Strength to Find Her Way

Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Quinn POV

"I think it's time to head back, Suze," I said, looking at the time.

We just finished our late lunch in one of the mall restaurants and I was officially shopped out. School would be letting out soon and if we wanted to keep the illusion that we were at school the whole time, we would need to head back.

"I guess you're right," Suze agreed. "I hope you're feeling a bit better now?" she asked more than stated.

I thought for a minute. My head was a bit clearer now. I think I'll be able to have a conversation with Liam when I return.

"I think so," I said. "I'm still upset but I think I can talk to Liam. I've calmed down and I'm feeling more like myself."

Suze breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. You scared me this morning, Quinny. You're always so level headed and when I saw you freaking out like that, it really worried me."

I stood up and gave her a big hug. "I know. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my head like that. I'm better than the person who I was this morning. Let's go back and get everything settled. I'm sure Ethan is going crazy right now. Do you want to open your link to let him know you're okay?"

"Nah," she giggled. "Let him suffer a little longer. Absence makes the heart grow fonder right?"

I giggled with her this time. I hope she's right. It's possible Ethan and Liam will be furious with us. Either way, we're going to that party tonight. I did not sit through four years of the most boring lessons to miss out on the biggest party of my high school career.

Suze and I made our way back to the car and left the parking lot. It was another half hour back to the pack house so we turned up the radio and shouted the lyrics to our favorite songs.

As we pulled onto the territory, something felt off. I know the guard's schedules and the perimeter formations and this was definitely not normal. There were guards running all over the place and more of them were stationed at the entryway. I became a bit frantic, worrying that something had happened while we were gone. Had there been an attack? Was everyone okay?

"Suze, drive faster please," I pleaded with her. She gave me a worried look but hit the gas, speeding us along the dirt road.

We pulled up to the pack house where a disheveled Ethan was waiting for us. I guess the guards who saw us informed him of our arrival. Before Suze could put the car in park, Ethan ripped the door open and pulled Suze from her seat.

"Where the hell were you?" he cried, taking deep breaths of her scent from her neck. "We've been searching for you for hours. I've been worried sick. Why did you cut me off? Why didn't you want to talk to me? I tried calling you so many times. Your phone was off. Did you want to leave me?"

By now I was starting to feel really guilty. I didn't think about how much this would have affected Ethan. Being newly mated, it was hard enough to be away from each other. The fact that he couldn't even contact her must have driven him half to insanity.

Suze was now sobbing, apologizing for everything. Ethan didn't seem to care about the details though. What really mattered to him was that she was home safe.

Knowing that Ethan was worried, I started to get nervous about Liam. Was he going to react similarly to Ethan or would he be angry. I think I could handle anger better than I could handle the panicked way Ethan reacted.

Why wasn't Liam here though? Maybe he was mad at me. He didn't come after me this morning when I stormed out of the pack house. Maybe he was upset that I didn't want to be marked by him. He should know he took it too far though. Now I was starting to get angry all over again.

I decided to unload the car and give Suze and Ethan some space. I was not in the mood to witness them making up. I didn't want to lose my lunch so soon after eating.

This was the normal time I would start training so I decided to carry on with my day as usual. I took Suze's bags to her room and brought my purchases to my room. I hung up the dress I'd be wearing tonight and stuffed the lingerie under my bed. I wasn't fully sold on it and I didn't want anyone finding it and getting any ideas.

I changed into my workout clothes and headed for the front door. On my way out, I ran into my dad.

"Quinn!" he called out to me. "We need to chat, sweetheart."

"I was just about to head out to train," I replied. "Can it wait till later?"

"Afraid not," he said. "Where were you all day? School called and said you never showed up. You know if you decide to ditch, you're supposed to tell the old man."

"I know," I replied sheepishly. I'd completely forgotten to inform my dad of our plan for the day. I know he would never tell Liam if I didn't want him to. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," he said, which surprised me. "Your mate has been tearing this place apart looking for you. He's got all my trainees out searching and he even brought in the palace trackers. I'm surprised you made it back without being stopped by anyone. I'm sure everyone knows you're back by now. Although I'm not sure where your mate has been. No one has seen him for an hour or two. Last I knew he ran off into the forest in a hurry. Reg said he found him beating up his beta and tearing apart Suze's room. Sounds like he's a bit of a mess."

Now I really felt bad. As angry as I was at Liam, I didn't want to cause him so much pain.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll see if I can find him," I replied.

"No problem kiddo," he said before making his way into the pack house.

It was weird seeing him out and about at this time of day. He's always training the warriors but I guess with Liam pulling them all out of training to look for me, he had nothing to do all day. I hate that so many people were off looking for me when I was perfectly safe the whole time. Just another time when Liam didn't think I could take care of myself. I needed to stop myself from getting angry though. I had an angry and scared mate to find.

I took a few steps toward the forest and sniffed the air. I could pick out his scent anywhere. I decided to let my wolf take a crack at some tracking. I went behind a large oak tree on the edge of the forest to change. No use ruining perfectly good clothes.

I shifted into my wolf and allowed her to take over. She yipped in happiness before she got to the task at hand. Lifting her nose in the air, she picked up his scent. As soon as she had it, she bolted through the forest.

As much as I didn't want to confront Liam right now, he's my mate and I care about him. Knowing he's hurting right now is hurting me and I need to fix that. We can deal with this morning's troubles later. For now I just need to let him know I'm okay and apologize for worrying him. He's my number one priority.