. “Please,” he asks softly.

Quinn gives in and looks at Jax. “You will be the best thing that happened to our pack. You care about people not just yourself. Yes I know you are hurting, but you have to step up. If you look weak to the others, someone is going to challenge you and you will be killed.” She stares at him blankly.

“Quinn, Justin wouldn’t want that.” Kaden's voice fills her bedroom; she takes her hand away from Jax and sits up. Kaden is standing in the opened door. “He would want you to be the best queen for our pack.”

She looks at Kaden and is shocked at what she sees. His eyes mirror hers, they are swollen and red.

He has been crying. “Jax, can Kaden and I be alone?”

Jax jumps out of h
er bed, and winks at her. “Yes, Your Majesty.” He bows to her, and Quinn rolls her eyes.

Kaden moves away from the door to let Jax pass, and stays in the open door. She doesn’t blame him
not wanting to come in her room. She said some pretty hateful things to him last night. “Kaden come in and shut the door, please.”

He nods slightly at her, and does what she asked. “I'm sorry, I know I said some really mean things to you last night. I just feel....shattered.” His dark blue eyes seem darker with the red in his eyes. “I never thought about how you are doing. Justin wasn’t just my boyfriend he was your brother, and I also killed your dad. So you loss two people last night.”

Kaden nods again. “I really don’t care about my dad, but Justin and I were still getting to know each other.” Quinn pats the bed for him to sit next to her, and he does.

“I know me too.”

“You know he would want you to be the best queen, and to be happy again,” Kaden says, and she narrows her eyes. If he confesses his love for her, she is going to punch him in the face. “Not with me, yeah I’m pretty sure he would haunt me if I did.”

“How is Lizzy doing?” She hasn’t seen her sister since they got home.

“She is worried about you, I told her what happened,” Kaden says, she nods. “I also called her school, and told them that there was a death in the family and she won't be in for the rest of the week.

Do you know what is going to happen next? Has anyone
explained it to you?”

“About what?” she asks.

“You are entitled to the mansion, since you are Queen and you will be crowned tonight.” Kaden says, and Quinn shakes her head. “Quinn, you really don’t have a choice. If you don’t accept, someone will fight you, and I know you aren’t up for that. Please don’t do that, I can't lose you and Justin.”

She closes her eyes. “I'm in mourning, can't it wait a week?”

“No, you were supposed to be crowned last night, but I took you away.” There is a tone in his voice, and she opens her eyes. He looks like he is keeping something.

“What aren’t you telling me?
” Quinn raises a blonde eyebrow.

“As leader of the pack you must have a male equal and since you are a pure blood, he must
be a pure blood. You two will become betrothal to each other.”

Quinn shakes her head. “No
, I don’t want anyone else!”

Kaden stands up and kneels in front of her. He takes a hand in each of his. “You don’t have a choice.”

Tears are running down her cheeks, she will be betraying Justin. “Who?”

“Shade, you met him
last night. He was the enforcer that was standing behind you.” She remembers him. He had warm honey brown eyes. “He is in college, and three years older than you.”

“What if I don’t want to be promised to Shade?” Quinn asks, and Kaden tightens his hands around hers.

“You could be killed.” Her shoulders slump in defeat, she has to promise herself to Shade. “Tonight you must wear a nice dress to honor your promise to Shade. Now try to get some sleep.” Kaden kisses her hands, and stands up.

Quinn is left alone with her thoughts, and she cannot believe she is going to be betrothal to someone other than Justin.

She gets up and walks into the bathroom. The thing about her stepmother Quinn liked was she always had a lot of hair dye in her bathroom. Quinn never touched this bathroom and wonders if there is any left.

Under the sink she finds black hair dye, it fits her mood. She doesn’t want to have her blonde hair anymore.

In forty-five minutes Quinn is blow-drying her now black hair straight. She also cut some bangs. Her hazel-blue eyes stand out more with her hair like this, Quinn grabs her black eyeliner. She adds some black mascara, and then walks out of her bathroom to grab the only pretty dress she owns. Her homecoming dress.

Quinn stares at herself in the full length mirror, and thinks she looks amazing. Too bad Justin isn’
t the man she is being betrothed to. She looks at the door in the mirror when she hears a knock.

“Come in,
” she says, and prepares herself.

Kaden walks in with his eyes down, and when he looks up at her his mouth drops open. Quinn turns to face him, and he is just staring without saying anything.

“Does it look that bad?” She bites her bottom lip, maybe dying her hair black wasn’t the best idea she has ever had.

Kaden continues to stares at her. “I love it, you look amazing.” He walks over to her, and touches her fac
e. “I like yours eyes like this,” he says, and smiles.

Quinn mov
es away from his touch. “Thanks,” she says.

“We need to go.” Kaden says then walk out of the door.

Chapter Twenty

Betrothal Queen

Quinn, Kaden, Lizzy and Jax walk in to the opening. Justin died here just last night; she stops walking and stares at the stage. “I can't do this,” she whispers.

“
Quinn you have to,” Kaden whispers in her ear. She knows that she doesn’t really have a choice.

She lo
oks at the stage and sees Shade and some of the other large men that brought her here last night. They are the pack and leader's enforcers, which means they are now hers.

Quinn takes a deep breath, and continues to the stage. Shade bows to her, as she stands next to him.

An elderly man walks over to Quinn and Shade. He has long gray hair and a long gray beard. His pale blue eyes, smile at her. Her gaze lands on his missing, yellow teeth, and his tongue that pokes through empty spaces.

“We are here to crown our new Q
ueen, and to celebrate her betrothal to a new pure blood male. Last night Quinn Murphy killed Christopher Keto, by pack law she is out new Queen.” The old man turns his pale blue eyes away from Quinn and to Shade. “Shade Walsh, do you accept being promised to Quinn Murphy?”

Slowly Quinn looks at the large man next to her, and that is when she truly notices him. He is about six feet, five inches. His wavy brown hair has caramel highlights, and a touch of red. Shade turns his honey eyes to hers, and Quinn can see specks of green.

“I accept,” his sweet, and accent voice says. She thinks maybe a touch of Irish?

The elderly man turns back to her, and raises a gray fuzzy eyebrow at
her. Quinn looks back at Shade. “I accept.”

The older man turns away from Quinn and Shade. He looks at the pack. “We have a new pack
leader, she will make a fine queen.”

A young girl probably about eight grabs Quinn's hand, the little girl leads Quinn to the elderly man.

“Kneel,” he says, and she does. She feels a heavy weight on her head. “Queen Quinn.”