Fate Stained - Part Two

She was absolutely perfect. From her ten tiny little toes, to her ten teeny little fingers, to the lush dark curls on the top of her head. Claudia was perfect and she was mine.

But Claudia wasn’t the only perfect creature in this room. My mate, her brow still damp with sweat and her body still shaking as the adrenaline of giving birth slowly left her - was simply perfect in every way too and I was in more awe of her now than I’d ever been. To think I was so close to missing it all, if I’d only arrived home minutes later than I did then I would have missed the birth of my daughter.

“Quinn, do you mind if we take Claudia just over there to weigh her and check her over? I’ll bring her straight back”

Quinn nodded her head at Moira’s request and lifted her hands off the sweet little bundle so the wolf doctor could scoop her up.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, wiping my mate’s forehead with a damp cloth.

Quinn looked up at me and sighed, her blue eyes glassy and her exhaustion obvious.

“I’m feeling good. Just tired. How are you?”

“I’m the happiest man in the world. Did you see that little cherub? How could I not be”

I lent down and placed a kiss on Quinn’s dry lips and she shuffled her weight slightly so she was sitting more upright.

“No, I mean…how are you physically? Did you fight? Where is everyone?”

As if the stress of giving birth had just started to wear off, Quinn’s eyes darted around the room as if she was looking for someone.

“Where’s Flynn?” She asked quickly, looking back at me.

“I imagine by now he is at the Point Invictus compound. That was the plan anyway”

Quinn’s brow furrowed and she sat up a little bit more.

“The plan? I don’t understand”

“Your brother is the new Alpha of the Point Invictus pack. He and Kyanite, along with the panther warriors and the Point Invictus fighters, decided to go straight to the compound as there is still one of Fern’s brothers remaining. If he challenges Flynn then they will fight…otherwise, your brother just got himself a whole new family”

“I don’t believe it” Quinn breathed, “I mean, I do believe it…I knew in my heart he’d be alright…but still. Is he ok? Was he badly hurt”

The only injury Flynn had actually sustained was a broken leg from Rhys’s bite, but that healed within seconds of him letting go. Brandon’s death had been swift and I doubted Fern’s brother felt any pain himself as the golden beast snapped his neck effortlessly before he even managed to make contact.

“Your brother was fine - more than fine - the last time I saw him. He heals just as quickly as you do. You would have been proud Quinn. He fights like you too. He has the exact same agility and power”

My mate smiled, her pearly whites lighting up the room. Fuck I was lucky. For the Goddess to fate me to such an incredible force of nature, I must have done something right in a past life, thats for sure.

“And what about Darius?” She asked.

“Well, according to Meadow, Darius has no intention of attacking Fern Creek anytime soon. It seems he received your message loud and clear”

I reached for Quinn’s hand as she broke eye contact with me and noted the way her jaw tensed and her face fell.

“I know you feel horrible about what happened to those Yo-Na warriors, but you did what needed to be done - wether it was intentional or not. What you did in that forest ensured the safety of our daughter and our pack, that’s nothing to be ashamed of”

Quinn sighed and nodded her head slowly but whatever tension she held quickly vanished as Moira return with Claudia.

“How about we get you off this floor and at least up on the bed” the wolf doctor stated, “Your legs might be a bit shaky, so just take it slow”

I helped Quinn to her feet, not that she really appeared to need it, and handed her a silk robe to wrap herself in. The whole time Quinn moved and got herself dressed, her eyes didn’t leave our baby - not even for a second. We sat down on the side of the bed and Moira went to pass Claudia, who was now wrapped up in a soft pink blanket, to Quinn.

“Do you want to have a hold?”

I looked down at my daughter. She was fast asleep, her long lashes fanned softly over her cheeks and her perfect lips pursed into the most adorable pout I’d ever seen.

“Yes” was the only word I could muster as Moira moved to me and placed the snuggly wrapped bundle into my awaiting arms.

Staring down at Claudia, I felt as though everyone else is the room disappeared. I forgot how to breathe, I forgot how to think, I forgot how to do anything apart from gaze at the little angel that I’d been blessed with.

“We made that” Quinn whispered, tugging down the bunny rug gently as it crept up over Claudia’s chin, “You and me…we made her”

I chuckled as Claudia scrunched her face up and grunted. She was a perfect mix of both of us. Quinn’s perfect nose and full lips and my thick, dark hair, lashes and the same shaped eyes.

“We really did” I whispered in return.

Flynn POV

My arrival at the Point Invictus compound hadn’t been received as badly as I thought it would have been.

The wolves already knew of the loss of their Alpha and his two sons, they’d felt the bonds break and they’d mourned their deaths. I’d been prepared to be greeted with hate and hostility. I’d pictured a grieving Luna and a furious son. I’d imagined angered fighters and terrified civilians; but instead of a pack full of wolves that hated me and resented their new Alpha, I found a pack that welcomed me into the compound with no anger but only a understandable level of wariness and apprehension.

As it turned out, the Luna and her youngest son had deserted their pack only minutes after they’d felt Brandon’s bond break. They knew our arrival was imminent and instead of accepting me as their new Alpha or challenging me to the title - they’d chosen a life of being rogues and outcasts instead.

I stood before the gathering of wolves that was slowly building as word got out of my arrival.

“Would you look at the women” Kyanite muttered next to me, “They look fucking terrified”

Taking a step forward, I raised my hand and silence fell throughout the compound.

“My name is Flynn and I am your new Alpha. I’m a fair and honest man and also the brother of the Shifter Queen. I, myself, am a tribrid-warlock and I promise this pack will greatly benefit from my strengths and abilities. Regardless of the way this pack used to run, men and women will now be treated as equals…no arguments. Any questions?”

Hushed whispers filled the space around me but no one spoke up. Clearly there were questions, and I imagined a lot of them, but no one seemed to want to ask them out loud.

“You!” Kyanite yelled, pointing to a male that spoke over his shoulder to a woman next to him, “If you have something to say…then say it so your Alpha can hear”

The wolf’s jaw tensed and he straightened his shoulders as he stared back at the panther Prince.

“I was just wondering why you chose Point Invictus” he muttered, turning his attention to me, ‘What makes you think you will be a better Alpha than our last?”

“Your last Alpha, not that he even deserved the title, was a chauvinistic bastard and an absolute monster. His daughter, Fern, is my fated mate and I want nothing more than for her to take her rightful place as leader of this pack”

“A female can’t be a leader of a wolf pack!” Another wolf called out, “An Alpha rules the pack, not a Luna!”

“That’s not right” I corrected, “A Luna is as important, if not more so, to a pack as the Alpha. Your Luna, Fern, is a leader through and through…she even possesses the Alpha gene”

I watched as a few of the female wolves gasped and looked at each other, a glimmer of hope and pride in their eyes. It was clear that this pack had been run with the males at the top of the food chain, they didn't know any different. But that was all about to change.

“Things are going to be different around here…and for the better. If any of you don’t want to be a part of that then you can leave now and live as rogues. But don’t come crawling back to me when you realise your mistake…because I will not be accepting you back”

More hushed voices followed my speech but no one made a move for the gates. One person, though, did make a move. An elderly female took a step forward and broke away from the rest of the pack. The woman had hair as white as snow and lines in her face that made me want to sit down with her and hear all the stories that I knew she would have to tell.

All whispering and muttering stopped and all eyes fell on the she-wolf.

“My name is Anne” she announced. The woman shuffled on her feet then, staggering everyone around her, gingerly took to one knee before me. “This pack has been beaten, bruised and traumatised by tyrants for too long. I’ve seen generations of women become shells of their former selves and grow up to believe they are nothing more than breeding stock. I, for one, am glad to see Point Invictus take on new leadership…and if one of our own women is going to be a part of that then all the better. I am at your service, Alpha Flynn”

Before I could answer Anne, or assist her to her feet, another woman stepped forward, taking a knee next to her elder.

“My name is Veronica. I am also at your service”

“As am I” another female voice put forth.

“And me!”

One after the other, she-wolf after she-wolf took to their knees. Then, when not a single female was left standing, their men took to their knees too.

“I would call that a successful take over” Kyanite chuckled, patting me softly on the back, “I’ll leave you to it”

I reached out, grabbing Kyan’s arm as he turned to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

“Home”

“To Fern Creek?”

The panther Prince raised his brow and I knew Fern Creek wasn’t what he meant at all.

“She doesn’t need me anymore and I don’t need her”

“What if I need you?”

With a laugh and a shake of his head, Kyanite squeezed my shoulder and sighed.

“No, you don’t. Look—” he said, his eyes combing the kneeling wolves that surrounded us, “—this was all you. You don’t need anyone except that mate of yours. You’re the Alpha they’ve been waiting for. And I’ve got a Kingdom to run anyway”

I knew there was nothing left for Kyanite at Fern Creek, but apart from my sister, he’d been the first friend I’d ever had. And in our short lived friendship, we’d been through a lot…I’d been through a lot.

“Don’t be a stranger” I said, extending my hand to the panther.

Kyanite grabbed it, shaking it firmly.

“Same goes for you brother”