Inevitably Yours

QUINN

When I was a kid, I remembered how much of an ordeal it was to be invited to the Alpha children’s birthday parties. It was almost a status symbol. Junior’s first birthday was fast approaching.

Michael told me he never liked how his birthdays were turned into political shows. As he got older, people at school competed over who would be invited. Even his inner circle of friends was affected. He didn’t want it to be that way for our children.

We decided on two different celebrations. We would first celebrate together with our closest friends and family. We could keep it intimate and fun for everyone that way. Then we could plan something for the entire pack to be involved.

We had everyone over on Junior’s actual birthday for a fun little party. I made sandwiches and cake, one for Junior and one for everyone else. I decorated the packhouse with little dinosaurs and greenery to make it look like a jungle. He sat in my lap while we opened presents then everyone passed him around, trying to get him interested in the new toy they got him.

He was mildly impressed until it was time for cake. Judy prepared a sink full of soapy water. Michael pulled Junior’s clothes off, so he was just in his diaper while I got the cake. We sang Happy Birthday then finally set the cake in front of him. We watched as he started with just a poke at the cake and then tasted the icing. Quickly, he was shoving his hand into the smooth green icing to attack the chocolatey cake beneath.

When the fun was over, Aunty Nic helped me bathe the little Alpha while Michael saw everyone out and thanked them for coming. When he was clean and in fresh pajamas, we all settled in the living room. Nic settled Diane in her baby swing while Junior got busy with his blocks.

“That actually went really well,” Nic commented as Michael joined us.

“You did an awesome job with everything, baby,” Michael smiled as he flopped down on the couch.

“I’m just glad everyone seemed to enjoy it. I didn’t know how exciting a first birthday party would be, but everyone seemed into it,” I confessed. Nic went over and flopped down on the couch too. Diane wasn’t sleeping through the night, so she was always tired.

“Judy tried to stay and help clean up,” Michael said. “I love that woman.”

“I do, too,” I smiled. She was essential to the packhouse and us now. I couldn’t imagine life without Judy. Junior handed me a block, and I pretended to be so excited over his present. Usually, he smiled or giggled when I did that, but he just gave me a funny look.

“Oh no,” I said, dropping the block and cupping my hands in front of him. Without missing a beat, Junior threw up right into my hands.

“What the f**k!” Michael shouted, jumping up.

“Get me a bowl or something, quick!” I said.

“You caught it! Why did you catch it?” he shouted in horror. The smell reached my nose. My stomach turned, and I had to hold my breath. Michael ran out of the room to get something to help clean up. Nic grabbed up Junior, who wasn’t happy.

“Someone had a little too much icing,” she said. “I will get him changed again.”

I just nodded, still trying to hold my breath. Michael came back in with a bowl and wet wipes. I dropped the contents of Junior’s stomach into the bowl, and Michael was ready to wipe my hands clean.

“Hey, now you look green,” he said worriedly. I held up a finger as I stood to my feet. Running to the bathroom, I tried to push it back. I barely made it to the toilet when I also threw up. The peckish amount of lunch and birthday cake I ate came back up with a vengeance. Michael came in behind me, laying his large hand tenderly on my back.

“I didn’t know you were feeling sick,” he said when I finally stopped. He handed me a towel to wipe my mouth, then water.

“I wasn’t until I smelled it,” I told him. Michael frowned at me. “What?” I asked.

“Well, you haven’t thrown up since….” he trailed off.

Goddess, I hadn’t been sick like that since I was pregnant with Michael Junior. I didn’t get sick often. Michael looked down at me with an odd expression on his face. We were trying for a pup, but I hadn’t really thought about it happening yet. It took so long the first time I wasn’t sure what to expect this time. I started counting back the time in my head, trying to figure out how long ago we decided we wanted another pup.

“I already did the math; you could be….” M said quietly. “Do you want to check?”

I took a deep breath. It didn’t feel like there was as much pressure around getting pregnant this time. We hadn’t even mentioned that we were trying to anyone, probably more as a defense mechanism than anything else. If it was negative, I wasn’t sure how I would react. But if it was positive…

“Yea,” I said. “We should.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and take a shower? I’ll run out to the store real quick,” Michael offered. I smiled and nodded. He leaned and kissed my forehead; I needed to brush my teeth.

After helping me to my feet, Michael left, and I went to clean up. Nic was meandering around our living room with a clean and cranky Junior in her arms. I took my pup from her, thanked her, and worked on getting him settled. Once he was in his crib, I went to take a shower and brush my teeth.

Michael was waiting in the bedroom when I stepped out of the bathroom in a towel. His eyes darkened as he caught sight of me, but I wagged my finger at him. He held out the box with the test inside. I grabbed it and went back to the bathroom.

When I was done, I left the test in the bathroom and joined Michael in the bedroom again. He was waiting in the same spot, this time with some clean clothes for me. “You think of everything,” I smiled at him as I wedged myself between his legs. His hands came to rest on either side of my waist.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yea,” I said with a deep breath. Physically I felt fine. Emotionally, I was a little nervous about what would happen when the test was finished.

“If it happens now or a year from now, I don’t care,” he said seriously. “I enjoy trying, and I love you.”

“Do you want a boy or girl this time?” I questioned.

“Boy,” he answered in an assured tone. “I know what to do with boys.”

I giggled. “I hate to break it to you, but you are good with girls, too,” I told him. His face scrunched up; he disagreed with me. “Then what would you call taking Adi to a father-daughter dance?”

“Being a good Alpha!” he defended.

“And matching Diane’s bow to her pants since Nic didn’t have one with the same flowers as her shirt?” I added.

“Okay, I think we are taking things out of context now,” he said.

“I think you’re a great dad no matter what the gender is,” I told him. Instead of answering, he just kissed me.

We made out until the timer on his phone went off, letting us know the test was done. Michael left me to pull on clothes while he checked. I couldn’t even finish because I whisked off my feet from behind as Michael picked me up and swung me around excitedly. “We’re having another pup!”

–

The following week was crazy. We had to tell Nic, Melvin, my parents, and a few others because we also thought it would be great to announce at Junior’s pack birthday celebration. We thought it would be nicer to tell everyone close to us before the greater announcement.

While we got ready for the party and told our loved ones, the early pregnancy symptoms arrived. Our doctor confirmed the pregnancy, and I began throwing up every morning right on schedule again.

If that wasn’t enough to deal with, Junior learned three new words and started crawling very quickly. Before, he would scoot himself around a little, but suddenly he was going everywhere. Michael had to install a gate at the top of our stairs after he caught Junior about to tumble down them as he came up for dinner one evening.

We did make it to the weekend and, with the help of our Beta, Delta, and Gamma, managed to welcome an overwhelming number of pack members to the celebration. Michael started by welcoming everyone and thanking them for being there. I brought Junior on stage with us, and we got to announce our addition, with Junior wearing a ‘big brother’ T-shirt.

Every side of the packhouse was set up for the celebration. We had bounce houses and games in the back, food and sitting areas in the front with more activities on the sides. It took us almost an hour just to get from the back to the front to grab something small to eat. Nic had the great idea to set aside reserved seating for all of us, so we had a place to sit if needed.

We didn’t make it to any of the food tables, though, because Jacqueline linked. “Uh, I think we might have a problem,” she said.

“What problem?” I questioned.

“Well, that Stephen guy is here and looking for Nic,” she said. I looked at Michael with my mouth open.

“Nic just told me,” he said. “Let’s go.” We found them on the side of the packhouse near some crafting tables. I saw Andrea sitting with Adi at one but watching Nic and Stephen.

“Beta, nice of you to join us,” Michael greeted him dryly as we approached. He interrupted the whispered conversation between Stephen and Nic. Stephen turned to Michael, putting on a fake smile. Nic rolled her eyes next to him, shifting Diane to her other side.

Stephen held his hand out, “Good to see you, Michael. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to come to see my pup.” I could feel Michael’s irritation. There was not enough familiarity between Stephen and M to not be using titles, and everyone in the packhouse knew what was going on. Nic’s eyes were almost bulging from her head; she looked ready to snap.

“Well, we just adore Diane. It really is a shame you aren’t able to spend more time with her,” Michael pushed. Junior started to squirm in my arms, wanting to get down.

“I think she’s ready for a nap,” Nic said pointedly.

“Oh, for sure,” Stephen said. He talked like he had any experience taking care of a pup; it was grating my nerves. “She’s so young still, and this is a lot of excitement. Why don’t I take her to bed?”

“No, that’s alright,” Nic said, looking over her shoulder. I smiled as I noticed Andrea and Adi headed our way.

“Beta Nic! Beta Nic! Can I hold Diane?” Adi asked excitedly.

“Sure, sweety. But let’s go sit down. I don’t want your arms getting too tired,” Nic said. Michael and Andrea snorted.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for a child to be handling such a small pup,” Stephen tried to interject.

“Oh, Beta Stephen, there is really nothing to worry about,” I dismissed him. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “Miss Adi is our best little warrior. She has been playing with Junior since he was Diane’s age. She’s very good with them.”

Nic and Andrea led Adi away so she could hold Diane. Stephen looked angry. “Well, we should be going. Please, enjoy the party,” I said to him, turning around.

“And Beta?” Michael added as his arm came around my waist. “I suggest you never show up in my territory unannounced to pretend to be an involved father. You only get this warning as a mercy to your pup. I don’t want Nic to have to tell her about Uncle Michael ripping her father’s throat out.”

I could still feel Michael’s residual anger as we headed away from a fuming Stephen. “Nic was two seconds from sinking her knife into him,” he linked me. “He shouldn’t be here.”

“It’s handled now,” I assured him. “If he comes back, we’ll have him drug back out by the warriors.”

“If I don’t get to him first. He should be ashamed of that weak a*s handshake,” Michael grumbled.

“Can we eat something now? Galbraith pup #2 is hungry,” I said. Michael smiled, his mood lightening considerably. He grabbed Junior from me and put him up on his shoulders, holding onto his leg while Junior clung to his head. Then he grabbed my hand, and we headed toward the front.

“Let’s enjoy some family time,” he said, squeezing my hand.

–

Junior passed out long before the celebration was over. Michael and I carried around our sleeping pup for the last hour or so of the night before we could finally escape back into the packhouse. Adi was asleep in the living room, so Michael stopped to get her a blanket on our way to our room.

“There is something I want to check on real quick,” he said as we got to the bottom of the stairs. “Go on up and put Junior to bed. I’ll be there soon.”

I kissed him and headed upstairs. I laid junior in his bed, not bothering to change his clothes. Then I went to change myself. I let my dress pool on the floor and opted for one of M’s shirts instead. I held the soft, worn cotton to my nose after I slipped it over my head, letting his scent unwind the tension from the day.

I went to the kitchen, cleaning up our dirty dishes from the morning while I waited for my mate. Once they were all clean, I wiped down all the counters and gave Junior’s highchair a good scrub. Judy left some clean, folded laundry on the table that I also put away. When there were almost no chores left to pass the time, I realized it had been over an hour since I put Junior down to bed.

I decided to go look for Michael. I went downstairs. Adi was still on the couch, tucked in under the blanket Michael put over her. The kitchen was empty, with extra food on the counter for us to sort in the morning. Nic’s door was closed, so she was also probably in bed. I finally found M in his office, flipping through an old book.

“What’s that?” I asked. His head snapped up, and he looked like I had just caught him stealing a cookie before dinner.

“I thought you were headed to bed,” he said. I came around the desk. He pushed back in his chair, so I sat in his lap.

“I was waiting for you. What were you reading?” I asked, looking at the book. The title was odd.

“It’s nothing, really,” he said, but I could hear the guilt in his tone. I frowned.

“What is thaumaturgy?” I asked him, skimming my fingers across the cover. Michael sighed, and I looked at him, confused.

“Someone sent this to me. I might have an idea who after reading it, but it wasn’t very helpful. There is something I should tell you,” he said. Michael went on to tell me what happened at the blessing ground when we brought our pup. I was sick to my stomach when he explained that someone or something threatened to take me away.

“I’m not going to let anyone take you,” he promised, grabbing my face in his hands. “Quinn, you’re mine, and I will not let anyone hurt you or take you. I just won’t.”

I grabbed his hands and pulled them from my face. I kissed his palms and then set them in my lap. “I know,” I said softly. “It’s still unnerving. I mean, I have this fae b***d, but really all I can do is make medicinal food, sparkly weapons, and your eyes glow. I’m not a threat to anyone.”

“I don’t know. This Fae thing had to think you were, or it wouldn’t have warned me like that,” he reasoned.

“So what’s in this book then?” I asked, going back to the old volume on his desk.

“Nothing of use,” he sighed, sitting back. I opened it and started looking through the pages. There was writing in both black and blue throughout. The black was a printed handwriting that was mostly discernable. The blue was different, though. It was more cursive and looping. I could barely make out some of the words.

“So you read this?” I asked. Michael nodded. “What do the different colors mean?”

Michael sat forward again slowly. “Different colors?”

“Yea. The black is pretty easy to make out, but the blue is harder. Do you read them separately?” I questioned.

“Quinn, there isn’t blue writing in the book. Everything is black and white,” he said carefully.

“No, here,” I said, pointing. “Something about talismans. Or at least I think that says talisman.” I squinted at the page, trying to make out the words.

“Q, I don’t see anything there. That’s a space between two lines of black-inked text,” Michael said carefully.

“I’m not lying!” I urged. “Here, too.” I pointed to another spot on the page with more blue words. I flipped the page and pointed again. “You really don’t see it?”

Michael shook his head. “Maybe I can’t see it because I don’t have any fae magic….” he trailed off.

“So I can just read this whole book you can’t even see?” I questioned. Michael pulled out his phone and held it up to me. “What are you doing?” I asked. He turned it around to show me a picture. My eyes were glowing just like his did sometimes.

“Q, I think you should read this book,” he said.