Inevitably Yours

MICHAEL

“…One more little push,” I encouraged her. She was red all over, and I could feel a fraction of her pain. Her body convulsed, and she was pushing again. With another scream, the doctor was pulling my pup out. There were immediately hands going for him. Someone tapped me on the shoulder as Quinn let go of me, panting as she relaxed into the bed.

“Cut the cord, Dad?” they smiled. She handed me the smallest pair of scissors imaginable; they were like child safety scissors, except the blade was maybe a half-inch long. I could not reasonably understand what they were supposed to cut. I stepped down to the end of the bed as they held the cord up. With some serious effort, I finally cut through the slimy casing, and they whisked my pup away.

“Both your mate and the baby are running a fever, so we are going to have to monitor them after this,” the doctor informed me as she was still doing something between Quinn’s legs. The anesthesiologist was pushing medicine through the epidural, and I could see Quinn’s whole body relaxing. The nurse pushed on her stomach, helping the doctor finish what she was doing.

Then someone was placing my pup, now clean, into my arms. Immediately, warmth filled me. This was my pup, and I would protect him with everything I had. I turned to Quinn, whose eyes were fluttering closed. I asked her if she wanted to hold him, and she waved me off. Everyone around her started laughing.

“Give her a few minutes. This was a long one,” our night nurse said. I stood back and held our pup while they all attended to Quinn. I wasn’t sure she knew exactly what was going on while pushing. I wasn’t excited about the cutting part, but I knew her doctor wouldn’t dare do something unnecessary to her Luna.

After they were done with Quinn, the nurses told me they needed to take our pup to the nursery and have him checked over. I reluctantly relinquished him and frowned when I realized Quinn still hadn’t held him. When it was just the night nurse left with her and me, I tried to wake her. “Hey, baby,” I said softly, shaking her shoulder.

“Hmmm,” she stirred.

“How are you feeling?”

“Good,” she smiled. “Hungry.”

The nurse laughed, and I looked at her questioningly. “Yes, she can eat. Actually, we should get some fluid in her soon. I need to get her out of bed and in the bathroom before moving to Mother And Baby where your son is waiting.”

“Hear that? It’s finally dinner time, my love,” I smiled. “What do you want?”

“Fries,” she said, blinking her eyes open.

“I will find you fries, then,” I promised.

“I’ll bring her some juice, too. Orange or apple?” the nurse asked.

“Apple,” I answered, already knowing my mate’s preference. She smiled at me sleepily. The nurse assured me she would keep a close eye on my Quinn, so after about 100 more k****s, I left to find her food.

QUINN

When Michael got back, he had a bag of delicious-smelling food that I was dying to dig in to. My body was split between wanting my pup and wanting food, while the nurse was insistent that I needed to use the restroom so she could move me to the other wing. I could barely feel my legs, so I was grateful for M swooping in to help me.

After that was done, the nurse left to get ready for the switch. She had promised she was getting my son out of me before the end of her shift, and she delivered. I was exhausted, but the greasy, salty smell of potatoes called to me as we waited to be transferred.

Michael grabbed all our belongings while they pushed me in the wheelchair. The hospital worker seemed to think it was funny that I refused to let go of my dinner until we were in our new room. I felt so much better with food in my stomach.

They brought our pup in after M helped me get comfortable in bed. I was relieved to have him in my sight. The nurse immediately put him in my arms, and I forgot about eating for a few minutes.

The hum of other people in the room died as I looked at my pup finally. His eyes were closed, and his face was squishy looking. I ran my finger along his soft skin. He looked exactly like Michael, just the tiny, innocent, breakable version. He had a shock of dark hair covering the top of his head. He was beautiful, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

“So, what do you think? Did you figure out what his name is?” M linked me. I looked to see him standing beside the bed, watching me ogle our pup.

Michael and I had debated back and forth. He and his father were hoping I would agree to Michael Junior. I was so overwhelmed with the PUPPPs that I couldn’t bring myself to decide.

“I think you were right all along. He is a Michael,” I agreed. “Michael John Galbraith Jr.”

–

We spent five days in the hospital. Michael called his father before we tried to get some sleep on the first morning after little Michael was born. He came to visit us for dinner, very excited to meet Michael Jr. On the other hand, I was not too excited to have visitors. The second round of spinal pain medication had worn off completely by breakfast time, and I was in a lot of pain when Melvin arrived. The doctor came by to check on me, explaining everything that happened during the delivery. Thanks to being a werewolf, I would heal faster than humans, but I was still not excited about having stitches in my v****a.

Thankfully, Melvin didn’t stay too long. I really wanted to cuddle with my mate, but that was impossible thanks to his size versus the hospital bed. On our third day, I managed to get out of bed and move to the couch with him for a little while. We held our pup between us, just being together as a family.

Next to holding my pup for the first time, the best moment in the hospital was taking a shower. The hot water never ended, no matter how long I stood under it. The nurse even brought in a stool to sit on if I was too tired to stand. It was heavenly; I scrubbed the days of sweat and frustration off of me. M was waiting to help me pull on clean, comfy clothes when I finally stepped out of the velvety hot water.

Michael Jr. opened his eyes finally on our last morning in the hospital. They were brilliantly blue, and I wondered if that was because of me. I had never been so instantly in love as I was with him.

It seemed like an eternity had gone by when we finally loaded our little pup into the car and set off back to the pack. I couldn’t help but twist around to look at him in the back seat every few minutes.

“He’s strapped in tight, baby,” Michael chuckled. “You can relax. I’m driving under the speed limit and everything.”

“It’s just hard not to have him in my sight,” I complained, turning back around. It wasn’t the most comfortable to twist.

“So I need to talk to you about something,” Michael said, grabbing my hand. I looked at him, confused. “I talked to my dad in the hall before he left.”

“About what?” I questioned.

“Well, I wasn’t aware yet, and he never found a good time to tell me. All Galbraith Alphas are blessed at the altar when they are born. Apparently, a few have actually been born in the blessing ground….” Michael trailed off.

“Wait, so you want to take little Michael to the blessing ground and do what we do to all the weapons?” I asked incredulously.

“Well, yea, sort of….” Michael confirmed.

“Is that even safe? I mean, he’s a pup!” I exclaimed.

“It’s perfectly safe!” Michael insisted. “Nothing will happen to him. It will only help him for his future.”

I frowned and tried to turn back to look at little Michael again. It hadn’t really occurred to me that my pup already had his whole life pretty much planned out for him. For some reason, that made me just a little sad.

“Hey, hey,” Michael said, calmer now. “We can talk about it later. I just want to give him every advantage in life that we can.”

“Sorry,” I conceded. “It just seems a little crazy, is all.”

“Any crazier than a dual-wielding Alpha wolf or a Luna with stabby sai?” Michael laughed. “And let’s not even get started on my crazy pants Beta.”

I smiled, “That’s fair. I’ll think about it. Is there some timeline here?”

“Well, it’s usually done within seven days of his birth, so a little bit. Also, I should probably add that Dad thinks if you perform the blessing, he may inherit some Fae abilities,” Michael answered.

MICHAEL

Quinn fidgeted nervously next to me, holding our pup. As instructed, we dressed him in a plain white onsie and wrapped him in white blankets to bring him to the blessing ground. I was a little nervous about this whole thing as well. My father called to tell me he wouldn’t be present but told me how exactly to do everything.

“Okay, let’s get this done,” I said. Quinn looked up at me with wide eyes, then down at Junior. I couldn’t decide what was more beautiful – Quinn pregnant with my pup or Quinn holding him. She carefully laid Junior on the altar, keeping the blankets bundled around him tightly. He fussed for a moment but then quieted.

“Okay, we both will lay our hands on him, and then you will say the words. We are asking the Goddess to bless our pup as she has for every generation before him,” I reminded her.

She let loose a long breath. “Okay, let’s do this,” she said. She held her hand over Junior. I held out mine as well, covering hers.

“Just like the weapon blessing, I’ll link you the words,” I told her silently. Quinn didn’t acknowledge me, so I flexed my fingers, trying to move her hand. She didn’t flinch.

“Quinn?” I said aloud. Nothing. My heart started to race.

“Don’t fret, little halfling experiment,” a voice floated toward me. I snapped my head around, searching around us. Instinctively, I stepped to the side to shield my mate. “I’m not here to harm her. Well, yet that is.”

“Who are you?” I growled.

“Tsk. Tsk. I told that naive female to teach you little dogs some manners,” the voice sighed. Directly behind us, a tall figure stepped out of the trees. “This is cute,” the figure said thoughtfully.

“Who. Are. You?” I growled again, my patience waning. I didn’t know how he got through all our patrols.

“Who I am is not the important thing at the moment. But what I am, that I can tell you. I am a Fae,” the figure smiled. I couldn’t decide if it was male or female. Long hair and high cheekbones gave it an eerily alluring look. Apprehension prickled down my spine.

“Why are you here? Why can’t she move or speak?” I demanded.

The figure waved its hand dismissively. “Just a trick of this realm we higher beings can manage,” it said. “I am here to give you a warning.”

“Warning?”

“Yes, you abomination. A warning. Your little ‘mate’ there, her power isn’t meant for this realm, and it will not be allowed to stay here,” the figure said.

“What are you talking about?” I questioned. He was threatening my mate, and I wouldn’t let that stand. My anger was barely contained at the implication that he had the power to take Quinn from me.

“She gave you all that brawn and insufficient cerebral capability,” it sighed. “Magic, wolf. The blue-headed one you claim. The powers that be will come for her. Eventually. You might keep her longer if she were to stop using magic.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked skeptically. This felt like a trap. I listened around the blessing ground for signs of anyone else. What was he to gain from telling me all this?

“I will inevitably be her zookeeper, and I just don’t want that responsibility,” the figure sighed heavily. It examined its long, slender fingers like it was bored with our conversation. “It was bound to happen eventually when miscreants break loose of our realm and breed here.”

“I don’t follow,” I said cautiously. He seemed forthcoming enough, so it didn’t do me any good to pretend I knew what he was talking about.

“I am not staying here to explain,” the figure sighed. With a dismissive wave, it retreated into the trees. “Stay out of trouble, now.”

I watched the section of trees the Fae disappeared into, trying to grasp everything that had just happened.

“Michael,” Quinn said. “Michael, are you okay? Did it work?”

I looked back at Quinn. She looked exactly the same and completely unharmed. I looked at our son, still lying beneath our hands. The white blankets he was wrapped in now had a blue and silver shimmer on them.

“Yea, I think it worked,” I said absently, my mind still on our visitor.

“This is trouble,” Eros said.

“Yea, big trouble.”