Inevitably Yours

QUINN

Even with Michael beside me, it took me forever to get to sleep the night before the Founder’s Day celebration. His soft snoring and touch were comforting, but I still couldn’t shake the nerves. I’d been acting as Luna for over a year. But this would be the first time since our Alpha and Luna ceremony that I would be in front of the whole pack again. As much as M told me the Goddess made me to be his Luna, I knew everyone didn’t agree. Unfortunately, that included my family.

After a few hours of restless sleep, I heard our alarm go off from M’s nightstand. He slapped a heavy hand down on it to snooze for five minutes and pulled me to him tighter, enveloping me in his warmth.

“Today is going to be fine, baby,” he grumbled into my hair. His voice was a deeper rasp than usual since he wasn’t fully awake yet. “I can feel how worried you are. It’s going to go well, even if they show up.”

His reassurance made me feel fractionally better, but he refused to let it go. He could still feel how uneasy I was, and it wasn’t long before I felt his teeth clamp down on my mark, making me cry out in surprise.

“It looks like it’ll take a little extra work to make my Luna feel better this morning,” he said, his mouth only an inch or so from my ear. Every fiber of my being felt the shiver that ran down my spine, and then it wasn’t long until I forgot my name, let alone that I was Luna.

–

It felt odd leading the parade procession from the front instead of playing in it. The state of the pack was significantly improved from when Lawrence was Alpha, and it was evident as we walked through the streets. The pack had come out in droves, and I was constantly waving to smiling faces along the parade route. You couldn’t see the ground with how many people came out from the entire combined pack. It was heartwarming to see after not only canceled Founder’s Day celebrations in the past but how much they dwindled before that. No one was happy to live under an Alpha who was crushing their daily lives, and it was clear they were thriving now that he was gone.

“Adi, no!” Andrea exclaimed from beside me. I turned to see Adi hop over a parade barricade, duck around multiple warriors, and beeline for Michael, who was walking on my other side, leading the procession with me.

She jogged backward in front of him, her eyes wide and adorable as she begged, “Mr. Alpha Michael, sir, can I PLEASE walk with you?”

Michael scooped her up in his arms and didn’t miss a beat as he kept walking, “I would be happy to let one of my best warriors escort us to the picnic. It could be dangerous, and I might need your help protecting Ms. Luna.” She giggled at what he said, even though his tone was serious. “That’s only if your mom thinks you’re ready, though. I might be your Alpha, but your mamma will always outrank me when it comes to you.”

He looked across me at Andrea, who couldn’t help but smile and nod with a look of exasperation at her spawn. Adi was an adorable handful. With all the affirmation he needed, Michael lifted Adi over his head and onto his shoulders, “Okay, you’re the highest in the parade now. I need you to be my lookout. It’s a very important job that I only trust you to do, Adi.”

Her expression changed from excitement to serious business as she perked up and started looking at everyone around us like they were suspicious.

“If that man doesn’t put a pup in us soon, I’m going to do it for him,” Sapphire cooed as we watched M handle Adi like his own.

“Sapphire!” I tried to scold her as she shamelessly submissively groveled and whined from her back in my head.

“Don’t pretend you weren’t thinking it too,” she shot back, not letting me pretend similar thoughts weren’t going through my mind already. I wanted to drag M away right then, despite what had already happened before we left for the parade. The desire for him to put a pup in me was getting worse by the day.

“Thinking about earlier?” Michael teased me through our link. My cheeks had to be flaming because I didn’t realize I was wet enough for him to smell it. I hoped no one else would notice.

“Something like that,” I admitted, not wanting to tell him fully what was on my mind quite yet. We were so busy that it wasn’t fair to put another thing on his plate, even if I wanted it dearly. It could wait.

He reached down and pulled my hand into his as we neared the end of the parade and saw the packhouse coming into view.

We’d put out to the pack that this year’s picnic would be a potluck. We could never have guessed how successful it would be with no frame of reference for our first Founder’s Day. A local Masonic lodge offered to sponsor brisket and pulled pork for the day, so the pack paid for drinks, with pack members bringing endless sides. It was a generous offer that Michael happily agreed to. We didn’t know much about them other than their members were well respected, and M seemed curious to find out more about them. Their secretary Marshall was easy to work with, and as he was also their lodge historian, he knew way more about the history of Stary than it seemed even Melvin did.

The parade stopped behind us, the marching band ending the parade portion of the day with the pack’s song as we stepped up on stage with them behind us. There were so many smiles from wolves of all ages that I already felt better about the day, family or not. That’s when I caught my Uncle George’s face in the crowd, and he waved to me. Michael nodded to him with a smile, getting one in return, and for a moment, I felt like at least my family wasn’t completely gone. M was sad his Aunt Shelley couldn’t come, but he understood. She devoutly followed the religion Lawrence was excommunicated from, and the Founder’s Day celebration was basically a birthday. She couldn’t participate in those. I knew people had different ways of worshipping the Goddess, so we just tried to be respectful of her wishes.

As the pack song died down from behind us, Michael stepped up to the microphone already set up for him. On stage with us was Nic as always, Andrea who was always by my side lately, Adi now standing next to me fidgeting nervously as if she hadn’t thought through getting on stage in front of everyone, and Jacqueline, who was surprisingly calm as if she’d always been a member of Stary. We’d asked Melvin to come, but he wasn’t comfortable standing with us in front of the crowd.

“Happy Founder’s Day, Stary Pack!” Michael’s voice boomed over the crowd. They cheered loud enough to give me a headache, but that was okay. Today was a day for a noisy celebration of what the pack had accomplished together. “Did you enjoy our first parade in several years?”

Cries of affirmation followed, and he waited for them to die down, “As Alpha, I cannot tell you how honored I am that all of you chose to not only support this day today but support the rebuilding of our pack to give us a reason to celebrate! This took something from all of you, and I think you all deserve a hand.” Michael led them through a round of applause for themselves, smiling warmly out at the crowd. I watched him in admiration; he was so good even with an overwhelming number of people around. “On top of the pack’s willingness to pull together, we have a few standout wolves I want to recognize today in front of the whole pack. Their leadership and bravery have been indispensable to ensuring our success, and they deserve for that to be acknowledged. Beta Nicole, if you would please step forward?”

I took the box left on stage for us by Narvi and opened it to pull out the additional pins Michael had him make along with the Galbraith tartan, like the one he’d given me. I handed him a pin and tartan for Nic and stepped back as he addressed her and the crowd together. Narvi had refused payment for everything Michael had him make. He said it was his pleasure to craft these gifts for his new pack and told us how much he appreciated the new shop Michael had given him. It was the only reason Michael moved on the coins so quickly; he’d intended to commission my sai and wait until we were in a financially better place to order the rest. When it came to my sai, Narvi winked at me and told me he couldn’t imagine charging his new Luna for anything and asked me to accept them as a gift to me for allowing him to join our pack.

“For my oldest friend in the world, I wrap you in the tartan of Clan Galbraith to symbolize that you are one of the most important people both in my life and this pack. I fasten it with the new emblem of Stary Pack to symbolize your position as Beta and as mine and Luna Quinn’s right hand. You have fought bravely to free this pack from oppression and fiercely protected its members since. We all owe you a great debt.”

I could see tears in her eyes as Michael shook her hand and stepped back for the pack to blast her with thunderous applause and cheers from all over, especially from the little warriors class who adored her. They loved the lessons she joined Michael in leading because they always ended in dance parties.

Michael continued, “For those that haven’t seen the new Stary emblem yet, a student from Stary High was suggested by our local art teacher to paint it as a mural on the side of the packhouse, and I’m happy to unveil that today.”

As he raised his hand to draw everyone’s attention to it, a drop cloth was released from the largest wall of the packhouse, and our new emblem came into view. It was at least twenty feet tall and displayed over a starry night sky. The student who painted it stood proudly in front of his work, covered in paint, with a tired smile as everyone appreciated what he’d accomplished. He had just finished it this morning before the parade, but it turned out wonderfully.

“As a sign of unity between our new and old members and in recognition of her commitment to keeping our pack safe while running the newly combined warrior patrol units, I name Jacqueline Castillo Delta of Stary Pack. Please step forward to receive your tartan and the pack emblem,” Michael called out next once he had their attention back from the mural. She graciously accepted, shaking M’s hand excitedly before stepping next to Nic.

“Last but certainly not least, I want to recognize a woman who has not only become a friend and trusted warrior but has also proven herself in battle. Even after being pulled out of her bed in the middle of the night by rogues, Andrea showed that she would always fight those who wished to harm us. Since then, Andrea has become Luna Quinn’s personal guard and fulfilled that role with honor and integrity. Andrea Bader, I name you Gamma of Stary Pack. As Gamma, I officially appoint you head of the Luna’s guard. Please step forward.” M pinned Andrea as Adi looked at her mom with shock and adoration as if she forgot her mom was a real person on her own and not just “mom”.

“As you can all see, we have a young visitor up here with us today,” Michael told the crowd with a playful smile. “I would like to recognize a standout young woman who not only brings life and joy to our little warrior program that we just wouldn’t have without her; she is the youngest person in this pack to risk her life defending it.”

A hush fell over the little warrior group, mostly standing together. They’d been arguing since Adi told them what happened if she’d really helped or not.

“I am reviving an old tradition where this pack bestowed upon its warriors a coin to take with them to use if they ever got into trouble or needed help.”

Michael explained the coin, the symbology, what it was for, and how we decided to give them to all pack members instead of only the warriors as our pack had done in the past.

“That includes those in the pack who may not be my biggest fan,” Michael joked. He must have seen my parents walk up because he was looking in their discretion as he said it. I felt a weight drop on my chest that persisted throughout his speech. “These will be provided to every pack member when they come of age, but I couldn’t think of a better wolf to give it to than the little girl I watched fight an adult rogue, injure him, and give Beta Nic time to save her, all with no fear. Adi, I bestow upon you the first Stary coin, far before you come of age, as a sign of my respect for your warrior spirit.”

Adi’s smile probably could have cured human cancer at that moment. She took the coin from Michael and then launched herself at him for a massive hug as the crowd awed in the background.

“That’s enough of me talking, I think,” Michael proclaimed, setting her down so she could rush to her mom. “Please, everyone, eat, have fun, and enjoy today. You all deserve it.”

He slipped his hand in mine as he led me off the stage, and that’s when I saw my parents and my little brother walking towards us. My stomach twisted in knots, not knowing what was about to happen. M squared his shoulders, standing a little taller as we moved toward them.

“Quinn, you looked so good up there,” my mom smiled. My brother was staring down at his cell phone. In a few weeks’ time, he would be a Sophomore in high school, but he still seemed like a brat. My dad and Michael stared each other down.

“Um, thanks. I think everything went pretty well,” I muttered. I leaned toward Michael fractionally.

“The pack is really turning around,” my mom said. My dad nodded his head slightly.

“We appreciate you coming today,” Michael said, his voice colder than it was during his speech. “I hope that you enjoy the rest of the celebration. If you’ll excuse us, we have a few things to attend to.”

Michael stepped around my family, gripping my hand so I would follow. When we were well away from them, I breathed out shakily. “That could have gone worse,” Michael murmured, kissing the side of my face as we headed around the side of the packhouse to a secluded spot.

“Yea, it could have,” I agreed. Michael stopped, pressing me against the wall. His forearm leaned against the side of the packhouse above my head, caging me between him and the wall. He looked down at me with his mischievous smile. There was a familiar hum in the air even being away from the crowd.

“The last time we stood here, you asked me why we’re here,” he rumbled in a low voice.

“Why are we here, then, Alpha?” I smiled. His eyes went to my lips, and something excited ignited in me.

“Because Quinn. You’re my mate, and I’ve wanted to do this all morning,” he said as his lips came down for a hungry k**s.

–

MICHAEL

As soon as the pack finished celebrating, I felt like a kid again as I took Quinn shopping for school books. It was a few days after the Founder’s Day ceremony, and I felt like we were in high school all over, with class starting soon. After talking about it with Quinn, I decided to take a half course load at the same college as she took a full course load. We thought it would be a good idea to get some base in business to help run the pack and our budding training business. So, I chose business management while Quinn opted for accounting. I knew she would do well with whatever she decided, but numbers were right up her alley. It meant that we would take a bunch of the same degree-specific classes in the business department before we split into management and accounting courses. I was a bit apprehensive, but I knew Quinn would help me where I needed it if school interfered with anything, and I would do the same for her. We also had a whole team of freshly appointed wolves to lean on.

My favorite part of the process so far was sitting in our advisor’s office as she called the head of the math department to get permission for Quinn to take calculus as an elective. After a long pause and checking her academic credentials, his only question was an exasperated, “Why?” She did get permission, but he couldn’t wrap his head over a Freshman wanting to take Junior level calculus for fun when she didn’t need it for her degree.

As we milled around the shelves, we finally found all of our books. We’d taken two of the same classes to cut down on buying books and to be able to work together if we needed to. I was excited to be in class with Quinn for the first time, even if it was virtual for now. We’d never gotten to have that experience together. Still, I couldn’t believe how much all the books cost even with us sharing, so I was determined to figure out how to cut us out of that scam for the following semester.

Quinn was happy as ever, entirely in her element, as she looked through college hoodies to commemorate our first year.

After checking out, we ended up with our books and matching school shirts and hoodies. We loaded everything in the back of the car, and I walked around to open her door before getting in beside her.

“Are you ready?” she asked, her eyes wide and excited, looking up at me.

I leaned down and kissed her, getting a small m**n of approval from her before I answered, “I’m ready to go anywhere with you, love.”