Inevitably Yours

QUINN

After we got the furniture and most of the boxes loaded into the truck, Michael took Nic’s car to look for his brother. We stayed with Claire to help finish moving everything. While we waited to hear from M, we ordered some pizzas to feed the starving children.

When Michael came back, he brought Tyler and a friend with him, and he looked very unhappy. We helped him load the rest of Tyler’s things into his friend’s car without much discussion. Claire seemed to be trying to hold back her disappointment, but we all could tell.

Finally, it was time to head back to Stary. It was approaching dinner time, so Claire was going to stay in a hotel near her new place. By the time we got there, it would be too late to get everything in and unpacked enough for her. Claire rode with Nic and Taylor while I took the kids with me. After a day of physical labor, they were pretty tired. Michael drove the moving truck himself, but I could feel his simmering anger.

“What happened with Tyler?” I linked him as we drove back.

“He’s an ungrateful s**t,” Michael returned.

“Whatever was said pissed you off,” I commented.

“I know I was pretty mad at her for a while, but Tyler was protected from Lawrence his whole life between my mom and me shielding him. Now, he’s acting like she handed Lawrence a whip. I still don’t entirely understand all the choices my mom made, but I can accept that she was in an impossible situation. Blaming her and acting like she owes us isn’t going to help anyone move on. Lawrence is gone, and my mom is trying to heal. Guilting her over a decade later is just childish,” Michael ranted.

I had been frustrated with Tyler before we began packing Claire’s things into the truck, but now I understood M’s anger. A mixture of frustration and disappointment filled my veins.“What the hell happened when you went to get him?” I asked.

“I know it’s misuse, but I had his phone pinged. I found him at his buddy’s house, sitting on his a*s. He was playing video games. He thought she wouldn’t actually leave,” Michael answered.

I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe how immature Tyler was being. My brother had been similar for the first years out of high school. He messed around and took my parents for granted. Eventually, he started to grow up and stopped letting everyone else clean up his problems.

“What did you say to him?” I asked.

“We fought. Then I told him if he was adamant about moving to another country, he needed to buck up and do it. I also told him if he wasn’t going to move past Lawrence and everything else, he wasn’t welcome in the packhouse or with Mom anymore. I’m not going to be his safety net if he isn’t going to act his age,” Michael growled.

“That’s fair,” I agreed. “I just want to say we shouldn’t let him be a rogue if it came to it.”

Michael was quiet for a second. I knew he was fighting with himself. “No, I wouldn’t let him be a rogue.”

“But we also wouldn’t have to let his s**t slide,” I added.

“I think he made my mom cry….” Michael said. “I don’t get how he can be so self-absorbed not to see that she’s trying.” Claire had really come a long way. I no longer felt like she held judgment over me or how I acted as Luna. She called and texted me regularly to see how we were doing or what M was up to. She joined us for most holidays, with or without Tyler. She even seemed to have a decent relationship with Melvin after all that happened. Moving back to Stary, or at least right outside of it, was a huge step considering she still felt shame for everything before.

“I don’t know either,’’ I agreed. “You just need to be the best son you can be to her. Tyler is old enough to figure out his own crap.”

–

It only took us a day to get everything into Claire’s new place. We helped her unpack about half the boxes, and then the kids asked to stay the night and help her do more. She excitedly agreed.

The kids and Michael were happy to have Claire closer. It was nice to see her getting to do everyday grandmother things with the kids too. She started calling almost every night, and Michael made a point to go have lunch with her nearly every week. While she wasn’t all the way back in Stary, it was a definite improvement.

Slowly, I finished adding tattoos to Nic. She had 12 knife spots on top of her karambits. Some of them were easily hidden by regular clothes while others were not. They weren’t apparent as they were all small and simple designs, but they were definitely not normal. M also had a couple more then he asked me about doing a couple for my sai. I took a few days to think about it but ultimately decided it was worth a try.

I decided to put them on the backside of my h**s at the top of my pant line. Michael helped me get set up with a mirror so I could watch what I was doing. He even drew a star out for me.

I think Nic and Michael had lied when they said the tattoo process didn’t hurt much. Each time I poked myself, it was a small stab of pain. It wasn’t unbearable, but definitely uncomfortable.

As I finished the first one, I hoped the blue glow would waft over the lines, heal it, and take away the pain. As I added the last little dot to complete the tattoo, nothing happened. Michael had sat with me for the whole thing, and he looked just as confused. I tried to add another poke or two to see if it fixed it, but nothing happened.

“That’s weird,” M muttered, looking at it. “It looks complete. Why didn’t that blue thing happen?”

“I don’t know….” I said. “I mean, the instructions are semi-specific, but they don’t explain everything.”

Michael looked at the tattoo more closely. “I know I’m not Fae, but do you want me to try?”

“No,” I said, putting the needle down. “It kinda hurts.”

Michael got up and ran to the bathroom. He came back with a tube of ointment. “Let’s put this on it. It should help a little,” he said, sitting down next to me again. He smeared the clear goo over the tattoo. “Have you been feeling off? I just don’t know why your magic wouldn’t work.”

“Lie to me,” I said.

“I absolutely hate your chocolate and peanut butter brownies. I never want to eat them ever again, especially on my birthday,” he deadpanned. That tiny hum sounded in my head while I stifled my laugh.

“Nope, I don’t think anything is wrong,” I said. “Maybe I just can’t do it to myself.”

Michael finished gently rubbing the ointment in. I felt a little disappointed looking down at the haphazard star on my h*p. “It doesn’t look bad,” he said. “It’s cute.”

“No, it’s not entirely that. I can’t carry my weapons like you and Nic. I hate carrying a bag everywhere. Sometimes, I like to leave the house with just my phone and credit card in my pocket,” I said.

“Well, you could put them on me,” Michael offered. I looked at him, confused. “I know it wouldn’t solve the problem entirely, but at least when we are together, you would be able to access them. You don’t really leave the pack by yourself anymore, either.”

“I guess that could work,” I agreed. I didn’t think it was a bad idea, and he was right; I didn’t really leave the pack without him anymore. After being attacked, it didn’t feel safe anymore.

“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t have to, and you could try it again on yourself,” he offered.

“No, let’s put them on you,” I said. “If I put them on your butt, then I have an excuse to grab it.” I smiled at him mischievously.

“No, ma’am,” he laughed.

–

“Okay, Taylor has all the kids doing science experiments in the kitchen,” Michael said, coming into our room and pulling his tie around his neck.

“She’s so great with them,” I smiled as I pulled my dress on. “Zip me?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know. I think I like what’s underneath the dress,” Michael teased. I gave him an unimpressed look, but he reached around me and zipped up my dress anyway. “You are going to make some of the other wives jealous, though.”

“Probably not. I just hope it’s not weird. Other than your important degree thing, I haven’t been to lodge with you much. The other men might be used to having the Alpha around, but it might be different when it’s the Alpha and the Luna,” I pointed out.

I moved to the bathroom, continuing our conversation while I finished fixing my hair. I brushed out my curls with a wide comb, making them looser and softer. “Marshall and his mate won’t treat us any differently. I’m sure it will be fine. I also appreciate you coming tonight, my love,” M called from the bedroom. I loved the times when we got to dress up and go out together; I was just nervous because I didn’t really know anyone.

I pinned my hair back from my face and finished myself off with a touch of eyeliner and mascara. I wasn’t good at doing makeup and didn’t own much to begin with, so I didn’t feel the need to try. When I came out of the bathroom, Michael was adjusting his tie and jacket in the mirror. Goddess, he looked great, but I didn’t have time to ogle him; we were already running late.

I grabbed my small notebook and shoved it inside my purse. “What’s that for?” Michael asked.

“Just in case I am bored,” I told him. Not long ago, my mom had brought me a box of things from their house left when I moved out. Inside were a few of my old notebooks and a completely blank one. I spent a few hours reading through them and realized they stopped around when things turned with Jaxx. I was always writing and reading back then. The notebooks were a hybrid between a journal and an idea book with mini-stories and such. For some reason, I wanted to write about everything that was different, and I did. I couldn’t sleep that night, so I snuck out to the couch and wrote in the blank notebook. Since then, I had intermittently been doing the same.

“There will be other she-wolves to talk to,” Michael promised. “And hopefully, the meeting part will be less than an hour tonight.” Michael pulled me by my h**s, so I was flush with him. I looked up into his eye as he sweetly caressed my cheek. “You look so beautiful tonight,” he smiled.

“This is what happens when I take a good shower without interruption,” I joked.

“I didn’t hear any complaints last night,” he smirked. “In fact, it was quite the opposite.”

“We should go. We’ll be late,” I told him.

“I need something first,” he smiled, leaning in. I raised up on my toes as much as my shoe would allow and met his k**s. The sparking feeling of love danced between our mouths, warming me from the inside. “Okay, now we can go,” Michael whispered as he pulled away.

We headed downstairs and could hear cheering from the kitchen. Hoping Taylor and Nic would not blow up the kitchen for the pups’ amusement, we headed out the door. When we pulled up to Michael’s lodge, there were already a healthy number of vehicles in the parking lot.

We headed inside, walking hand in hand. The main room of the lodge was set up to be a dining room. At the far side, there was a small kitchen with a serving window. Tables were set up with serving dishes, and more stuff was being brought out. Marshall greeted us first.

“Michael, Quinn, so good to see you,” he smiled. He and Michael shook hands.

“Nice to see you too. How are you, Tatiana?” M asked Marshall’s mate.

“I’m great!” she answered. “I’m so glad you came tonight, Quinn. Wait, it’s okay to just use your name, right?”

“Yea,” I smiled at her, relaxing a little. “No Alpha or Luna tonight.”

“Let’s grab some seats,” Marshall said. “Dinner will start soon. Elections night is always busy.” We all found a table together and were joined by two other wolves and their mates. One was much older, and one was closer to our age.

Dinner was a little awkward at first, but when the mates all started making fun of the males, the tension eased. We were all laughing and telling stories by the time the bell was rung to start the meeting. Michael stood to leave. “You all good?” he linked me.

“Yea, have fun,” I replied, smiling up at him. He bent to give me a sweet k**s before following Marshall and the others to the lodge room. A few of the mates came over to join our table.

“And now begins the waiting,” one of them joked. The table filled with light conversation, the other mates all spending the time catching up with each other. Only one of them had pups; a few were older and had grown pups, and the others didn’t have any yet. No one included me in conversation much, which was okay with me. After about twenty minutes, I linked Michael to see how the meeting was going.

“So, I wasn’t expecting this but would you be alright if I held an officer position this year?” he asked in reply.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I would have responsibilities to help run the lodge just like we do running the pack, but smaller scale,” he said.

“I don’t see why not,” I told him.

“I’ll explain what is happening later. I love you,” he said before putting up his block. I looked around the table at the other mates, who didn’t seem concerned with anything going on in the meeting. I pulled out my notebook and pen, perfectly content to fade into the background. It was nice not having people eager for my attention for a moment.

When we got home, the kids eagerly told us about their night with Taylor. I was relieved that none of them lost eyebrows and nothing in the kitchen was too messy. After we got all the kids down to bed, I finally got to take off the dress.

Michael explained what he could about how he got voted into an officer position for the year. I sat on the bed and listened to him relay a very dramatic night. He finally relaxed into bed with me, and I cuddled into his arms. “I don’t think I tell you enough how much I appreciate you,” he said, nibbling at my ear. I could feel warmth blooming in my face.

“I’m just a good mate,” I told him.

“No matter what I want to do, you always support me and find a way to make it happen. The other she-wolves might seem endlessly supportive, but according to the guys at the lodge, that’s not necessarily true,” M continued. I wiggled against him, pushing myself further into his arms.

“Well, I may be biased, but I think I have the best mate in the pack,” I told him.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“You’re my moon, Quinn,” he whispered.

“And you’re my stars.”