Fate Stained - Part Two

I knew it was time for my daily check up with Flynn, but instead of him coming to me I mind linked him to find out where he was. I was somewhat relieved to hear that he was at Moira’s clinic, just finishing up with his training.

Normally the checkups were done at the pack house but it was one of the last places I felt like going at the moment.

“Quinn, welcome. Come in” Moira smiled as she greeted me at the front door of the clinic.

I smiled in return and stepped inside. The place smelt strongly of incense and herbs and I screwed my face up at the intensity of it. My stomach turned, the little life inside me protesting the sudden assault on my senses. I’d forgotten about some of the more unpleasant side effects of pregnancy and increased sensitivity in smell was definitely one of them.

“Oh, sorry dear. Here, let me open a few windows - air this place out”

Moira walked around the clinic, opening a window in each room to vent the building out quickly.

“Thank you. I’m not interrupting am I? You and Flynn are finished for the day?”

“We sure are. Anymore chants and incantations and I’ll go insane”

I turned as Flynn walked into the room and plonked himself down on the sofa. He looked exhausted, burning the candle at both ends. It had been just over a week since the ordeal with Hades. He’d taken the whole thing pretty hard and felt guilty for his role - even though I knew there was absolutely nothing he could have done to prevent any of it from happening.

He and Fern had avoided each other like the plague and, quite frankly, Fern was laying very low with her tail firmly between her legs. I knew the temptation of the bond was eating away at Flynn though. The strength and willpower he was demonstrating, especially since having experienced his first shift, was commendable. His connection was getting better each day with Pieter and I knew it wouldn’t be too long until it was safe enough for him to see his fated mate again without the fear of doing something that he would regret.

“Progress made today?” I asked.

Flynn shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah, I think so”

“You think so?! Flynn, your progress has been amazing. I honestly think you are solid in your connection with your animals…If you want to see Fern—”

“—No! No, sorry. I’m not ready for that yet”

Moira shut her mouth, turning to me with an apologetic look on her face. I didn’t doubt what Moira was saying; if she thought Flynn was ready, then he was ready. But his fear and lack of confidence were going to be his hurdles to overcome now.

“Well it seems Fern isn’t the only one that’s not getting any” I muttered, trying to lighten the mood, “right now I feel like both of my mates are playing a game of ‘the vagina is lava’”

“Oh?” Moira mused, her tone taking on a funny edge that suggested my statement wasn’t news to her.

Flynn’s gaze turned to Moira, the two of them sharing a brief moment of eye contact before they looked back to me.

“What’s going on?” I grunted, hands on my hips, “If you two know something…”

Silence.

I knew the look of ‘Oh shit’ when I saw it - and these two had it written all over their faces.

“Flynn…”

“It’s my fault” Moira sighed.

My attention turned to her, surprised at the wolf doctor’s statement. Why the Hell would Kyan and Jayce’s lack of sexual interest in me have anything to do with her?

“Please elaborate”

“Well…as you know, your pregnancy is high risk and Jayce wanted to know what that entailed; things they should do, things they shouldn’t do…”

“You told them they shouldn’t have sex with me? Are you serious?!” I snapped.

“It wasn’t just Moira” Flynn jumped in to defend the wolf, “I agreed with her. We don’t know much about this pregnancy but what we do know is that you’ve already lost a baby once before. We shouldn’t be doing anything that could possibly jeopardise this pregnancy”

“Do you really think I would have sex if I thought it could harm the baby? I think that is a decision for me to make, not the two of you!”

“Well, we didn’t really make the decision” Moira answered, holding her hands up defensively as I shot her daggers, “All I did was tell Jayce and Kyan about possible activities that could be an issue in any high risk pregnancy and it was them who came to a mutual understanding—”

“—a mutual understanding?”

“Yes. That neither of them would sleep with you”

Red. I saw red. Rogue virtually chucking an all out hissy fit in my subconscious as she realised what this little agreement could mean.

No sex.

No sex for months!

But seriously, how fucking dare they!? I was a woman, a hot blooded woman with not one, but three animals inside me. Not to mention the array of fun pregnancy hormones that were flooding my body causing a roller coaster of not only moods, but needs.

“Well, that’s not fucking happening” I barked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Quinn. It’s their call, not just yours. It’s their right to protect that baby and if they feel this is the right way—”

My eyes narrowed on Flynn and his mouth promptly slammed shut. I didn’t need advice from anyone in regards to my sex life, especially not from my virgin twin brother that was too scared to screw his mate out of the fear of losing his mind and his control.

The one positive thing I could take out of this whole scenario, though, was that Jayce and Kyan’s apparent aversion to me had nothing to do with them not finding me sexually attractive anymore. In actual fact, this little agreement had to be killing them. Suddenly Jayce’s lack of anger towards me spending time with Kyanite all made sense. At the moment, he had nothing to worry about, he knew the Panther Prince wasn’t going to fuck me. One thing I would say about my mates - they were true to their word. Even though they hated each other, if they’d made an agreement - an understanding - then they wouldn’t break their honour; no matter how tempting it was.

Sighing, I leant back in the sofa and closed my eyes. It wasn’t long before I felt a warmth and a presence next to me and the sofa dipped slightly before a hand gripped my knee.

“I’m sorry” Flynn whispered, giving my leg a squeeze, “forgive me?”

I opened my eyes and turned my head slightly so I could see him. He gave me a sad smile, his blue eyes hopeful and breaking down any anger and animosity I might have held towards him.

“Forgive my brother for cockblocking me?” I groaned, rolling my eyes at him, “Let’s just say, you’re forgiven…but it’s not forgotten. I’ll remember this for when you and the redhead are wanting some hanky-panky”

I tapped the side of my head, letting Flynn know this was all going into my memory bank - nothing like a little sibling rivalry to break the ice and ease the tension in the room.

Jayce POV

After Quinn’s little outburst and running off to see her other mate, I’d distracted myself by going next door to meet with Cameron. A few days ago he’d sent out feelers in relation to finding out what pack Fern hailed from, and finally - today - he’d received the answer.

“Point Invictus? Are you sure?”

My Beta nodded his head and I continued skimming over the information that had come back from one of our ally packs - information that had been double checked and corroborated by Eastern Ridge, just to be sure.

“Yep. Scott was able to confirm, with zero uncertainty, that Fern is Alpha Rhys’s daughter. Her story about Rhys killing her chosen mate is also true. The girl has been honest with us, and I can understand now why she didn’t want everyone knowing what pack she was from”

Nodding my head, I placed the file back down on Cameron’s desk. The Point Invictus Pack was an old pack, their establishment date not being too far behind Fern Creek’s and Eastern Ridge’s. They’d been a well respected pack, once upon a time; but when Alpha Rhys’s father, Boris, took over as Alpha after his heirless brother was killed in a rogue uprising, there’d been a massive divide within the pack.

Half of the pack - although rumour had it that it was more like the majority of the pack - believed that the former Alpha’s daughter should have ruled temporarily as Luna until she gave birth to a son - that son then taking over as Alpha. But Boris was having none of that.

Wolf packs, since the beginning of time, had been ruled by an Alpha male. The only time a Luna ruled a pack was when it was alongside an Alpha, never on their own.

The members of the Point Invictus pack that wanted their Alpha’s daughter to rule temporarily began to slowly disappear. Some died under mysterious circumstances, some left the pack and never returned. The remaining supporters soon changed their tune and agreed that Boris was the rightful Alpha - more than likely out of fear that they might meet the same fate.

Through Chinese whispers and tales from former pack members, The Point Invictus pack’s respect and good reputation faltered. Alpha Boris made true to his reputation and proved to be a chauvinistic pig, but apparently he had absolutely nothing on his son, Rhys. Alpha Rhys ruled his pack with an iron fist and it was common knowledge that he saw women within the pack as only vessels for breeding and able bodies that could do the more demeaning jobs around the compound.

“Are they aware that Fern is with us?” I asked, turning to my Beta.

Cameron sighed and leant forward on the desk.

“Scott seemed to think that they have an idea where she is but couldn’t say with all certainty that their idea was correct. There were whispers that Alpha Rhys was sending a group of wolves to scout the location. So I guess we’ll know soon if they were on the money”

“I was hoping she would have been from a pack that already had it in for us” I muttered, tapping my fingers on the arm of my chair, “This will just add another wolf pack to the list of threats towards Quinn and another reason for the panther to think she would be safer in his kingdom instead of here with me”

“Maybe she would be”

Raising my eyes, my gaze locked with Cameron’s. My Beta didn’t look away, he knew I wouldn’t appreciate his answer but the guy was nothing if not brutally honest with me - something that was a necessity in a Beta.

“If I truly thought that, then I would have sent her there already” I stated, “But if that baby is mine, which I truly believe she is, then I can’t have her in a Kingdom full of panthers. The former King and Queen are nothing if not proud, when that baby comes out with the blood of an Alpha wolf running through her veins— I can’t protect her there Cameron - I can’t lose another child”

My Beta nodded his head and I knew I would get no argument from him. I could see in his eyes that he agreed with me and wanted to keep his Luna and future Shifter Queen as safe as I did.

“Whatever these packs and tribes throw at us, we can handle. Let’s not forget that Alpha Jayce has a reputation too”