Inevitably Yours

QUINN

I trudged into the house and went straight to the kitchen. I grabbed a banana from the bowl and went directly to my bedroom. I knew Nic was here somewhere, but I was too upset to spend time with her. My boss sent me home early after I snapped at a little pup taking too long to pick out what ice cream he wanted. This strange, simmering feeling had been picking at me for hours, and it finally blistered.

I went to my room and peeled myself out of my uniform. Going over to his dresser, I picked out one of Michael’s shirts and slid it on. For a moment, I remembered Nic bursting into our room only two days into living together and being in a very compromising position. Luckily, Michael’s body blocked the view of me from the doorway, or so they told me. I grabbed a pair of shorts and slid them on even though Michael’s shirt hung below them.

I crawled into bed, setting my banana aside for when I decided to get hungry later. I dove onto his pillow, missing his scent. The level of desire just to be close to him was still as overwhelming as when I first caught his scent at prom. There was an enthusiastic knock on the door only seconds after I calmed down.

“No,” I g*****d, knowing it was Nic. I really liked her and was glad M had such a close friend to rely on to be his Beta, but I just wanted him right now.

“So does this mean no dinner tonight?” she said sarcastically, throwing the door open.

I looked up at her with an irritated expression. “You could learn to cook yourself,” I suggested.

“Nah,” she said, coming into the bedroom. She climbed into our bed and situated herself next to me. “I’m more of an eater than a maker. I basically ate out unless I was at Michael’s.”

“Look, Nic, I know he probably told you to hang out with me, but I just miss him and want to wallow, okay?” I sighed.

“No,” she said. I bared my teeth at her, and she laughed. “No offense here, but you aren’t very scary. You’re too sweet looking, and the giant tshirt doesn’t help. Now, if you wanted to slip it off…” she trailed off.

“No. I want his scent,” I snapped.

She put her hands up. “I would have made it even and taken mine off. Sheesh. How about movies and junk food instead?”

“We don’t have junk food,” I said, collapsing onto the pillow again. Our budget was tight, and I was stretching every penny I could to feed M and Nic. All the training left them starving all the time. It was challenging to ensure they got enough good food to keep up with their bodies.

“Well, we might,” she said. “Don’t get mad; you make better food than my Abuela, even though I would never publically admit that. It’s just sometimes a girl needs a potato chip.”

“I want a Michael chip,” I pouted.

“Come on,” she encouraged. “Girls night.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “But pick the movie. And nothing scary!”

“Give me five!” she said, rolling out of bed. She left the room, and I pulled myself up to sit. I leaned against the headboard and hugged M’s pillow in my lap. That anger was back. My heart started beating a little faster.

Nic came into the room with her arms full and a bag of chips hanging from her mouth. “You okay?” she said, dropping everything in the bed and climbing in next to me.

I shrugged. She opened her laptop and quickly set up something to play. She handed me a bag of chips that she had scratched the name out with a marker and wrote “Michael Flavored” instead. I snorted.

“Bet they don’t taste like him,” I said under my breath, but she caught it and laughed.

For the next couple of hours, I kept switching between impatience and anger. I didn’t think it was coming from Michael; why would he be feeling this? I hugged his pillow tighter and pretended to be falling asleep so Nic would leave me alone after the movie.

“How about I get you some tea? Mi Abuela taught me to make a special tea for sleeping,” she offered.

“Sure,” I said, forcing a lazy smile.

“M, whatever you’re doing, I miss you. I’m enduring your best friend, but I want you. I love you….” I linked him as she left. I didn’t expect a response and didn’t get one. For all I knew, he was too far, although it didn’t feel like it.

Nic only took a few minutes before she came back with a steaming mug. “Here, this should put you right out,” she smiled confidently.

“Okay, thanks,” I said, taking it. She grabbed her laptop and the remaining snacks.

“Sure you don’t want me to sleep in here tonight?” she asked.

“Out,” I said, pointing to the door. Her shoulders slumped, but she listened. I was just glad she wasn’t being as pushy as Michael would be. I took a sip of the tea and spit it right back in the cup.

“Goddess, what is that?” I mumbled.

“Her Abuela made her this?” I questioned. “This can’t be right.” I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the memory of what still coated my mouth. I set the mug on the nightstand and slumped down in bed, hugging the pillow with my whole body.

“Saph, I miss him. This sucks,” I told her. I waited for an agreement from her, but she was silent. “Saph?” It had been so long since she went away from me. Since right before Michael marked me. I hadn’t even realized just how long it had been.

“Of course, you’re gone on the first night Saphire disappears, and I can’t sleep. I need your magic,” I linked him. Nothing. I rolled over in exasperation. It was going to be a long night.

–

I opened the window and dragged a chair next to it to look outside. I still hugged Michael’s pillow, keeping my nose buried in it. The night was clear, and the stars bright. My heart kept racing, and this weird feeling was pumping down our bond.

“What are you doing, M?” I asked no one. I looked for the moon, but it was nowhere to be found.

After a while, I couldn’t take the churning of emotions that were coming from Michael. I wanted to go find him, feel him along our bond, but he asked me to stay home. More than I wanted to find him, I didn’t want to betray his trust.

Eventually, I gave up on the window. Maybe I could figure out Nic’s Abuela’s tea from the mess she probably left in the kitchen.

–

While I did manage to make a better tea, it didn’t make me sleepy. The next morning, Nic came into the kitchen later than usual. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to start cleaning the cabinets I hadn’t gotten to yet and fixing the pantry, so it was usable.

“Good morning,” she said with a yawn. “Sleep good?”

“No,” I told her.

“Sorry. He’s coming back sometime today,” she said. I shrugged. A few hours ago, this feeling of relief and satisfaction had traveled over the bond, but I hadn’t felt anything since. She went to the coffee maker, where I already had a small pot for her. “Since he isn’t here to train, I’m just going to mindlessly throw my kunai at things; wanna join?” she said.

“Uh, sure,” I said. I hopped down from the kitchen counter and took the dirty rag to the sink. All the dishes were clean and sitting in the dishwasher to dry. Sadly, it didn’t work, but it was a large drying rack if I left it open.

–

I sat on the ground, picking at the grass that was mostly made up of weeds on the edge of the short-range throwing ring. Nic had targets set up and was trying to through her knives to cut out shapes in the paper. I was 100% sure that M asked her to keep an eye on me, so I was making her job easier by sitting here.

“You would probably like this,” she said, sending another knife through the air. It sailed right to her target, or I thought at least. It was in line with the rest, which was starting to turn into a curve. Was she making a mushroom?

“Why do you think that?” I asked her.

She smirked. “We’re alike. I know there is some hidden anger in there. There’s plenty to be mad about,” she answered.

I frowned. “I’m mad at him for springing this super secret trip on me with no notice. But that’s not much, in all honesty. I just want him to come home already,” I told her.

“So you aren’t mad that your parents haven’t spoken to you since they found out you are mated?” she poked.

“Nic,” I warned her.

“Come here,” she said, coming over to me. She held her hand out to me. I shook my head; I didn’t really see myself as the vicious, knife-throwing Luna. More of the feed-all-the-mouths-in-the-packhouse Luna.

She grabbed my arms and dragged me to my feet. My toes left the grass and hit the hard dirt of the range. “Now I am dirty,” I complained.

“You’ll be okay,” she laughed. “Come here.”

Nic positioned me in the center of the circle. She grabbed my h**s, turning me until she was satisfied with how I stood. Then she pulled a knife from her belt. “Okay, hold it like this,” she said, adjusting my grip. “When I step back, just throw like this.” She demonstrated the motion.

“Do I have to do this?” I asked her. “When would I need to ever throw a knife at someone?”

“Okay, hold on,” she said. She ran behind us over to a big box. She pulled out a bunch of cans and brought them to the target stand. “Not necessarily what we would do here but try and get the can,” she said.

“Fine,” I said. I was too cranky with no sleep and no mate. Nic stepped back, and I tried to mimic what she told me to do. The knife sailed right over the cans, landing in the woods.

“Oh, I like those ones!” she fussed.

“Sorry,” I winced. I didn’t mean to lose her knife.

“We’ll find it. Here, try again,” she said. She handed me more knives.

“Nic, I don’t think this is my thing. I clearly don’t have very good hand-eye coordination,” I complained.

“Stop whining and do it!” Nic demanded.

“You’re bossy,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. She pointed to the target.

I turned and focused harder this time. The knife left my hand and tipped the can this time with a satisfying clink sound. “I hit it!” I said in surprise.

“Do it again,” Nic laughed, taking a seat.

I threw the next few knives she gave me, each time hitting the cans at the top and finally knocking one enough to make it topple backward. I smiled brightly at Nic, and she laughed. “We’ll make a badass out of you yet.”

MICHAEL

After innumerable showers and a nap, I decided to return to my mate. I could feel her loneliness and hated it, but I had to do it. That lowlife wasn’t going to walk free the rest of his life after what he did; Quinn may want to forget, but I never would. When I got back to the packhouse, the girls weren’t inside. I knew she was close, but I wasn’t sure where.

“Nic, where have you hidden her?” I linked.

“Glad to know you’re back,” she answered. “Throwing knives.”

“You gave Quinn knives? And she is throwing them?”

“Just don’t spook her. She doesn’t have good aim, and one might hit you where it hurts,” Nic laughed. I headed outside and quietly made my way out to the practice ranges we set up. I could smell her well before I got there and felt her excitement.

“I hit it!” I heard my adorable mate yell in shock.

“Do it again,” my best friend told her. As I approached, I could see her haphazardly throwing some of Nic’s knives at some cans on top of the target stand. I could hear clinking as each knife hit something. I could tell she was wearing one of my shirts from the back, but she had it knotted in the back so it didn’t hang down so long. She had shorts on with it. Her feet skimmed the dirt as her stance changed through her throw.

Finally, one of the cans fell back and hit the ground. Quinn turned to Nic and smiled triumphantly. I realized I had just been standing back, watching. “We’ll make a badass out of you yet,” Nic joked.

Watching Quinn throw knives even poorly had my mind racing. So many possibilities, each one more mouth-watering than the last. I wondered if she would actually learn to fight, if she would let me teach her. Her having the ability to defend herself would make me feel better.

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat. Quinn froze and then slowly turned. Goddess, that expression made my knees weak.

“Michael,” she gasped. I nodded and smiled at her. She broke out into a run toward me. I opened my arms, easily catching her. “That wasn’t fast,” she said, biting down on my shoulder.

“Ow,” I laughed. I let her slide down to the ground. “I just get home, and you welcome me by biting me?”

“You left me,” she pouted.

“Well, I am home now,” I said, rubbing my nose on hers. She closed her eyes. When I pulled away, she yawned. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I thought you said she was asleep when you left,” I linked Nic.

“I thought she was. Maybe she didn’t sleep well?” she replied. She stood up and started collecting her weapons.

“Want to go lay in bed with me?” I asked Quinn. She leaned up and kissed me sweetly. She hugged her arms tighter around my neck, so I bent slightly to pick her up by her thighs. Her back arched as her thighs squeezed my torso, helping to hold herself up on me.

“Don’t break any furniture,” Nic called as I turned to take Quinn back into the packhouse.