Inevitably Yours

MICHAEL

Quinn gave me an updated list of all the outstanding loans we had. I was a few months shy of the anniversary of becoming Alpha, and we had barely made a dent. With a sigh, I shoved the folder to the side and opened the one Jacqueline delivered with the summarized patrol reports from the prior evening. Just as I started skimming them, the packhouse phone rang. I always tried to answer it when I was in the packhouse, so Quinn didn’t have to stop her day to deal with it; it was usually someone looking for me anyway.

“Alpha Galbraith speaking,” I answered.

“Alpha, glad to catch you. Your Beta told me yesterday that you are in your office for a short time each morning before attending to other things,” the caller said.

“She was correct. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but who is this?” I asked. Nic hadn’t mentioned anyone calling for me, and either had Quinn.

“My apologies. My name is Hunter Dawn, and I am Alpha of Towering Timbers Pack,” he answered.

“Well, it’s nice to speak with you, Alpha. Can I ask what you were wanting? I have 45 small pups needing my attention here soon,” I said, trying to get to the point. The little warriors were getting a chance to spar one on one with me for the opportunity to graduate to weapons training. None of them were ready, but it was still important for them to try. Quinn was going to be standing by with snacks and Luna hugs.

“I guess I will be candid. You seem like a pretty straightforward guy. Word has spread of the changes happening in Stary and your challenge with the late Alpha Wilkes. I have to say; the rumors have me intrigued,” he said.

“One should be careful not to believe everything they hear,” I said carefully. I knew rumor mills could be a devastating force. I hadn’t paid much attention to the perception of me from outside the pack; I was too focused on everyone’s perception of Quinn and I from within the pack.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I have a proposition. I would like to come see just how valid those rumors are, and if they hold true, I would like to employ your services,” Hunter said.

“Employ my services?” I questioned.

“I hear you are an expert when it comes to all forms of fighting. Knowing the Alpha line you come from, it doesn’t much surprise me. Your pack has always had a well-rounded warrior force, and I’ve even heard the rumors of wolves with weapons. I have been Alpha for a handful of years now, but I find my pack lacking in adequate defensive training. I want to rectify that, and I have a budget to do so,” he explained.

“Oh,” I responded. I hadn’t ever thought about my skill set being marketable. It was how my family operated from everything my father taught me. The Alpha needed to be the strongest warrior in the pack to inspire everyone to follow him, knowing he could protect them.

“You can take some time to think about it, discuss it with your mate. I think we could have a very cooperative relationship if you were willing to share your talents. I am also prepared to compensate you more than fairly for your time and efforts,” he said carefully. I could hear it in his tone.

“Would you be making this offer based on other rumors about my pack?” I asked pointedly.

“I have a few other Alpha friends. Lunas like to form their own little she-wolf clubs and sometimes discuss more sensitive matters,” he said. “I pass no judgment on things I have no reference for. I promise you.”

Irritation rose inside me. I knew it would happen, but I had hoped to avoid too much embarrassment within the werewolf populace. “I will speak with my mate and reach out to you, Alpha Hunter. I appreciate your call.”

“I do hope I hear from you soon. I am very interested in working with you, Alpha,” he said. “Good luck with those pups.”

I hung up the phone and stared at it in my hands. I was conflicted about what had just transpired. There was an opportunity lying at my feet to earn some money to help us. I wouldn’t even know where to begin with how much would be fair for my time, though. That would require consideration as my time would be taken away from the pack. We had the joining ceremony set to accompany the Founder’s Day festivities. I had plans to add to my leadership, but only time would tell.

“Alpha, Alpha, Alpha!” a small voice cheered from my doorway. I looked over to see Adi bouncing on her heels. “Look, I got an A on my book report!” She held her paper with a large red A- written in the corner.

“Adi!” I heard Andrea call from down the hall. I laughed, beckoning her over. She jumped and ran around the desk, waving the paper at me.

“Excellent, Adi,” I said as she presented it to me. I held my hand up for a high five, and she smacked it enthusiastically.

“There you are!” Andrea said, stopping in the doorway. “Adi, the Alpha is very busy!”

“But Luna said I could show him my book report!” she whined.

“It’s okay, Andrea, really,” I laughed. I picked her up and set her on my knee. “She can hang out with me until it’s time for class. I am sure I have at least one challenger tonight.”

“Oh, I’m taking you down tonight! I already told Luna to have the band-aids ready,” Adi smiled devilishly. Andrea and I both laughed.

“Are you sure, Alpha?” Andrea asked. “I was with Beta when she got off the bus. She got to the packhouse quicker than I thought she would.”

“That’s cause I’m fast now, momma!” Adi exclaimed.

“Really, it’s fine. She can help me set up for class and do some Alpha errands,” I assured her. “Quinn might need help with all the treats she has for the little warriors. Would you mind helping her?”

“Not at all,” Andrea smiled. “Thank you, Alpha.”

Adi waved to her mom as she headed back down the hall. Then she looked at me with a serious face. “I’m taking you down today, Alpha!”

I just chuckled. “I hope you do, Adi.”

–

Quinn cuddled into, feeling extra affectionate tonight. She had been fantastic through the little warrior training. Extra pack members showed up to watch the pups challenge me, and only a couple were disappointed when they inevitably couldn’t make it through the 3-minute sparring round with me. She swooped in on each one and cheered them right up. When she wasn’t with the pups, she talked with pack members who approached her. Andrea hovered protectively by the whole time, so I wasn’t too stressed.

“Today was fun. I’m glad it didn’t discourage any of them,” I said softly, kissing the top of her head.

“You are amazing with them. Adi adores you; they all do,” she smiled. She wiggled on top of me, rubbing herself all over me.

“The pups are just easy. Their troubles are easy. Their emotions are simple, and usually, they just need some acknowledgment. Adults are a whole different story,” I sighed, squeezing her.

“Have you ever…” she started quietly but then stopped.

“Ever what?” I asked her.

“Never mind,” she said quickly. She bit my chest, distracting me.

“Ow,” I said playfully. It didn’t hurt at all; she was just cute. “So I got a call today.”

“Really? A call. So modern. Tell me more,” she joked. Her eyes came up to me playfully; I flicked her nose.

“Another Alpha called. Towering Timbers Pack. He had something he wanted to request,” I told her.

Her face grew more serious. “What did he ask for?”

“For me to train his warriors. Well, to come see me training mine and probably have me train his,” I explained. Her eyebrows rose.

“That’s out of the blue,” she said.

“I guess my defeat of not one but two Alphas now is sort of spreading rumors about us,” I told her. Quinn frowned at that.

“Little Stary Pack doesn’t need trouble,” she said. I nodded.

“We aren’t so little anymore. We more than doubled even with all those wolves I exiled from Wild Paws. I wasn’t sure how to take his offer. It worries me some, sharing our training with other packs,” I admitted.

“What was he offering in return? Surely he wasn’t just asking you to do this out of the goodness of your heart,” she reasoned.

“He mentioned compensating me fairly, but I really wasn’t sure what that meant,” I told her. Her head c****d to the side thoughtfully.

“So you could train other packs or even humans and get paid for it? Just to teach people to fight?” she clarified.

“I’d never thought about it before, but yea. Martial arts studios do it in a traditional sense, but I am sure others teach classes for modern techniques. I’m sure human laws are more complicated than ours, but there isn’t any reason they can’t fight to defend themselves, I’m sure.”

“Lots of packs have businesses that help fund them. Some have hotels or inns. Some have contracting companies. I think there is even some that own real estate in human cities. I don’t know what Stary did before, but it surely hasn’t worked for a long time. Maybe this is what we can do to help bring money into the pack. We can pay the debts and fix up the packhouse. We may need more space at some point,” Quinn went on. I let her words roll around in my head. She wasn’t wrong; we needed money, and it would be nice to establish something that could supplement the pack in the future.

“I would need to figure some things out,” I told her. “And I could only do it occasionally. I can’t just leave the pack in the wind.”

“I’ll help!” she offered happily. “Whatever you need done. I mean, I can’t lead training here, but other stuff I’m sure I could help with. Plus, we have Nic. I would love to start paying more on all these debts.”

“I wouldn’t even know what to charge. Or how to work it,” I admitted. I was excited by the idea, but this could be a huge undertaking, and I had so many responsibilities to my pack.

“Let’s research,” she smiled. “If you think this is what you want to do and you could be good at it, then let’s do it, M.”

I leaned forward and ran my nose along hers. “How did I get such a sweet, supportive mate?”

“Someone must really like you,” she laughed. “You’re my mate and husband. Why wouldn’t I support you?”

“I can teach people to defend themselves. I’ve just never gotten paid to do it,” I muttered as Quinn cuddled into my chest again. I kissed her soft blue hair as I held her close to me. Maybe I could do more.

–

“Next time, I will have to bring my mate,” Hunter panted as we headed back to the packhouse. Nic and Quinn were already back there getting ready for dinner. After about a week of doing some research on everything, we discovered that it was a very viable solution to our monetary issues. The best part was that I could dictate the working scheduling according to my availability versus any clients and students. The pricing structure was so vast and varied that Quinn and I assumed it would take some time to fine-tune that part.

We invited Hunter to our pack a week later. He spent the day with me, first observing me training with our warriors, then sat in on a short little warriors practice. Afterward, I invited him to train with Nic, Quinn, and me. Usually, Nic and I trained separately from Quinn, but she was coming along nicely. I made sure to keep our weapons out of sight for his visit; I wasn’t prepared to give away all our secrets.

“We would love to have her,” I told Hunter. Quinn and Nic left us to get dinner ready while Hunter and I had some friendly sparring with each other.

“She might be a little intimidated, though. Your mate seems so sweet and quiet. I didn’t expect her foot to come flying at my head,” he admitted.

I laughed. Quinn was getting very flexible and coordinated with her kicking. “She sneaks up on you, that’s for sure. So, did I pass your test?” I asked, getting straight to the point.

“I’m too tired to even think about everything you showed me today,” he huffed. “This sure was eye-opening.”

“I’m sure you’ll feel better after some dinner,” I said, clapping him on the back. Quinn had some chicken coming out of the oven when we walked in. My mouth watered at the garlicky aroma floating out of the kitchen. I led us into the dining room, where the small table was set for the four of us. I don’t know where she got it, but there was a grey table cloth adorning the table with little white flowers set in the center. There was already a basket of dinner rolls and a salad bowl waiting for us.

“Hope everyone is hungry,” Quinn said, coming into the room with a steaming dish of macaroni, followed by Nic with a tray of chicken breast.

Everyone took their seats, and I began adding food to my plate, passing the dishes along. “This smells fantastic,” Hunter said, serving himself some.

“I really hope you enjoy it,” Quinn smiled.

“I’m not sure how you all have so much energy after all that,” he admitted. “That was more intense than I am used to.”

“That’s just it; we’re used to it,” Nic answered him, digging into her plate. “We train every day. We can’t expect the pack to follow our lead if we don’t do just that, lead.”

Hunter began eating as we all chatted idly. We asked each other about our mates and packs, and Hunter told us about his pups. Quinn seemed to get a little glassy-eyed when he talked about them.

“Dessert, anyone?” Quinn said, popping up as we all set our forks down.

“That would be great, love,” I smiled at her. She rushed out to get dessert.

“I’m going to excuse myself, gentleman. I want to check on something before I head to bed for the night. Alpha Hunter, it was nice meeting you. I hope we are working together in the future,” Nic said, standing up too.

Once we were alone, Hunter spoke first. “I don’t know what was in that food, but wow, I feel great,” he said, flexing his neck. I just smiled. Eros and Sapphire were sure that Quinn had the ability to rejuvenate others, but it was manifesting in the manner in which she showed her love – cooking. For most meals she prepared us, I felt completely recharged and ready to train again immediately. It was like cutting your recovery time to zero.

“So, what are your thoughts?” I asked him.

“I think I would like to see what you can do with my lead warriors and go from there,” Hunter smiled.

“I’m sure I can whip them into shape,” I smiled. I just had my first client.