Inevitably Yours

MICHAEL

“What the f**k?” Nic hissed a little too loudly as I finished telling her what happened in the blessing clearing.

I knew my office was supposed to be soundproofed, but I still didn’t want anyone to hear this conversation. Quinn was passed out in our room in one of the rare moments Junior was asleep. He spent most of his waking hours screaming at us as if he protested being brought into the world, and he knew it was our fault. The doctor said it was colic, and Junior was otherwise healthy, but it felt a little like we were failing.

“Keep it down,” I demanded, walking over to make sure my door was fully closed. “I know. It was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. All I could think about was my dad telling me that my swords should be able to kill a Fae, but I didn’t have them with me. I didn’t think that would solve anything either because it clearly said there was someone else in charge.”

“And the blessing on Michael Junior?” she asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Time stopped in the middle of it, and then it restarted like nothing happened. Quinn said the words before it stopped, but I didn’t have to bite her mark this time. She did it on her own,” I explained.

“Do you think that means she’s getting stronger?” Nic asked.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” I replied, trying to keep everything together in my head. “From what we know about the hair color thing, she should be as strong or close to as strong as the original Fae in her bloodline. I think the only thing interfering is that she’s also a wolf. I don’t know if that will make her weaker or stronger in the end.”

“Do you think that’s why they’re coming for Quinn instead of the hybrids before her? Because she’s so much more Fae?”

I picked up the picture I’d recently framed for my desk of me, Quinn, and Junior at the hospital, my eyes intent on Quinn. She looked exhausted but so happy. I couldn’t take that away from her right now as we tried to settle into this new life together. I’d have to find out what we were dealing with before I worried her.

“Who knows,” I shrugged. “Maybe they came to her ancestors and told them to chill on the magic too. Quinn has been blessing weapons and constantly working on her food magic to the point that I think she’s perfected it now.”

“I know you don’t want to talk to them, but do her parents know anything? They’ve always been kind of sketchy,” Nic asked. She was spiraling through all the same things I had already after the encounter.

“Remember the Alpha book?” I asked in return. “Their family lost knowledge of the Fae hybrids because they stopped appearing in their bloodline. Only the Galbraith Alphas kept track. Even if I wanted to ask, which I don’t, they can’t help us.”

Nic sat down heavily in the chair on the other side of my desk with a look of defeat, “Then what do we do? Who can we call? We can’t let them hurt Quinn.”

“No one is going to hurt Quinn. I’d even kill the Goddess if she appeared here to do it herself.”

“Michael!” Nic hissed again as she looked towards the sky and then drew a circle starting at her forehead, crossing over her heart, and ending where she began. It was the moon symbol of unity; we were the Goddess, and she was us. “You can’t say things like that! We need the Goddess’ help if we’re going to fight the Fae!”

“If she’s truly omniscient, then she already knows I would fight anyone to keep Quinn safe, even her,” I shrugged.

Nic closed her eyes and shook her head, “What’s our next move?”

“She wasn’t a ton of help last time, but I have to try to get ahold of Haven. She’s the only one I know that has anything to do with magic. She has to know somewhere I can at least look for answers. I’ve been meaning to talk to her since she sent us that rogue for protection, but we keep having things come up that take precedence.”

“I can’t wait to meet her after everything she’s done for you. She seems like an amazing person,” Nic told me with a genuine smile. It was nice to see her smile for once. She insisted she was happy with Stephen, but her mood had been off the last few months.

“She’s a hard person to dislike,” I agreed with a small laugh, thinking about how hard I tried as a teen.

Unfortunately, Haven was proving hard to reach. I’d left a few messages, but I hadn’t heard back in the ensuing few days. I wished I could get ahold of Felix, but barring going to their pack, I didn’t know how. My last option was to contact their Alpha, but I didn’t want to cross that line until it was absolutely necessary. She could be busy with some witch thing, and knowing Felix, he would be along for the ride with her.

In the meantime, it was registration time again. Quinn was stressing about registering for classes, and I was already wondering if I should continue. She was worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle school with now having to deal with Junior, but I couldn’t let her stop. Not only did she deserve to finish what she started, but I also wasn’t going to let her family be right. She would graduate with a college degree, and our little family wasn’t going to get in the way of that.

I opened my eyes to see Quinn wasn’t in bed again. This had become a nightly ritual. At about two in the morning, Junior would become inconsolable, and the only thing that calmed him was Quinn taking him to the couch to sleep. I threw the covers aside and pulled myself sluggishly out of our bed. I found my mate looking like death warmed over with a sleeping baby on her chest.

“Give me the little one,” I told her, walking over to Quinn with my arms stretched out.

“He’s going to wake up…” she protested, but she looked like she was going to cry in relief.

“Then he’ll cry, baby,” I said. “You need to sleep, and you’ve gotta let him go. He’ll be okay, and if he doesn’t stop crying, we’ll go for a walk or a drive or something.” I leaned over and gently pulled Michael into my arms. He fussed at me for a moment for removing him from his comfy bed but snuggled into my chest and stilled again.

“Oh my Goddess, thank you,” Quinn exclaimed, stretching her arms widely as she stood and yawned quietly. She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed me deeply for a moment. It began to stir something I’d been trying to keep dormant until Quinn was healed and ready, but thinking about Junior in my arms kept me level instead. My heart calmed, and I smiled down at Quinn.

“Go, sleep. I love you.”

She finally turned toward our room, and I watched her zombie shuffle through the door before collapsing on our bed. Waiting until I heard her soft snoring, I pulled the door closed so she wouldn’t wake up if Junior did. I sat on the couch and looked at the squishy little face we made together as I brushed my fingers through his hair. I knew I was going to be a parent once the test came back positive, but it didn’t feel real until he came out and I held him for the first time. I leaned back and let Junior lay comfortably on my chest, and soon we were both asleep.

Junior stirring on my chest woke me from my light sleep, so I started to rock him gently. He was making his hungry cry, and with the sunlight peeking through the curtain, it was definitely feeding time. Not wanting him to wake Quinn, I took Junior downstairs to make a bottle in the kitchen.

“Oh, Alpha Daddy! Luna Mommy asleep this morning?” Judy asked exuberantly as she came around the corner to see me putting the bottle in Junior’s mouth.

“She’s finally getting some sleep,” I said, smiling sleepily. It was too early to be talking to people.

“I be quiet then,” she said in a hushed voice. “You take puppy. I clean packhouse.”

Junior sucked his bottle down greedily, and after burping, it was time to change him. By the time our morning feeding routine was done, Nic was up for the day and came in to find me with the baby in the downstairs living room.

“Oh my Goddess!” she squealed. “It’s my little squishy!”

Junior was babbling in my arms, and he turned to see Aunt Nic and didn’t scream. So, I took that as a win. She reached out for him, and he let her pull him into her arms without much fuss. I sighed and laid back on the couch. It had been a long morning.

“Mmmm,” she m****d as she buried her face into his little head. “Baby smell!”

“Goddess, I don’t get women and the baby smell thing,” I laughed.

“It’s not something I can explain. It just makes me want one,” she g*****d.

“I think you need to calm your ovaries over there, ma’am,” I warned her. I really hoped she wasn’t thinking about that with Stephen. They hadn’t even marked each other yet, and I was still holding out hope that she’d drop him before it was too late.

“I’m plenty calm,” she sighed. “I’m just not getting any younger, and I know Steve really wants one….”

“I’m surprised he doesn’t already have one. He has been alive since the dawn of time.”

A small giggle escaped from Nic before she kicked me, “Stop it! He’s not that old!”

“You sure?” I asked. “I guess if you do have a pup, you’ll get a senior citizen’s discount on the hospital stay. I’m sure he has his favorite nurses by now; he can make sure they take great care of you.”

She was trying to stifle her laughter, but she was laughing about it, at least. I knew people could make the age gap work, but I couldn’t see it in this instance. He’d been pressuring her to give up her position as Beta to come live with him in their pack. From what she’d told me, it didn’t sound like he respected Nic’s accomplishments or position at all. He just wanted a trophy mate that would bear his pups and be at home. If Nic wanted that, fine, but she’d never expressed that in our life.

Quinn popped her head around the corner, looking more rested than I’d seen since she gave birth, “What’s so funny in here?”

Nic rolled her eyes, “Michael is telling me that I’m dating a dinosaur in so many words.”

“What’s his five-year plan?” I asked her. “Not die?”

Quinn burst into laughter with the rest of us, and of course, Junior started fussing. I could see he’d worked his way out of his blanket, so I took him from Nic to lay him on the couch and swaddle him tightly. It calmed him fractionally, and I put him in his swing to rock with music as I talked to the girls about pack business.

Eventually, Nic left to take care of something with the warriors, leaving me with Quinn. She pulled her laptop out, and I helped her choose classes for the coming semester.

When we finished with her classes, she looked at me expectantly, “So, do you want to go ahead and schedule now?”

I looked over at Michael sleeping in his swing, and I shook my head, “I want you to finish, and I don’t think I have it in me right now. I can help with Junior more while I’m here, and I can focus more on the pack, our business, and us. Maybe I will go back later, but right now, I don’t think it makes sense for us.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, crawling into my lap.

“Yea,” I answered. “I’d rather worry about us right now. They’re not teaching me anything I don’t already know anyway.”

As I enjoyed the scarce moment of alone time with Quinn, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I was going to ignore it, but it immediately started buzzing after it stopped. Pulling it out, it was a number I didn’t recognize.

“Hello?” I answered. I hated answering numbers I didn’t know, but it was the nature of business.

“Michael?” Felix’s voice replied from the other line. He sounded panicked.

“What’s wrong, Felix? I’ve been trying to get ahold of Ha-”

“She’s gone,” he interrupted. “I can’t find her anywhere, and I think something bad has happened. I need your help.”