Chapter 64 – Trinity

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains contents of violence that may disturb sensitive readers and can be triggering for survivors of trauma and abuse.

(Quinn’s perspective)

Pain used to be a constant. Not the kind that fades after a few hours or even days. No, this was the kind that buried itself so deep in your bones that it felt like it would be part of you forever. But now… I don’t feel it anymore.

The first time I noticed it, I thought I’d gone numb. It wasn’t a slow process either—one day, I was screaming and thrashing under their blows; the next, I just... stopped. The barbed wire bat hit my ribs with a sickening thwack, but I didn’t flinch. The guard cursed under his breath and swung it again, harder this time. Still nothing. My skin tore, and my bones ached, but there was no reaction. No sound. No satisfaction for them.

I’d won that day. Not because I fought back. No, because I didn’t. They couldn’t break me anymore. Their weapons, their fists, their fire—none of it mattered. My body healed faster than it ever had before. Cuts that used to take days to scab over now sealed shut in hours. Bruises faded like they’d never been there.

They stopped calling me "girl" and started calling me "monster."

I guess they were right.

Tonight was no different. They left me crumpled on the cold concrete, my face swollen so bad I could only see through one eye. My breath rattled in my chest as blood dripped from my lips, the taste of copper coating my tongue. My clothes were in tatters, barely hanging off my bruised frame. I felt the chill of the stone floor seep into my bones, but I didn’t shiver. Shivering was for the weak.

I closed my eyes, hoping sleep would take me quickly. It never did.

I don’t know how long I drifted, but when I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t alone.

Across from me, sitting in the dim glow of moonlight filtering through the narrow slit of a window, was a wolf. Not just any wolf. A silver wolf. Its coat shimmered like molten starlight, each hair catching the light just right. She sat tall and elegant, like she’d been waiting for me all this time. Her eyes were clear and sharp but warm. Warmth I hadn’t felt in years.

I blinked slowly, sure I was hallucinating. Maybe I’d finally cracked. Maybe I was dead.

“Am I dreaming?” I croaked, my voice raw from a neck that was strangled hours earlier.

The wolf tilted its head, and then… it spoke. But not with its mouth. Its voice echoed directly into my mind, smooth and clear like water flowing over stone.

“No, Quinn. You are not dreaming.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I shuffled back until my spine hit the cold wall. My heart thudded in my chest. I’d seen things. Heard things. But this? This was different.

Her voice was calm, patient, and sure. “My name is Trinity. I have been sent by the Moon Goddess.”

I laughed. It was bitter, sharp, and wild. “Moon Goddess?” I scoffed, coughing up blood as I spoke. “If there was a god, I’d be dead by now. She would’ve granted me that mercy.”

“She has been with you this entire time,” Trinity replied, her golden eyes unblinking. “She has wept at your suffering, and though you cannot see it, she has guided you to this moment.”

“Guided me to this?” I gestured to my broken, battered body. “Yeah, thanks for that. Real thoughtful of her.”

“These were your trials, Quinn. Every scar, every scream, every tear—they were all part of the test.”

“A test for what?” I hissed, my fingers curling into fists. “To see how much I could take before I snapped?”

“No,” Trinity said softly. “To see how much you could endure and still rise.”

Her words hit me harder than any blow ever had. I stared at her, my throat tight. Rise. Not break. Rise.

I shook my head, letting out a shaky breath. “So what now?” I asked, wiping the blood from my mouth. “What’s the point of all this?”

“You were born a Guardian, Quinn. You were never meant to be a wolf, but the Moon Goddess has seen your heart and chosen you for more. I have been sent as her gift to you.”

“Gift?” I spat. “What kind of gift?”

Her golden eyes softened, and she stepped forward, her paws making no sound on the stone. “I am your wolf, Quinn.”

I went still.

“As the echo turned you, you have a shadow of a wolf inside you, a dark, broken mongrel that doesn’t have a soul to call its own. I am here to give it one. To give you one.”

I shook my head slowly. “You want me to accept you… as my wolf?”

“Yes.”

Silence fell between us, heavy and suffocating. I stared at her, searching for the trick, the lie. But there was none.

“You’re serious,” I whispered.

“Deadly serious,” she replied, her voice hard as steel. “And you will need me, Quinn. The Echo has plans far beyond what you know. He’s rallying the packs, and once he’s done, he will kill every Alpha, one by one, until every wolf swears fealty to him.”

Her eyes flickered like distant stars. “And Luca will be the first to die.”

My breath hitched. I hated him. No, I didn’t hate him. But the thought of him dying twisted something in my chest.

“Luca…” I breathed, my eyes burning.

“He is still your mate,” Trinity said gently. “That bond was never truly broken. You were always destined to be mates. My wolf and his are bound as well.”

I shook my head, biting back a bitter laugh. “You expect me to believe that? He never even saved me.”

“Luca searched for you day and night for years. The moon goddess sometimes even gave him signs to point him in the right direction, but Cale intercepted every time. When your parents passed, he gave them a massive funeral and buried them in beautiful marble stone in his family’s graveyard. He also kept your home restored so you had a home to get back to. Believe it or don’t, it doesn’t change the truth.” Trinity’s gaze bore into mine. “But if you want to save him, if you want to stop the Echo, then you’ll need me.”

I dropped my head back against the wall, closing my eyes. I thought about every scar on my body, every drop of blood I’d spilled. I thought about Luca, about everything Trinity just said that he did for me. He loved me all this time, and I doubted him. Now all I wanted was to touch his lips once more. Just once more before this new challenging journey began. But once this is over, I will try to learn to love him again. I just wouldn’t know how.

“You will open your heart again, Quinn. I promise,” Trinity assured me.

“Alright,” I said quietly, opening my eyes. “I accept you, Trinity.”

Her golden eyes brightened with a fire I’d never seen before. She surged forward, a blur of silver light.

I expected pain. I expected it to hurt, but it didn’t.

Warmth flooded me, surging through every vein, every nerve. My heartbeat grew louder and stronger, and then I felt it—her—settling into every corner of my mind. Our minds were one. Our souls were one. My eyes flew open, and the world around me glowed with an icy blue light. I could feel everything. Every vibration in the stone. Every shift in the air.

“They’re coming,” Trinity whispered in my mind. “Pretend to sleep.”

I slumped, letting my body go limp just as the cell door creaked open. Heavy footsteps echoed off the stone walls. I felt their rough hands grip my arms, dragging me across the floor.

When they tossed me into the room with him, I didn’t flinch.

Cale. The man who thought he’d broken me.

He grinned as he stepped forward, his eyes raking over me like I was something he owned. “Well, well,” he sneered. “I think you’ve had your fair share of beatings. Do you still want to be my Luna?”

I stood slowly, head high, chin lifted. Every inch of me screamed defiance.

I smiled.

“I want to be your perfect Luna,” I said, my voice clear and steady. “In every way.”

His grin faltered. His eyes flickered with something—suspicion, maybe. He knew something had changed. He just didn’t know what.

But he would.

Oh, he would.