Inevitably Yours

QUINN

Alpha Hunter seemed to really like Michael. Over the next week, they emailed each other back and forth, talking about expectations for Michael coming to Towering Timbers to train his warriors. Once M had a good idea of what he was looking for, he was able to give him realistic expectations about what he could do in terms of training and maintenance education. Hunter made M a very generous offer and even offered to provide him a room in their packhouse during his stay in Towering Timbers.

When we talked about it, I was excited about what this meant for M. He made Nic and me a list of things to take care of in his absence and prepared Jacqueline and Enrique to manage all the warriors while he was gone. Nic and I were even going to step in for the little warriors class.

A few days before he was set to leave, it finally hit me. M was going to be gone for two whole weeks. We had spent one night away from each other since being mated, and it wasn’t very good. I couldn’t imagine missing him that much every day for two whole weeks. He hadn’t left yet, and suddenly I felt lonely.

“He’s doing it to take care of you and the pack,” Sapphire reminded me.

“I hate him being so far away,” I whined. “We did our time apart. I waited four years for him to come home.”

“So two weeks won’t be too hard. If he knows you’re upset, he’ll call the whole thing off. He won’t do it, and he’ll feel worse about the pack’s money problems,” Sapphire pointed out.

She was right. If M thought I would be too sad with him gone for a second, he wouldn’t go. He would stay with me instead. I could tell he felt a little guilty for leaving the pack, but he also seemed so excited. Before bed one night, he had told me his whole plan for the two weeks of training with the eight wolves Alpha Hunter asked him to train. I had asked what sort of things he would go through, and he excitedly talked about it for hours.

I sighed. “Two weeks. I can make it through two weeks. I’m sure I’ll talk to him every day anyway,” I reasoned.

“That’s my girl,” Sapphire smiled. “We can do two weeks.”

“You were just as pouty the first time he left us,” I reminded her. She didn’t have a response for that. With a little more resolve on my end, I tried to push away the lonely feeling that accompanied the thoughts of M leaving. This was what we needed to do, and he needed me to help keep the pack going while he was gone.

I made the most of our last few days. I tried to make all M’s favorite foods and spent time with him whenever we weren’t otherwise occupied. I jumped his bones every night when it was time to crawl into bed together, ensuring he was thoroughly worn out before our heads hit the pillow.

When the morning finally came, we cuddled together in bed until the very last second. After about a hundred k****s, Nic and I waved goodbye as he pulled away from the packhouse and headed to Towering Timbers. Nic hung her arm on my shoulder.

“We’re gonna be so busy while he’s gone, we won’t even have time to miss him,” she said encouragingly.

“We’ll see,” I sighed.

“Come on. Staring at the empty driveway won’t bring him back quicker,” she said.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled immediately.

M | i love you blue

| don’t miss me too much

–

The next couple of weeks were hectic and draining. I missed Michael fiercely but only had time to dwell on it at night. Within two nights of M leaving, my insomnia returned. I fell into a pattern of sleeping for a night or two, then not for just as long. We began to have a steady stream of visitors in the packhouse between the warriors, Courtney, the little warriors, and their parents, forcing me to be awake whether I slept at night or not.

M was so busy with the warriors he was training that we only got a few minutes each night to talk. I tried just to keep him appraised of what was going on at home and not worry him with my lack of sleep or longing for him. He was enjoying his time in Towering Timbers, but I could hear the sadness in his voice. On the last night, he was buzzing with readiness to come home.

I felt it as soon as he crossed back into the pack. I was in my office paying the bills, and I could just feel him getting closer. I hurriedly finished signing checks and stuffing them into envelopes so I could get out to him. He was stepping out of the car when I opened the front door. My face hurt from the giant smile on my face. Michael opened his arms, and I sprinted at him. He didn’t even flinch as I jumped into his arms, wrapping myself around him.

“I think someone missed me more than they wanted to admit,” he laughed softly, kissing the side of my head. I rubbed my face into his neck, looking for his marking spot to nip. When I found it, I latched on, and he breathed in sharply.

“Mmm. Baby, can you wait until we get to our room for that?” he g*****d, squeezing me tighter.

“Mmm-mmm,” I hummed, not letting go.

“Quinn,” he growled low. A shiver ran through me. I was finally relaxed and happy, but I was excited and wanting. I couldn’t help but bite him and didn’t feel much like letting go. I flexed my jaw slightly, applying a tiny bit more pressure to his mark. He made a sound in his throat that made my insides twist.

He stormed inside, going right for our room. “I thought this could wait until later,” he said so only I could hear. When we got to our room, he closed the door and then went to the bed. He pulled me off and threw me on the bed. I bounced a bit on my back. “Your choice. Hard and fast or slow and sweet?” he offered, undoing his pants.

“Fast now. Slow later,” I whispered. His eyes darkened as he nodded.

–

I straightened his tie and smoothed out the lapels of his jacket as we stood backstage waiting for his introduction. “You ready, Alpha?” I asked. He gave me his usual, charming smile.

“Always, my Luna,” he replied. I reached into his jacket and pulled his talking points out to put in his hands. I wrote them on cards so he wouldn’t forget. “You always have everything,” he laughed. He leaned forward and pecked my nose.

“That’s what I am here for,” I told him. We heard his introduction and the applause to follow. “That’s your cue,” I said. He grabbed my hand, and we headed out of the curtain and to the main stage together. I stopped at the rows of chairs set up for the administrative staff and sat in the last empty chair. Michael continued to the podium.

“Good afternoon, Stary High graduating class and family and friends….” Michael began. I watched the crowd in front of him. I was in their place a year ago, so excited to have my mate and take on the world. I always imagined going to college; I was good at school and figured I would also be good at some type of office job.

After Michael’s little speech, we shook hands with all the graduates and presented their diplomas. A couple of my friends gave me hugs instead of handshakes like the wrestlers and band kids. It was odd being Luna at that moment because I wasn’t much more of an adult than they were.

It took us a while to leave the graduation ceremony, but when we were finally getting back to the packhouse, Michael had a weird look on his face. We both went to change out of our dress clothes first before I started making us dinner.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” I finally asked him. He had been watching me while I cut chicken and vegetables up for a stir fry.

“Are you upset with how things ended up? Finding out I was your mate before graduation and becoming Luna so suddenly?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” I asked him incredulously, stopping what I was doing.

“Well, it’s not like you planned your whole life to be Luna. I grew up knowing what I would be when I came of age. Granted, it all played out a little differently than I thought. But you were going to go to college and show everyone just how brilliant you are,” he said.

“Okay, I planned to go to college, but that stuff changes,” I shrugged. “I will never be upset about you coming back and finding out were mates. Ever. That is just absurd to think. I have a job now, so why do I need to go to college?”

“Do you want to go to college, though?” he pressed. I sighed and hung my head. “Be honest, baby,” he said more gently.

“Sure, it would be nice. I’m pretty sure my family thinks I’m completely wasting my life just giving everything up to be Luna. But I’m happy with you, M. Plus, how could we ever afford that? Who knows? Maybe when we pass the titles off, I can go in retirement just for giggles,” I said.

“I don’t think you’re wasting your life being Luna,” he mumbled, looking sad now.

“I don’t either!” I insisted. “It’s more work than I thought it would be. And there isn’t exactly a training manual.”

“To be fair, I barely had one,” he added. “I just want to make sure you are happy too. That teaching job was great. And now that we’ve been paid, I want to take you on a real date.”

“A date?” I smiled.

“Sorry, I’m getting off track here. Yes, date. But also, as your mate, I want you to be happy and fulfilled too,” he said, getting back to his point.

“I’m good, M,” I assured him. “All I need is you.”

–

“Baby!” Michael called cheerily as he came into the kitchen. I was plating some lunch for us as he swooped in, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

“Someone is in a good mood,” I laughed.

“Who is the most brilliant Alpha you know?” he said over my shoulder. I looked back at him.

“I only know like two, so the pool is pretty small,” I laughed. I offered him a chip, and he bit it out of my hand.

“Okay, so hear me out,” he said while chewing.

“Hearing,” I agreed.

“What if you could go to college? And you could do it almost completely from home? And we had to take out very minimal loans to do it?” he asked.

“Michael, what are you talking about?” I asked, turning around.

“Q, you could go to school like you wanted!” he smiled brightly. “I figured it all out! The human government has a grant program we qualify for, and you would only need a small amount more that we could take out deferred loans to cover. The closest college to us offers programs that step you right into four-year degrees, and a lot of the classes can be done online!”

“M, we have one ancient laptop. How am I supposed to go to school online?” I questioned.

“We would get you a computer with the school money. That’s what it’s for. But the payments would be deferred until six months after you graduate. We would have plenty of time to be ready to pay them off. Baby, you can go to school,” he insisted.

I bit my l*p, trying not to let the possibility run away in my head. “M, the pack, and you want to start training people. I mean, you have an email just this morning from another Alpha looking for some help.”

“So you maybe take a couple of classes at a time. We can figure it out. I just want to give you what you want too, sweetheart,” he said, his shoulders falling. I smiled softly as I reached up and cupped his face. His eyes were so hopeful; he really just wanted to make sure I was getting something I wanted too. I couldn’t help but think it would be nice having a degree to prove to everyone that I hadn’t given anything up.

“Okay,” I agreed. “We can look at everything together tonight. And this all depends on actually getting the grant you were talking about. And getting accepted to college.”

Michael’s face lit up with excitement. He bent down and kissed me hard. “That’s my girl.”