Inevitably Yours

QUINN

My second year of being a Luna was going much better than the first year. Michael was bringing in just enough money with his budding training business to help us make payments on all Stary’s debt. I was very excited to pay off the smallest of them after only a couple of these little training trips. The investments we inherited from Wild Paws also brought in enough income each month to support the packhouse. All the rooms were usable now with at least minimal furnishing. The Alpha floor was still primarily unused, but I didn’t push that issue much.

School was going fantastically. When we set our schedules up, M and I made sure that his classes matched mine in order to cut down on books and keep us accountable. Every morning, M and I each went to our respective offices after breakfast and worked. I could finish all my schoolwork in time to make us lunch every afternoon.

Now that we both admitted to wanting to have pups, I stopped my heat control meds. We already couldn’t keep our hands off each other, but it was so much worse. More than once, I snuck into his office while I was supposed to be working to work on that pup. Sapphire was so sure it would only be a matter of weeks. Alphas usually had no trouble getting their mates pregnant; Alphas needed heirs.

I was stirring a pot of tortilla soup for dinner in the kitchen when Nic came in with Andrea. Nic came up behind me, sniffing the back of my neck. “You still don’t smell preggers. I’m surprised,” she said, stepping around me to go to the fridge.

“Nic, will you please stop sniffing me?” I g*****d at her. “You can’t smell when someone is pregnant!”

“Well, actually, you can, in a way,” Andrea said, leaning against the counter.

“What are you talking about?” I ask exasperatedly. “That’s a wives’ tale!”

“Well, when I was pregnant with Ads, my mate knew pretty quickly. He said my scent was slightly off. By about a month in, everyone said I smelled like garlic,” Andrea explained.

“Mi Abuela always said that a whole pack can smell it on their Luna since you are like a mother to everyone,” Nic said. She noisily bit into the apple she grabbed from the fridge. I grabbed it from her hand.

“You’ll spoil your dinner,” I chided. She frowned at me. “And I don’t smell.”

“Because you aren’t pregnant,” Nic said. I rolled my eyes.

“We should know in the next two weeks,” I assured her.

“Oh, speaking of that,” Nic laughed. “Can the living room be like a safe space?” My eyes almost bugged out of my head. Andrea bit back a laugh as I threw Nic’s apple back at her head. Michael and I thought Nic was asleep when things got heated the previous night. I thought we weren’t going to speak of it again.

“Aw, it’s young love,” Andrea said through her laughter.

“Well, Quinn was in a very mature position,” Nic winked at me. I turned back to my pot of soup. “I’m not complaining about the view or anything. I was just coming to the kitchen for a snack only to see Michael having one too.”

“Nic!” I g*****d. She snickered behind me.

“Nic,” Michael rumbled warningly.

“Alpha,” Andrea said.

“What!” Nic whined. I stayed facing the pot.

“Stop teasing Q,” Michael demanded. He came around the counter and stopped behind me, laying a soft k**s on my shoulder. I looked back at him and mouthed, ‘thank you.’

“We need to go check on something,” Andrea said pointedly to Nic. With a muttered argument, they both exited the kitchen.

“That smells great,” M said, leaning over me. I turned around and looked up at him.

“Apparently, I don’t smell pregnant, and we need to be better about where we try to accomplish that goal,” I said. Michael laughed.

“She doesn’t mean anything by it,” he assured me. His hands wrapped around my center, pulling me flush to him. “I have to get going in a minute, but I wanted to see my mate.”

“Did you get everything done this morning?” I checked.

“No,” he sighed. “I’ll have to finish my homework when I am done tonight.”

I frowned. He looked tired. “Do you want my help?” I reached up and rubbed his cheek. He leaned into my touch with a soft exhale.

“I appreciate it, but I got this, my love,” he whispered. “I might be late for dinner, though.”

“Oh,” I said. “That’s okay. I can keep it warm.”

–

“Hi, Melvin,” I greeted him as I opened the door. Michael was late like he said, but I wasn’t expecting a visit from his dad.

“How is my son’s mate doing?” he said, coming into the packhouse.

“About to eat some dinner. Nic is still off at the warrior compound, and Michael isn’t home. Would you like to join me?” I asked. He smiled warmly.

“It smells great in here; how could I say no?” he replied. We headed into the kitchen, and I got us both some bowls of tortilla soup. I set them on the counter with a plate of extra toppings. We sat together at the counter and started eating.

“So, what brings you to the packhouse tonight?” I asked him after a few spoonfuls. Melvin kept mostly to himself; Michael worried about him but respected his space for the most part.

“I just thought I should drop in on you guys and check how things are going,” he said. “This is really good.”

“Thank you,” I smiled.

“So, how is school?” he asked.

“I love it,” I answered. “I can’t wait to get to some harder classes. I think M is struggling, though.”

“He didn’t mention that the last time we talked,” Melvin frowned. He turned his head and looked at me critically. “I knew he would have a lot on his plate, but he sounded like he was handling it.”

“Well, I am trying to help him where I can, but I can’t do much. He trains me, so I can’t exactly take over training for him. I can help him with stuff like filing and paperwork but not much else,” I told him. Worry started to gnaw at me.

“Maybe I could lend a hand,” he said, looking back down at his food. He stirred the soup around slowly, staring at it.

“I’m sure he would welcome the help. He trusts you and respects you,” I told Melvin. He started to chuckle.

“He is already a far better Alpha than I was. When the time comes, I know he’ll train up a great heir as well,” he smiled softly.

“Well, we are trying,” I admitted. We had only mentioned it to a few people, but Michael wasn’t exactly hiding it. I didn’t think mentioning it to his father would be harmful.

Melvin’s head snapped up. He smelled the air. “You’re trying to have pups?” he asked.

“Yea, we decided a couple of weeks ago,” I confirmed.

“That’s great! We’ll have a Michael junior running around this packhouse in no time at all,” he said, looking jubilant. I hadn’t seen him so cheerful.

“We just started, so it may still be a while,” I laughed quietly.

“Nonsense!” he said excitedly. “Alphas are primed to make pups, and Galbraith’s are strong breeders.”

I choked on my food, sputtering. Melvin patted my back. “Um, strong breeders?” I repeated.

“Of course! Strong Alphas breed strong pups, and our mates are made to be impregnated easily,” he assured.

“Oh, um, okay,” I said, feeling awkward. I desperately wanted to have a pup with M; he was my whole world. But suddenly, I was feeling a bit like cattle. I heard the front door open, and I smelled him immediately. Relief came in the form of him calling my name. “Kitchen!” I called back.

Michael appeared in the doorway, and his dad stood. “Son,” he smiled, grabbing his hand enthusiastically. “You didn’t tell me you were having pups!”

Michael looked at me awkwardly. “What the hell is going on?” he linked me.

“He stopped by! I offered for him to join me for dinner! I told him we were trying, and now he’s telling me we’re prime for breeding!” I rattled off panickedly as I hopped down from my chair.

“Oh, uh, yea,” he said, looking back at his dad. “Sorry, it slipped my mind with how busy we have been.”

“If you are doing it right, it shouldn’t be slipping your mind,” Melvin joked.

“Hungry, M?” I asked, interrupting him. Jokes about M and I having s*x were more awkward with his father.

“Starving, baby,” he said quickly. I got to work getting M some food while he and his dad sat back down at the counter. “So, Dad, how is everything going? We worry a bit about you all the way out by the pack border.”

“I know, the routine patrol comes by six times a day,” Melvin grumbled. I pushed a bowl of soup in front of M and grabbed the plate to get him some more toppings. I brought it back, and he scooped up all the cheese immediately.

“Well, you’re all alone out there,” Michael defended.

“I guess I could make my face seen more,” Melvin said thoughtfully. “I could come around to help with training from time to time.”

Michael looked at his dad in surprise. His eyes were glowing just a little, and Melvin gave him a curious look. “That would be great, Dad,” Michael said. “I know I have a lot to teach them, but you would have so much more.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Melvin said. “But I can at least relieve a little so you can work on school and some grandpups.”

I could feel my cheeks getting warm. Michael looked at me with a cute smile on his face. “What do you think, sweetheart?”

“I think that would be wonderful,” I smiled at them both. “Who wants some pie?”

–

I paced in front of the bathroom door. M stood in the doorway, watching me with an amused grin on his face. The box said we had to wait five minutes for the results. I looked at the timer on my phone every 4 seconds, willing it to move faster.

“Why are you so worried about this?” he chuckled. “There is probably a little Galbraith pup already swimming around in there.”

“And if there isn’t?” I asked worriedly. Ever since people started finding out that we were trying, there was nonstop talk about expecting a Christmas pup.

“We get to keep trying. Personally, I am very much enjoying making a pup with my sexy mate,” he grinned. I rolled my eyes.

“What if I am pregnant? Like, what if there is a baby in me right now?” I said. I rechecked my phone. Still over a minute left.

“Isn’t that the goal?” Michael asked. I stopped to look at him seriously. He just laughed and pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on my head. “No matter what the result, I still love you. Even if it took a decade to put a pup in you, I would still love you.”

“According to the rest of the werewolf world, this should take like one shot,” I reminded him.

“Blue, since when have we done things the way everyone else wants us to?” he asked.

My phone started chirping, telling us the timer was done. I pulled away and looked up at my mate. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded. With a quick peck on my lips, he turned and grabbed the test from the bathroom counter. Holding it in between us, I looked down at the little window. “One line,” M said.

“Not pregnant,” I concluded. Disappointment settled in my chest. It was hard and biting right below my ribs. I kept blinking, thinking the second line would just appear.

“It’s okay, Q,” Michael whispered. He moved the test behind his back and hugged me again. “No rush. It doesn’t have to happen right away.” I didn’t say anything. The disappointment lingered in me, even with Michael trying to console me. We stood right there in the bathroom doorway for a while. He hugged me while his hand slowly ran up and down my back.

“Let’s go just lay down together. No Alpha and Luna tonight, just us. Tomorrow morning, we can start trying again, and we will enjoy every minute of it,” he whispered into my ear.

“Okay,” I agreed softly. Michael turned my face up to his, his thumbs swiping at my eyes. I felt like a failure like I didn’t deserve for my mate to be consoling me, but it was all I wanted at the same time.

“No tears. I’m not upset, and there is no reason you should be. It’s just not the perfect moment yet,” he tried. I just nodded, willing myself to believe his words over Sapphire’s brokenhearted weeping. “We’ll make a pup in no time. I’m sure.”

“Yea,” I choked out. “Yea.” I put on my best smile, and M returned it with a gentle one. We would just keep trying.